Greenwater Report for October 17, 2000

---The Greenwater Report for October 23, 2000

Greenwater Provincial Park - October 23, 2000 - By: Gerald Crawford

today couldn’t be improved on
October 22nd, 2000: Sunny, warm, and a light breeze from the south. There was a hard frost overnight but today couldn’t be improved on. We spent the night at our cottage and walked over to the Cove for coffee this morning, and it was very pleasant. Someone said there is summery weather in the forecast.

south-western United States
Rose & Jim Steadman recently returned from a driving trip to the south-western United States. They report temperatures in the 90s in Las Vegas, and up to 110 in Death Valley. Those are Fahrenheit, of course. They also found that gas is no cheaper than here, by the time exchange rate is figured in.

So many cats. So few recipes!
Rose saw a bumper sticker that really impressed her. It read: "So many cats. So few recipes!" Jim restrained her from buying it.

Crazy
Horse
Frank and Judith Duhaime just got back from a drive through Montana and the Dakotas. They took in the Devil’s Tower in north-eastern Wyoming, the Presidents at Mount Rushmore, and the Crazy Horse monument south of Rushmore. They were fortunate to see some work in progress at Crazy Horse - while they were there, a dynamite charge was detonated. It sounds as if much progress has been made since the last time we saw it, which must be about eight years ago. On the Rushmore monument, they had blasted to about 1/2 inch from the final level desired, then trimmed up with chisels. Frank says at Crazy Horse they are using a sonic gun of some kind for finishing; it smoothes out and seals the surface by fusing the rock. Sounds like quite a weapon!

bald
eagles
We saw a pair of bald eagles toward the north end of the park recently. Not surprising, as they will hang around as long as there’s a food supply, which basically means until the lake freezes over. They don’t go too far for the winter, though. I remember driving down at the south end of the province in February, and coming on to a dozen or so bald eagles at some road kill.

fifty or
more deer
When we came home from Tisdale Tuesday night, we must have seen fifty or more deer in the ditches. Luckily, they just looked at us as we went by. Mike and family were here last night and said they saw a lot of animals, too. I suspect trouble starts when something startles them and they run across the road without looking both ways.

out of the photography business
Mike had just finished photographing his last wedding, over at Central Hall. That means the Crawfords are completely out of the photography business. We asked if he was sorry, and he didn’t think so. Photographing a wedding is an extremely intense physical and emotional two hours. I was glad when I did my last one.

T-shirt
Seen on a T-shirt recently: "Over the hill? What hill? Where? I didn’t see any hill!"

Peanut
Jenny already had three big cats, each an individual, maybe even a character. Then there was a dirty little white cat limping around at the Cove, obviously injured, so she had to take it home too. She took it to the vet and got it checked out; it had had an injury in its back end which gradually improved, but the last half of its tail is dead. Its name is Peanut. Well, Peanut terrorized those three, hulking beasts, leaping on them from ambush. Instead of trouncing her thoroughly, the big ones just snarled and spat and slunk away, so now Peanut thinks she owns the place.

parental guidance herself
One night, Peanut ran into a situation she didn’t understand and came home pregnant, eventually giving difficult birth to four kittens, three of which survived. Not having had any parental guidance herself, she doesn’t know what to do with the kittens, beyond the obvious. They had a neat little nest in one corner of the bedroom, but she hauled them into the opposite corner. Then she hauled them into the office. One night when Jenny was lying on the couch watching TV, Peanut came for a cuddle. After a bit, she disappeared and came back with a kitten, so the three of them snuggled. She left again, and returned with another kitten, then shortly after went and got the third kitten, a little white runt, and they all lay on the sofa and watched TV and cuddled. Since then, they have been transplanted several times. Jenny doesn’t know what Peanut is looking for, but very likely Peanut doesn't either. As long as she doesn’t haul them down to the lake, I guess it doesn't really matter.

federal election
Looks like we are going to get a federal election that nobody wants, except Chretien. I guess he's taking advantage of the reflected glory from the Trudeau raves and doesn't think he could win one next year. That and gun control are good enough reasons not to support him. The alternatives are Joe Clark, dead in the water and doesn't know it, and an energetic Stockwell Day, an unknown quantity who may just possibly have some new ideas.

