The last of the farms

Written by Catherine

You know that saying, party till the cows come home?  Well, party’s over…

-Cattle Rancher

Cows coming in from the community pasture.
Cows coming in from the community pasture

So we have nearly completed the data collection for the Farmers Back Study – it’s been a long season! Since starting this study in March, we have had several adventures in rural Saskatchewan and seen a lot of ‘country stuff‘ along the way.

Me with the video camera. 20 degrees with a light breeze - not bad for early October.
Me with the video camera. 20 degrees with a light breeze – not bad for early October.

So far, we have measured about 50 people on 22 farms, involving dozens of different farm vehicles and at least 20 different farm tasks. This summer was busy enough that I am not that sad about the arrival of Fall (unusual for me). I will miss being out on the farms and visiting the farmers (and their cats), but it will be good to spend some time in the office and lab processing our mountains of data… and the students need to finish their theses sometime!

What will happent o this little catepillar once the last warm days are gone? Will she turn into a butterfly before then, or spend the winter in a coccoon, or just up and die?
What will happen to this little catepillar once the last warm days are gone? Will she turn into a butterfly before then, or spend the winter in a coccoon, or just up and die?

Bye bye farms