I took a quick trip down to the farm yesterday and snapped a few shots with my new Canon Rebel T7. Some were taken at dusk, so the light was what it was.
A mirage just east of Regina.
Deer are numerous this year.
Moose Mountain Creek, the famed waterway that launched the career of Elizabeth May.
The “cement bridge” over the creek. Local folklore holds that a schoolboy once rode his bicycle over the arches.
Moose Mountains in the background.
The Jefferson homestead, one of the oldest in the region. The hand-hewn timbers held up for well over a century, but it’s finally giving way.
On a short drive within a three mile radius of the farm last evening we spotted at least 4 moose, dozens of whitetails, countless Canada geese (they were flying overhead in flocks numbering in the hundreds) and a Great Horned Owl.
It was nearly dark by then, so excuse the graininess.
Regina is a mirage isn’t it? I mean, well…
I enjoyed your photographs. The deer were beautiful. Imagine a world without them. Thank you for this wonderful blog.
Lovely photos, Kate.
Nice pics. I once hauled a load of furniture for a friend to a small town in that area, named ”Manor.” He was going to work on the rigs. We had loads of fun. He later got fed up of that, so he moved to Weyburn and became a banker. That was 1968.
We had loads of fun.
Very pretty area. Thanks!!
I came 10 years later…..I hope he wasn’t the banker who turned down my loan for a Ranchero with a 460 in it. 🙂
Had to settle for an underpowered 351. Those was the days.
If it was a Cleveland engine, you still could have passed a lot of ”heavy metal” on 13 HWY!!
That banker may have saved your life!!
What? An out of favour DSLR instead of a new Sony mirrorless?
I’m not snarking you, I still use a T2i and a T1i. Except for the larger sensor and WiFi the T7 is almost a copy of the T2i. Canon’s still making money from 10 year old technology. Very capable technology.
Great shot of the deer, the aspens and the purple sky. That noisy horned owl shot sure beats not having a horned owl shot.
There’s an old cement bridge, one span, just like that on the old highway 2 at Hoople Creek in the St. Lawrence at Long Sault. It must have been standard issue.
I’m not surprised about the deer. It was a hard winter for them in NE B. C.
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ve had deer visit my house in Fort St. John and some helped themselves to the alfalfa I left for them. I heard stories that they made it well into town, several blocks from my location.
With more of them plus less access to food due to the weather, I’m not surprised that they came. At Chez BADR, all critters are welcome.
One of my neighbors keeps deer in the barn, about five of them come in every year during hunting season and they act like cattle she pets and feeds them eat and hang out until Hunting season is over.
I Enjoy pictures of the beautiful farmland and wildlife, brings back many memories
THANK you
Kate
I miss those drives in the country. Saskatchewan is quite beautiful but I always swore that mile there was longer than a mile in Alberta.
You can do more of these Kate.
We don’t mind.
SDA nation.
Agree!
Thirded.
I’ve always liked the pic dump on BCF. It should be a “thing” on more sites.
Thank you Kate!
I love the nostalgic beauty our country possesses.
Brings back so many memories of the beautiful places that are still in memory from past experiences.
I certainly feel blessed to have such wonderful memories and experiences of our country which many can never possess or understand.
Great pics Kate. You have a bigger sized property that our 150’x150′ cabin-property on the Miramichi river. But the two farmers on each side let us wander with the dog on the wooded land on each side.
It was great to start the day off with such nice pictures . An area of Canada where serenity abounds .
How’s the RD running?
It’s running but I haven’t ridden it for a while. Time for a new home, I don’t bounce as easily as I once did.
These photos are so beautiful! thanks for posting!
Would love to see more pictures of Saskatchewan as the year progresses.
+++ Liz.
Our sad reality today is what we used to build for survival is totally illegal by our governments imposed laws and restrictions.
They’ve regulated everything from where you allowed to put the house to needing a engineered and stamped blueprints. Add to this the multitude of inspections that need to be signed off from footings to occupancy approval.
This is why many have abandoned the trade as it truly is not worth the hassle.
https://youtu.be/JRDgihVDEko
Here is a Dire Straits song…no doubt will be illegal by our governing bodies.
Pride of your craftsmanship is no longer required today in a slap it up. Get it done and don’t care what it looks like…now gimme my money.
I chose not to participate.
I have the tools but love quality of craftsmanship.
Growing up in Calgary, I thought (later) that it was cool to have foothills and mountains to enjoy west, as well as the prairies east. Both have their distinct appeal. I know those grasses. Thank you for these pictures, as they remind me of enjoyable trips to and through Saskatchewan. As a child, we visited relatives in Prince Albert, who gave me a personally autographed picture of PM Diefenbaker (my family played bridge with he and his wife). Waskesiu was our destination (Alberta’s good lakes are pretty cold). We also had trips to Drumheller, and other prairie regions of Alberta.
As a 1st year university student, my girlfriend and I baled from our Banff summer Mcjobs and impulsively decided to cross the country to the Niagara region, where her parents had moved. We ran out of gas on one of your highways, having a scare because we were trying to pass a slower vehicle. I forget how we got gas. The next cross-country was a more permanent move to Ottawa. We had a wonderful overnight stay in Regina with dinner at Hy’s (it was affordable for new post-grads then).
As parents, completing a 5-year posting to Japan, we headed out again to do a cross-Canada trip, this time with 2 primary school children who had not lived in Canada for most of their lives, picking up our imported car in Vancouver and teaching them about the beauty and history of our country, as we moved across the highways, visiting relatives/landmarks in each province.
