How is everyone holding up in this extreme heat wave? You either love it or hate it. Many campers and cabin owners will take advantage of the reasonably nice summer weather. We have been fortunate this year, in spite of COVID-19. We will get through this.
It may be warm here, but Death Valley, Calif. recently recorded 152 F. It isn't too surprising the population there has declined 28 per cent since 2010. The most pleasant months are April, May and October while July and August are least comfortable. The cost of living is 3.7 per cent lower than the United States average. Interestingly, as school will resume in early September in Saskatchewan with still large classroom sizes, there are about 3.4 students per teacher in Death Valley.
Sincerest sympathy to Stella Ewanchuk and family of North Battleford on the passing of her husband of 69 years, Walter. Up until recently he loved to be on the family farm checking on the crops and cattle. He spent much of his life in the Whitkow district and was instrumental in establishing the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Whitkow. It is now in a state of disrepair, so anyone wishing to donate to its restoration fund in memory of this hard-working pioneer it would be greatly appreciated.
Daniel and Jenny Konopelski's farm home was busy a couple of weeks ago as his sister Heather (Greg) Parsons from Utah motored into Canada. Daniel and Jenny have four adventurous children and together with their five cousins, the house became an extraordinarily fun place to be.
Enjoying the campfire at the lake, I could not get rid of an overly friendly fox. Not sure if it was waiting for us to throw food towards him, but certainly not in a rush to disappear. It just sat down and was eagerly watching every move a person made in early evening. A little too friendly for our liking, but eventually scampered away after several attempts to shoo the animal into the forest. A few years back, I had a fisher at my cabin yard and it jumped from tree to tree, not in a big hurry to leave. It kept staring at me with its big, brown, glossy eyes, but I knew not to get too close. They usually inhabit lakes further in the north, so not sure why this little guy was off track. Fishers look somewhat like a marten. I managed to capture a few photos, because I knew it would make a good coffee topic.
It is great to see Brenda and Mervin Chudy of Mayfair enjoying their beautiful new cabin at Chitek Lake. It took several years to build and they and their children worked hard to do most of the work themselves. Their children and grandchildren sure like to visit while fishing and swimming. A recent addition to the Chudy family, four months ago, of a daughter brings much excitement to daughter Amanda and partner Brad Pedersen. They also have a small son. Mervin's sister-in-law from Saskatoon owns a cabin two doors down from them.
Mark your calendars for Friday, Aug. 18 as a farmers market is planned from 4 to 8 p.m. in Mullingar at the old church grounds. There will even be takeout meals to choose from at a reasonable price. The outdoor market will offer a large variety of baked goods, jams, jellies, buns, bread and other goodies. The market attracts Meeting Lake campers and cottage owners. In fact Mullingar can boast of many trailers during the warm months of the year with people enjoying country living. Small hamlets have a way in drawing people away from busy city life.
Muskeg Lake Cree Nation is proud to have a newly ordained deacon Harry (Germaine) Lafond, who came to Mayfair's All Saints Catholic Church Aug. 16 to assist our priest. There were five new people ordained at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Prince Albert three weeks ago. It was a welcome surprise for our local church to have hosted Harry. Most priests are heavily burdened with being in charge of at least four parishes in rural communities, so deacons lessen the workload.
Looking like it will be an early harvest now with crops steadily reopening every day.
