What a Blast!

     We had a very serious introduction to winter here this weekend. Light snow started falling about 10:00 AM Sat.  By 3:00 PM heavy wet snow was falling. We came home around 4 and shoveled before we went in the house. We shoveled again about 6:30 PM. I should have shoveled about 8 or 9. It snowed very heavily all night. Sun morning I started shoveling the wet snow. It was brutal. A neighbor across the street rescued me when he brought his snow blower over and  finished the job for me.

    We got about 30 cm (12 in.) of snow. For us that us a major snow fall. Most of our snowfalls are an inch or two.

    So we are ready for a white Christmas!

The tree is the same. The photo on the bottom was taken at night and the one on the top in the day.

Lilac at night full of snow.

My little birch with street light glare behind it.

There's a mugo pine under there!

Snow sculpture on the side of a car.

A heavily loaded bird feeder.

A huge spruce branch across the alley

    So this storm was a real blast! Usually I send my snow to Minnesota to Far Side of Fifty. This time it's not going to Minnesota as it seems to die out around the Alberta/Saskatchewan border.

     Oh, I didn't learn anything about taking pictures of snow at the night. I did get some snowflakes!

Book Review: To See Every Bird on Earth

      Sometimes you read a book That really gets your attention. Recently I read "To See Every Bird on Earth" by Dan Koeppel. This is a biography of Dan's dad, Richard, and it's told in an interesting way. 

     Dan's father first became interested in birds when he was twelve. For the rest of his life  revolved around birds.

     Dan's father, Richard had a difficult family situation. His parents wanted him to become a doctor from the time he was born. Richard was torn between pleasing his parents and wanting to do something else in his life. Over time he completed a medical degree. 

    Richard was a youth during the 50's and 60's and participated in the hippie culture. Richard married and had two children but the relationship was a failure and was a failure after the separation as well. 

    As a result of great unhappiness Richard turned to birds. In fact he became obsessed with birds. Richard was a lister. This means that all he wanted to do is make a list of birds. His goal was to see all the birds on earth.

    Dan Koeppel takes us through the world of bird listers as he tells us about his father. He compares his father to other listers and explains why his father was a successful lister. Richard saw and listed over 7000 birds. 

    Dan Koeppel spares no details as he describes the completely chaotic family relationship. It was a challenge for all of them. His father Richard gradually followed his bird listing hobby until it was a full time obsession.

    So I found this biography interesting as it covered my interest in birds , explained the world of bird listers and told about the challenges in life one individual faced.

    I enjoyed the book . If you like birds or stories that are told , warts and all, this is the book for you.

    Simon Winchester has a quote on the front cover. I've read 7 of Winchester's books so if Simon Winchester liked this one I thought it was a good recommendation.

What a Rotten Day!

     Ordinarily I'm a fairly low key , laid back kind of guy. My glass is always half full. It takes a lot to happen before I complain.

     Today was a day that just went a little too far. The day was a failure!  I now have some problems  to solve later on.

      This afternoon was nice , but the forecast for tomorrow is terrible. We're supposed to get lots of snow. So I really wanted to get these jobs done. Needless to say I was under a little bit of pressure. I did have the time to do what I wanted.

    Most people here try to mow their lawn one last time as late in the season as possible. The main purpose for this mowing is to pick up the few leaves that are left and they are mulched by the mower. You also let the engine run out of gas so that no gas is left in the tank over the winter. .I had some fine days last week when this job could have been done but I was busy. I got my lawn mower out before noon and put it in the sun so it would warm up. When I came out to start it after lunch  I gave a few pulls on the starter cord and all of a sudden the cord did not rewind. End of story. I can't get my mower to go. No emptying of the gas tank this year. Put the mower away and I'll fix this in the spring.

    The next job was to test the antifreeze in the vehicles to see if it is the proper strength. You have to take the radiator caps off, run the engine and warm it up. I tested the first car and went to shut the motor off. When I came back the radiator had made a great burp and about 1.5 liters of antifreeze had spilled out of the radiator. Okay now wipe everything off. Try and wipe as much antifreeze up . Then get the garden hoses and wash off the area. Oh, did I say that I'd put the hoses away for the winter! Or did I say that I'd turned off my outside water outlet. So what a mess and a lot of work for what should have been a simple task. 

   So by this time most of the afternoon is gone. I am just about out of control. I hadn't had time for coffee.

   So to write this post is good therapy for me to get back my sense of  reason.

" Good bye to you my trusted friend..."

       In 1976 we bought a small, completely forested recreational property at a lake. The plan was to build a small seasonal residence(cabin) and that this would be our refuge from a city.

