May 15th, 2011:
Sorry, my friends and faithful readers, but this is going to be my last Report. Life is very pleasant, but hardly exciting, and our coffee breaks and little trips are not the stuff columns should be made of. I've been boring you for twenty years now and it's time to stop. Many thanks for all the favorable comments I have received from you over the years.
We made a trip out to Sandy's and Blaine's place near Carstairs; left on May 5th and returned on May 12th. Cool and rainy for the first few days, but warm and very windy since Monday, and now we are getting the warm weather. We brought it back with us, thought it would be appreciated around here.
We didn't see a sign of farming activity on the way out there except for one man pulling a cultivator and harrows behind his tractor, likely hoping to dry out the land so he could start seeding. By the time we left, though, there was lots of activity, especially Kindersley and west. In Alberta, there was still quite a bit of snow in the north-facing ditches, far more than here, but then they got some late snows that we didn't get.
We didn't know if the Grimsons at Mozart would be able to seed this year or not. That is a terribly wet part of the province. A week ago, it was almost impossible to drive from Foam Lake to Kelvington because of roads, including Highway #35 south of Wadena, under water. I phoned Laurie today, though and she says they have been able to start seeding some peas. The land is not as wet as they expected and with this warm weather and wind,they may get close to a normal crop in.
The feared breakup at Fishing Lake apparently went off without a hitch; everyone was afraid the berms and breakwaters would be smashed by the ice, but it didn't happen. They won't be able to let any water out of the new drainage way for awhile yet, because Manitoba has all the water they can handle in the Assiniboine. In fact, they have breached some of their dykes to try to divert some of it into Lake Manitoba – normally, it would flow into the Red River in downtown Winnipeg and then north to Lake Winnipeg. The breach will cause extensive flooding, but far less than if they let it carry on east to Winnipeg.
I hadn't heard a thing out of Greenwater so phoned Lynda Gudjonson this morning. She tells me the ice went out on May 3rd. The lake is high and clear, with no flooding, of course. They just got home from Wynyard and said the roads weren't flooded but were terribly rough and broken up, especially north of Wadena, and from Kelvington to Perigord. Lake Avenue, past where we used to live, is full of frost boils, of course, but that is normal. Lynda says there is almost no snow visible.
Flooding was a non-event in Saskatoon. The access to Wilson's Greenhouse was closed for a few days when McOrmond Road flooded south of #5 highway, but the City crews got it drained in short order. Next day, the dust was flying!
We go on our first motor home outing next weekend and have been busy getting our rig ready. All we have to do now, is get the carpets cleaned tomorrow,fill the fridge and closets, and take off! It's going to be a busy summer, with six outings with our Sunseeker friends, one extended trip into Manitoba with Cathy, and a family camping weekend in August at Palliser Park, near Riverhurst. We had hoped to attend the Wynyard homecoming in July, but looks like it's not going to happen. If at all possible, we would like to get to Greenwater, at least for coffee, but not sure when, or even if.
So farewell, my friends. Who knows, if the muse favors me and something worthwhile reporting occurs, I may dash off another column in the future. In the meantime, if you want a chuckle, check out Emer's column in the Wynyard Advance. |
