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Farmers deal with baler, combine fires

Mayfair News: Close squirrel encounter turns the air blue
Robin
Brief taste of winter reminds robins they should be getting ready for their journey south.

Scurrying around and flying in all directions. As I'm writing my news, that is what a flock of robins are engaged in on my farmyard. Instincts should kick in with the sleet that is rapidly showering us and point these plump, well-fed birds south.

I apologize for an error three weeks ago to Mitchell Kotelko of Mayfair. Hs name was misprinted as name Rick.

Fishing from a boat is a little odd this time of year, but with the extra warm weather ‑ in many areas reached record-breaking temperatures ‑ that is what some cabin owners at Chitek Lake were doing. Most people took out their docks a few weeks ago, but could still cast the rods from shore.

I was winterizing my cabin with RV antifreeze after draining the pipes. At one point I was up high on a ladder (trying not to fall off) cleaning the eaves troughs while a squirrel was thinking my head was part of a tree and leaping at me to jump off the roof. My language got profane. Glad my neighbours were having a good time out and about ripping and tearing around on ATVs, not witnessing my predicament. Yes, it did finally scamper to the other side of the roof and took three trees to make a safe landing.

Condolences to 69-year-old Bill Shipman's family on his sudden passing two weeks ago. He resided in the village of Rabbit Lake. His brother, Bob, lives in Mullingar. Bill's elderly mother Mildred lives in Saskatoon.

In the Whitkow area this past harvest, three farmers experienced losing balers and a combine due to fires. In balers the cause is usually a bearing that heats up and for combines a lot of dust and chaff will add to the problem. It wasn't because of a build up of straw. With the drought there wasn't much to speak of.

In conversation with Elaine Tomkins of Rabbit Lake, I learned the musical performances have been put on hold because of stringent government health regulations for public safety. For now, many other events have been postponed or cancelled.

Anyone missing those scrumptious fall meals most communities sponsored but haven't hosted for the past two years? Maybe next year things will get better.

Time to get out the warmer winter woollies, but after a slight snowfall we are to receive Indian Summer, as it has been termed for many decades. Warmer weather will still arrive at one point before Halloween, we hope. Can't have frozen ghosts and goblins.