Greenwater Report for November 6, 2000

---The Greenwater Report for November 6, 2000

Greenwater Provincial Park - November 6, 2000 - By: Gerald Crawford

snow
alright
November 5th, 2000: Yep, that’s snow alright, nothing like they got in Weyburn and Estevan, but snow all the same. One inch all over the driveway, and six inches on the deck. We could tell it was not going to be a pleasant day before we got up, from the wind moaning and howling around the house. It wasn’t all that cold when I went for my walk this morning, about -2°, but facing into the wind was a bit cool. By mid-afternoon it was down to -5° and either a light snowfall or blowing snow in the air. We didn’t have any problems with ice driving down to the Park this morning, but the radio was suggesting people not drive if they could avoid it.

Road
Report!
Road Report! Highway #349 from Naicam to the end of pavement east of Archerwill is much smoother. The gravel east of that is not bad as gravel roads go, except for stones sticking up looking for an unwary tire. When we came through Friday night, (a week ago) construction was shut down and the fresh construction had been bladed reasonably smooth. Monday evening, though, some equipment was still working at dusk and the road was horrible. I met a grader which had thrown up a windrow too high to jump over, so I had a narrow, very rough lane to travel. Then I came upon about a hundred pound rock in the middle of my lane, which I had to crawl around. No flaggers, and no attempt to keep a decent travelling lane. The work being done is about three miles west of #38; if you are driving a half ton or 4X4 you won’t have any problem, but to a low car like our Taurus it is next to impassible. Find an alternate route.

pale
yellow-brown
grass
I noticed something along the highway that has likely been there for years small patches of pale yellow-brown grass, taller than the surrounding brown. They make the roadside quite interesting, once you start looking for them. A lovely, pastel color. Funny how you can miss seeing something right before your eyes, until something calls your attention to it.

hoar
frost
The first half of the week was overcast and still, with lots of fog, but the temperature was pretty gentle. Wednesday night, when they got a real snowstorm in southern Saskatchewan, it chilled down a lot here. On Thursday morning, our trees and fences had a lovely coating of hoar frost. The temperature dropped down below zero, and a strong wind came up from the north. There were whitecaps on the lake, and it looked like an awfully cold, dreary place to be.

mouse repellers
Either the mice have us buffaloed or we won the battle. There was a bit of an invasion in September; we set out traps and caught five or six. Then nothing at all until mid-October, when we caught a couple more, and none since. We keep a nice lunch set out in the garage, the most likely point of entry, and four or five traps scattered around. Recently, we got a set of mouse repellers, which are little things you plug into household current and they emit a high-pitched squeak that mice do not like, but too high frequency for humans to hear. If they work, it will be better than fooling with dirty traps.

worst year
for mice
The pest control officer was around for a routine inspection. We have never seen a rat around here, likely because there is never any grain around, but he has to check anyway. I mentioned to him that we have had less mice than usual, and he says some have told him this is the worst year for mice they can remember.

Suzuki
quad
I have a little old Suzuki quad that I bought from Mike years ago. It is fifteen years old, two-wheel drive, and I believe has only a 185cc motor. I rarely use it, but the grandkids have fun with it. Our son-in-law, Bryan, was up hunting elk with his cousin and brother-in-law. They got a good-sized cow over south-east of Porcupine, back in the bush several miles from their truck. Bryan came and got our quad and a little trailer I made to go with it, and went to pick up the elk. When he came back, he said that little quad carried all three of them, plus the elk, through the bush, over a beaver dam and for a couple of miles down a trail. I was amazed, but Bryan said he had used it once before to retrieve an elk, east of our yard where no truck can go.

land
auction
I went to the land auction for Northern Lights Bison Ranch yesterday. There was a full house at the hall, most of them, like me, just curious. It was run differently from any auction I have seen. In the first round of bidding, the high bidder could select any parcel or parcels he wanted. In the second round, however, anyone could up the bid on any parcel, thereby re-opening it. If the original bidder wanted to keep it, he had to keep bidding. When they couldn't get anybody to bid the auction was closed, but prior to that no bidder could be sure he was going to get the parcel he wanted. It seemed strange at first, but on second thought it gave everyone a second or third chance at a property, and got the owners the best possible price. One parcel went for $10,000 on the first round, but then lots of people had second thoughts and by the time the auction was closed it was up to $22,000.

