I'm a statistician, a numbers guy. Put a bunch of numbers in front of me and I'll start analyzing them. Here are the numbers I have been puzzling over today: Saskatchewan: number of new cases of COVID - 449 / number of people in hospital due to COVID - 311 / number in ICU - … Continue reading What’s going on here?
Saskatchewan
Out with the new, in with the old
Effective Sunday, July 11 (yesterday), all COVID-19 restrictions required by the government of Saskatchewan have come to an end. When I sat down in church yesterday morning, the brother beside me said: "This is something new!" "No it isn't," I replied, "This is something old. We are done with the new." Image by ivabalk from Pixabay
Nocturnal visitor
My wife sets dishes of water on the lawn for the birds. We think birdbaths can be a deathtrap for the little guys - a cat can sneak up beneath an unsuspecting bird and remain hidden by the lip of the dish. With the dishes at ground level, the birds can see any approaching danger. … Continue reading Nocturnal visitor
Have you ever seen it this hot?
The high today was 40°. That is 104° on the Fahrenheit scale. Someone asked me the question above. Well yes I have, I remember a family picnic 70 years ago when the temperature hit 105° F. I was shirtless much of the day and got quite a sunburn, but I survived that and other weather … Continue reading Have you ever seen it this hot?
Springtime in Saskatchewan
Image by GeorgiaLens from Pixabay Spring comes with a rush here. In a few weeks we go from brown grass and lifeless trees to an explosion of green, populated by a profusion of songbirds. Last to arrive are the swallows, wrens and hummingbirds. The little guy in the picture is a Carolina Wren. They don't come here, but … Continue reading Springtime in Saskatchewan
Recovery
Chris had been on a waiting list for surgery since last October. The last time she enquired it sounded like she would have to wait a few more months since the medical system has been occupied caring for COVID patients. Then out of the blue came a phone call saying the surgeon has an open … Continue reading Recovery
Prairie Spring
A few days ago we still needed to run the furnace in the morning to make the house comfortable. Today we have to try to cool it down. The temperature at 11:00 am is 30° (86°F). We had a long winter and a slow spring. But now we hear birds singing at 4:00 am and … Continue reading Prairie Spring
Yearning for more red rhubarb
Image by Di Reynolds from Pixabay What is a yard in Saskatchewan without a couple of rhubarb plants? But this yard did not have any when we moved in 13 years ago. Ten years ago I bought one plant from a garden centre and planted it in a back corner of the garden. It grew, but never produced … Continue reading Yearning for more red rhubarb
But they don’t speak the same French!
I don’t know how many times I have been told that there is no point in trying to learn French. You see, they say, the French spoken in Québec is so different from the French spoken in France that they cannot understand one another. If you study Parisian French in school, people in Québec won’t … Continue reading But they don’t speak the same French!
Seeing French as a Bridge
Some languages are walls, some are artefacts, a few are bridges. A language used only by one tribe or ethnic group is useful for communication within that group, but it is also a wall that prevents communication with, and assimilation by, another group. Some languages are no longer in daily use but are studied as … Continue reading Seeing French as a Bridge
Flatlander Faith 