      We were shocked one time when a cow bawled and my son said , "I think I heard a bear." We knew it was time to get out of town for part of the year.

      We made a start on the dream but the main part of the dream never happened. As a young family we spent a lot of time at the property. It was quiet. There was a beach and sand that kids love to play in. Canoeing was easy and safe. Although the kids were very young they had free range in the area. There were very few people in the development at that time and those who were there  were good neighbors. We had the run of nearby land which was mainly forest. Much time was spent wondering through the bush. There were many berries we could pick on the neighboring property.

      We built a small garage which was going to be used while the cabin was being built. We put in a propane stove and fridge. This served as a kitchen living room. It was comfy. A small trailer served as a bedroom. 

     The kids left and less time was spent at the lake. Then it got down to just going out to do maintenance and cut grass. Finally, I decided that it was time to part with the property.

     So the property is in the process of being sold. It's time to say good bye to a good old friend.. 

Front of lot lined with spruce trees that I wish I'd never planted

Walking path to the lake which you can see at the end of the trail.

The lil' old garage.

The trusty old propane stove.

Fun times in the old canoe.

Good bye

Curried Carrot Soup for Lunch

      Today I had to be in the house so I made a big pot of curried carrot soup! Remember I told you I had a big surprise when I went north and had to cook for myself. I like cooking and now with the Internet you just find a recipe that looks good and away you go.

My wonderful soup

     Ordinarily , I'm outside most of the day. The weather man kept me in the house today.

We received this snow Sun. Oct. 27

Some landscape trees do not harden off like this willow so it still has colorful leaves.

This particular willow sprawls over a large area.

I hope this year that the willow loses most of its leaves before I put my ski trail out in the park

The deer visited this park last night.

   so now you see why I stayed in and made soup!

Haywire

      The other day when I was wandering through the woods and  weeds to get the Outlet school pictures I found an interesting fence post if fence posts are ever interesting.

      The post was the end of the fence. I don't know why so much wire was tied around the last post . Why  are there so many differ ages of wire? Why are different kinds of wire used? Who did this?  Was it done over a number of years. Did different people add to this collection.?

    It's an interesting piece of work.

Prairie Country Schools

       I have driven by this site for may years. Five years ago this sign was erected so I knew what was formerly at this location...a country school.

       Alberta and Saskatchewan were settled in the late 1890' and early 1900's. Since families came to settle the land schools were needed . A system of country schools was set up. Each country school was set up to serve an area that was convenient for children to travel to the institution. The schools were numbered and run by a local school board. They collected taxes and hired teachers. The school yard was a standard two acres. A number of plans were available for school boards to choose from.

     These little buildings were notoriously cold.  They were poorly built and had no insulation. They were heated with a large coal and wood stove. The fire went out over night and had to be relit every morning. It would take until noon until the building warmed up.
   
      This site is completely overgrown with trees. As you see from the sign it was Outlet school which was built in 1902 and closed in 1949. So it's been closed for 64 years. The school number was 599 which means that it was the 599th school built in Alberta.

      So if there were any grade ones in this school in 1949 , they would now be 70. The memory of these schools and school districts is fast coming to an end.

     When I think of these country schools I cannot help but wonder about the people who attended. For 47 years an assortment of students gathered at this site and received some education. Boys, girls, big, small, all kinds of people went through the program. There were many teachers who worked in this school. Who were they. The district was supported by a dozen or more families and it became their community center. There were other uses for these schools. Church services were conducted in many of them. Community meetings , dances and socials were organized in these little buildings.


     So I finally stopped the other day at the Outlet school site. I walked in and in the center there was  clearing where the school stood. Other than that nature had reclaimed the site. A picture of the school shows no trees around it.

 

This is the outer view of the site.

This weedy clearing looks like where the school sat.

       I attended a country school from gr. one to nine. My first year of teaching was in a country school. 

       A few years ago it was decided to mark the location of all the country schools. A marker was set up where my school was located. The memory of these schools may fade but the locations will still be noted.

This is where I went to school. The school site is behind the sign and it is now a grain field.

Ten former students. Two of them are my brothers and they attended the last year the school was open. One brother 5 th from the left and second brother 8 th from the left.

Two former teachers unveiled the sign.

A 1947 photo of school students in front of Hiawatha School. My Dad's shadow is on the right as he took the picture. I am first left in the middle row.

 I used this photo the other day but, today I want you to notice the large stove in the corner.

      So now you can put two and two together and see where the name of my blog came from.