Greenwater report for May 29, 2000

Greenwater Report for May 29, 2000

Greenwater Provincial Park - May 22, 2000 - By: Gerald Crawford

three quarters of an inch
May 28th, 2000: A bit cool lately, lots of wind, particularly today, and spotty showers. We got more than a shower early Saturday morning three quarters of an inch from about 4am to 8am, and I think it was pretty general. We were in Saskatoon Friday; it started raining there about suppertime and continued until we got to Bjorkdale, then the roads were dry. People I talk to say they got six tenths, or eight tenths, and all seem happy about it. It was a gentle rain, no gully washer. With seeding
just about completed, it was welcome.

fierce storm around Carragana
We went to Humboldt today to attend a party for our granddaughter Sara, who graduates this year. We left here about one pm, and the sky to the north was black and threatening. The farther south we went, the lighter the clouds were, but we hear rumours of a fierce storm around Carragana.
Will find out more about it at coffee tomorrow.

Nathan and BJ caught a five pounder and a seven pounder
Jim & Laurie Duerksen and boys from Rosetown were visiting Irma on the long weekend. All are avid fishermen. I saw them at coffee Monday morning and learned they had already had a very successful fishing day. Nathan and BJ caught a five pounder and a seven pounder, and Jim and Steven caught smaller ones but lots of them. I took a picture of Nathan and BJ and their fish, and posted it to my web page.

caught a
beaver
Actually, the way Jim said it when we met, was: "We caught a seven pounder, a five pounder, a beaver and a bunch of smaller ones." That "beaver" just about slipped by me, but I caught it and queried him further. Steven actually caught a beaver, or at least it got tangled in his line for awhile. They had quite a struggle trying to land the thing, but it untangled itself and escaped. Didn‚t even get caught on the hook I think it is just as well it got away - beavers are awfully hard to
fillet.

9.75 pounder
There is another photo at the Cove, of a 9.75 pounder caught last weekend by Brad Bergen, from Drake. Also rumours of a seventeen pounder, but no evidence.

Party Place
Marean Lake
John Woulfe told me he heard that Marean Lake had been designated as the Party Place last weekend. You may recall what happened at Wakaw Lake a few years ago when it was chosen for that honor. This time, they were ready, and the police were present in force. Despite some 200 kids
descending on the place with all the alcohol they could carry, there were no problems. John, speaking on behalf of all the cottage owners at Marean Lake, asked me to express their appreciation for the excellent job done by the members of the RCMP in keeping things under control. And
thanks from the rest of us too!

twenty full-service
RV sites
John tells me they have expanded their resort at Marean Lake with the addition of twenty full-service RV sites. If I understand him right, they will be just off the main road in, close to the golf club house. Nice location close to the boat dock, golf course and swimming beach. I believe they are the only fully serviced lots there. They should be open in late June. All they need now is some gravel.

Frank Roy on the Athabaska Sand Dunes
We went to Preeceville Wednesday night. The Kelsey Ecological Society sponsored a presentation by Frank Roy on the Athabaska Sand Dunes, and are we ever glad we went! Frank made a trip there last July with seven other hardy souls; they spent eight days there, setting up a base camp and making daily walking trips from there. Besides being a learned naturalist, he is an excellent photographer, and kept us spellbound. The Dunes are now a wilderness park; you carry everything in and carry every bit of it out again, taking, as they say, nothing but photos and leaving nothing but footprints. Frank said it would be cheaper to fly to London, England, than to the Dunes. They flew from Saskatoon to Stony Rapids, then another flight to Uranium City. Then they chartered boats to take them the 40-odd miles across Lake Athabaska to the dunes, and they spent the next eight days on their own, completely out of touch with the world. Thanks to Don Johnston for telling us about it!

109 species
Earlier that day, Frank had gone out birding with Don and Shirley Johnston of Lintlaw. They brought a list of 109 species identified either by sight or by sound. Impressive!

four little
fluff balls
Last Wednesday, I noticed two geese standing in the grass beside our dugout. Next day, they were there again, and I thought I could see something else moving near them I got the binoculars, and there were four little fluff balls, barely out of the shell. I don‚t know where they came from; they certainly weren't hatched out near our dugout, or I would have seen the adults sooner. There is a slough just a hundred yards south of our dugout, but other than that they had to have walked
the little goslings close to an eighth of a mile, from Casey's dugout.

