A little sprinkle of snow, greezing temperatures each night, yup, it is almost December and as time marches on we are slowly getting into the grasp of Old Man Winter. By the time you read this column, December will be a few short days ahead. The sun setting at 4 p.m. is not something I appreciate. Mind you the way it glares when you are driving or trying to look at something, it’s not much different than gone altogether. One month yet to the shortest day, Dec. 21. Then it goes the other way. I like sunshine and the longer days can’t come too soon for me.
On the home front, my wife Beverly and I have moved to Lloydminster. Due to a medical issue she has to be in Lloyd twice a week, so it was just easier to be here rather than have that drive every week. We wanted a house with no stairs because of my legs. So Bev went house hunting. I went one day but it was killing my back and legs so I told her to pick one she liked. I can live anywhere, so here we are.
We have rented out the house on the farm. The renter came with another dog and a black kitten. My black pussy Beaner has her nose out of joint and has stopped coming up to the house after her normal night of hunting. She has some haunts around the yard that I am sure she is holed up in. In the past she sometimes disappeared for a couple of days, but always came back. The rest of the pets seem to have melded into a big happy family.
On the farm scene, things are winding down for winter. Son-in-law Roland got his bales moved and he and his two girls are off to Regina to show their Speckled Park cattle. I understand Curtis has his ethanol wheat moved and he and his wife and the newest little Sutherland (Charles) are coming for a visit. Best crop he has grown, so far I was talking about the kid. Son Ron finished his green feed baling and has most of them moved home. He is planning to go hunting this week with his brother Todd. In my hills there is still about a day of baling to do. I am not sure whose bales they are supposed to be but the Big Guy has certainly given them every chance to get the job done. There has been lots of racking up done and bales are moving out every day. Hopefully they don’t get snowed out.
On the political scene, the NDP in Alberta have announced a carbon tax of $30 a tonne by 2017. It has started. The NDP with good intentions are starting to kill jobs and add expenses to daily living. Taxes and more taxes kill jobs. We are stuck with these guys for another four years. Will anyone be working in private industry four years from now or will Alberta become a have not province. We have had the NDP in Saskatchewan for 50 years. We know how they work.
Joke of the week: A gas station in small town Saskatchewan was trying to increase the sales so the owner put up a sign saying, “Free sex with fill-up.” Soon a fellow pulls in, fills his tank, and then asks for his free sex. The gas attendant tells him pick a number between one and 10 if he guesses correctly, he will get his free sex. The fellow says, “seven.” The gas attendant says, “You were close, sir, but the number was six. Sorry no sex this time.” A week later, the same fellow, along with his buddy, pulls in for a fill up. Again he asks for his free sex and again the gas attendant gives him the same story and asks him to guess the correct number. The fellow says, “five.” The gas attendant says, “I’m sorry, it was four. You were so close, but no free sex this time.” As they were driving away, the fellow says to his buddy, “I think that game is rigged and he doesn’t really give away free sex.” The buddy replies, “No it ain’t rigged. My wife won twice last week.”
