What did we all think about the first day of spring? At least the sun was shining. Hope you didn't put your winter woollies away. Friday morning here it was - 17 C. Now we have this thing going where it was always March 21 as first day of spring, but the last few years the media has decided it should be March 20. Why can't they leave things alone?
Spring weather being what it is, unsettled weather is common and we now are in a colder holding pattern. This part I don't mind as it freezes up a little then thaws again, the snow goes slower. Slower melt usually means more goes into the ground and there is less runoff. On my travels to Lloydminster I see there is a lot of variation on the snow in the fields. Some areas definitely have more snow. We still have a good snow cover in the fields by my house, but in my hills the only snow left is on the lee side and that is not much. I have no hoar frost to mark. We are sitting here now waiting for the crow snows.
Monday I was in Lloydminster and I took my wife out for dinner to Dairy Queen. I am not a big flashy spender and the wife needs a break from cooking. She has been in the kitchen for fooooorty-five years, yup yup yup! That is a long time for any woman to put up with me, isn't it? At the next table were Grant and Bonnie Holtby. We got talking about how nice the weather was that day. I was telling them to not expect the weather to be this nice all the time as we haven't had the crow snows yet. Bonnie told me this year the snow crow would not amount to much and she expected spring to slowly go into summer. I asked her how she knew that. She told me March came in like a lion as March 1 was the coldest day of the year. She expects nice weather for the end of March. She also pointed out that Easter was late this year at the end of April. Boy, I hope she is right.
On the home front we were cleaning canola, but are stopped. When we went to elevate grain up the leg to the overhead bin, the leg was plugged. Someone has turned my elevator leg on and plugged it right up. The cups were full right up to the door where you can look into the leg. This is pure sabotage. I would really like to catch the person(s) doing the mischief as there are other things that have happened. Hammer, goose necks, light bulbs and shovels have walked away. To unplug the leg one has to go down the boot, a hole about 12 feet deep beside the leg and clean it out so you can drain the grain out of the leg. It is a dirty job and hasn't been done for two years. The weekend warriors, Cole and Zack, have come after school and have taken about 50 wheelbarrow loads of dust and screenings out of the boot. This has all come up out of the boot by pail and rope. There is a small, four-inch auger that will put the grain from the leg back in the front pit. This auger is frozen and needs to be loosened up. The stuff at the bottom is frozen, so we have had a heat lamp down the hole overnight to thaw it out. Once the screenings are removed and the auger freed up, the grain in the leg can go back in the front pit. If we get the leg cleaned down then the leg will start and we will be back in business. What a pile of work for nothing. The middle finger salute to the saboteur!
In federal political news, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has resigned. He was a good steady hand at the wheel. No crazy interest rates and just sound policies. He will be missed. He has some health problems and we would wish him the best in his retirement. Joe Oliver has been appointed to be our next finance minister. Greg Rickford took Joe Oliver's place as minister of Natural Resources.
The Ottawa media is upset as the swearing in was done at Rideau Hall in private. The media was shunned to the outside in the cold weather with no chance to ask questions. The media hasn't been friendly to Harper, so maybe this was a little payback time.
In Toronto the media is after Rob Ford again as the police have released a tape of what looks like Rob Ford smoking crack. This has really become a vendetta to get Rob Ford. The alleged crack smoking happened in 2003. Does the statue of limitations never happen here? By my calculations that's over 10 years ago. The people of Toronto will decide on Rob Ford's fate in the upcoming election and that is the way it should be. The people will decide, not the media.
In Alberta, Premier Allison Redford has resigned. She was plagued by overspending scandals and the last one was when she took her daughter and a friend to Nelson Mandela's funeral at a cost to the taxpayers of $45,000. She agreed to pay it back, and has done so, but only after the fact. Politics in Alberta will be less dramatic with her gone and in that we will miss her.
Dave Hancock has agreed to serve as interim leader until a new leader can be chosen by the party. He has agreed to continue with the pledge of building schools and highways and providing "the government Albertan's want." I wish him luck. Alberta being a "have" province the expectations are high and the "I want" list is big.
Joke of the week from Chris: An old cowboy and his wife went to the bar and the old cowboy got quite full. On the way home the police stopped him and said to the cowboy, "You were really zipping along. Did you know the last turn you made, your wife flew out and she is laying back there by a dumpster?" "Oh thank God," said the cowboy, "I thought I had gone deaf."
