Balloon Festival

There was a hot-air balloon festival here this past weekend.  Much of Friday and Saturday was too windy but Sunday morning was calm and sunny so just before 7:00 a.m. the balloons began launching from an open field north of town.  I'd been busy with some early morning gardening but had stopped on South River Road for a rest when, one by one, the hot-air balloons began rising in the sky.  They always give me that thrill of boyhood adventure..."Around the World in Eighty Days" and all that.  Collectively, to me, they look like Christmas tree ornaments just floating above the landscape.  They certainly do capture the imagination.  Enjoy!

Photographed in Medicine Hat, Alberta on May 29, 2022.

Castle Butte

A marvelous natural site near Bengough, Saskatchewan.  Enjoy!

Photographed on May 26, 2022.

Antonia and Lukas

During a recent visit to Buffalo Gap Cemetery I found this stained glass window encased in a glass block.

Antonia...

...and Lukas.

The glass block decoration adds that "little something extra" and sits midway between the couple's headstones.

Photographed near Buffalo Gap, Saskatchewan on May 26. 2022.

Paisley Brook S.D. No. 3434

I wasn't sure if this one was still standing or not but since it was a beautiful spring day I decided to take a chance and go for a drive to see for myself.  As it turned out, the schoolhouse was still standing and in pretty nice condition.  The flag flying above the marker was almost new...obviously someone cares about this pioneer school.  It even has it's original wooden siding and cedar shake roof.

Swallows had a few nests under the eaves so they were dive-bombing me while I took pictures...just protecting their babies.

Something unusual is the relatively truncated bank of windows.  The windows usually fill most of one side of the building but not in this case.     

Photographed near Big Beaver, Saskatchewan on May 26, 2022.

Little Church near Glentworth

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church and Cemetery is near Glentworth, Saskatchewan.  In 1918 the cemetery was established with the church being built a short time later in 1925.  

The churchyard is a tiny spot of green surrounded by farm land.  The landscape combines rolling hills which lead to prairie vistas and then back again...my kind of place. 

A peek inside the window behind the altar reveals a beautiful white and gold tabernacle flanked by golden candlesticks. 

Photographed on May 25, 2022.

Sensation

A lilac of a different colour...Sensation Lilac.  The purplish-red florets edged with pure white really are sensational.

Many years ago I worked at a garden centre where my chief responsibility was to order, care for and manage the tree lot.  I always looked forward to the small potted Sensation Lilacs arriving from the nursery and blooming in all their glory.  People were always wary of them for some reason unknown to me making them a tough sell.  The strangest remark I ever heard from a customer was, "it's too pretty to be hardy here."  Ahhh...ye of little faith.

Way back then I used to design private gardens and sometimes plant them as well.  Sensation Lilac was one shrub I often used in those designs...something familiar but different.  Many of those yards I no longer tend but the few I do have excellent specimens that are not only attractive but also tough as nails, as the saying goes.  The one shown here is about thirty-five years old and twelve feet tall.  I'm sure it will be around to be enjoyed for many more years to come. 

And yes, they do have that wonderful lilac fragrance. 

Photographed at Lucy the Springer Spaniel's yard in Medicine Hat, Alberta on May 30, 2022.

Zion Lutheran near Horsham

Zion Lutheran Church is likely the most photographed place in the area.  Just about everyone has a photo or two of this one somewhere in their archive.

Once or twice every year I take a day trip through the area.  Lots to see and it's always nice to just get away for a few hours.

It looks as though the roof has fallen in a just little more since my last visit.

A solitary fenced grave marker at one corner of the cemetery.

This small white cross with white-painted fieldstones mark a child's grave.

The remaining headstones in the cemetery can be seen in the distance to the right of the church. 

Something I was reminded of recently...a grass fire ripped through the area about three years ago but Zion Lutheran was spared, thankfully.  It's truly a landmark to be appreciated and enjoyed.

Photographed near Horsham, Saskatchewan on April 30, 2022.

More Deer at Daisy's...

...and this time in the front yard.  

I arrived to do some gardening about mid-afternoon today and was greeted by these three does having a rest under the lilacs.  After taking some photos I spent the next couple of hours working maybe fifty feet away from them on the other side of the yard.  They didn't seem to mind the human presence at all.  Something of note...most of the hundreds of deer that live in the city are mule deer but there are a few small pockets of white-tailed deer and the natural hillside area by Daisy's place is one of those spots.  They make an appearance at least a few times each day, and as seen here, often stop for a rest or a nap and chew their cud.

Seldom a day goes by that I don't see deer somewhere here in town but each new sighting is still something of a treat (you can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy, or something like that).

Photographed in Medicine Hat, Alberta on May 29, 2022.

Black-tailed Prairie Dog

Late last fall in Grasslands National Park...

Not just another gopher...the black-tailed prairie dog is exclusive to this small part of the southern prairies.

They are about twice the size of a regular gopher (Richardson's Ground Squirrel) and have a distinctive black tail.

Most of the colony's members were in their burrows during my visit but this guy/girl was still active (and keeping an eye on me).  Whenever I got too close he (or she) would scoot into the burrow opening.

That looks like a nice fur coat for the winter.

The black tail blends in well with the soil.

Always fun to watch the wildlife.

Photographed near Val Marie, Saskatchewan on November 19, 2021.

Across the Alley...

...from Daisy's yard is a natural area populated by the local wildlife.  These two young bucks were so quiet I didn't even notice them resting in the tall grass until I had been working in the yard for half an hour.  They weren't concerned about me at all and posed quite nicely for some photos.  

Photographed in Medicine Hat, Alberta on May 28, 2022.