MEOTA ‑‑ Finally, the cold snap has ended and we can enjoy more time outside. Action on the lake will increase as well as on the streets. Moving the snow off the streets and finding a place to put it has been a challenge with all the snow we've been getting. Usually when it is cold down into -30 C or lower, we don't get snow, but were blessed with both this year.
Action on the lake included the odd fellow getting stuck and having to be towed out of a snowbank, but someone has been out with snow moving equipment, making for better driving conditions. A grandson, living in Whistler, B.C. reported getting 21 inches of snow in one night. We fared better than that.
Folks in Spiritwood are enjoying the action of several deer, right in town, often seen looking in windows, to the amusement of senior residents, especially. My grandson tells the story of having to share the highway with three moose north of Green Lake. That surely set his heart racing.
The screeching of the car tires on the snow in those cold days reminded me of sleigh runners, and how they sounded, years ago.
Snowmobile rally dates are starting to show up with Vawn's fifth rally slated for Feb. 19. Watch for posters.
Friday saw the same small group of card players meeting at the Do Drop In for canasta with the top score going to Carol Huys. Second was Lorna Pearson and third Janice Morton. It is surely a nice break to get out even in small social activities. The warmer weather this week will see more folks out and about.
I always thought the severe cold weather would help control the spruce budworm that has killed millions of acres of trees in the Rockies, but on checking with Google it doesn't seem that is really the case. So too bad there, as I was looking for something good that would come from the cold spell.
Meota Grand Slam of Curling returned to play after taking a week off to observe the holidays with three games on the docket.
Although breaking their New Year’s resolution of no hogged stones, the Becotte rink held on to a late game surge from Team Bru to extend their winning streak to three games. Kirsten Bru and his team orchestrated a four-point score in the final end, but came up short as Becotte held on in a thrilling 9-8 victory that had fans on the edge of their seats.
Team Schmidt, consisting of an impeccable mixture of young and experienced curlers, made their season debut against Team Doom Tuesday night. After combatting the first-game jitters, the Schmidt rink found their comfort zone and sent a statement to the rest of the league with a dominating 9-3 win.
After a slow start to the season, a rejuvenated Demontarnel rink seemed to have found their groove as they dismantled the Tait rink 11-3 Tuesday night. With an exceptional performance from their third Karen McCaffrey, Team Demontarnel was able to score multiple points on every hammer opportunity.
Team Welford season’s debut will have to wait another week as their primetime matchup against the Mohr rink was postponed. The Czuy-Weber game was also rescheduled to a later week.
Week 4’s curler of the week is fan favourite Jim Cole. Consistency, reliability and pinpoint accuracy are highly sought-after traits when assembling a championship calibre team. The Schmidt rink is fortunate to have found those attributes in Jim Cole, which were on full display Tuesday night and contributed immensely to their season-opening win.