As a employee, my work also took me to Saskatchewan, sometimes in total mid-winter, complete with very windy, snowy weather. Later, I began to enjoy family history and genealogy. I had questions! This brought me back to Saskatchewan too, as many of my “old stock” Canadian ancestors had land grants in SK, so 2-4 trips to obscure archives were fun flight-drive trips, including a reunion in Waldron, SK and grave site visit to Kinistino.
All this to say, thank you Kate. Some of us truly appreciate the prairies and their vistas. And we all love your website!
” We ran out of gas on one of your highways”
Back in the 1970s finding a gas station in Saskatchewan was a challenge. I was used to driving in Alberta where finding a gas station was not an issue. We left Edmonton after work, heading to Winnipeg. We filled up somewhere around Lloydminster. We missed filling up at Saskatoon but thought that it was getting toward morning so something would be open by the time we needed gas. We were cruising by Plunkett and to our amazement, there was a gas station that was all lit up. Just as we drove up to the pumps the lights went out and a guy came out and said because it was after hours it would cost $20 to turn on the pumps. We expressed our displeasure and drove on. Looking at the map we saw that Lanigan was the next larger town and we pulled in around 6:30 AM and thought that maybe we would have to wait until 7:00. 7:00 went by, then 8:00 went by and at precisely.9:00 o’clock all three gas stations on the highway opened up. You really don’t want to hear my opinion about Saskatchewan, do you?.
I used to drill wells up ewst east of Lloydminster and down the east/west side of the Sask/AB border areas. Gas, even in NE Alberta in the early to mid 80’s was an issue in that part of the country, ’cause even larger towns would shut the pumps off at 6 PM. Five gallon jugs of gas were de rigeur in the back of the truck. The Texaco in Hanna would stay open to 11 PM, probably because of the traffic coming or going to Saskatoon, back then.
“the Jefferson Homestead”. It’s so much a part of our past.. Touching
Nice work.
Yes, that was especially meaningful, as those well-built homes have a huge history of the families who lived there. The same is true for all the disappearing grain elevators. My dad (b. 1903) was a manager of a western firm who made parts for grain elevators. I have a brochure for his company. I fear that we are quickly erasing our core Canadian culture, that so many people who came here actually like. Now the values are being changed and eroded.
My 2nd great grandfather arrived in Ontario and his well-built home still stands. No one appeciates the hard work associated with these home any more.
Great pics Kate. I have considered getting a Canon T7. I’m torn between that and a T7i.
What made you decide on the T7? It is a lot less expensive.
I needed a better digital camera for work purposes and recreational shooting, but not one that was going to break the bank. So, I asked a local camera shop for their recommendation.
Sounds like a wise decision. I’m still considering the T7i because my astronomer friends say it’s better for astrophotography. Target has a T7 with 18-55mm lens and other accessories for $400. A T7i with the same stuff would be at least $800.
But my purchase is still a few months off. I don’t have to decide right now.
Yes, that was especially meaningful, as those well-built homes have a huge history of the families who lived there. The same is true for all the disappearing grain elevators. My dad (b. 1903) was a manager of a western firm who made parts for grain elevators. I have a brochure for his company. I fear that we are quickly erasing our core Canadian culture, that so many people who came here actually like. Now the values are being changed and eroded.
Mt 2nd GGfather’s home in Ontario is still rather functional, built in 1838, we think. If no one knows and cares we will have a new culture that few Canadians want.
the land awakens , except for the man drawn borders
Great pictures Kate!
It’s a pity most city folks will never see such beauty. Their attitude might be improved by it.
Best blog post anywhere for a very long time. Here we see the really important things in life.
First glance at the pics and I was associating the caption with the wrong photo.
Laughed thinking you posted the birch trees with the claim it was a mirage. 🙂
The Cement bridge is the first McDonald’s in Saskatchewan…
Great photos. I am still looking for Moose Mountain though.
Those deer look fat for this time of year.
Good sign.
Enjoyed your photos of your home territory. Sadly, I have not had too many opportunities to visit your province in the past. I did a lot of business travelling in the 70s-90s all across Canada and a few points in the US.
But now I stay close to home and most recent captures are from my walks in the neighborhood. I use a Sony NEX-5R mirrorless camera which is quite compact and easy to use while hiking.
Just another day in the neighborhood.
Some of the nicest shots are close to home. These are nice.
You can “fix” the noise issues in post processing with software. You buy the camera that suits your style or workflow. Zoom shots in tough light conditions, especially wildlife/birds (they don’t stay still for you) can be a challenge for any photo buff.
Long time Nikon guy. FM-2 was my “first”. Still works, still can get film for it.
Many years ago, my father bought himself a Pentax SLR and gave me an identical one as a birthday present. I shot a lot of Kodachrome 64 with that one, particularly when I started using different lenses. For nighttime sky shots, I used a 25 speed film.
Aside from the standard one that came with the camera, the lens I used the most was the zoom. It was great for framing and I also made some excellent close-ups with it.
Unfortunately, film for it is becoming scarce.
My first digital camera was a pocket-sized Canon. I’ve used it to take pictures of things I want to sell for the estate settlement, but I’ve also used it to make a number of video recordings of my canine step-brother’s antics.
Last year, at a ham flea market, I bought an old Nikon Coolpix digital unit. It’s slower than my Canon, but I taken some decent photos with it. Since I’m planning on getting a digital SLR some day, I thought I’d use the Nikon as a way of figuring out what I’d like to have.
Brings back the memories from when I was stationed in Moose Jaw.
Thank you Kate.
I was gonna say something like Kate has too much time on her hands, but I guess I won’t 🙂