Musing

Hi Mark, Interesting -- I was born in Swift Current (lived in Morse) and find your description of the area quite appropriate and nostalgic. I haven't been back in many years... maybe it's time for a visit. I have to admit I love the prairie, more so than mountains. I love the openness, the expanse, the clean air, the smells, the grassland, the wheat fields (or canola or whatever) and the various critters that can be seen and/or heard. That's one of the reasons I appreciate where I live in the city...prairie grassland only a few steps from my back door in Fish Creek Park. Vacation has been changed and changed again so who knows when it will actually happen. For sure I am off the first week of August but everything else is currently up in the air. Have a great week. , CC, Calgary

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There's something special, even mystically spiritual about the Saskatchewan prairies ... those immense wheat fields alive with the rythmic movement of gentle prairie winds...those spectacular hot evening lighting and thunder storms that make a mockery of the Calgary Stampede fireworks ... and that fantastic endless canopy of blue above, so humbling in its immensity. This summer we drove from Calgary back to my birthplace, Saskatoon, to celebrate my mother's 90th birthday. With Mom and my three brothers in the van, we drove north past Waldheim towards her birthplace on the farm close to the North Saskatchewan river. On the way we stopped for a sacred moment at the rural church cemetery where my father was buried two summers ago, and where our ancestors, some born in the mid-1800's in Europe, are laid to rest. The bones of great, great grandparents, uncles and aunts, and recent cousins repose in quiet solitude under the shade of fir tree branches, trees planted long before I was conceived. On two sides of the cemetery are lush fields stretching as far as the eye can see. We sat quietly by Dad's grave, contemplating my father's 92 years and a life so well-lived, thankful for this place called Saskatchewan, and grateful again for the opportunity to bask in a flood of priceless memories...driving the tractor on Grandpa's knee, jumping into the hay stack from high in the farm loft, catching gophers and frogs, eating Grandma's sandwiches down by the creek, listening to the extended family lustily singing gospel choruses by the piano on a Sunday afternoon, digging endless rows of potatoes on a hot august afternoon, and swatting mosquitoes while sitting on the old outhouse perch. Why is it that there are really no words sufficient to describe such a prairie cemetery moment, only a heart pregnant with gratitude. Mark, thank you for your daily musings...a gift to many. May your search for a "home on the Saskatchewan range" be successful, and may your time spent there bring you joy and peace, GD, Calgary

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I didn’t realize you were looking for a getaway. Awesome. Saskatchewan is definitely underrated and as long as you have water what more do you need as a writers retreat. You can muse anywhere. How are you enjoying “Blink” I have been trying to listen to it this week and keep falling asleep. Since I have not been sleeping much at all I don’t think its interesting me. If you think its worthwhile I will persist otherwise it will be another time that I read or listen to it. , DB, Red Deer

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Hello Mark, How are you? Sounds like you're enjoying your country retreat. I think I have been unsubscribed from the musing mailing list. Feel free to reinstate me. It looks like outgoing mail from that address however is not reaching contacts as I mailed you some time ago and I know you're always courteous enough to reply or at least acknowledge. I was hoping you could help me. I have been looking at a visit to western Canada this winter for my birthday and Christmas and I had established contact with a couple of your musing circle of friends. However when I installed the new PC, my contact list at the fsnet address was wiped along with the message history so I can't get back in touch. Please can you put my plea out with your musings. We're enjoying a prolonged heat wave here in the UK. Some parts are as hot as Spain. It's been great. People have just had to slow down, take a siesta and leave small stuff until tomorrow as air con. is not standard in most buildings. The whole atmosphere of the place has transformed although some people have been tempted to reveal more acreage of pasty English cellulite than is usually acceptable in town. Might as well enjoy the onset of global warming while we can as most of the south east of England will be engulfed by the sea if the projections for the melting ice caps hold true. How far above sea level is Calgary? You could be on to a far better thing than you ever imagined. I like the sound of Swift Current. I love out of the way places that no one's ever heard of; just take the elevation into account. Suddenly everyone here has finally cottoned on to the possibility of climate change and the impact on our country. Hey it only took about 40 years to work that one out. Mind you, for a nation whose constitution was laid out in the year 1215 that's undue haste. I would recommend people get over here quickly and not just to see big healthy girls in mini skirts and ill-fitting skimpy tops but to catch the culture before we become the next Atlantis. Best wishes from Shelagh, SK, London