It’s Monday morning and the sun is out but still cool.
Father’s Day is past but it was a great day. Lots of phone calls and visiting and all in all a day well to be remembered.
Fathers are pretty important same as mothers. If it wasn’t for fathers there wouldn’t be mothers. Think on that, good thinking don’t you think. Growing up where we were we never had a Mother’s or Father’s Day. I wonder why?
My brother and I had a wonderful mother and father and I feel so very fortunate. They were not only good parents but good friends as well. They always kept an open line so we could always talk to them. This was so important in our growing up years.
Being able to talk to your children and keeping an open line is so important so your children can feel free to discuss anything that should come up it will pay off and big time.
Growing up on the prairie we worked hard right from a small kid and on up. Cows to milk, horses to harness, saddles for the saddle horses, pigs to feed, I could go on and on but through it all we had fun. Even going to school was not that bad. They were good years and I look back with good memories. Our dad used to say hard work never hurt anyone, keeps you out of mischief.
Moose story
In the last paper there is a headline ‘Study shows a decline in the local moose population.’
If you have lived here long enough you know our moose population is going down and we don’t need to spend $100,000 to tell us this we know. Maybe that bad winter did have something to do with it, but not all. It did take its toll especially on the young moose.
Moose meat was our main source for many years and it was good stuff. Many of our old time residents will tell you our moose population is going down and big time.
Surprise
What a pleasant surprise yesterday to have one of our old friends stop in for a visit. Ellen Van Allen (Anderson). Her family were really old timers in the Lakes District especially Burns Lake where her family made their home for many years.
Her dad, Andy Anderson, was in the trucking business, taxi business, and delivered the mail for many years.
He was a great guy to work for. He helped me get my first taxi licence. When the family moved down south it left a real hole in Burns Lake.
Lots of traffic
After the mill disaster in Burns Lake we all had expected the ferry traffic would slow down but so far the ferry keeps busy.
There were even some logging trucks coming across. The traffic has really come up when you compare it to the ferry service many years ago.
When we first came here the ferry made four trips a day in the fall and spring and five trips during the summer months. They made two trips on Sunday during the summer months.
Before the cattle liners came into being the livestock was driven on loose as there were gates at both ends to hold both cattle and sheep.
Looking back
In the Eyehill we had a neighbour called Jack Bates as he was single he stopped often to visit us. He lived about two miles North of us.
I was about, maybe five years old, as I was not in school yet. He was a real cowboy and of course I thought he was the greatest man on earth also he had lovely horses as well. Jack would put me up on his horse in front of him and took me along. He and I were in Evesham and the big freight train with the steam engine was waiting to leave.
Jack jumped off his horse and put me on his shoulders and carried me up to engine and passed me to the engineer, what a thrill for a little kid, it really was nothing but how well I remembered it.
When I was about 12 I drove one of Jack Bates team, they were jet black and were called Slim and Rusty, was I one proud kid to be able to drive his team on a grain wagon. It’s all behind me now but they were good years and I treasure those old time memories.
On June 20 the Burns Lake and District Seniors held another BBQ and live music event at the Spirit Square.
It was a real fun afternoon for the seniors and it was enjoyable for us too. Music was by The Tweedsmuir Fiddlers and Lone Spur.
It makes us all feel good to give entertainment to our seniors as it helps to pass the time plus a little extra enjoyment. What a wonderful place to hold a concert. Spirit Square is just out of this world and big time.
Doe a deer
John Keefe lives just below the church corner and he has lots of deer visiting his yard.
Last week he looked out his big glass door and there was a doe laying down almost leaning against the glass, he watched for a few minutes and she started to give birth to two fawns. In a matter of a few minutes she moved off. John said not many humans have seen something like this right in front of him.
I was reading in a wildlife magazine a while back and it said fawns have no odor when they are born so coyotes or wolves can walk within a few feet of a fawn and not notice them.
The mother can leave her baby and it will stay as still as death until she comes back. It seems the mother has a signal that is picked up by her baby only.
This was some years ago but a farm fawn had been hit by a vehicle and it had its back broken so it could not move. It was about half grown. I took the riffle and went to see what I had to do. I pulled it into the ditch and lined up to shoot it and put the little guy out of its misery. Its mother, unknown to me, was standing within a few feet from me. I could not help but think she wanted me to put her baby out of its misery.
If you can make somebody smile your day has not bee in vain. Take care and always remember God loves you and so do I.
