November 13, 2007

Howdy from Cooks Creek. Unusually warm today for the middle of November. Away above freezin and sunny but we are getting some big winds right now. What a break. Every day like this is a bonus. One less day of winter. I do not like winter. Never have and never will.



The flu bug is going through our home like wild fire. Both daughter were home sick today but seem to be on the mend and should be back to normal tomorrow (well, as normal as they get anyway).


As I read other peoples blogs it is interesting to see how people view the next 4 or 5 coming months. In my part of the world, people who live like we do (in the country, on a farm) are preparing or have prepared for the worst. This involves making sure all your machinery (cars, trucks, snowblowers, tractors, loaders etc.) are in top shape and well maintained, heaters have been installed in water tanks, furnaces are in top shape, supply of wood is available, supply of emergency food is available and animals have put on a layer of fat that will sustain them if or should I say when we get 3 weeks of -40. Yes, -40 and large amounts of snow are coming as sure as the sun will rise in the east and set in the west. Am I ready? Na, I'm never ready. There is always one more thing to do and when it (winter) hits, one more thing I should have done and didn't get done. Every year is the same. So here I sit waitin for it to come. When will it hit. Forecast is for cooler weather but no real winter for the next few days anyway.


Chickens know it's comin. Only got 10 eggs today. 10 eggs and a bunch of customers that require 10 dozen a day to meet their needs. Some of our customers undrstand but some just don't get it. When we tell them we don't have any eggs they kind of get upset, like we are holdin back or something. Chickens need to rest too. Their conserving energy and getting their machinery (read body) tuned up for the winter thats a comin.


I was talkin to buddy of mine up in Churchill. He is the fella who sends me down artic char(best tasting fish in the world). Now, that is up North. If you are interested to know where it is, look up to the very northern part of Manitoba on the Hudson Bay coast. Now them cats have been into winter for some time now. We will get -40 for a couple of weeks, they will get it for 4 months staight. Ya want to know what their biggest problem is right now. It is not the cold. It's polar bears. Yep, polar bears come to the coast of the Hudson Bay but can't get out onto the ice flow because it hasn't formed yet. So, what do they do, they come into town and are lookin for food. Food to them is garbage, dogs, cats, people. Their main diet is seals but they can't get any untill the ice forms and they can get out on the ice. The polar bears are the life and death of Churchill. They are extremely dangerous but they are also very useful. They have become a tourist attraction. People come from all over the world to see the polar bears.


How about a joke.

A goodolboy, down on his luck, went into a church which catered to the "uppity". Spotting the man's dirty work clothes a deacon, worried about the churches image, went to the man and asked him if he needed help. The man said, "I was praying and the Lord told me to come to this church."
The deacon suggested that the man go pray some more and possibly he might get a different answer. The next Sunday the man returned. The deacon asked, "Did you get a different answer?"
The man replied, "Yes I did. I told the Lord that they don't want me in that church and the Lord said, 'Don't worry about it son; I've been trying to get into that church for years and they won't let me in either."

I am thinkin that this may be more of a life lesson than a joke. Anyway, have a good night and we will talk to ya all real soon.