Submitted by Preeceville area farmer, Kaare Askildt
Summer on the farm
We are kind to the wild birds, but they are not kind to us! They eat the strawberries as if they own them! Then one little sparrow did an in flight bowel movement that landed on my arm! Never mind that we let them nest in the barn, the old garage and the shed! They just don't appreciate it! My wife had to rewash one of my shirts that she had hung outside on the clothesline to dry. It looked like they birds had been using the shirt for target practice! But when you see them at the bird feeder and they sing their gratitude, well then all of the bad things are forgotten!
Then we have the barn cats! Any small loose item becomes a cat toy! They sleep where they want, and more often than not, that's not where we want them to sleep. The tomcats mark their territory on the tractor, the walls, the sheets of plywood and whatever else they feel should be marked. We have to open the big barn doors every day just to air it out!
The barn cats are supposed to keep the barn free of mice and other rodents. However, I believe that they have made a deal with the mice. They do a pretend chase whenever we are around, but afterwards when we are gone; they sit down, have a drink and play cards together.
We're off to Camrose, Alberta where our son Justin is getting hitched to a wonderful girl soon to be called Jayne Askildt. It should go off without a problem as Jayne's mother planned everything. Our dependable neighbourly farmhand Jess Olson will take care of our stock again.
Leaving for a few days is quite a job. Just getting our dogs Red, Lady and Snert to "Barkyard Kennels" is a real tough job. Just like sending kids to camp. You have to pack bedding, snacks, food, feed dishes, water bowls and leashes. And when we drop them off, we will have a stern talk with them not to rip the place apart like they did the last time! Lady is the worst offender, she has so much energy and when Red gets tired of playing with her, then anything in site is fair game to be "killed!" Last time at the "Barkyard Kennels" she "killed" her bed, Snert's bed and Red's bed. When we picked them up, there were just a few little strips of fabric left!
This time when we are ready to leave, let's hope that the sheep stay in their pen, pigs decide to behave and that the chickens don't find a way through the fence.
For our trip to Alberta I did some research and looked at some statistics with respect to traffic accidents in Canada, and in particular Saskatchewan and Alberta. I found the following: "The probability of being involved in a traffic accident is directly proportional to the time spent on the road." Therefore it appears to me that driving fast would decrease ones exposure.
"One third of traffic accidents are caused by drunk drivers; two thirds are caused by non-drunk drivers." Therefore it seems to me that the safest way to drive would be drunk and very fast! No don't worry! We'll be driving safely and obey all traffic laws!
