Regina: goodbye

At last, a morning visit to Tim Horton's.

"The Ledge" as the locals say, ie the provincial legislature.

Lake Wascana. Here is the longest bridge over the shortest span of water.

Onto the Heritage Museum.

Regina is also home to the Saskatchewan Rough Riders. Regina and the rest of the province are crazy in love with their team.

A quick tour of the RCMP Academy, Depot Division which has been providing police training to Royal Canadian Mounted Police "cadets" since its establishment in 1885.

Two gardeners talk about plants.

Time to say goodbye. Thank you Glenn so much for your gracious hospitality.

As it turned out, mechanical difficulties would delay our departure and we ended up spending the night in Denver.  The next morning would be a mad scramble to get to work for Justin and to a meeting for me. We all had a great time.

Regina: day 3

We drove north from Regina into the Qu'Appelle Valley.

The northern side of the valley.  We would turn east on the first road we came to to get to the family farm.

A view from the top.

On the other side of the road, harvested fields and ...

Wheatwyn Church.

Built in 1907 by a small group of German Lutheran immigrants.

Part of a Sunday school list from the 1950s. Six of the first nine on the list are my cousins. Note the poor attendance of Harold Hodel - no stars at all. Could I be related to him also?

In the cemetery behind the church, my mother's parents graves.

Out to the fields where the final harvesting is taking place. At right is cousin Donald, Glenn's brother.

Donald bought Uncle Fernie's farm when he retired.  Uncle Fernie and Aunt Ardyth once lived out here before moving into the village of Markinch. Donald donated the farm house to be used for an RCMP bomb training scenario. This is what's left.

I rode in the combine with Donald's son Marc for a few passes and loved it.

Thais rode around with Reg. In a good year of wheat farming, they harvest about 25-30 bushels/acre, in a very good year about 40 bushels.  This year it's about 60! A bumper crop as they say.

Justin drove the grain truck.

Off they go as the sun gets lower in the sky. They should be done by the end of the week, just in time for Canadian Thanksgiving on the 14th.

From the truck

to the granary.

I think my mom was the first child (the 4th of 6) to be born inside this house.

Donald's wife Marcia.

We drove to Southey to have dinner at cousin Angela (Glenn's sister) and Les' house. Glenn's family (L-R) Jordan, Glenn, Andrea. Glenn is holding grandson Romen.

To Glenn's left is his mother Adeline, Angela and Les.

Another great day, time is passing too quickly.

Regina: day 2

Church at St Mark's Lutheran.

Brunch with (L-R) Caroline and Arnold Posehn, and their son Daryl and his wife Gail.

I needed to buy Saskatoonberry jam at a local grocery store and was surprised to see this unique Canadian product.

Next stop, to Emerald Park

to visit Uncle Fernie, 97 years old, and my mom's only living sibling. Uncle Fernie is also Justin's godfather.

After pizza and beer at Boston Pizza, we went to cousin Kathy and Charlie's house for dessert.

Trip to Regina Canada: day 1

Saturday morning, early! A 3-hour layover in Denver. We ate breakfast/lunch at a Fat Tire cafe.

My cousin Glenn was unable to pick us up at the airport because he had to attend his grandmother's funeral. Johanna Victoria Manz, born in Bukovina Austria, was 109 years old! She had 6 children, 20 grandchildren, 44 great grandchildren, and 17 great great grandchildren.

So, cousin Ruth picked us up at the Regina airport. We picked up Glenn's truck and drove to Ruth and Brenda's house.

Then we all caravanned north to Balgonie to cousin Joy and Brian's dairy farm. We went on a tour of the milking barns before it got too dark.

All the cows lay or stand on water beds. The tips of their tails are tied to a wire. I asked why that was done. "So they don't run away."  (To those of you who think I'm gullible in some situations, yes I thought that was possible, until everyone politely laughed.) The tails are tied up so they don't swish them around and perhaps spray urine around.

Slurp.

Cousin Joy is sitting on the couch with her son Adam. Adam's wife Brittany is talking with Brenda and Rebecca. Rebecca is Joy's daughter.

Ruth, Brenda, Rebecca (Ruth's niece).

Joy's son Lucas and family.

Thais and cousin Julie. Julie and Reg also have a dairy farm just down the road from Joy and Brian.

Walnut harvest - the beginning

The gathering season has begun. This tree at the end of Justin's driveway yielded the most this morning. Just 37 trees to go.

One tree's yield. A good drying north wind helped the trees get going.

I gathered 11 pounds, but it will be much less after they've dried.  

CELDT testing comes to an end

L-R: Laura, Mike, Susie, Kathy, Sylvia. Tomorrow is my last day of CELDT testing. As schools were completed, teams dissolved, and people left because other previously-assigned jobs began. Mike's long-term sub job ended at Westside and he came to Noralto to join Sylvia's team. Archie's team was reduced to just Laura and me.

Kathy, Susie, Mike, and I all worked together for many years at Westside School.

I must say, we had a great time. We worked hard and laughed a lot, frequently egged on by Mike.