Just before supper time today my wife smelled smoke. We went outside and saw the fire behind the buildings of our neighbour. Our son-in-law was the first to see it while going home for supper. He turned around to get the fire engine from the village six miles away, sending out the alert to other … Continue reading Prairie fire!
spring
Ten beautiful things about winter in Saskatchewan
1. Sparkling landscapes. The timing is unpredictable, but every once in a while every tree, bush and weed is turned into a dazzling crystalline structure by hoar frost. 2. The purity of the snow. All that is ugly is buried under a white blanket. 3. The absence of flies, ants and beetles. They will return … Continue reading Ten beautiful things about winter in Saskatchewan
Snow, beautiful snow
It's springtime in Saskatchewan and our yard has begun to emerge from the winter's accumulation of snow. We were greeted this morning by more of the white stuff falling from the sky; by dinner time about 10 cm has accumulated. Beautiful, glittering, pristine white snow. I had planned to go to the city this morning, … Continue reading Snow, beautiful snow
Bunny blues
It was time to go back to school after the Easter vacation. I had put away my parka and winter boots. There wasn't but a tiny bit of green here and there, but the snow was gone, the road was dry. I crossed the highway and David came bouncing with excitement from the narrow pathway … Continue reading Bunny blues
Moving on, or pressing on
I really thought that spring would be here in just a day or two. The sun shone warmly on Saturday, the few patches of snow left were becoming smaller and smaller, we heard of birds coming back to a place just a few hours south of us. Alas, it was but a dream. We awoke … Continue reading Moving on, or pressing on
Prioritizing doesn’t work for me
My wife had her first round of chemotherapy on Monday and Tuesday. It went as well as one can expect this sort of thing to go – they were long, tiring days but she doesn't appear to feel any worse from it. After another round or two (the treatments will be monthly) her energy level … Continue reading Prioritizing doesn’t work for me
Robins and skunks on O’Malley Road
The songbirds are back: robins, meadowlarks and others – spring has come to Saskatchewan. Sometimes we can even tell it by the weather. Last Saturday was a beautiful sunny day with a high of 22° Celsius. That would be 72° in Americanese. This morning the ground was white again for several hours and the high for … Continue reading Robins and skunks on O’Malley Road
Another sign of spring
This is income tax month in Canada, the deadline for filing is April 30. I am affected by this deadline in three ways. First, there are the people for whom I prepare and file personal income tax returns, then there are my business clients for whom I have to get files ready for their tax … Continue reading Another sign of spring
There’s a twittering in the trees
The snow is gone, lawns are starting to turn green, but the trees still appear brown and lifeless. Yet there is definitely life among the trees. From the open window we can hear are loud and continuous chorus of bird songs. There are robins, meadowlarks, blackbirds, juncos and others that we haven't identified. The juncos … Continue reading There’s a twittering in the trees
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!
Flatlander Faith 