The Greenwater Report for May 10, 2005

We got a few light rains the past couple of days, but a real good one for half an hour yesterday morning. Must have been about a half inch in total. That washed things off nicely. Unfortunately, it also pointed out the fact that our downspout is plugged, so I guess it’s ladder time.

Finally, a break in the weather! Sunday was miserable, cold and windy, but Monday morning, though it started out about –7° in Prince Albert, the sun came out and the wind died. It turned into a lovely day. It hit its peak on Thursday, sunny, calm and warm. It’s been a little cooler and cloudy Friday and Saturday, plus some wet periods, but today was sunny with light winds, and about normal temperatures.

The trouble with those nice spring days is that sooner or later someone is going to decide it’s perfect for doing yard work. So, I wound up clawing up the planter south of the house. Being in favor of leaving the forest floor natural (no cultivation), I asked Doreen why I was doing that. Her answer: “Because you are bigger and stronger and heavier!” I asked if that meant I was also smarter, to which she asked: “Who is doing the clawing?” She has this funny idea that the soil should be loosened up occasionally, and a top dressing of steer manure applied. Oh, well - if it keeps her happy!

We went to Prince Albert last Sunday, stayed overnight with Cathy, and came home Monday afternoon. We went in for the Transparency Battle, a photo club event that our Club participates in. The Northern Images Photographers, who did an excellent job, hosted it. None of our Club’s entries scored particularly well, but we saw a lot of excellent photography, enjoyed a great lunch, and did a lot of visiting.

In the evening, we went to the Watsonaires concert, an annual event for us as my sister, Cathy, sings in the group. As usual, they put on a terrific concert, with all kinds of talent besides their own singing. I particularly enjoyed two pipers and two drummers performing “Amazing Grace”, and the Watsonaires singing “Battle Hymn of the Republic” with trumpet accompaniment by thirteen-year-old David Boyle. I almost stood up and saluted, but Doreen restrained me.

We were surprised and pleased to see former Porcupine Plain resident, May Janzen, also singing with them. We hoped to see her after the performance to say hello, but missed her.

Brian Shuya phoned yesterday to say he had a western tanager at his feeder. We went dashing out without breakfast and managed to catch sight of it in a tall tree, but from a distance. Margaret, however, had managed to get some very decent pictures of it with her digital camera. Lovely bird! I hope it stays around, but it is outside its normal range, which is west and south of us.

We put on a slide show of our own images at the Porcupine Plain Library on the 27th, and thought it was quite well received. I have several short slide shows on many topics, including the Crooked Bush, Greenwater Park, the Pioneer Fair at Irricana, Elevators, wildflowers, and a bunch more. A basic showing takes about half an hour but can go to an hour or more if people stay awake long enough. If you would like me to put on a show at your seniors’ residence, or clubroom, within about fifty miles of Greenwater, give me a call. I love showing off!

The Beach Café officially opened on Friday so we went there for coffee. There was a good crowd, and coffee and cinnamon buns were on the house - can’t beat that! (And, oh! Those cinnamon buns!)

Fishing season is open again, and there were vehicles parked at the Steiestol Lake parking lot. Also, two people fishing off the peninsula, but I didn’t see any boat trailers parked. I guess the off and on showers don’t make for nice boating.

A fox ran out onto the road in front of me at Bjorkdale yesterday, but a strange-looking one. The front half of its body looked like a red fox, and the back half looked like a coyote. They stay red all year, don’t they? So it wouldn’t just be shedding winter fur. Maybe it’s a cross fox. It would have been pretty cross if it had stayed on the highway a few seconds longer.

Some of Greenwater’s geese are back - we saw eight on the beach yesterday and a couple more on the rocks farther east. Also, the purple martins are back. I think Jim said they just showed up Thursday or Friday. There’s lots of green in some of the trees, and I can hear hammers, saws and backhoes. It must be spring!