June 20^th, 2004:

We just got back from Saskatoon, where we attended a grad party for our granddaughter, Laura. It was a blast! Lots of visiting with Laura’s aunts and uncles and cousins from Dafoe, and with friends from Humboldt. Drank a little, ate a lot, and had a ball watching the little Blyth kids playing in the fountain, and waiting for them to fall in (they never did!). About eleven, we left to go to our hotel room, and a block party just two doors down started setting off some fireworks. We stood out in the middle of the road and watched for about fifteen minutes. What a way to end the evening!

We ran into a lot of rain squalls on the way home; some of the white streaks in the sky looked as if someone might be getting hail, but we didn’t encounter any. There might be a tenth in the gauge at home.

Snow! On Thursday morning, the radio talked about snow being reported in Hudson Bay, then about 8:30, it snowed here for awhile. It melted as soon as it touched the ground, of course, and the temperature didn’t get below +2°, but it was still snow! We had a couple of nights when the temperature got pretty low, but Friday the sun came out and the temperature came up. Happiness is not having to wear a jacket and boots to go outside!

Most of the deer now have their lovely warm brown color, almost red. There seem to be lots of them around. Our grandson, Aaron, went to Yorkton last Saturday and actually saw a fawn being born. It was in an open area only about a hundred yards from the highway. Quite a thrill!

Frank Duhaime reported seeing deer, elk, moose and bear on one drive through the Park.

It looks like the saskatoons have set well, so should be a good crop. Can’t tell yet about the other berries.

I watched about twenty minutes of the Leaders’ Debate on Tuesday; didn’t get a single answer and got sick of trying to pick anything out of two or three voices talking at once. What a farce! I would have got more out of the Monday debate, in French.

We are constantly being exhorted to vote as we please, but vote! As if it is a moral lapse not to exercise one’s franchise. I can’t see the point in people who have no interest, no knowledge of the issues, or of the parties or candidates, voting just because they feel they should. Just as bad is voting a certain way for no other reason than that their parents voted that way before them. What a cop-out! If you don’t have a well-thought-out opinion, stay home!

The creek is running! They (the R.M., I think) blew some beaver dams south and east of the Park; with the rain that should keep the creek running for a couple of weeks. Merv saw some suckers swimming upstream; I understand the Park has tried to fence them off, but Frank didn’t think it would be too successful. The problem with them going up the creek now is that they are likely to get trapped there.