Author Archives: JKS

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN APRIL

(excerpted from Forever Bergen)

The most destructive spring snowstorm in recent years occurred in April of 2000

Journal Entry:

April 26:  Something woke me at 4:20 a.m.  A thud? The clock radio was dark. So was everything else in the room. I stared out the window.  It wasn’t totally dark out there. In fact, it was disturbingly bright. Why was it so white outside?  Gradually, my sleep-numbed brain took in two facts—the power was off and there was a lot of snow out there. Another thud. A crash. Two crashes. More thuds. I could hear the wind howling. Treetops caked in heavy, wet snow were threshing back and forth in a powerful wind and shattering under the strain. Suddenly, the house itself quivered as a treetop hit the heavy triplex power line that feeds the house from the barnyard.

Sometime before six I couldn’t stand being in the house any longer and, flashlight in hand, went out to explore the yard. It was a short exploration as more treetops crashed down all around me. I could stand at the quad shed in the backyard and see ten tops lying scattered in all directions.

There was too much snow for the 4×4 truck so I fed with the front-wheel assist tractor. Then I decided to go to town for lunch as they still had power. Found out that a cow in the corral had just dropped a calf in a snowbank so I dragged it into the barn, changed my clothes again, and headed for town—where by now the power had gone off.  One convenience store was open with the owner making change out of a pile of money on the counter. (The cash register wouldn’t open without power.) Bought some bread, went home and ate it with soup warmed on the woodstove. Finding little to do that worked well by kerosene lamplight (how did people manage for all those years?). I gave up and went to bed early.

April 27:  The weary slog continues. Still no power. More snow overnight and snow flurries during the day. A neighbour whose power is back brought a generator for me to use. Under the snow is mud. Halvor, the bull, was so deep in it by the feeder that I was afraid he was stuck.

And so it went. The power was off for periods varying from two to four days across the community. And, the media wasn’t nearly as excited as it was when Toronto went black for a couple of days. Country people are expected to cope—and we do.

Big news! We’ve started calving—kind of accidentally. According to the time the bulls were turned out last year, the calves shouldn’t start coming for at least two weeks. But that was without considering the neighbor’s Corriente bulls. These fellows are similar to, if not of the same bloodline, as the Mexican fighting bulls. They arrived in the pasture across the fence a couple of weeks before our Anguses were due to join the cows. Well, it was spring. Love was in the air—and before long a couple of the Corrientes were “in the air” and over the fence. They were black, shiny and handsome. Obviously, two or three of the cows were led astray by their dashing masculinity. So, this morning, there appeared the cutest little mouse-colored calf with a nice white design on his face. He was born out in the woods somewhere and he was doing just fine, obviously having located the spot where mama kept the groceries, and now frolicking in the sunshine. And, a little farther along, there appeared a first-calf heifer with a little red guy nuzzling her for milk. He, too, must have had a Corriente connection—or else he was a very early Angus. Anyway, he, was also just fine. What a great way to start a blue-skied snow-melting day in March!