My Ancestors Were Prairie People

The Warden Home Place

On this morning, the prairie was a painting of soft pastels punctuated by farms, windbreaks and old granaries.

Near Hanna, Alberta

Yet, it is the subtleties of the prairies that leave their mark and tell its story: the always changing canvas of colour, the lines and shapes, layers and patterns.

Near Hanna Alberta

With a high horizon, I contemplated the prairies and found rolling hills, where the contours of the land were revealed in subtle highlights. In the looking, I literally, saw the light and watched as it moved, dancing across the land, light chasing shadow.

The Sky Near Vulcan

How do I tell you of the sky at Vulcan? It’s a sky that has a physical presence, a sky of piercing blue emptiness where a single cloud can appear and move across the land, growing larger and morphing into a prairie storm, all in a matter of minutes.

Near Vulcan, Alberta

The land has been cultivated and nurtured for generations now, and the fertility and history of the land was revealed in its soft colours.

Near Hanna, Alberta

I’ll never forget the morning we arrived at Brooks. Ah, what a beautiful morning. Almost all you can see for miles and miles is prairie. There are hills, just little rolling ones though. I fell in love with Alberta that morning and have never gotten over it! Alberta’s famous sunshine, air like wine, meadowlarks singing and the whole wonderful world ahead of me .