I was born near the ocean, in the Maritime provinces, and my heart has remained there all my life. Once in awhile I have to remind myself of what I like about the prairies where I have made my home for the last forty-odd years.
One thing, of course, is the big sky. Stand on the prairies and you can see the horizon far in the distance in every direction. When you look around there is more sky than land in your view. My brother is fond of saying that when the wagon trains came across the prairie, they would get up in the morning and go all day before setting up camp in the evening. Then they would be able to look back and see where they had camped the previous night!
This field of canola is a common site and is one of the reasons that flying into the prairies is such a visual treat - the different colours of the crops create a patchwork quilt for your eyes. Since the blocks of crops are not all the same size and shape I guess it would be considered a crazy quilt! When I came here, flax was also seen in the fields and the dusty blue blended with the yellow of the canola, the gold of the wheat, and the other crops. I miss seeing the flax fields now no one seems to grow it anymore around here.
I think there is a little girl in all of us who thrills to seeing horses at pasture along the roads. I have to say I prefer seeing them to an endless array of cattle. You don't see as much cattle as you once did since a lot are biding their time at feedlots now. In the early spring, you can see the calves in the fields though and that's pretty wonderful. Amazing that such playful little creatures grow into their stodgy adult counterparts. The horses are always there along the roadsides though and seeing them never fails to give me a thrill.
You might really wonder about this photo but it has me pretty excited! When I went home this week to collect my mail from the post office what had seemed like endless highway work was done and, lo and behold, there is a turn lane off the highway onto the road where my village is! Whoo-eee! What's next? A stop light?! lol I am sure this little turnoff will save lives and it is a good thing. Getting across that lane of highway was sometimes a bit nerve wracking with one of the big trucks coming along quick and another one at your back showing no signs of slowing down.
So, that's my bit of the world! Maybe one day I will retire within reach of the ocean breezes but for now it doesn't look like it.
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Marilyn