My wife and I used to be part of a small congregation in a little village north of Saskatoon. The biggest event of the year for this congregation was the Vacation Bible School that took place in our village and in a much larger nearby town (a suburb of Saskatoon). This program had been going … Continue reading In Memory of Jay Bullock
Saskatchewan
The dark side of beauty
Image by Petra from Pixabay There is nothing more beautiful than a sunny winter morning when every tree branch, every weed and every wire is coated with sparling, dazzling diamonds. No man-made beauty comes close to matching such a display. Last week we had mild days with fog and hardly a breeze. In the night, the fog would … Continue reading The dark side of beauty
Hibernation aspiration
It's -40° this morning, no need to qualify it with a C or an F, this is the point where the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales meet. It is on mornings like this that I begin to understand why bears hibernate. It seems so inviting to go back to bed and sleep until spring. But I … Continue reading Hibernation aspiration
A tree falls on the prairie
One hundred years ago, settlers came to the flatlands of Saskatchewan. No need for axes and saws to fell trees, just a team of oxen and a plough to turn the virgin sod and prepare it for a first crop. Of course, the lack of trees also meant a lack of building materials, so the … Continue reading A tree falls on the prairie
We still need the ambulance down in the valley
Image by Gianni Crestani from Pixabay Every time there is a disaster, someone will say “there oughta be a law” to prevent such mayhem from ever happening again. Governments are happy to oblige, but is there any evidence the laws are helping? A poem that was often recited in the Christian school which my daughter attended was about … Continue reading We still need the ambulance down in the valley
Fast time follies
It is generally admitted that the theoretical benefits of setting clocks to an hour earlier during the summer months have never worked out in practice. But it's a habit that's hard to kick. Kind of like smoking; many governments say the want to quit, they are going to quit, but they can't quite get themselves … Continue reading Fast time follies
Fields of gold
Saskatchewan used to be known as “The Wheat Province” and when one talked about fields of golden grain they meant fields of wheat ripe for harvest. Wheat is still grown here, as well as other cereal grains, but a whole lot of new field crops are now grown. Crops such as lentils, chickpeas, canola and … Continue reading Fields of gold
Canada Day musings
When I was a boy there were hardly any indigenous people to be seen in most parts of Saskatchewan. We knew they were out there somewhere, safely confined to Indian Reservations. Times have changed, indigenous people are making a place for themselves in the economic, cultural and social life of our province. The current Lieutenant-Governor … Continue reading Canada Day musings
Bad choices, happy ending
We left home yesterday morning for a shopping trip to Saskatoon, fully aware of the forecast of an Alberta Clipper, a fast moving winter storm that would pass through this area in the afternoon. The forecast of the time and the area affected were still a little vague in the morning and we though we … Continue reading Bad choices, happy ending
Weather complaints
Image by Nobis from Pixabay Have you noticed how apocalyptic weather reports have become? "Unprecedented Siberian cold blankets the prairies!" "High risk of frostbite and hypothermia." Those of us who are native to the prairies love to complain about our weather extremes. I used to tell people that when I was a boy we had days every winter … Continue reading Weather complaints
Flatlander Faith 