June 18, 2006:

Today started out overcast and windy, but warm. There was a little rain in the morning, but by early afternoon the clouds broke up and it became a very pleasant day.

That was a good thing, too, because there was a 50^th anniversary party for Helen and George Renneberg at their place and it was very pleasant sitting around outside, visiting. Happy Anniversary, Helen and George!

Actually, it’s been a pretty busy day. We went to the Cove for brunch and it was mighty good; plus, I got a mug for Fathers’ Day. Instead of lunch, I squeezed in a nap and then we went to Renneberg’s. Then I mowed the lawn, not that it needed it or anything, and finally Jenny came out and we went to the Beach Café for their Fathers’ Day smorg, which was great, and I got another mug. It never ceases to amaze me how lucky we are to have two high-quality eating places within a ten minute walk! Best of all, we got in some top drawer visiting time, the icing on any cake.

When we left here on May 30^th, there was a half-inch of rain in our gauge. When we got home again on June 12^th, there was four inches. The lake level, which had gone down almost a foot from its spring high, was right back up to its highest point. Not too often that we see it peak out twice in the same spring! The Red Deer River was running fast and high. Greenwater Creek was, too, though it has pretty well quit running into the Marina. At the Tackle Box, the permanent dock is again under water, and the riprap along the channel is completely hidden.

Owen Eaton asked his son-in–law, Ernie Wilson, about the transformer I mentioned last week, and the following is the reply he got:

It so happens that this particular transformer was moved onto a site at the Sheerness Power Plant near Hanna, Alberta.

Our crew dressed it, meaning they installed the Bushing Insulators, radiators & fans, etc. prior to energizing.

We will be dressing several more transformers like this for our customer, ATCO Electric.

The wheels on the trailer turn so they can make the corners. In fact they turn at ninety degrees so they can move the trailer straight sideways.

To unload, rather than bringing in a huge crane, they probably used a method called Jack & Roll, which speaks for itself: unloading by using Jacks and Blocking & Rollers.

Frank Duhaime told me the wheels are likely individually computer controlled, but don’t know if he realized they could be turned ninety degrees.

There was a Park retirement party for Frank and Judith last night; we were invited, but got back from our trip too late to get tickets. I hear it was a huge success, as it should have been - Frank was maintenance supervisor here for over thirty years.

The deer are a glorious color this time of year. There has been one hanging around our yard. I started the lawnmower the other day, looked around, and there was the young deer standing looking at me, not more than fifteen feet away. Not alarmed at all by the noise of the lawnmower. When I spoke to it, it just ambled away. On Wednesday, it was laying down beside one of our raised gardens. I opened the screen door, making lots of noise in the process, and took some pictures. It eventually got to its feet, stretched, nibbled some of the last remaining leaves off our apple tree, and wandered into the bush, browsing as it went. No fear. (Our apple tree finally succumbed to the deer! We planted a silver willow in its place. Let’s see them eat that!)

We went to Regina on Thursday. We followed Highway #35 going, but came back via #6 to Watson. #38 south of Perigord was, as usual, #38; #49 from Kelvington to the junction with #35 was not bad, as was #35 to Wadena. But from Wadena to Fort Qu’Appelle, with the exception of Bankend to Leross, there were an awful lot of potholes and bumps, which was why we came back via #6. It was good all the way from Regina to Watson, and #5 between Watson and Wadena was pretty good.

If you decide to brave #35, I recommend a little restaurant in Bankend, called A & A Confectionery. We just had bacon and eggs and a Denver, but they were beautifully done. Our server was fun, too. We were sitting on top of an old cellar trap door. I asked if she had a way of tripping it when customers were obnoxious, and she said, “There are dozens of them down there!”