Busy Beavers

The beaver are back. They set up camp last year, but Dad thought they were gone, having seen little sign of them this spring. But, as beavers are, they've been busy and have taken down a large swath of trees behind the barn.

Freshly cut.

Just started.

Dad is afraid to leave the tractors in the field lest they drop a tree on them.

Precious little keeps this tree from going over.

Their trail down to the dugout where they have built their lodge.

The channels they have cut to transport their lumber.

While they can be destructive little rascals, one has to marvel at their industry and engineering abilities.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Autumn

Still Tons of Snow at the Farm Too

And the forecast for Winnipeg calls for more snow tomorrow. Hopefully they won't get anymore here 

Sour Cherries

Mom and Dad have had this cherry tree for years but this is the first year it's done anything like this. 

A bumper crop for sure. P

Frogs and Follies From August Long Weekend

Mom, Sister C and Jay have covered the dike to protect the sandbags from UV and Jay finished the bridge.

The road west of the house is now closed.
This is the first of five places between the house and the school where water runs over the road.



More clay dikes around the property that I hadn't noticed when we were out sandbagging the house.

And in terms of more silliness, why would anyone use plastic parts on a farm implement? The top bracket was rotten and the whole wheel assembly became bent when it broke. Dad had to do a field repair to get the sprayer home.
Once home he had the right equipment (tractor, winch, crowbar, towing chains, hydro pole and a 160 pound bi-pedal counterweight) he was able to attach a new part and straighten the wheel assembly.

One of the few bright sides of this whole flood is the resurgence of the frog population. When I was little, the local frogs were picked almost to nothing when university supply companies paid local people to supply them with frogs. I haven't seen this many of the little guys for over 35 years. If you turn up the volume, you can hear the plop, plop, plop-plop-plop, of frogs jumping from the road into the ditch, Unfortunatley the sounds of my boots on the gravel is much louder than the frogs.