July 8, 2007:

It was cooler today compared to the past few days and mostly sunny and breezy. Just right for mowing the lawn. Showers and little thunderstorms are almost daily events but there is less than an eighth of an inch in the gauge since last weekend. Last evening we were sitting in the office when there was a crash that sounded as if a shelf full of sealers had hit the floor in the basement. It took us awhile to realize it was a clap of thunder!

We weren’t here on Canada Day, but when we left we could see the beach lined with cars – looked like a good, old-fashioned summer day. Of course, Sunday was a good, old-fashioned summer day – sunny, calm, good and warm without being a scorcher. I’m told the Beach Café served well over three hundred breakfasts! It’s a good thing Gary got that deck finished, because it must add considerably to their seating capacity.

The park crew rounded up the geese the Wednesday before Canada Day, and hauled them off to Pei Wei Lake . There were about a dozen that eluded them, though, and they still hang around, wild as can be. Better a dozen that six dozen! Gary says they will be in the beach area early in the morning, then disappear for the rest of the day when the first people show up.

Another little change is the completion of the asphalt path from the Beach Café to the beach, also finished just before Canada Day. The old path had deteriorated to just being a dark streak on the lawn.

The volleyball net on the beach is normally high and dry. I have heard it said that when the water touches the north post, water will be flowing over the dam, but this year the post is well into the water. It must make for an interesting game of volleyball, played on both dry sand and shin-deep water!

We were surprised to see there is no beach at all at Marean Lake , because the water level is so high. Launching boats is a bit of a problem. Rumor has it that a beaver dam between the two lakes was breached, lowering Marean Lake by six inches or so, but it wasn’t enough. Logic tells me that a good, wide channel between the two lakes would solve Marean’s level problems, as when the water is high at Greenwater, it is even higher at Marean; when it is low at Greenwater, it is lower at Marean. Greenwater is controlled to a degree and that control would benefit Marean. Besides, it would allow boaters to enjoy the attractions of both lakes, and fishermen from Marean could enjoy fishing the crystal clear waters of Greenwater Lake .

We went to Saskatoon Thursday and Friday. Here we live in Paradise, in our cool, shaded lot right on the lake, and we go to Saskatoon on the hottest day of the summer! We must be nuts. However, we do have some family obligations. Our trip was uneventful; Doreen came home empty handed and I came home with an empty wallet. We did have fun though, and ate very well!

We stopped in Watson for supper. Our waitress said we couldn’t have got in Thursday evening - the place was jam-packed – yet Friday there was almost no one but us. She thought it was because everyone was off to the lake for the weekend.

Lana Woulfe called yesterday, to say that they are putting on a Pancake Breakfast and Silent Auction at Marean Lake next Sunday, July 15. She was soliciting items for the Silent Auction. I didn’t ask, but assume money raised will go to Cystic Fibrosis. They will have a tent pitched somewhere near the golf clubhouse for the purpose. If you have something you would like to donate, give Lana a call at 278-2651, or contact June Woulfe at the Greenwater Park Office 278-3515.

The annual Cabin Owners’ Ass’n. meeting was held today and there was a good crowd for a change. Main topic was roads and streets within the Park. They were supposed to be re-paved last fall, but of course the rain got in the way. The Highways crew should be at it in August but if they get a chance to start earlier they will, despite the summer tourism traffic. Everyone left before elections could be held, so Judy, Lynda and Bill are likely stuck for another year. They do a fantastic job, and nobody wants to let them quit!