The Garden Next Door

On the same day I photographed "Spring Garden" (posted about a week ago) I also photographed the garden next door where I also take care of a few things.  The entire area is wedge shaped and only about twenty-five feet long by ten feet at the wide end.  This small and intimate space hosts a variety of dwarf  and miniature shrubs and a variety of perennials.  I suppose one could see it as a westernized Zen Garden.

Above:  Miniature lilacs...only about two feet high but they have the same heart-shaped leaves and enchanting fragrance as the old common lilacs that everyone has enjoyed.

Day lilies, a Nanking Cherry, ferns and a huge hosta unfurling in the foreground.

A close-up of an early-flowering clematis vine.  Every spring I think this plant is dead but it has proved me wrong for several years in a row now.  Even when the flowers are spent the leaves are lush until a hard frost in the fall.

Two small cast-concrete mushrooms with a branch of pink-flowered bleeding heart in the upper right with a surround of hosta, fern and ladies mantle. The narrow walkway covered in grey crushed-stone is only about fifteen inches in width.

A patch of periwinkle with some spearmint.

More hosta, ladies mantle, ferns and day lilies with a bronze-leaved rodgersia.

One more shot of a miniature lilac.

A close-up of a flowering Dwarf Korean Lilac near the front door.  These bloom just after the common lilacs and the intoxicating fragrance emanates at least a few hundred feet from the plant.  Definitely a spring favourite...can't have too many lilacs. 

 

Photographed on May 31, 2019.

Land Titles Building

The elegant Land Titles building in Arcola, Saskatchewan.

It's a beauty!

Photographed on December 17, 2018.

North Landing S.D. No. 3198

A well preserved one room school house I came across quite by accident on a road trip last fall.

I've never seen an enamelled school sign like this one before.

It sits on the open prairie near Kyle, Saskatchewan.

The blackboard has been signed by visitors from as far away as Saint Stephan, New Brunswick and Vancouver, British Columbia...and many others in between.

Jet!  I love catching vapour trails in my photos.

Photographed on October 23, 2018.

Spring Garden

A short tour through one of the many gardens where I "lend a hand."  A beautiful garden always makes my day.

Above: creeping thyme blooming profusely.

The resident bunny.  Almost everyone here has a resident bunny or two, sometimes a raccoon, a family of deer and one place even has a female moose that visits from time to time.

A fernleaf peony (and close-up of the delicate five-petal flowers).

Hostas and coleas.

I think these are calendulas.

A section of the back yard.

Brightly coloured euphorbia polychroma (also known as cushion spurge).

A close-up of the creeping thyme flowers.

A section of the front yard.

The grass is always shorter in front of a hungry bunny.

Photographed on May 31, 2019.

Swedish Zion Lutheran Church and Cemetery

This lovely old stone church is less than a mile south of the Canada/U.S.A border in north-central North Dakota.  It's a landmark in the community and is known to the locals simply as the "Little Stone Church."

The flying buttresses help to keep the walls straight and secure.

Posted just inside the double swinging doors was a comprehensive history of the church.  A well deserved "thank you" to the person or persons responsible for sharing the history of their congregation.  Here is a brief summary:   

The Swedish Lutheran Congregation was formed in 1896 and held Sunday services in member's houses for the first few years.  In 1902 a tithing plan was implemented to raise money for the construction of a church where each member donated one cent per bushel of wheat he harvested that year.

An appointed and generous secretary donated the land for the church and cemetery.  A mason from Chicago, along with his two apprentices, were hired to construct the church and together with volunteers from the congregation began construction of the church in the spring of 1903.  The church was opened for services later that same year.

The view from the cemetery.

A main "family" marker with individual headstones for each family member.

The church looks really quite inviting.

The original door and latch as seen from inside the church.  Lots of hands have opened this door over the past one hundred and sixteen years.

The interior of the church was renovated in 1953 for the fiftieth anniversary and the wallpaper was added at that time.

Most all of the historical Lutheran churches in the surrounding area still have these "old-fashioned" kneeling altars.

