Greenwater Report for November 26, 2001

The Greenwater Report for November 26, 2001

Greenwater Provincial Park - Monday, November 26, 2001 - by: Jerry Crawford

froze
over
November 25th, 2001: It dropped down to —11° last night; this morning it was snowing lightly, with a strong east southeast wind. I could see a strip of open water about a hundred yards offshore, but by the time we got back from coffee it was gone. I think it is safe to say the lake froze over completely on November 25th. I wish I could say we got three feet of snow, but that would be a gross overstatement. Three inches, maybe!

slippery
One of the fringe benefits of lower temperatures is that the ground isn’t as slippery, even on the icy patches. For a few days there, even the gravel was dangerous to walk on, with each pebble coated with ice. We saw a woman take a tumble in Kelvington yesterday; luckily, she wasn’t hurt, and laughed it off.

Moonlight
Madness
We went to Kelvington Friday evening; it was Moonlight Madness there, and all the stores were open until ten. We went down to give Jenny a hand, and took Cathy Button and Rebecca with us. Cathy and Doreen helped Jenny in the store, along with Tammy and Tara, Rebecca helped as a model, and they put me in charge of the eggnog and cookies. The fox in charge of the chickens! I couldn’t believe how busy the store was — most of the time all five of them were hopping.

busy
week
It has been a busy week! We went to Melfort on Tuesday, and picked up our daughter, Sandy, then to Saskatoon where we met Doreen’s sister, Lucille at the airport. Next day, we went to Moose Jaw and had a visit with our grandchildren and cousins. Next morning, off to Regina where we met some more cousins for lunch; back to Melfort, where Sandy fed us some supper, and home by 9 PM. I think I’m getting old — I don’t handle these driving marathons as well as I used to.

drought
We missed all the snow, and had no problem with icy roads or streets. Signs of drought everywhere, but, surprisingly, several dugouts between Moose Jaw and Regina were full, or nearly so. We had to wonder if they were lucky enough to hit a spring. Not sure, either, how much value they were; all were miles from any farmyard.

bald eagle
and
duck
The temperature dropped again last weekend; on Monday, it was down to —8° and some ice had formed on the lake. I thought it was a solid sheet, then spotted a duck swimming around in the middle of it. The duck was having a problem with a bald eagle, which kept diving at it. The duck would submerge and the eagle would swing around, waiting for another try. They carried this on for quite awhile, then, when I figured the duck was just about at the end of its tether, the eagle flew off. I believe if it had stuck it out for another few minutes, it would have had a duck dinner.

ice fort
Last Monday, there was an interesting ice formation at the edge of the beach, with large slabs of ice, about an inch thick, standing on edge in a half circle. It didn’t seem possible for the waves to stand them up like that, but you can never be sure. Then I noticed some small people tracks in the sand, so assumed some kids had built themselves a fort out of ice. The ice fort was still there this morning, and the slabs didn’t seem any thinner; unless someone knocks it down, it will be there until spring.

chokecherry
spitting
The big American Thanksgiving weekend is over; at coffee, the conversation got around to the American turkey throwing contests that we saw on TV. But Frank Duhaime isn’t too impressed. Where he grew up, north of North Battleford, the big event of the year was the Annual Chokecherry Seed Spitting Contest. The contestants lined up on a stage; they had to spit the seeds across a ten-foot gap (to separate the men from the boys) into a plywood trough about fifty feet long. Frank thought the record was something like fifty-four feet, seven inches. Now, that’s an accomplishment!

Doreen & Jerry Crawford
Box 100, Chelan, SK S0E 0N0 (306) 278-3423 http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/crawg


The Greenwater Report for November 26, 2001
Greenwater Provincial Park - Monday, November 26, 2001 - by: Jerry Crawford

froze over	November 25th, 2001: It dropped down to —11° last night; this morning it was snowing lightly, with a strong east southeast wind. I could see a strip of open water about a hundred yards offshore, but by the time we got back from coffee it was gone. I think it is safe to say the lake froze over completely on November 25th. I wish I could say we got three feet of snow, but that would be a gross overstatement. Three inches, maybe!

slippery	One of the fringe benefits of lower temperatures is that the ground isn’t as slippery, even on the icy patches. For a few days there, even the gravel was dangerous to walk on, with each pebble coated with ice. We saw a woman take a tumble in Kelvington yesterday; luckily, she wasn’t hurt, and laughed it off.

Moonlight Madness	We went to Kelvington Friday evening; it was Moonlight Madness there, and all the stores were open until ten. We went down to give Jenny a hand, and took Cathy Button and Rebecca with us. Cathy and Doreen helped Jenny in the store, along with Tammy and Tara, Rebecca helped as a model, and they put me in charge of the eggnog and cookies. The fox in charge of the chickens! I couldn’t believe how busy the store was — most of the time all five of them were hopping.

busy week	It has been a busy week! We went to Melfort on Tuesday, and picked up our daughter, Sandy, then to Saskatoon where we met Doreen’s sister, Lucille at the airport. Next day, we went to Moose Jaw and had a visit with our grandchildren and cousins. Next morning, off to Regina where we met some more cousins for lunch; back to Melfort, where Sandy fed us some supper, and home by 9 PM. I think I’m getting old — I don’t handle these driving marathons as well as I used to.

drought	We missed all the snow, and had no problem with icy roads or streets. Signs of drought everywhere, but, surprisingly, several dugouts between Moose Jaw and Regina were full, or nearly so. We had to wonder if they were lucky enough to hit a spring. Not sure, either, how much value they were; all were miles from any farmyard.

bald eagle and duck	The temperature dropped again last weekend; on Monday, it was down to —8° and some ice had formed on the lake. I thought it was a solid sheet, then spotted a duck swimming around in the middle of it. The duck was having a problem with a bald eagle, which kept diving at it. The duck would submerge and the eagle would swing around, waiting for another try. They carried this on for quite awhile, then, when I figured the duck was just about at the end of its tether, the eagle flew off. I believe if it had stuck it out for another few minutes, it would have had a duck dinner.

ice fort	Last Monday, there was an interesting ice formation at the edge of the beach, with large slabs of ice, about an inch thick, standing on edge in a half circle. It didn’t seem possible for the waves to stand them up like that, but you can never be sure. Then I noticed some small people tracks in the sand, so assumed some kids had built themselves a fort out of ice. The ice fort was still there this morning, and the slabs didn’t seem any thinner; unless someone knocks it down, it will be there until spring.

chokecherry spitting	The big American Thanksgiving weekend is over; at coffee, the conversation got around to the American turkey throwing contests that we saw on TV. But Frank Duhaime isn’t too impressed. Where he grew up, north of North Battleford, the big event of the year was the Annual Chokecherry Seed Spitting Contest. The contestants lined up on a stage; they had to spit the seeds across a ten-foot gap (to separate the men from the boys) into a plywood trough about fifty feet long. Frank thought the record was something like fifty-four feet, seven inches. Now, that’s an accomplishment!

	Doreen & Jerry Crawford Box 100, Chelan, SK S0E 0N0 (306) 278-3423 http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/crawg