A memory of summer — a cool drink of lime soda on ice.
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Lime Soda on Ice: Cold colours, bubbles
Author: Shelley Banks
Writer, editor, photographer.
Preparing for Spring – and wildflowers
© SB
In the midst of this long Prairie winter, I’m longing for spring.
The snow won’t be gone for months — at least through the end of March — but I can dream, and so I am updating my Prairie Wildflowers blog.
Because wildflowers only bloom in Saskatchewan in spring and summer, this blog is an image collection, not a diary of my excursions to see and photograph flowers.
Each entry lists the name, location and date of the each photo, so it’s a great reference for seasonal prairie flowers — and a reminder to myself that spring will soon be here.
For more on the Paintbrush image at left, see: Slender Coral Paintbrush.
Lake of the Plains School: Saskatchewan
One summer day, I drove the backyards around Last Mountain Lake and came across this old, abandoned school building. Most of the old rural schools have now been torn down or converted to other uses, so this was, for me, a treasure. And perhaps the lake left with the students? The land all around was dry, as far as I could see…
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Winter: Hoar Frost in the Qu’Appelle Valley
Driving into the Qu’Appelle Valley north of Regina, Saskatchewan, I saw this tree and stopped.
Graceful and covered in hoar frost, it grows by a drop-off into the valley with blue hills behind. A single furrow of deer tracks led across the road, through the field towards it, and coyote tracks also stamped the nearby snow. Or perhaps those came from a dog wandering the snow, far from any house.
Winter has its own (cold) beauty.
Prairie Creek in the Qu’Appelle Valley
This swerving, curving prairie creek — not far from Regina, Saskatchewan — is one of many streams that flow into the Qu’Appelle River.
This picture was taken from a bridge near the town of Lumsden.
What caught my interest were the soft fall colours, receding into the distant hills, and the gentle curve of the creek.
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Doorway to the Past: Kedleston, Saskatchewan
Kedleston, Saskatchewan, thrived from 1910 until the 1970s. Its last residents left in 1988 when a fire swept through. Today, a historical plaque marks the townsite.
All that remains are sidewalks through tall grasses and in the fields, abandoned homes.
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Saskatoon Railway Bridge: Ship at Sea
This old railway bridge in downtown Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, reminds me of an old ocean-going vessel — a pirate’s ship, listing in rough waves as it crosses the river.
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Red, Yellow, Blue: Saskatchewan Hot Air Balloon
Whee! This photo is all about colour — brilliant yellows, reds and blues against a vibrant early evening sky.
It was captured in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in September 2012, during an after-dinner walk from my hotel. (I was in town for the Professional Writers Association of Canada’s Prairies Fall Conference. If you’re interested in freelance writing, check out PWAC!)
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