The walls are two feet thick of solid cut stone.  Lots of kids have sat in this window well.

Building this church must have been hard, back-breaking work...horses, ropes and man-power were the modern conveniences of the day.  While the church was being built members of the congregation would have been busy with their day-to-day lives...planting and harvesting their crops, getting the kids off to the one-room-school, tending the farm animals ...these were tough and determined people.

It was good so see that the church and cemetery were still maintained after all these years.  If you ever have a chance to visit this historical place, please make a donation to preserve it.  There is a little donation box at the back of the church...every little bit goes a long way to help preserve the past.

Almost forgot...the mason and his two helpers were paid $400.00 for the construction of the church.  Money well spent.

I hope you enjoyed the "Little Stone Church."

Photographed on December 15, 2018.

Hello...it's Lovely to See You

Westerham Congregational Cemetery, June 2, 2017

Greetings and welcome to "Past Presence."

The primary focus of this blog will be on pioneer churches, cemeteries and schools.  Most likely I'll change it up a little from time to time...as they say, variety is the spice of life.  My current plan is to post something new once or twice each week.  The blog will draw from a large archive of photos dating from the fall of 2016 to the present day and onwards.

Some of you may know me from BW Bandy's blog "The View from Here" where I've been guest posting for the past year or so.  You can see those posts here:  The View from Here

Here's a sample of what's to come:

Above is Westerham Congregational Cemetery in the Gascoigne, Saskatchewan area.  The black crosses look stark in the Saskatchewan prairie landscape.

Zion Lutheran Church, June 2, 2017

Zion Lutheran Church near Horsham, Saskatchewan.  The roof collapsed years ago but the walls are still standing upright.

South of Empress, Saskatchewan , June 2, 2017

Cattle on a hillside near the Empress Cemetery in Saskatchewan...a lovely day in late spring.

Saint Margaret's Church and Cemetery, June 8, 2017

Saint Margaret's Church and Cemetery at Eagle Butte in the Cypress Hills of Alberta.  The church seats about thirty-two people comfortably.  This past Easter service was attended by fifty-five people...standing room only!

Saint Anthony's Church at Grosswerder, December 12, 2017

Saint Anthony's Church at Grosswerder, Saskatchewan.  The big yellow church out in the country.

Congregational Church at Gros-Ventre/Tothill, May 20, 2018

Buffalo beans blooming in front of Congregational Church at Gros-Ventre/Tothill in southern Alberta.  There is a small cemetery just west of the church.

Cypress School, June 20, 2018

Cypress School, north of Elkwater in the Cypress Hills of Alberta.  This little one-room school was open for fifty-eight years...that must be a record.

Peace Lutheran Church, August 9, 2018

Peace Lutheran Church in the R.M. of Stonehenge, Saskatchewan.  Lots to see in the area.

Near Savoy, October 18, 2018

The half-moon above Pony Hill Cemetery near Savoy in north-central Montana.  Be it near or far, I always feel "at home" in the prairie landscape.

Saint Joseph Catholic Church, October 19, 2018

On top of a small and very steep hill is Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Zortman, Montana...right in the middle of the Little Rocky Mountains.

Turner Cemetery, October 21, 2018

Turner Cemetery north of Turner, Montana.  Flyin' high!

Union Cemetery, December 18, 2018

Union Cemetery just outside of Sherwood, North Dakota...the long shadows of winter.

Saint Raphael's Roman Catholic Church, December 17, 2018

Saint Raphael's Roman Catholic Church in Cantal, Saskatchewan.  A cemetery and school cairn are a little west of this big stone and wooden church.

Saint Olaf Cemetery, December 18, 2018

Saint Olaf Cemetery near Tioga, North Dakota...a long abandoned church sits east of the cemetery.  I love the big open prairie of the area.

Winner Township School #2, December 19, 2018

The winter sun setting on Winner Township School #2 near Blacktail Lake in Williams County, North Dakota.  This was the last shot of the day and then it was back to Estevan, Saskatchewan for the night.

Thanks for the visit!