Greenwater Report for September 18, 2000

The Greenwater Report for September 18, 2000

Greenwater Provincial Park - September 18, 2000 - By: Gerald Crawford

shorts
weather
September 17th, 2000: A nice, sunny day, with a light breeze. Yesterday was the same, shorts weather, although by suppertime I’m looking for my long pants. There seems to be a softness in the air, a bit of a tang of cranberries, makes one want to just sit out in the sun and enjoy.

75%
done
I got in another four days of combining last week. They must be about 75% done. I will go back tomorrow if the weather holds. Friday must have been a harvester’s dream it had been windy and warm all night and we were combining by 7 AM. The wind held up most of the day; not the bad kind, that blows the grain all over when you auger into the truck, but the good kind, that blows the dust away. I quit about 6:30, and the wind had fallen off, the dust was just hanging there, and we got one of those fantastic harvest sunsets.

The moon must have been full on Wednesday evening, and "Shine on Harvest Moon" has been in my head ever since. Remember the movie? I think it starred June Allyson, I had a terrible crush on her when I was a kid, and started out in black and white, switching to color for about the last act. That was just after the war. The words weren’t much: "Shine on, Shine on Harvest Moon, up in the sky," (now where else would one expect to find a moon?) I ain’t had no Lovin‚" (Tut! - that’s a double negative, and not a very pretty one at that!) "Since January, February, June or July" (Ah, but March, April and May!!!). "Snow time ain’t no time to sit outdoors and spoon" (What on earth has that got to do with anything? And anyway, does anyone even remember what "spoon" means?) "So, shine on, shine on harvest moon, for me and my guy" (or gal, depending on the orientation of the singer). The rest was just about as silly, almost as bad as Mairzie Doats or Hutsut Rawlson. Anyway, the song is still in my head, but June Allyson ceased being the object of my affection away back when Jane Russell came along.

Shine on Harvest
Moon

coyote
While combining oats, I was entertained by a coyote that was snooping around looking for mice. It almost ignored the combine, and I could watch it in the same part of the field for several rounds. At first I thought it was mangy, but as it came closer I realized the tail was a darker shade than the body (which was a pale browny-gray), and the tip was almost black. It was quite sleek, not bushy like the ones we see up here, but that could be its summer coat. There were lots of northern harriers, or marsh hawks as they used to be called, and a couple of other varieties that I haven’t been able to name, all feeding on the poor field mice. I wonder how many mice would a large hawk eat in a day? Poor little critters sure haven’t got much going for them, no useful means of defense, and not enough brains to stay under cover.

electric
fencer
Lucille said she thought a squirrel got a taste of the electric fencer on the bird feeder, at least, it stiffened up, gave a mighty leap into the tree and cussed a blue streak for a long time. It went right back for another jolt, though. The old mama raccoon has been back sniffing around the patio door, but the little ones haven’t come back.

Lucy, the
stray cat
Lucy, the stray cat, was around at Grimson’s, often sitting on the dining room window sill, looking in. Laurie said when they first got it, it stayed away from the house yard for awhile, but Laurie would see it when she worked in the garden, in and out of the bushes and trees. One time, all the Grimson cats held a convention on Laurie’s deck; Lucy jumped up on the railing and looked on, but didn’t take part. The other cats ignored her. (or him, or it , nobody seems to know for sure.)

Passing
at Night
Coming home on Friday night, I was passed by several vehicles, and all but one committed a major gaffe by not raising their lights immediately. So, here is a primer on "Passing at Night" , now pay attention. If you are the car being passed, dip your lights when the passing car is beside you, not before. If you are the car doing the passing, raise your lights as soon as you are beside the car you are passing, at which point it should be dimming. That way, one of you should be lighting up the road with your high beams, so you don’t have to fly half blind.

Rella
Lavoie
At coffee this morning, Rella Lavoie of Smiley came over and introduced herself, and we had a very pleasant conversation. She and her husband bought the old Garrow place, over toward Marean Lake, and use it for a hunting lodge. They are planning to go hunting tomorrow. Rella is a member of the Gleneath Camera Club of Kindersley, and got my name because I send a copy of the Parkland Photography Club newsletters to any of the camera clubs that have shown an interest. She is coming to have coffee with Doreen tomorrow, so will have to make sure she gets my web page address, so she can keep up with the Greenwater Report. It's time a little culture was introduced into the lives of those poor souls out West!

