WHAT’S IT LIKE LIVING IN ELBOW, SASKATCHEWAN?

 WHAT’S IT LIKE LIVING IN ELBOW, SASKATCHEWAN?

The old TV show Green Acres began with the catchy theme song:

“Green acres is the place to be

Farm livin' is the life for me

Land spreadin' out so far and wide

Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside.”

As many of you know, Darlene has taken a summer job helping a friend who runs the coffee shop in beautiful downtown Elbow, Saskatchewan (population 337) for the summer. She has rented an old farm house on the outskirts of town and is living the dream. I have been a more or less regular guest at her rural Airbnb since she got here and have had to make some basic adjustments to the life style that I am used to in big city Calgary.

The cafe, named Mugs, is a modern, spotless, up-scale coffee house that would rival any Starbucks you might be used to. Mugs offers every coffee drink available from regular to exotic, along with a mouth watering variety of baking (that Darlene produces), and daily lunch soups, paninis and salad bowls. Mugs is a tropical oasis deposited in the flat farmland of rural Saskatchewan. And it is generally busy, busy, busy!

We have dubbed the little, old, farm house Green Acres in homage to the popular TV series of yesteryear. It is about a mile out of town and features acres of dilapidated farm buildings, old machinery retired to stud, trees, shrubs, and loads of grass to cut. Sadly, we do not boast a chicken coop or a pig barn and sty, or you would mistake us for the old TV location. Ridin’ the mower is a regular pastime, tendin’ the few flower pots and keepin’ and eye out for wildlife keeps us as busy as we want to be.

The old farm house is a perfect setting for a TV sitcom. Some of its unique features include a stove where the burners are stored in a sliding drawer that fits under the raised oven and a toilet that is flushed by lifting up on a green pickle ball that rests on the top of the tank. I could add the huge bearskin rug in an upper floor bedroom and a rifle safe complete with rifles as unusual! As a counterpoint, the home also features a 42 inch TV, high-speed Internet and air conditioning. It is a one of a kind farm house. 

Downtown Elbow is similarly unique. It’s main street is so wide it would take two walk lights to cross it, if it had traffic lights. A corner gas station anchors one end and a mini-golf course decorates the other. In between there are a mix of essential services: a candy store, an ice cream shop, three not-in-service restaurants, Mugs, a credit union, a bar complete with VLTs, and a couple of trinket shops. The booming business is the single grocery store, operated of course by non-caucasians, with the unwritten motto, “If you don’t like our prices drive 75 km to the next grocery store”. 

As you will have gathered, living in Elbow is also subject to a host of unique attributes. During most of the day, the silence is deafening, especially at night. The speed limit is 40 kph and it is a good practice for me to get used to. All drivers you encounter either wave at you or raise their hand in greeting. I find myself undergoing a vocabulary transition and using words like, “yup, nope and shucks” regularly. People are friendly and the pace of life is sloooooow and unhurried. If you want action, there is a lovely 18 hole golf course, a large marina, and the fishing opportunities offered by Lake Diefenbaker with its 800 km of shoreline and plentiful  prize winning trout, walleyes, and pickerel.

I will admit that Elbow is starting to grow on me. I do miss friends and family in Calgary, the A and W, and Wendys, the view from our condo and Edworthy Park for my daily stroll. Wandering through the debris that clutters the large farm yard is not that stimulating. Not to mention that a cougar has been sighted in the vicinity. A fat, slow-moving, senior citizen could be an attractive food source if the big cat is hungry. On the other hand, sitting outside under the trees regularly features a family of deer that casually wander over to inspect us and provides a feel-good moment that you won’t find in the city. 

Singer John Denver pretty much summed up my situation:

Well life on the farm is kinda laid back

Ain't much an old country boy like me can't hack

It's early to rise, early in the sack

I thank God I'm a country boy