We congratulate ourselves sometimes that we live in a country where winter protects us from the kind of bug problems they have in some other places, say the southern USA for instance. Nevertheless, short though our summers may be, there are bugs that thrive in that season. Mosquitoes, grasshoppers and ticks, for instance. The vet … Continue reading The bugs of summer are here
Saskatchewan
Unexpected beauty
These are the flowers of scarlet mallow, a low growing plant that shows up in unexpected places here on the prairies, almost hidden among the grass. The plant is only about six inches high, the flowers about a half inch in diameter. When I was a boy I would ask my Dad what those little … Continue reading Unexpected beauty
Stagnant water
There are many pools of water near where we live, filled by the spring runoff and then refreshed by the heavy spring rains. I went for a bike ride this evening and noticed that the warm weather we are now experiencing has produced heavy algae growth in those waters. They are turning green and they … Continue reading Stagnant water
How fast can you run?
In my last post, I spoke of living where the deer and the antelope roam. The antelope part was referring to the animal below, which I have always called a pronghorn antelope. Now it is reported that it is not a true antelope at all and should simply be called a pronghorn. Small herds of … Continue reading How fast can you run?
Cloven hooved rodents and Irish Spring soap
I was hauling a load of garbage to the dump this morning; a pickup truck was coming my way, returning from the same errand. Shortly before we met, a mule deer went bounding across the road between us. Yes, we live in the country where the deer and the antelope roam. Way too many of … Continue reading Cloven hooved rodents and Irish Spring soap
Weeds and stones in our writing
Floyd McNeill* farmed near the banks of the Moose Jaw River, one of those prairie rivers consisting of a deep, wide valley with a little creek meandering its way along a narrow channel on the bottom. Being near the river bank, there were stones scattered through the fields, some small enough that a man could … Continue reading Weeds and stones in our writing
Summer in sunny Saskatchewan
I hope everybody had a chuckle over the mistake in my last post. Two millimetres a year would come to two hundred millimetres in a century, or twenty centimetres, not two metres. If you look at the post now, you will see that I have corrected the error. Warm weather was late in arriving this … Continue reading Summer in sunny Saskatchewan
Meditations on spring in Saskatchewan
For months our yard looked barren. Spring came, the snow melted, yet the weather remained cool and we waited week after week for signs of a change. The grass was brown; the trees were dry sticks. Very hesitantly, signs of new life began to appear. Last week warm weather arrived in full force, temperatures as … Continue reading Meditations on spring in Saskatchewan
Start somewhere progress report
Well, I haven’t got as far with the weight loss project as I had hoped. After 30 days I was down six pounds. But hey, that’s still six pounds that I don’t have to carry around anymore. I am doing OK with the eating less part, not so well with the part of moving more. … Continue reading Start somewhere progress report
Getting the right message out
As you may have noticed, I haven’t posted anything for a few days. Part of the reason is that we had an overcast weekend with rain and snow and the dish on our roof lost contact with the satellite. We live on a rural acreage in Saskatchewan where this is the only high-speed internet available. … Continue reading Getting the right message out
Flatlander Faith 