Today is a cold windy snowy day in Saskatchewan. -23 and with the windchill its -39. (For those of you on the Fahrenheit scale, that’s -40). Not as cold as it can be, but enough to make you wear gloves and pull up your hood. We have a winter storm warning so the snow shovels and snow blowers are going to be put to use in the near future.
As I look out across the fields and watch the wind blow the snow across the drifts, I am reminded of how white it can be in Saskatchewan. As I watch the weather, I add a little more Creme de Menthe to my coffee. It’s important to prime the system with some anti-freeze today in preparation for tomorrow’s ice fishing trip.
All the white Reminded of a thought that occurred to me a few years ago, as I was slogging through the mud during a spring snow goose hunt set up, it occurred to me that “In April, Saskatchewan is the Ugliest Place on Earth!”. This was the thought I had in response to Field Hudnall (Host of DU TV) who had remarked on how beautiful he thought the countryside in Saskatchewan is.
In Saskatchewan it’s all grey and mud and leafless trees. Ugly. Ugly. The snow in the tree lines and ditches is slushy and dirt covered. The trees, without their leaves still, are lifeless and stark. On a cloudy day, the ground is grey and the sky is grey, it’s grey from the ground up, ugly.
If it was April in Saskatchewan all year long, I’d move, and come back for snow goose season. Fortunately we have an outdoor playground in Saskatchewan. In May, the ground and trees change from grey to green, fishing season opens again, and for the next 6 months, Saskatchewan may be the most beautiful place on earth. But, in April, I do say, Saskatchewan is the ugliest place on earth.