And the rains came! There was an inch in the gauge this morning and still raining steadily; that included a bit from some Friday showers. By the middle of the afternoon there was another full inch.

I checked back to the first of May, and the only rain I recorded was six tenths in May, and one tenth in June. There could have been a bit more than that; our gauge is too close to the house and if there’s a south wind with the rain, it blows past the gauge. I doubt if it would amount to another tenth, though.

The Nobleville School Reunion was this weekend. On Saturday, they had registration in the morning, sold raffle tickets and souvenirs, and did some serious visiting. The Archerwill Figure Skating Club sold hamburgers and coffee at lunch time. There were some egg-and-spoon races, which looked like a lot of fun ¾ that Ted Krzak gallops around like a teenager!

Everyone moved to the Archerwill Community Hall late in the afternoon for a happy hour, supper (which was delicious, and Oh! Those desserts!), and more visiting. The Marquette girls sang several numbers, as did Amy Shuya, one of them a duet with her mother, Margaret.

I took lots of pictures, and am going to put them on my website (www.greenwaterreport.com) for all to see. The frame number will be on the bottom right corner (in most cases) so anyone can order copies.

In our recent perambulations, we drove into a lot of small villages and hamlets, just to look around. Most of them looked fine, with neat, well-kept houses. Some of the falling-down business places are a bit depressing, as are the empty school buildings (likely closed through a political decision rather than an economic one) ¾ the waste! Instead of giving businesses big bonuses to locate in Saskatoon and Regina, we should encourage them to make use of idle facilities in these small centers. Housing is cheap, the infrastructure is there, and the quality of life is great.

The people who live in these small centers take a lot of pride in their surroundings; houses and yards are kept neat and clean, usually with lots of flowers. Many centers have a point of interest that is worth a closer look, whether it is a campground, town sign, or town symbol ¾ Porcupine has Quilly Willy; Kelvington its “Hockey Factory” sign; Rama its Grotto, and Canora its Ukrainian maiden.

Buchanan has a lovely sign along the highway, in front of what looks like a pleasant camping or picnicking spot; Okla has  a big sign, giving a capsule history of the area, made with characters burnt into the wood. Prairie River, with a very small population, has an excellent museum in the old CNR station. There seems to be something that makes it worthwhile to drive in and check them out. As a result, we spent five days week before last, without getting a hundred miles from home, and we had a ball!

A week ago yesterday, the new Tackle Box had an official opening, and we missed it! Likely just not paying attention when we looked at bulletin boards. Joyce tells me they had about 300 people out for it, so it was certainly successful. I notice they have some new paddle boats for rent; also a trampoline.

We have been picking saskatoons for a week now; not a lot, but we can always find a few ripe ones. I suspect we can start picking in earnest anytime now. I thought it was early, but checking back to last year we had started picking about July 7^th; the year before, it was July 15^th.

Don Beaucamp, who has a cottage in Uskatik, stopped around last Wednesday. He said a neighbor, ninety-six year old Margaret Swain, caught a fifteen-pound jack recently. I’ll bet it was a thrill at any age!

Chris Weiss also called; he caught a thirteen-pounder, and his daughter caught a six-pounder. Looks like fishing is back in the respectable range again. Chris said that when he got back to the Tackle Box, the fish was only eleven pounds; someone there told him it is usual for a fish to lose weight after being caught, even when hung on a stringer in the water.