Most readers of this blog will now be on Daylight Saving Time. Here in Saskatchewan we didn’t set our clocks ahead. When I was a boy, the province was on Mountain Time and towns and cities could choose whether to go on Daylight Saving Time. In addition, the eastern half of the province lies in … Continue reading Daylight Saving Time is hazardous to your health
Saskatchewan
Why learn French?
The World Almanac says that there are only 70 million French-speaking people in the world. That's not very significant, why should I bother learning it? Not so fast! If you look closely, the World Almanac is giving the estimated number of people for whom French is their mother tongue (even at that it is questionable, … Continue reading Why learn French?
All of a sudden it’s spring!
In books the scenario goes like this: the trapper / prospector / homesteader (choose one) is shut up in his isolated cabin in the north country. The snow gets deeper and deeper, the temperature gets colder and colder, the wood pile gets smaller and smaller, his winter supply of food is almost gone. The days … Continue reading All of a sudden it’s spring!
Business and Church
I grew up in a small Saskatchewan town with four grocery stores and three churches. One store was owned by a cousin and another by an old friend of the family. Another was owned by a Catholic family and the fourth was the local Co-op. The three churches were the United Church of Canada, the … Continue reading Business and Church
Older, and maybe a little wiser
Forty-five years ago, around this time of year, I had paid a weekend visit to my fiancée in Saskatchewan and headed out Sunday afternoon for the six hour drive back to the Manitoba town where I managed a country grain elevator. I hadn't gone very far when I came up behind a semi that was … Continue reading Older, and maybe a little wiser
Rained out — in January!
A few of us, five to be exact, were planning on getting together over coffee this morning to discuss how we could better be effective witnesses of the gospel to the people around us, to Mister Average Canadian. There are no Tim Horton's close by, not really any coffee shops at all, so we decided … Continue reading Rained out — in January!
Big load
Photo and caption come from the Saskatoon Star Phoenix: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/saskatoon/Photos+Crystallizer+vessel+heads+Bethune+from+Saskatoon/10705706/story.html This is the second of these huge evaporators that has passed through here. This one is now stopped for the night about one mile from us as the crow flies. There are 10 axles on the trailer, and I believe there are 16 wheels on … Continue reading Big load
Snowy day and thoughts
Shortly after dinner today, we decided to drive to Delisle, our nearest town. It was snowing, but it didn't look too bad, so off we went. Once we got on the highway, we realized that we didn't have a realistic view of things from home. Here we are protected from east and northeast winds by … Continue reading Snowy day and thoughts
We’re headed in the right direction
It is -30° this morning, the sun won't rise until 9:15 and it will set again at 5:00 P.M. But the days are getting longer — I need to keep reminding myself of that. Twenty-five years ago I took a statistics course taught by a man originally from India. He told us how he and … Continue reading We’re headed in the right direction
Return of the sunshine
My wife left for Edmonton again on Sunday, December 14. That was followed by a week of overcast skies. I sent her a text message on Friday saying "You are my sunshine," since I hadn't seen any sunshine since she left. Yesterday was the beginning of another new week, and it was a gloriously sunny … Continue reading Return of the sunshine