It's a little weird, but I like it

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Unknown prairie flower (ideas, anyone?)

Murals cover buildings all over Moose Jaw


So many buildings have these amazing old signs


Grain elevator in rural Coderre


"The cheapest cash store in the new province" (dating this sign around 1905)


The river, looking towards the railyards and grain elevator

The magpies and geese sing their songs, the train whistle echoes across the riverbank, and the grain elevator towers over all. Oh yes, and the Snowbirds zip overhead regularly, making aerial acrobatics seem like an everyday occurrence.

Just a few things that make our life in Saskatchewan SO different from the Maritimes:

A couple of weeks ago, we had a blizzard. Then three days later it was 28 degrees Celsius. You just never know when to put the mittens away.

Our garden is not in our backyard. We have a patch in the community garden, a big green space along the banks of Thunder Creek and the Moose Jaw River, overlooking the Canadian Pacific railyards on the other side.

The earth is not red, like our home in Prince Edward Island. It is black, sandy soil that even smells different. Can't wait to see what grows well here.

We live on the edge of the city, literally. Out our front window we can see across the highway to the wide open prairie.

We hear and smell the trains all the time. Coming from the Island where trains ceased running in the 1980s I still find it a novelty to hear the trains whistle, especially at night. The bridges in town go over the railyards, which stretch almost as far down the valley as the eye can see.

Grain elevators are some of the tallest buildings in town.

There are a lot of ticks here. Ewwwww. And prairie dogs, except I guess they are technically ground squirrels. Whatever, they are a hoot. Also many, many deer, just hanging out in the parks and fields.

15 Wing Moose Jaw is the home of Canada's air force aerobatic team, the Snowbirds. Since there are so many brilliantly clear days here, these daredevils can often be seen zooming their jets overhead in formation. And I still get goosebumps every time.

At least a couple of times a week I encounter other Atlantic Canadians. It is like we can smell the salt air on each other.

Language quirks:

Hooded sweatshirts are called "bunny hugs." I know, weird.
According to my daughter, Kat, you don't "butt in line," you "BUDGE" in line. I think they are just more polite in Grade 2.
People from Moose Jaw are called Moose Javians. Seriously.





Comments

  1. Rita21 May 2013 at 14:18

    I love the signs on the buildings. And that mural--that is so cool. That big, big sky behind the grain elevator. The images alone make me fantasize about living in such a place, but the language clinches it. I wish I had time enough in my life to live in all the places that are fascinating to me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Prudent Homemaker11 June 2013 at 13:54

    I don't know that flower, but I feel as though I have seen a picture of it before. It is beautiful.

    Bunny hugs--now that is hilarious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steph11 June 2013 at 19:15

      Thanks so much for your comments, Brandy...I went over to your site and it is just GORGEOUS by the way. Very very beautiful work. I finally discovered the flower in the photograph is the prairie crocus...

      Delete

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