Work of art

It was very interesting this morning to have Allen Stanyer Jr. stop in and show me his guitar he had made right from scratch.

What a work of art it is. It鈥檚 made from our local birch and there is not a flaw in any of it, it鈥檚 clear. Something to be very proud of. As he built it Allan recorded every step of this work.

This even makes it more valuable. We compared with my Fender and it鈥檚 just a fraction smaller. Even with the strings and he said they were very cheap. This guitar has a deep melodious ring to it. I only wish I could have played it as it looks and feels like it would be better but I don鈥檛 think so. I have played guitars all my life and just by picking this one he had made I could feel the life in it, it feels good. Yes, we have talent in our district and I just hope Allen is going to continue with this gift he has.

We did get a touch of snow, not much, but just enough to let us know winter is sneaking up on us. It鈥檚 Thursday and I have just come in from a little walk and there is a bite to the wind. A little snow but not much but it鈥檚 pretty close, enough to be a warning. A little rain mixed with it today.

I went down town today with son Mark and his wife Laurie. I just could not get over the huge freight trucks going through town, sure giving the new streets a test out. These outfits were going west so something big is going on. Let鈥檚 hope for the best, we sure need it.

Looking back

I keep recording in my mind the growing up years as a kid. It was lonesome but as I look back very interesting too. On the homestead which was the Eyehill place that Dad and uncle Will homesteaded in I think 1906 or 1907.

We had about a mile of C.P.R. railway bordering the place for at least a mile and there were lots of trains hauling grain and livestock and two passenger trains, an eastbound at 6 a.m. from Evesham and a westbound at 10:30 p.m.

Our town was a busy town with five grain elevators and grain trains day and night. No matter where we went we had a railway crossing and we had some nasty scares too.

During the summer there were cattle guards at each crossing but during the winter they were pulled up so stock could get on the railway and get killed. It was because of the snow plows was the reason the guards were pulled.

One morning early we heard the eastbound whistle keep blowing so we saddled up and we followed the train. Three young horses, two bays and a black one.

On our place there was a long big bridge made with huge timbers spaced about a foot across just big enough for a horses foot.

Two horses stopped at the bridge and the train hit the two and broke their backs and the other tried to walk the cross timbers and went through and the train broke her legs, she was dead. The other two were still alive and Dad had to put them down, very sad.

I will never forget that morning to this day. The next fall we had about 30 sheep get onto the track and this could have been a real disaster but it only got five of them, that was good luck for a change.

Dad was running the ranch with mother鈥檚 help as both his brother Will and his wife has passed away as very young folks. They passed away before brother Peter and I came into the picture. We never saw them. Dad was very upset over it all as he said the train had lots of room to give the horses a break to get out of the way.

Warming up

We hear global warming that we can expect in the near future and no doubt we can expect it. I wonder how many old timers remember when our lakes used to freeze over.

Francois Lake was used as a highway for many years as some years we would get over a foot of clear ice. It was never really safe as there were accidents with folks going through.

A number of vehicles lost and a four horse team with a load of Timothy Seed was lost, this belonged to Billy Bickle, a Grassy Plains rancher.

A diamond T truck never recovered and a number of cars also some lives were lost. The ferry would be taken out of service so the lake was the next best way to cross. Yes our winters are warming up so let鈥檚 see what this winter will be like?

The saying goes only fools and new comers try to predict the weather. The lakes do still freeze over but never very safe to travel on like the old days.

A little story

A guy had a sick dog so he took it to the vet. So the vet checked out the dog and told the guy your dog is dead. Prove it as it looks alive to me.

So the vet put the dog on the table and brought in his lab dog.

The dog walked all over the dog and it never moved. So the vet brought it his cat. The cat walked all over the dog and it even bit the dog and it never moved. The dog owner said you have proved your point my dog is dead.

Next week the dog owed got a bill for $300 and he was mad. This was to much, break it down. So he broke it down $150 for the lab test and $150 for the cat scan. So this makes your $300 to prove your dog is dead.

It鈥檚 not near as important how many years a fella has lived as how many other folks have been right glad he has.

Take care and every day remember that God loves you and so do I.