Saskatchewan, land of living skies. I love it here, it's so different to home. From my cousins' farms you can see for miles in any direction, virtually uninterrupted by hills and even trees, which are mostly simply a wind breaking sign of a farmyard. The night sky is simply breathtaking (not that I got any photos, too busy talking the rubbish and drinking the wine), sunsets are spectacular (not that I got any photos...), and sunrises the same (no, not those either). It also snows a lot in the winter, which seems to go on into spring all too often, but we arrived just after the latest dump, thankfully.
Old traditional grain elevators (grain storage repositories, before it is shipped all over the world), still pepper the landscape, although as with all things modern these ones have been largely replaced with monster versions called inland terminals. But they somehow convey the romance of the place.
Romantic it wasn't always; it was damned hard work. My aunt Celia (my dad's sister) came out here as a war bride, in 1946, married to a Canadian air force man, Russell. It took her 2 weeks just to get here - a week on a ship and a week on a train! It's a big country, I think Halifax where she landed is closer to the UK than Saskatchewan. I cannot imagine the hardships she put up with initially, living on a remote farm, with no piped water or mains electricity and mosquitoes in the summer that tore her to pieces. And she was pregnant with the first of my 5 cousins! Like Glasgow, her home town, it wasn't! But she, like my uncle and my cousins, was made of tough stuff and she never flinched. I had never actually met any of them until I hitch hiked (that's another story) into town in 1978, aged 21. It is hard to convey how wonderfully I was welcomed as family, despite them not actually knowing me, and I have been welcomed here ever since. As they say, blood sometimes really is thicker than water. It may not be my home, but I love it here and thank all of my family for continuing to make me so welcome. I am blessed and honoured. The usual rubbish selfie with my cousins Allan & Judy (and with apologies to Doug & Joan, we forgot to take one!)
We've spent the last few days "visiting" (as it is said round here) with what seems like an ever expanding list of cousins - only two are first cousins (I have another two in Alberta) but as their families grow the visits get more numerous. There was a time when I would come out here for weeks at a time, get my tractor driving skills enhanced and work the fields with the family. But my aunt and uncle have passed away and my (actual) cousins have passed most of the responsibility to the next generation and the one after that, so we restricted ourselves to looking meaningfully around farmyards and discussing the weather! I know how farming works! But come this time of year (seeding time), and at harvest, work starts at, or not long after, dawn and continues pretty much till dusk. They know how to work hard.
It's been restful, alcoholic and overfed, but just wonderful and I hope I can come back here for many years to come. The flat landscapes really are beautiful and the small communities are welcoming and friendly. It might not be top of everyone's bucket list but a visit to the Canadian Prairies is beautiful, memorable and really worth it.
As I write I am in Medicine Hat (having passed through Moose Jaw and Swift Current yesterday - fabulous names!) in Alberta, just about to start the next phase of family reunions in Red Deer and Calgary. Cue, more talking nonsense, more wine drinking and more laughter. I feel a very lucky man. There might be another short hiatus in this drivel so you can take a break till later in the week. Bye for now, here's a few more pictures.
Cousin Allan, reliving his youth. Which one is Starsky and which one is Hutch?
Big sky, and and what sometimes seems like an almost infinite horizon.
I've been coming here for so long I have friends here, I am not even related to! Gene and Susan, great to see you!
And so our rather brief visit to Saskatchewan comes to a close. Welcome to Alberta!
Morning Alan. Great to see that you have hooked up with the family again. It must be lovely to visit somewhere that means so much to you and get a great welcome every time. Very special.
As I mentioned before, we took Graham Liddle to the farm. As we got closer the sky filled with strange lights. Non of us knew what it was. Not even my Nebraskan farm boy, U S Air Force husband did not know. Russel was very proud to tell us what we saw was the Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis. Glad we did, never see them since. Did see a small show of Aurora Australis from the ship we were sailing between Australia and New Zealand.