January 12^th, 2003:

Crisp, cold, clear, and calm. The temperature was –29° when we got up, but not a breath of wind and a bright sun.

 We walked over to the Cove for coffee; there were ten or twelve snowmobiles there and when they left another eight or ten pulled up to the gas pumps. Lots of tables were full of people for the Sunday morning smorg, so the cold weather hasn’t deterred them.

While in Saskatoon on Wednesday, we went to Tony Tomas’ for supper. We were pleasantly surprised to be greeted, and served, by Tennille Sonstelie, who is attending University. Tennille worked at the Beach Café for the past several summers and was very popular with the customers. What a lovely visit!

Vic Ceslak and Albert Beaumont were at the Cove; they had been out getting the trails ready for the annual Perigord Snowmobile Derby, coming up on February 8^th. Their trails run from Perigord west and north to Marean Lake, then over to Greenwater where they connect to the Kelvington trails, south to the east side of Little Nut Lake and back to Perigord. The Perigord Derby is always popular, and they put on a great supper and dance afterwards.

It was very windy on Wednesday, and though the temperature was above zero, it felt colder. The temperature dropped a bit on Thursday, but Friday and Saturday went right down to below –30°. It didn’t faze the snowmobilers, though - there were lots of them around for the weekend. With modern outdoor clothing the only problem with severe cold is the mindset. It always seems: if it is cold when the first snow comes, the snowmobilers don’t get going until it warms up. Once they get started, though, cold weather doesn’t hold them back at all.

I hear rumblings about snowmobiles entering fields where crops are still in swath. Many of them are signed, but it shouldn’t be necessary - it isn’t hard to tell if a crop has been combined. Snowmobilers enjoy a lot of freedom, which they will lose if they don’t police themselves. Education is better than legislation - up to a point!

Mel Tkachuk does a lot of fishing. He told me last week that the ice is only about a foot thick which would indicate to me that with the snow and mild temperatures it is actually getting thinner. This cold snap should thicken it up again. I haven’t seen any half-tons on the ice recently, and hope they stay off until it is a good deal thicker. Mel also said pickerel fishing is pretty decent. Maybe it’s picking up after a long dry spell.