The autumn air is making us wear warmer clothes, especially in the evening when the temperature is dipping lower. The daytime temperatures were about seasonal for a few days last week, but all of a sudden the rain made harvest stop abruptly. Enjoy the beautiful orange, red and yellow colours on the trees, the crunchy sound of fallen leaves under your feet, the geese flying high above are honking as they head south and the smell of freshly harvested crops ready to go into the bins. Now, if one could just sit outside during a warm autumn afternoon and soak up the beauty of Mother Nature’s surroundings and forget about all the hustle and bustle, wouldn’t that be a treat? For farmers at this time of year, such relaxing activity is not a reality.
Bev and Morris Thomas attended the Grade 12 graduation of their oldest grandchild in Saskatoon this past June. William Shelley (Connie’s son) graduated from Bedford Road Collegiate and is working for a year before furthering his education. All three of the Thomas’s children, Ed, Leanne and Connie and their families, reside in Saskatoon.
Mary and Gordon Kennedy hosted the annual family reunion at their farmyard this past August. This year, besides most of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Gordon and Mary had a few of their siblings join in the fun. Mary’s brothers Allan (Susan) Thomson from Saskatoon and Gordon (Judy) from Edmonton, Alta. whom they see about once a year, were in attendance along with Gordon Kennedy’s sister Pat (Larry) Worman hailing from Neilburg.
The Kennedy’s daughter Viola (Dave) Hermanson were back from Laos during the summer to visit with family and were a few times to their parents’ place before departing overseas. Laos has been their home for the past six years. It is a small country bordering China, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. They enjoy living there and Dave is teaching first aid. Laos became an independent state in 1953, gaining sovereignty from France. They have many friends from Canada who stop in to visit, usually on their way to a larger country during the winter.
Barb and Ken Sorenson’s oldest daughter Ashley was recently married at Meeting Lake to Clinton Dies. Congratulations to the Sorenson and Dies families. The newly-married couple is living near Kindersley.
A Touch of Autumn was the theme for the last public day at Honeywood Nursery near Parkside Sept. 18. This 80-acre parkland oasis was displaying an array of gorgeous fall colours with an average-sized crowd enjoying the great outdoors even if there was a slight sprinkle of rain. A large selection of perennials, including many lily varieties, were available for sale as well as an assortment of jellies, jams, pies and salsa made from fruit grown at the nursery. One could even pick apples and crabapples, as this year there was an abundance of fruit. Leanne Cherwinski, Faye Liebaert and I were glad to have attended the function.
Fifteen vendors were selling their goods at the recent farmers’ market/flea market at Mayfair Hall. Due to the warm weather, many local farmers did not attend. We had a fair attendance and many takeout lunches for the field were sold. It was nice to see the older folks who have relocated to the Battlefords come and support our community. A big thank you to all the wonderful volunteers and for the delicious home baked pies made by local residents.
Again, there have been some more thefts from farms and even inside a local house while the occupant was sleeping at night. Most thefts take place at night and the culprits are not scared to steal anything or cut locks off gas tanks. The sad thing is that a person has a difficult task in protecting their property. There seems to be no end to crimes being committed.
