Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Please Respect This Site

Saint John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church is near Glidden, Saskatchewan.

It was a foggy and frosty day in the country which always makes for alluring pictures.  The caragana hedge behind the church was covered in thick hoar frost.

The apse of the church is an unusual four-sided shape with windows on two of those sides.

The three wrought iron crosses are oversize and distinctive.

Even when this sign is not physically present, as it is here, it's a sign that should be in mind at all heritage sites.  Please respect all historical sites.

Photographed on November 22, 2020.

Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Downtown Melville

The Court House (now City Hall)...

...and Post Office in Melville, Saskatchewan.  

A pair of attractive and historical brick buildings in downtown Melville.   

Photographed on October 11, 2020.

Sunday, December 13, 2020

Black Lab

A friendly black lab I met in the country near Grayson, Saskatchewan.  She was full of energy and as soon as she saw I had a stick to throw we were instantly best buddies.  This is the sort of spontaneous interaction that makes for a great day on the road.  

Photographed on October 11, 2020. 

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Three Rose Windows

 

These are the three rose windows at Saint Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

It was -32°C outside and I was happy to be taking photographs inside where it was toasty warm.

This a just a small example of the many beautiful stained glass windows at the church.


Photographed on December 17, 2019.

Saint Vladimir

Saint Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Church is in Vegreville, Alberta.

A touch of the traditional in a modern setting...a mosaic tile representation of Christ holding a bible.

Photographed on February 23, 2020.

Thursday, December 10, 2020

Lindahl Township School

This is Lindahl Township School (complete with cast iron water pump).  The original three-gabled school must have been quite attractive in its day...

...but there also must have been quite a population explosion in later years, enough to warrant two lean-to additions to the school.


Some decorative elements are the arched window in the west-facing gable, small finials at the tips of all three gables and eave returns on the north and south ends of the original school.  (An eave return is where the bottom corner of the roof wraps around to the adjacent side of the building...adding a little "touch of class.") 

Lindahl Township is thirty-six square miles of farm and pasture land with a population of about sixty people.  Lots of space to move around.

Photographed near McGregor, North Dakota on December 18, 2018.

Wednesday, December 09, 2020

Oxville

A country church near Oxville, Alberta.

I was both surprised and pleased to see that the road had been plowed.  Since no one lives along this stretch I expected a half mile plus walk-in to see the church.  Thank you Mister Grader Man!

The exterior is finished in plain gray stucco... 

...while the interior is plaster painted a soft yellow.  The floor is hardwood painted gray.

A small table and two chairs for an indoor picnic when visiting on a warmer day.  The spartan design (both inside and out) of the building 'suggest' a Lutheran church.

The large windows let in lots of light. 

A community cemetery is located just west of the church. 

Photographed on February 20, 2020.

Tuesday, December 08, 2020

Stripes

A couple of attractive yearlings in a pasture near Otthon, Saskatchewan.

I don't remember ever seeing cattle with these distinctive stripes before so I did a little research.  They are a Scottish breed of cattle called "Belted Galloway."  That long hair must keep them warm in the winter.

Photographed on October 11, 2020.

Monday, December 07, 2020

Church at Brush Hill

 

The abandoned Brush Hill Reformed Church in Minburn County, Alberta.  Take note of the handsome stone cairn erected beside the church in 1995.

The cairn is dedicated to the pioneers who built the church in 1916.

Photographed north of Vegreville, Alberta on February 24, 2020.

Saturday, December 05, 2020

2-йй авеню i Головна вулиця

 

Second Avenue and Main Street.

In Hafford, Saskatchewan the street signs are bilingual: Ukrainian and English.  A notable touch of cultural preservation.

Photographed on November 23, 2020.