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 November 6, 2000

Greenwater Provincial Park - November 6, 2000 - By: Gerald Crawford

snow alright	November 5th, 2000: Yep, that’s snow alright, nothing like they got in Weyburn and Estevan, but snow all the same. One inch all over the driveway, and six inches on the deck. We could tell it was not going to be a pleasant day before we got up, from the wind moaning and howling around the house. It wasn’t all that cold when I went for my walk this morning, about -2°, but facing into the wind was a bit cool. By mid-afternoon it was down to -5° and either a light snowfall or blowing snow in the air. We didn’t have any problems with ice driving down to the Park this morning, but the radio was suggesting people not drive if they could avoid it.

Road Report!	Road Report! Highway #349 from Naicam to the end of pavement east of Archerwill is much smoother. The gravel east of that is not bad as gravel roads go, except for stones sticking up looking for an unwary tire. When we came through Friday night, (a week ago) construction was shut down and the fresh construction had been bladed reasonably smooth. Monday evening, though, some equipment was still working at dusk and the road was horrible. I met a grader which had thrown up a windrow too high to jump over, so I had a narrow, very rough lane to travel. Then I came upon about a hundred pound rock in the middle of my lane, which I had to crawl around. No flaggers, and no attempt to keep a decent travelling lane. The work being done is about three miles west of #38; if you are driving a half ton or 4X4 you won’t have any problem, but to a low car like our Taurus it is next to impassible. Find an alternate route.

pale yellow-brown grass	I noticed something along the highway that has likely been there for years small patches of pale yellow-brown grass, taller than the surrounding brown. They make the roadside quite interesting, once you start looking for them. A lovely, pastel color. Funny how you can miss seeing something right before your eyes, until something calls your attention to it.

hoar frost	The first half of the week was overcast and still, with lots of fog, but the temperature was pretty gentle. Wednesday night, when they got a real snowstorm in southern Saskatchewan, it chilled down a lot here. On Thursday morning, our trees and fences had a lovely coating of hoar frost. The temperature dropped down below zero, and a strong wind came up from the north. There were whitecaps on the lake, and it looked like an awfully cold, dreary place to be.

mouse repellers	Either the mice have us buffaloed or we won the battle. There was a bit of an invasion in September; we set out traps and caught five or six. Then nothing at all until mid-October, when we caught a couple more, and none since. We keep a nice lunch set out in the garage, the most likely point of entry, and four or five traps scattered around. Recently, we got a set of mouse repellers, which are little things you plug into household current and they emit a high-pitched squeak that mice do not like, but too high frequency for humans to hear. If they work, it will be better than fooling with dirty traps.

worst year for mice	The pest control officer was around for a routine inspection. We have never seen a rat around here, likely because there is never any grain around, but he has to check anyway. I mentioned to him that we have had less mice than usual, and he says some have told him this is the worst year for mice they can remember.

Suzuki quad	I have a little old Suzuki quad that I bought from Mike years ago. It is fifteen years old, two-wheel drive, and I believe has only a 185cc motor. I rarely use it, but the grandkids have fun with it. Our son-in-law, Bryan, was up hunting elk with his cousin and brother-in-law. They got a good-sized cow over south-east of Porcupine, back in the bush several miles from their truck. Bryan came and got our quad and a little trailer I made to go with it, and went to pick up the elk. When he came back, he said that little quad carried all three of them, plus the elk, through the bush, over a beaver dam and for a couple of miles down a trail. I was amazed, but Bryan said he had used it once before to retrieve an elk, east of our yard where no truck can go.

land auction	I went to the land auction for Northern Lights Bison Ranch yesterday. There was a full house at the hall, most of them, like me, just curious. It was run differently from any auction I have seen. In the first round of bidding, the high bidder could select any parcel or parcels he wanted. In the second round, however, anyone could up the bid on any parcel, thereby re-opening it. If the original bidder wanted to keep it, he had to keep bidding. When they couldn't get anybody to bid the auction was closed, but prior to that no bidder could be sure he was going to get the parcel he wanted. It seemed strange at first, but on second thought it gave everyone a second or third chance at a property, and got the owners the best possible price. One parcel went for $10,000 on the first round, but then lots of people had second thoughts and by the time the auction was closed it was up to $22,000.

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