The Greenwater Report for June 25, 2001

Greenwater Provincial Park - Monday, June 25, 2001 - by: Gerald Crawford
   

nice
shower

June 24th 2001: A cool, showery day, good for sitting at the computer and wishing we had our fireplace hooked up. A nice shower about noon put 2/10ths in the gauge, and talking to people from Kelvington, Archerwill and Perigord, they all got it.

 

 

camera
club

We went to a camera club field trip to Saskatoon yesterday; it was showering off an on almost all the way, but when we got there the sun came out. We were touring the Forestry Farm and were quite comfortable. Of course, we were hoping it had rained all day here, but when we got home the gauge wasn't even damp. I guess we can't complain too much about drought from what I hear, crops in this area are as good as any in the province.

 

 

Forestry
Farm

We enjoyed the Forestry Farm. A lot of the birds and animals there had been orphaned or injured, and couldn't make it on their own, but lots were free to come and go as they wished, such as the swans, ducks, and geese. We watched a swan family make its way across a pond, an adult at front and rear of the line, and three little cygnets in between. The lead swan spotted a Canada goose on a grassy rise a good hundred yards away; it honked and took off, making straight for the Canada, which high-tailed it out of there. I'm not sure what the problem was as the different species seemed to co-exist quite peacefully for the most part. Whatever the reason, it was fun to watch.

 

 

fireflies

I have had two replies to my comments about fireflies last week the Wadena News mentions in its editorial page that fireflies are not at all uncommon, and Bernard Dease phoned today to say the same thing. He says it has to be very dark, though, or they can't be seen. Around our house, there is always light from the windows, or the yard light, or whatever.

 

 

Farm
Progress
Show

Bernard and friends went to the Farm Progress Show in Regina last Friday. He says the temperature got up to about 36° with only the occasional gust of wind. Luckily there were lots of water fountains, and they made good use of them. Bernard says he may not go back to the annual Farm Progress Show. He felt he was being gouged every time he turned around, at the gate, the food counter, and even the beer garden. He says a bushel of barley, worth about $1.60, will yield about 180 bottles of beer. At $3.50 for a glass of beer, someone is getting ripped off!

 

 

state of
the crops

They went to Regina via Highway #35 and came back via #6. He couldn't see much difference in the state of the crops going or coming; they are just about as they are at Archerwill. He hears reports of crops turning yellow farther west, though, and I guess there are areas where the crop is already written off.

 

 

phone

I got two phone calls today from people who didn't know we had moved and changed our number. The old number (278-3423) is no longer in use. Our new number is 278-2249.

 

 

Greenwater
Geese

We were wondering at coffee the other day where the famous Greenwater Geese had gone. At one time, there were as many as thirty-one adults; last time I saw them, there were three, but nobody has seen any for some days. Merv Miller heard that a mink had been spotted near the marina, and someone else had seen some otters by the creek not far from the marina. Maybe the geese decided this was no longer a safe environment to raise a family and went elsewhere to try again. They will be missed, but not mourned.

 

 

bear

We saw our first bear of the year last week, beside the highway just a hundred yards south of the Park gate. It was likely a two or three year old, almost all black, and it didn't seem as timid as I would like. We stopped to check it out; it stayed by the edge of the bush and checked us out.

 

 

mosquitoes

And finally some mosquitoes! I was watering the shrubs Friday evening, and actually got bitten a couple of times. First time this year, at least here at home. The mosquitoes look very small; their bite isn't very strong, and they didn't even leave a bump.
   
  Gerald B. Crawford
Box 100, Chelan, SK S0E 0N0 (306) 278-3423 Check out my Webpage: http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/crawg