The time from mid-July to the first few weeks in September are usually known more for their lack of anything happening than for making news.

Children are out of school. The lakes and golf courses beckon. Grass is growing and needs mowing.

And government? Well, most times they book off for the summer. Regular monthly meetings are cancelled. Meetings that happen twice a month are usually cut to once a month. It’s the lazy, hazy dog days of summer.

So, with this as a backdrop, we wander in from another tough day of fishing to see if my companion (that would be the wife, not the doggie) has managed to mow the back 40 and front 20. I see the lawnmower is in decent shape. So I say to her, “Do you think the garden needs weeding, too?”

In our part of the land, this is known as a rhetorical question. In other words, it is not intended to be answered. Certainly not answered by some angry female flinging a large crescent wrench at me.

So that’s where that dang wrench I lost a few months ago got off to! I should really be more careful where I leave weapons. Oops, sorry, tools about!

Clicking on BNN, and even though its summer, I see the stock markets aren’t taking a breather. While I was jigging for that elusive 7-pounder, the market crash was wiping out tens of thousands of my hard-earned pennies.

And I thought walleye were expensive before!

Now, besides fuel, boat, boat toys, rods and reels and a couple boxes of the nicest lures ever designed to catch a fisherman, I have to deal with stock market crashes when my back is turned. Is there no justice!

Meanwhile, it’s good to know a few people in town have our back. The local hospital committee is hammering away at Edmonton, getting them to see the light. Yes, we know the map says High Prairie is population 2,800. But can’t you see how big the trading area is? These villages and settlements and hamlets and reserves all add up. Bigger trading numbers than Slave Lake.

Of course, we need a much bigger and better hospital!

Not to be outdone by whistling away the summer holidays, both the M.D. and High Prairie councils burned the midnight oil agreeing to spend another $1.5 million of someone else’s money. High Prairie taxpayers are said to be getting a terrific deal. Only have to pay $500,000 while the M.D. generously picks up the tab for a cool million.

Last time I looked, there was only about $10 million in the M.D. bank account. And High Prairie was maybe a few hundred thousand.

As has been said before, M.D. generosity will bankrupt the Town of High Prairie one of these days.

But it’s only halfway through summer. I have to take a snooze.

And it will be a good one!

Come September, we’re sure most things will be turning out OK.

- Jeff Burgar