Here we are, in sunny Airdrie, Alberta. Not a cloud in the sky, and for a change, not much wind. The past couple of days were terribly windy; in fact on Friday night there was severe wind damage in Edmonton. None that I know of down here, but it was scary.

We spent a good part of the week traveling again. On Tuesday, we went to Tisdale for the Parkland Photography Club meeting, then on Wednesday morning we left for Airdrie. Doreen and Sandy went to a three-day stamping convention or conference in Calgary, loaded with seminars and stuff.

We had good traveling weather; three drops of rain west of Kindersley and that was it. Fairly warm, but a cold wind. I came down with a dilly of a cold, so Doreen wound up doing a lot of the driving.

Sandy and Blaine bought a house in Airdrie and are having the basement finished. It was a pleasure watching all the tradesmen work – carpenters, plumbers, electricians, heating men, fireplace installers, and drywallers. Without exception they were very polite and pleasant men, and seemed to work well together. They also came when they said they would, so there was no sitting around waiting for someone who never did show up. They didn’t fold up their tents at five o’clock, either – one evening an electrician was working until after ten. It looks as if Sandy and Blaine are going to get a good job done, in jig time.

I mentioned in an earlier column that Blaine owned a 1931 Model A Ford; that’s even older than I am, believe it or not, but it’s in much better condition. Last winter we brought it from Edmonton to Beiseker on a trailer. Yesterday, we went back to Beiseker and I drove the car to Airdrie, about thirty miles. It ran like a dream, at about forty miles an hour. Strangely, though the wind was terribly gusty, it didn’t seem to affect the car very much. It was interesting trying to get the spark and gas set right for the speed I was going – all that stuff has been automatic for sixty years or more.

Engines of that vintage were made to run on leaded fuel, and we were warned that it wouldn’t last long on modern unleaded. Blaine had a supply of lead replacement, and it was necessary to add some of that to a tank of fuel.

Just on the edge of Airdrie were some shale rocks, eroded like hoodoos. I slipped through the fence to get some photos of them, and while in there found some crocuses (croci?). They must be about our first spring flower, and I have never seen them in the Greenwater area, though there are lots of them around Mozart. It was blowing like crazy, so I had to take a dozen pictures to get any that were any good.

Tomorrow, we are off home again; a nice holiday, but short.

Back to Greenwater:

Mel worked at the Park back in the sixties, and he and a buddy had a Volkswagen. As soon as their shift was over, they would have a shower, jump in their car, and go looking for girls. One time, though, when they jumped in the car, it wouldn’t go - the engine roared and the wheels spun, but no movement. It took awhile, but they finally found that the back axle was sitting on a pop case, and the wheel was about half an inch above the road! I don’t think they ever found out how the car got up on the pop case.