February 9^th, 2003:

It turned cold again yesterday morning, after a week of more moderate temperatures. With the cold came a stiff north wind making walking a challenge. On Friday, we had an old-fashioned blizzard for two or three hours; not much snow but it moved around a lot. We must have had a good two inches during the week, all of which is welcome.

I talked to Albert and Lorraine Beaumont this morning; they tell me the Perigord “Thrill of the Hills” snowmobile derby went very well. They had a few less sleds entered than last year, but still well over two hundred.

Next weekend there are derbies or rallies at both Weekes and Archerwill.

Another event that’s not too far away is the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Banquet and Fundraiser. It is going to be earlier than usual, March 1^st instead of mid-April. Some merchandise is already showing up at the Cove.

Here is an interesting e-mail I received last week:

“Hope Wegner b(Hayunga) sent me the no of web for The Greenwater Report and I thought I would like to contact you.

“Fernie Duplessis (guitar), his sister Bertha (violin) and I ( accordion) played for dances at the Greenwater Lake Pavilion about 53 years ago. His other sister Florence was our vocalist for a few times one summer. We got together a few times recently (within the Last 2 years) and reminded each other of some of the interesting things that went on.

 “The last time was in October/ 02 at our place and Royden Morice was also here .We played some music, some of which were probably the same songs we played at Greenwater. It was quite nostalgic. Royden has a lot of history about Greenwater. He used to look after the boats before it became a Provincial Park. He was best known for his Banjo playing when he was in Sask. and his ability is still great on both Banjo and Sax. Fernie D. still plays great Guitar and I still join in on my Accordion.

“ Regards, 

Elson Hanson”

If anyone would like to respond to, or add to the above, get in touch with me. I have Elson’s e-mail address. In all the historical stuff I have there are lots of pictures, but this is the first time music has been mentioned, though everyone speaks of the Greenwater dances. I believe they were held most weekends in the summer.

Something new has been added at Fisherman’s Cove – a handicap parking slot, right beside the ramp that leads up onto the deck. It has a big sign, but I’m told the other day someone with a wheelchair had to park out in the middle of the lot because the handicap spot was occupied.

The Scoot didn’t work on the dog marks - the dogs showed their disdain by peeing right in the middle of the Scoot. Now the snowbanks are brown and yellow. Gwyn Hirtle had a remedy that called for onions and garlic mixed in the blender, diluted with water, then some of the hottest pepper sauce available. Sounds as if it should work, if it doesn’t drive us away too.

If all else fails, I can station Doreen out there with her broom - one time, she went after a raccoon that was in a tree, getting at our bird feeders. She beat it all the way down to the ground and it didn’t come back at all, that year.