Gerald B. Crawford
Box 100, Chelan, SK S0E 0N0 (306) 278-3423
Check out my Webpage: http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/crawg

The Greenwater Report for September 18, 2000

Greenwater Provincial Park - September 18, 2000 - By: Gerald Crawford

shorts weather	September 17th, 2000: A nice, sunny day, with a light breeze. Yesterday was the same, shorts weather, although by suppertime I’m looking for my long pants. There seems to be a softness in the air, a bit of a tang of cranberries, makes one want to just sit out in the sun and enjoy.

75% done	I got in another four days of combining last week. They must be about 75% done. I will go back tomorrow if the weather holds. Friday must have been a harvester’s dream it had been windy and warm all night and we were combining by 7 AM. The wind held up most of the day; not the bad kind, that blows the grain all over when you auger into the truck, but the good kind, that blows the dust away. I quit about 6:30, and the wind had fallen off, the dust was just hanging there, and we got one of those fantastic harvest sunsets. The moon must have been full on Wednesday evening, and "Shine on Harvest Moon" has been in my head ever since. Remember the movie? I think it starred June Allyson, I had a terrible crush on her when I was a kid, and started out in black and white, switching to color for about the last act. That was just after the war. The words weren’t much: "Shine on, Shine on Harvest Moon, up in the sky," (now where else would one expect to find a moon?) I ain’t had no Lovin‚" (Tut! - that’s a double negative, and not a very pretty one at that!) "Since January, February, June or July" (Ah, but March, April and May!!!). "Snow time ain’t no time to sit outdoors and spoon" (What on earth has that got to do with anything? And anyway, does anyone even remember what "spoon" means?) "So, shine on, shine on harvest moon, for me and my guy" (or gal, depending on the orientation of the singer). The rest was just about as silly, almost as bad as Mairzie Doats or Hutsut Rawlson. Anyway, the song is still in my head, but June Allyson ceased being the object of my affection away back when Jane Russell came along.
Shine on Harvest Moon

coyote	While combining oats, I was entertained by a coyote that was snooping around looking for mice. It almost ignored the combine, and I could watch it in the same part of the field for several rounds. At first I thought it was mangy, but as it came closer I realized the tail was a darker shade than the body (which was a pale browny-gray), and the tip was almost black. It was quite sleek, not bushy like the ones we see up here, but that could be its summer coat. There were lots of northern harriers, or marsh hawks as they used to be called, and a couple of other varieties that I haven’t been able to name, all feeding on the poor field mice. I wonder how many mice would a large hawk eat in a day? Poor little critters sure haven’t got much going for them, no useful means of defense, and not enough brains to stay under cover.



electric fencer	Lucille said she thought a squirrel got a taste of the electric fencer on the bird feeder, at least, it stiffened up, gave a mighty leap into the tree and cussed a blue streak for a long time. It went right back for another jolt, though. The old mama raccoon has been back sniffing around the patio door, but the little ones haven’t come back.

Lucy, the stray cat	Lucy, the stray cat, was around at Grimson’s, often sitting on the dining room window sill, looking in. Laurie said when they first got it, it stayed away from the house yard for awhile, but Laurie would see it when she worked in the garden, in and out of the bushes and trees. One time, all the Grimson cats held a convention on Laurie’s deck; Lucy jumped up on the railing and looked on, but didn’t take part. The other cats ignored her. (or him, or it , nobody seems to know for sure.)



Passing at Night	Coming home on Friday night, I was passed by several vehicles, and all but one committed a major gaffe by not raising their lights immediately. So, here is a primer on "Passing at Night" , now pay attention. If you are the car being passed, dip your lights when the passing car is beside you, not before. If you are the car doing the passing, raise your lights as soon as you are beside the car you are passing, at which point it should be dimming. That way, one of you should be lighting up the road with your high beams, so you don’t have to fly half blind.

Rella Lavoie	At coffee this morning, Rella Lavoie of Smiley came over and introduced herself, and we had a very pleasant conversation. She and her husband bought the old Garrow place, over toward Marean Lake, and use it for a hunting lodge. They are planning to go hunting tomorrow. Rella is a member of the Gleneath Camera Club of Kindersley, and got my name because I send a copy of the Parkland Photography Club newsletters to any of the camera clubs that have shown an interest. She is coming to have coffee with Doreen tomorrow, so will have to make sure she gets my web page address, so she can keep up with the Greenwater Report. It's time a little culture was introduced into the lives of those poor souls out West!

	Gerald B. Crawford Box 100, Chelan, SK S0E 0N0 (306) 278-3423 Check out my Webpage: http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/crawg