Community Life Excerpts from the diary of Colin John MacPhail December 1882 1st: I been to town, good sley road 3rd: Preaching De Sable at night did not attend 4th: showers of snow, Preaching school house, some rain 6th: heavy rain 7th: Good road for wheels, fine day 8th: stormy, making ice on the shore, school house wood sold to Granger McPhail for $1.80 9th: Stormy, 1/2 mile of ice on the shore. 10th: Preaching at night, did not at¬ tend. 11th: Snow storm in the am. Finely McDonald killed a pig for own use 15th: Threshing in the pm, Dougald McKinnon , John Campbell Smith , Neil A. McPhail , John Big Mai 20th: Us & Arthur been to Victoria 21st: Schooner past east, no ice to be seen. 23rd: Steamer loading oats Ch'town at 35 cents. Threshing at Mai pm 27th: Threshing in the pm Angus McPhail Finely McDonald, Mai & John 28th: Peter Ferguson butchered a cow 29th: 1 been town with the beaf 4 1/2 for hind, 4 lor the fore quarter hide inspector 58 lb. @4 cents a pound. 31st: Sunday, Good roads Serine weather so far. January 1883 4th: High wind and hard frost, Neil A McPhail chaffing wheat 18 bush in all. 5th: Thermometer 16 below zero. 8th: Threshing at Mai 9th: Cate Currie 8c I been to town by Dochandroff, ice good to Westville 10th: some snow at night, 2 1/2 bush hay seed 13th: hauling wood at Ducans 14th: Sunday some rain 16th: Threshing Lauchlen McKinnon Mai &John Colin ( Big Mai) McPhail, Neil A McPhail , Rob & Finely Mc¬ Donald 17th: Snow storm not sever, Chap McLean child buried, up to the present time we have had good roads and fair weather 19th: road breaking (not much) 20th: took 5 bush wheat to mill & 8 bush oats to Crapaud , Subscribed for the Family Herald 21st: Sunday, some snow otrain 22nd &23rd: imp bush of oats to Mill 24th: us & Finly McDonald to town 27th: snow in the eve 31st: Heavy rain at night. February 1883 3rd: 3 below zero, preaching school house did no attend 5th: Sunday, preaching did not attend, snow 7th: snow - not enough snow in the woods to make a good track 10th: 4 degrees all day and 8 degrees below zero at night 11th: showers of snow 12th: 4 or 5 in of snow 13th: threshing at Mai 57