January 13, 2008:

Another gray day, but quite warm and no wind. Not that it matters – we stayed in the house all day.

I have heard many people complain about Saskatoon ’s terrible drivers, but have seen little sign of it. In fact, when walking over an uncontrolled intersection, it is normal to have an approaching car stop and wave me across. Occasionally, people will forget to signal a turn, but I forget sometimes too. In general, drivers are co-operative and courteous. I suspect complaining about the drivers in one’s own city is the “thing to do”.

We haven’t found the city cold and impersonal, either. While we haven’t met any of our neighbors, there are very few people you meet who don’t respond to a smile or a greeting.

No birds! I can only remember seeing one since we moved in here, and it was a long way away, behind the Dairy Queen. It was a good size, so must have been either a raven or a magpie. Les McPherson said the ubiquitous house sparrow seems to have been displaced by house finches. We haven’t seen any but the way he describes them, they sound a lot like the purple finches we used to see in the spring and summer at Greenwater. I’m not sure if there are any hard and fast condo rules about feeding birds, but suspect it might be frowned on. Not everyone wants those white and purple patches on their patios.

There hasn’t been much sunshine lately, but we can’t blame that on Saskatoon – I suspect it has been pretty gray at Greenwater, too. We have taken to sitting under a “Day-Light” for a few minutes each day, hoping to keep the winter blues away.

Our Wednesday coffee group has moved from the Coachman at Market Mall to the recently-opened Mulberry’s. There we have a round table reserved for us, in a raised room with acoustic ceiling. I was amazed at how well I could hear the various conversations around the table. There was a table full of women right beside us, and their chattering didn’t bother us a bit. At Greenwater, we used to banish the women to a distant table or, better yet, to another room, so the men could conduct their serious debates and discussions in peace. (Boy, am I going to hear about that!) The coffee and the service at Mulberry’s were superb, too. We had lunch there on Wednedsday, and the place was packed; it made a reputation for itself after only being open for three days.

Karl Haldorson joined us, as well as Jack Metcalf, who used to be a conservation officer at Wadena in the fifties. A few of the guys seemed to remember meeting Jack during that time. Karl says he was out fishing on Fishing Lake ; he had a pail full of fish, but when he saw Jack approaching remembered that he hadn’t gotten around to buying a license. He dropped his rod and reel overboard but didn’t have time to dump the fish.

Jack: “How many fish have you got there?”

Karl: “I’m afraid I’m a bit over the limit.”

Jack: “Let’s see your license.”

Karl: “I haven’t got one.”

Jack: “I’ll have to confiscate your equipment, then. Hand over your rod and reel.”

Karl: “I haven’t got one.”

Jack: “How did you catch all those fish, then?”

Karl: “I just whistle, and when the fish swim up to the boat, I scoop them into the pail.”

Jack: “I don’t believe you!”

Karl: “Here, I’ll prove it to you. I’ll just dump out these fish and whistle, and in no time the pail will be full again.”  He dumps out the fish, leans back, and whistles. Nothing happens. He does it again, and again nothing happens.

Jack: “Well, where are all the fish?”

Karl: “What fish?”

Here’s a fish story I can supply proof for. Ty Andreychuk was fishing at the north end of Greenwater Lake on January 5 and caught the jackfish of a lifetime – 43 inches long with a 21.75 inch girth, weighing 23½ pounds! He sent me the attached photo, at the insistence of the guys at coffee row, so here’s the proof. (Not that any proof is needed – nobody would ever doubt Ty’s claim – but what a picture!) Congratulations, Ty! I think that is the biggest fish I have heard of out of Greenwater. Do you know if it is a record?