I guess I had better get busy as another week is starting. The older I get the faster they come or it seems that way.
To start with what a fall we are having so far but we do need a little more moisture. The many years we lived at the lake I well remember two winters with no snow and two winters with very little.
Maybe a skiff only. The years with no snow we didn’t have a hay crop. It seems we have to have that moisture of the snow for the crops. I hope this next year is not one of them, it’s early yet. The hay crop is very important to our economy no fooling.
Nice visit
Last week I had the most pleasant visit when I had Valerie Ingram, a special friend, stop in for a visit. We had a chat about her society, Lakes Animal Friendship Society.
What a wonderful afternoon we had. What a wonderful thing Valerie is doing. She is dedicated her whole life to this cause. She left me a news book called Critter Care News and how interesting it is. She is also making up a book called The Cold Cats Story. I am really looking forward to reading it. Due to a lack of room I am not able to do the whole article its full justice. This whole thing has taught our younger generation the true value of human kinds to animals. Yes they have feelings too.
Many thanks to all these wonderful folks who have given us so much to make all the whole thing possible with time, energy and finances, you are great.
Bye Birdie
The farewell for Birdie Madigan in the paper last week said she is leaving the Southside after so many years of making this her home. We are going to miss you Birdie big time. I have known you for almost a lifetime and you were a special friend. I well remember the wonderful visits we used to have. I hope and pray everything works out well for you in your new home. Please keep in contact with me as you are one of my special friends.
Friends
On Friday last a number of the Pines residents came down to visit at the Tweedsmuir House. They visited as well as played a few games. A nice lunch was served. Gave the folks a nice break. There is an old saying a change is as good as a rest and it works too. I must not forget the staff who did such a nice job of decorating the dining room for Halloween. Not too far away. It looked real nice and the visitors really enjoyed it.
Our newspaper
Our local Lakes District News is full of news this week. Some good and some not so good. The not so good is the terrible loss of the cattle on the Southside. This is kind of scary for us all.
We are so proud of our pure lakes and then something like this comes a long. One good thing they are getting on top of it and maybe something can be done to see it doesn’t happen again. I for one have never heard of this poison happening in our lakes before. The first time for a long time the cattle price is way up there for a reasonable profit they get shot down and big time.
The loss of the cattle on the Southside rings a bell in my memory of what we went through in Saskatchewan in the mid 30s when the sleeping sickness hit the horses. This was a disaster and big time. It cleaned up the horse population. Some folks lost all their horses.
They came out with shots but it was too late for lots of the horses but at least it was brought under control. As it was harvest time lots of the farmers bit the bullet and bought a little Ford tractor and this was pie in the sky for the Ford dealers. This was a package deal you could get a two bottom plough, a mower and the tractor.
Our dad stayed with the horses as he was an old-time horseman and horses were his pride and joy. One of our neighbours lost five of his lovely matching grey’s. They had an old rugby truck and he had it hooked onto his binder cutting his grain crop. He was on the binder and his daughter was driving the truck and it all was going along and at least he was getting his crop off. The big horse teams were on the way out and the tractor had taken over. There were some big steam tractors in the district but they faded away with the horses as they were so inconvenient and top heavy.
We kept using horses for those last years in Saskatchewan. 1941 changed our lives as that was the year we packed up lock, stock and barrel. It was a hard move but in the end it was the best move ever for our family.
This was a big move for my brother Peter and I as we left those growing up years behind.
Both of us were very musical, got my first girlfriend, got my drivers license, learned to ride horse back, drive big teams of horses and got my schooling at both the Evesham school and some at the Cotswold school. Much more we left behind. We had reserved an extra large box car for all our stuff including our car, piano, furniture, five head of horses, two head of cows, all mothers spaniels as she was in the kennel business, chickens, geese and this is about as far as my memory goes back.
Over 70 years. Before I forget I will have to record our train trip and I will never forget as we had problem after problem. The main thing was the railway in Evesham was C.P. Rail and Burns Lake was C.N. Rail so it meant a transfer but we managed through it all. Water for the livestock was the main thing we had to fight for but it’s all past history.
What a pleasant visit I had this Sunday afternoon to have our very good friend Ina Lehmann from Aldergrove drop in for a visit also her son Gordon from Francois Lake with her. Ina has been a family friend for many years and we always enjoy her company.
We also had the Grassy Plains choir present us with a hymn sing. We always enjoy their visits. Although the choir is quite small they do a great job of singing all the old popular hymns that we never grow tired of.
Always remember God loves you a great deal and so do I.