Friday was a day made in Heaven. Saturday started out cool, but warmed up in the afternoon. Today started out cool, windy and gray, with only odd glimpses of the sun. What a long, dreary, cold spring! Just enough nice days to remind us what we are missing! I went for a walk down to the Marina in the afternoon, and the north-west wind was savage! I was wishing I had worn gloves!

We went to Saskatoon Friday, for no reason other than that we hadn’t been there for awhile. We saw quite a few seeding rigs at work but I still wouldn’t call it general. We didn’t see any after dark last night. I think it has been too cold - those poor little seeds would just lay in the dark ground and shiver!

We saw some lightning on our way home last night. About half an hour after midnight, the wind came up, then started switching around from one direction to another. I could hear rain, and this morning there was a tenth of an inch in the gauge. I think most of it was from a shower we had late in the week, though.

At least there are some leaves starting to develop. Not much activity in the garden and flower beds except for some pretty little pushkinia that have been braving the weather for a week or more.

Among other changes in the Park is Alex Dunlop’s retirement. He tells me he is finished on June 23^rd. Alex has been here at least fourteen years as Park Superintendent (though the job had other titles) and he put in a stint here in the early seventies as Maintenance Supervisor. He must like it here, because he and Brenda built a new house on the hill up near the cell tower. So far, no word on who will replace him. We wish you a long and happy retirement, Alex!

Last Monday, we could just see a strip of ice between the two points; a very strong wind came up from the north-west and blew it into the south-east corner, and broke it up into slush. By evening it was gone. After coffee we drove out north-east on the highway and could see quite a bit of ice in the south-east corner but that same north-west wind would demolish it, too. Frank said there was some ice on Wednesday, but none Thursday, so I think we can safely say the ice went out on May 5^th.

Vivian Broberg sent me a neat e-mail - it was a series of pictures taken by a woman in California, of a hummingbird from the time she started building her nest until her lone chick flew at the age of 24 days. The whole series started May 13^th and ended June 27^th. Good quality pictures, too! If you have the Internet, ask Vivian to send it to you.

In Saskatoon yesterday, we went to a tea and bake sale at Doreen’s sister’s apartment building. There were raffles, of course, and Doreen bought some tickets. Since we were almost the only ones still there when the draws were made, Doreen and I did the drawing and guess what? Doreen won a very nice set of dishes! She thought they looked familiar, and then Lucille confessed that she had donated them. She had bought them at a yard sale at our place a couple of years ago! I laughed all the way out to the car.

We went to McNally Robinson on Saturday and met Martha Morgan, who writes the column “Notes from Over The Hill” for the Melfort Journal and the Sun. She was at a table signing and selling her book, which is a collection of her columns. We had a very pleasant chat and I bought a book. Her columns are very literate and readable and I’m sure the book will be the same.