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 October 23, 2000

Greenwater Provincial Park - October 23, 2000 - By: Gerald Crawford

today couldn’t be improved on	October 22nd, 2000: Sunny, warm, and a light breeze from the south. There was a hard frost overnight but today couldn’t be improved on. We spent the night at our cottage and walked over to the Cove for coffee this morning, and it was very pleasant. Someone said there is summery weather in the forecast.

south-western United States	Rose & Jim Steadman recently returned from a driving trip to the south-western United States. They report temperatures in the 90s in Las Vegas, and up to 110 in Death Valley. Those are Fahrenheit, of course. They also found that gas is no cheaper than here, by the time exchange rate is figured in.

So many cats. So few recipes!	Rose saw a bumper sticker that really impressed her. It read: "So many cats. So few recipes!" Jim restrained her from buying it.

Crazy Horse	Frank and Judith Duhaime just got back from a drive through Montana and the Dakotas. They took in the Devil’s Tower in north-eastern Wyoming, the Presidents at Mount Rushmore, and the Crazy Horse monument south of Rushmore. They were fortunate to see some work in progress at Crazy Horse - while they were there, a dynamite charge was detonated. It sounds as if much progress has been made since the last time we saw it, which must be about eight years ago. On the Rushmore monument, they had blasted to about 1/2 inch from the final level desired, then trimmed up with chisels. Frank says at Crazy Horse they are using a sonic gun of some kind for finishing; it smoothes out and seals the surface by fusing the rock. Sounds like quite a weapon!

bald eagles	We saw a pair of bald eagles toward the north end of the park recently. Not surprising, as they will hang around as long as there’s a food supply, which basically means until the lake freezes over. They don’t go too far for the winter, though. I remember driving down at the south end of the province in February, and coming on to a dozen or so bald eagles at some road kill.

fifty or more deer	When we came home from Tisdale Tuesday night, we must have seen fifty or more deer in the ditches. Luckily, they just looked at us as we went by. Mike and family were here last night and said they saw a lot of animals, too. I suspect trouble starts when something startles them and they run across the road without looking both ways.

out of the photography business	Mike had just finished photographing his last wedding, over at Central Hall. That means the Crawfords are completely out of the photography business. We asked if he was sorry, and he didn’t think so. Photographing a wedding is an extremely intense physical and emotional two hours. I was glad when I did my last one.

T-shirt	Seen on a T-shirt recently: "Over the hill? What hill? Where? I didn’t see any hill!"

Peanut	Jenny already had three big cats, each an individual, maybe even a character. Then there was a dirty little white cat limping around at the Cove, obviously injured, so she had to take it home too. She took it to the vet and got it checked out; it had had an injury in its back end which gradually improved, but the last half of its tail is dead. Its name is Peanut. Well, Peanut terrorized those three, hulking beasts, leaping on them from ambush. Instead of trouncing her thoroughly, the big ones just snarled and spat and slunk away, so now Peanut thinks she owns the place.

parental guidance herself	One night, Peanut ran into a situation she didn’t understand and came home pregnant, eventually giving difficult birth to four kittens, three of which survived. Not having had any parental guidance herself, she doesn’t know what to do with the kittens, beyond the obvious. They had a neat little nest in one corner of the bedroom, but she hauled them into the opposite corner. Then she hauled them into the office. One night when Jenny was lying on the couch watching TV, Peanut came for a cuddle. After a bit, she disappeared and came back with a kitten, so the three of them snuggled. She left again, and returned with another kitten, then shortly after went and got the third kitten, a little white runt, and they all lay on the sofa and watched TV and cuddled. Since then, they have been transplanted several times. Jenny doesn’t know what Peanut is looking for, but very likely Peanut doesn't either. As long as she doesn’t haul them down to the lake, I guess it doesn't really matter.

federal election	Looks like we are going to get a federal election that nobody wants, except Chretien. I guess he's taking advantage of the reflected glory from the Trudeau raves and doesn't think he could win one next year. That and gun control are good enough reasons not to support him. The alternatives are Joe Clark, dead in the water and doesn't know it, and an energetic Stockwell Day, an unknown quantity who may just possibly have some new ideas.

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