The Last Greenwater Report

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

time to
get the
tractor out
December 17th, 2000: We are having a real heat-wave! This morning, the temperature was only about -23°, but it was quite windy. It started snowing in earnest about 10AM. About 3PM, I shovelled six inches or so off our deck and front walk, though it was still coming down. We have more snow than we had all last winter, I believe. I have gone about as far as I can go with the shovel; now it's time to get the tractor out. The forecast is for moderate temperatures tomorrow; tractoring is a lot more fun when it's not too cold.

Farmers
Market
Friday, we went to the Farmers Market in Porcupine Plain. The radio was full of blizzard warnings for the south part of the province, and I suspect most people stayed home. They sure didn’t come to the Farmers‚ Market, in fact the town was almost deserted. It did get windy and snowy in the afternoon, though nothing like a blizzard.

bantam
hockey
Yesterday, we went to Kelvington. Jenny has been sick, so Doreen and Lucille went to spell off Joyce Peterson at the store. I went to the arena and watched our grandson, Aaron, play bantam hockey. He is the goalie, and played the whole game, doing a great job. They won over Foam Lake, by one goal in overtime. Excellent hockey! Those kids, fourteen and fifteen year olds, are getting big and strong, and most have several years of hockey experience. They play a very physical game, and take their hockey seriously.

a tie
The modern way of breaking a tie is completely new to me. They have a five-minute period, and each team has three skaters on the ice, plus the goalie. First goal ends the game. If no goal after the period, they have a five-man shootout.

-40°
at
least
It was -32° when we got up yesterday, and -32° when we got home in the evening. The way the car felt, I thought it must be -40° at least. It could have been, too, in Kelvington. There can be a surprising difference in temperature in a few miles. The temperature at the Park will often be anywhere from two to five degrees lower than up here on the hill. One time, the thermometer in our car read about -28° when I left home, hit -40° at the ball diamond, and back up to about -35° in Uskatik.

great
gray owls
We see the great gray owls at the curve north-east of the park pretty regularly, and also one just a short way south of our house. We haven’t heard a great horned owl for a long time, but that could be because the house is closed up pretty tight. Their call is penetrating, though, and if they were nearby I think we would hear them. They should be plentiful, with all the rabbits around. Maybe the coyotes and foxes are getting there first I see fox tracks pretty well every day on our road.

put it
to bed
I have been writing the Greenwater Report for almost nine years, and I think it's time to put it to bed. And what better time than at the end of the year? Many thanks for your attention and support. Doreen and I wish you a very merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!

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


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

time to get the tractor out	December 17th, 2000: We are having a real heat-wave! This morning, the temperature was only about -23°, but it was quite windy. It started snowing in earnest about 10AM. About 3PM, I shovelled six inches or so off our deck and front walk, though it was still coming down. We have more snow than we had all last winter, I believe. I have gone about as far as I can go with the shovel; now it's time to get the tractor out. The forecast is for moderate temperatures tomorrow; tractoring is a lot more fun when it's not too cold.

Farmers Market	Friday, we went to the Farmers Market in Porcupine Plain. The radio was full of blizzard warnings for the south part of the province, and I suspect most people stayed home. They sure didn’t come to the Farmers‚ Market, in fact the town was almost deserted. It did get windy and snowy in the afternoon, though nothing like a blizzard.

bantam hockey	Yesterday, we went to Kelvington. Jenny has been sick, so Doreen and Lucille went to spell off Joyce Peterson at the store. I went to the arena and watched our grandson, Aaron, play bantam hockey. He is the goalie, and played the whole game, doing a great job. They won over Foam Lake, by one goal in overtime. Excellent hockey! Those kids, fourteen and fifteen year olds, are getting big and strong, and most have several years of hockey experience. They play a very physical game, and take their hockey seriously.

a tie	The modern way of breaking a tie is completely new to me. They have a five-minute period, and each team has three skaters on the ice, plus the goalie. First goal ends the game. If no goal after the period, they have a five-man shootout.

-40° at least	It was -32° when we got up yesterday, and -32° when we got home in the evening. The way the car felt, I thought it must be -40° at least. It could have been, too, in Kelvington. There can be a surprising difference in temperature in a few miles. The temperature at the Park will often be anywhere from two to five degrees lower than up here on the hill. One time, the thermometer in our car read about -28° when I left home, hit -40° at the ball diamond, and back up to about -35° in Uskatik.

great gray owls	We see the great gray owls at the curve north-east of the park pretty regularly, and also one just a short way south of our house. We haven’t heard a great horned owl for a long time, but that could be because the house is closed up pretty tight. Their call is penetrating, though, and if they were nearby I think we would hear them. They should be plentiful, with all the rabbits around. Maybe the coyotes and foxes are getting there first I see fox tracks pretty well every day on our road.

put it to bed	I have been writing the Greenwater Report for almost nine years, and I think it's time to put it to bed. And what better time than at the end of the year? Many thanks for your attention and support. Doreen and I wish you a very merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!

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