Gerald B. Crawford
Box 100, Chelan, SK S0E 0N0 (306) 278-3423
Check out my Webpage: http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/crawg

Greenwater Report for May 29, 2000
Greenwater Provincial Park - May 22, 2000 - By: Gerald Crawford

three quarters of an inch	May 28th, 2000: A bit cool lately, lots of wind, particularly today, and spotty showers. We got more than a shower early Saturday morning three quarters of an inch from about 4am to 8am, and I think it was pretty general. We were in Saskatoon Friday; it started raining there about suppertime and continued until we got to Bjorkdale, then the roads were dry. People I talk to say they got six tenths, or eight tenths, and all seem happy about it. It was a gentle rain, no gully washer. With seeding just about completed, it was welcome.

fierce storm around Carragana	We went to Humboldt today to attend a party for our granddaughter Sara, who graduates this year. We left here about one pm, and the sky to the north was black and threatening. The farther south we went, the lighter the clouds were, but we hear rumours of a fierce storm around Carragana. Will find out more about it at coffee tomorrow.

Nathan and BJ caught a five pounder and a seven pounder	Jim & Laurie Duerksen and boys from Rosetown were visiting Irma on the long weekend. All are avid fishermen. I saw them at coffee Monday morning and learned they had already had a very successful fishing day. Nathan and BJ caught a five pounder and a seven pounder, and Jim and Steven caught smaller ones but lots of them. I took a picture of Nathan and BJ and their fish, and posted it to my web page.

caught a beaver	Actually, the way Jim said it when we met, was: "We caught a seven pounder, a five pounder, a beaver and a bunch of smaller ones." That "beaver" just about slipped by me, but I caught it and queried him further. Steven actually caught a beaver, or at least it got tangled in his line for awhile. They had quite a struggle trying to land the thing, but it untangled itself and escaped. Didn‚t even get caught on the hook I think it is just as well it got away - beavers are awfully hard to fillet.

9.75 pounder	There is another photo at the Cove, of a 9.75 pounder caught last weekend by Brad Bergen, from Drake. Also rumours of a seventeen pounder, but no evidence.

Party Place Marean Lake	John Woulfe told me he heard that Marean Lake had been designated as the Party Place last weekend. You may recall what happened at Wakaw Lake a few years ago when it was chosen for that honor. This time, they were ready, and the police were present in force. Despite some 200 kids descending on the place with all the alcohol they could carry, there were no problems. John, speaking on behalf of all the cottage owners at Marean Lake, asked me to express their appreciation for the excellent job done by the members of the RCMP in keeping things under control. And thanks from the rest of us too!

twenty full-service RV sites	John tells me they have expanded their resort at Marean Lake with the addition of twenty full-service RV sites. If I understand him right, they will be just off the main road in, close to the golf club house. Nice location close to the boat dock, golf course and swimming beach. I believe they are the only fully serviced lots there. They should be open in late June. All they need now is some gravel.

Frank Roy on the Athabaska Sand Dunes	We went to Preeceville Wednesday night. The Kelsey Ecological Society sponsored a presentation by Frank Roy on the Athabaska Sand Dunes, and are we ever glad we went! Frank made a trip there last July with seven other hardy souls; they spent eight days there, setting up a base camp and making daily walking trips from there. Besides being a learned naturalist, he is an excellent photographer, and kept us spellbound. The Dunes are now a wilderness park; you carry everything in and carry every bit of it out again, taking, as they say, nothing but photos and leaving nothing but footprints. Frank said it would be cheaper to fly to London, England, than to the Dunes. They flew from Saskatoon to Stony Rapids, then another flight to Uranium City. Then they chartered boats to take them the 40-odd miles across Lake Athabaska to the dunes, and they spent the next eight days on their own, completely out of touch with the world. Thanks to Don Johnston for telling us about it!

109 species	Earlier that day, Frank had gone out birding with Don and Shirley Johnston of Lintlaw. They brought a list of 109 species identified either by sight or by sound. Impressive!

four little fluff balls	Last Wednesday, I noticed two geese standing in the grass beside our dugout. Next day, they were there again, and I thought I could see something else moving near them I got the binoculars, and there were four little fluff balls, barely out of the shell. I don‚t know where they came from; they certainly weren't hatched out near our dugout, or I would have seen the adults sooner. There is a slough just a hundred yards south of our dugout, but other than that they had to have walked the little goslings close to an eighth of a mile, from Casey's dugout.

	Gerald B. Crawford Box 100, Chelan, SK S0E 0N0 (306) 278-3423 Check out my Webpage: http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/crawg