For at least the past three weeks the weather forecasters have been telling us that sunny, springlike weather is just five days away. I am still clinging to the belief that one of these days it will actually happen. Our winter accumulation of snow is slowly going down, even on cloudy days when the temperature … Continue reading Could we please just have spring already?
Saskatchewan
Is God Laughing?
On the strength of 71 years of experience, I have concluded that there is no such thing as normal weather. The figures we are given as “normals for the period” are just averages of many years of abnormal weather. There was the Medieval Warm Period 1,000 years ago when Lief Erickson and his men landed … Continue reading Is God Laughing?
The destructive power of envy
Back in the 1960’s I was managing a grain elevator in a small Saskatchewan town. Norman, the biggest grain farmer in the area, had a farm worker named Lenny, a former long haul trucker. Norman put a lot of confidence in Lenny, paid him well and provided a good house for him and his young … Continue reading The destructive power of envy
MAIL ORDER TEETH, ANYONE?
Re-blogged from Christine's Collection Posted on March 1, 2013 by christineevelynvance On Tuesday I was in Saskatoon helping my cousin organize her apartment and she showed me a letter her mother received decades ago. My cousin has saved it all these years as a souvenir and I found the details quite interesting – especially the … Continue reading MAIL ORDER TEETH, ANYONE?
In memory of Mauvereen
Uncle Gary is my mother’s second youngest brother, the last one still living of a family of fourteen. He will be 90 in August. My grandparents were members of a small congregation of Sommerfelder Mennonites in southwestern Saskatchewan that was somewhat isolated from other Mennonite communities. They spoke Plautdietsch and English at home; the church … Continue reading In memory of Mauvereen
What cats are good for
Here on the flatlands the days are getting longer, the temperatures milder, and our three cats are showing signs of spring fever. Even bulky old Panda. None of our cats are purebreds, but a predominant breed is evident in each by their size, shape, coat and temperament. Panda is an all black Maine Coon cat. … Continue reading What cats are good for
Remeniscences
My cousin Julia was 18 years old when I was born. I think she started teaching in a one room country school in the fall of that year, taught for two years, then married Ed Ludke. Their first child, Doreen, was born a year later. I knew nothing of Julia without Ed until he passed … Continue reading Remeniscences
Why I am a flatlander
Some folks drive through the prairies on the Trans-Canada Highway and say there is nothing to see. I, on the other hand, have driven for hours and days through the forests and rocks of northern Ontario, or Michigan Wisconsin and Minnesota, and found it depressing. Then the trees disappear behind me, the vista of open … Continue reading Why I am a flatlander
Illusions
Tweetie-tweet-tweet-tweet — thunk! Tweetie-tweet-tweet-tweet — thunk! The sound was coming from just outside our bedroom window. I roused myself groggily and peered through the blind. Here was a yellow warbler on the window ledge outside. He would sing his song, then fly up toward the top corner of the window — and bump into the … Continue reading Illusions
Memories of Clarence
I hadn’t seen Clarence for several years, but I recognized his voice as soon as I stepped into the room. I could tell from the cadence of his sonorous voice that Clarence was in full storytelling mode. Clarence was a fixture at our family gatherings. He was my Aunt Lottie’s son, thus my cousin, though … Continue reading Memories of Clarence
Flatlander Faith 