This winter does not seem to want to give up. Every day starts out at 20 below and slowly gets into the teens. At least we have some sun. No hoar frost to mark - cool and dry to the end of July.
Ground Hog Day has come and gone. No sun here! Will it be six more weeks of winter or what? My Dad always said it didn't matter about Ground Hog Day, because in this part of the country we always get six weeks more winter. I think he was right!
Computer guy Nathan has been out and got our new computer running. We would never have got this going if not for him. My computer skills are sort of limited to my two finger pecking after the computer is on. I was overjoyed as he also came with a little stick that had all my information from the old computer on it. In my last column I had written that we thought all those pictures, contact list and my Views were lost, but Nathan managed to get everything we needed. I have been looking at pictures and it is always the same, I wish we had taken more.
In my area, Division 3, around Waseca, they are busy doing seismic work and drilling wells. They have been as busy as beavers doing seismic testing right in the village of Waseca. They have been drilling holes and setting charges. They seem to think there is a large pool of oil right under the village. No wells yet but it will be interesting where they will set them. I am sure no one wants a well site right in town. With modern technology, slant drilling and horizontals they can be quite a distance away. In other areas south of town they are seismic testing other lines. Some are the 3D type.
Just about once a week I have been asked for approach approvals for another well site. The boys have really been busy. There are more trucks on the road every day. The traffic count will soon be high enough to warrant real pavement on the Waseca grid south.
The grain situation is much the same, but there is the occasional grain train moving. It is the most ridiculous situation. The wheat is still selling for $6 to $8 out of the west coast ports. The railways are busy, happily hauling oil tankers. The price of wheat at the local elevator is down to $3.50 a bushel and they're not buying any. The whole situation is unbelievable. The market is there, ships are there waiting for cargo, the price is there. There should be no wheat surplus or lack of movement. Here we sit, like a frozen moose turd on a frozen lake waiting for spring!
Danny Scriber phoned me and said if this were happening in the oil patch there would be a federal inquiry. He has sold only four truckloads of wheat so far. He said he thinks the crunch will come when guys are going to try to finance the inputs for the next crop. I think he is right.
I have written to Gerry Ritz to see if he can't help the farmers. I think everyone else should write to him, too. I am really hoping to get some kind of reply from Mr. Ritz.
Last Saturday, Jan. 25, Dustin Hollingshead and his friends held their Pasture Poodle Roundup. There were fewer teams this year as only 16 teams competed and only 10 coyotes were turned in. I view that as 10 less and good riddance. They are going to use the money raised to put on a hunter safety course. Good job, fellas, and keep up the good work. My wife is happy there is somebody out there who actually wants to take care of some of this coyote problem we all have! She actually wished they would come around over here and target practice on any coyote any time they like! Those darn wild things bother her dogs every night, all night long!
In Ottawa, Parliament is back in session. The leader of the opposition, NDP Mulcair, is trying to rekindle the Senate scandal. No matter how Mulcair words the question or what question he asks, Harper has the same answer. Harper just says he doesn't know and the RCMP are looking into it. For the time being this looks like a dead issue.
Justin Trudeau, in a symbolic gesture, has removed all the Liberal Senators from the Liberal Caucus in Ottawa. Things didn't change much, as they are still loyal Liberals and they all showed up for work the next day. They didn't lose any pay or pensions. I don't really know what work Senators do other than fill out forms to get their housing allowance and other things.
The federal constituency boundaries are going to change before the next election. With some shuffling around the boundaries will change in Saskatchewan, but we aren't getting any more seats. That is not the case in Toronto, where they will receive an additional 30 seats. I have a hard time justifying in my own mind that they need 30 more seats. I have been to political conventions and the ones that were there from Toronto were pretty hard to take. They had a one item agenda and that was "Toronto." The rest of the country didn't matter. Now there were 60 seats for Toronto before and I certainly didn't meet all of them, so there could be some nice people there. Now there is going to be 90 seats. There will have to be larger meeting halls so all the swelled heads can fit in .
Joke of the week: Three totally plastered drunks piled into a taxi and demanded to be taken home. The taxi driver thought he would have a little fun so he started the motor, moved five or six feet forward and shut the motor off and said "You're here." One drunk got out some money and paid him, the second drunk thanked him. The third drunk slapped him on the head. The driver said "What was that for?" "That's for driving so fast," said the drunk.
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