Who knew a heart shaped rock could be so photogenic!!

Can you find the heart shaped rock in the pile?  This reminds me that out of all the people in the world, God knows me by name and knows my heart....

I went for a walk along the coulee close to our house and found this 

heart shaped rock along the way!  

An old piece of tin with grass growing through made an

interesting back drop as well.

A clear blue prairie sky in the background.

Looking forward to a trip to Victoria this coming week.

Our first official "empty nest " get away.

Hope to get lots of photos along the way.

Re Purposing the Past....

When we moved from Hanna we literally brought a piece of the town history with us!  We looked like the Beverly Hillbillies when we moved some of  our "stuff" down to this property.  We rented a flat bed to haul the grain truck that Darrell's dad had purchased brand new in 1965.   Of course, the grain truck box and even the inside of the cab were loaded to the brim as well.  Some of the items in the truck box were some timbers from one of the Hanna grain elevators that was tore down.  Darrell is hoping to restore the ole grain truck as it holds lots of memories for him.

Grain elevators, PRAIRIE GIANTS, that told you that you were on the roads and hiways of the expansive prairies.  Markers on the horizon to look for when wondering where the next town was.  In years past, the busiest place in the community when it was harvest time.  I remember having to quickly run samples of grain into the elevator while the truck waited in the field to be sure the grain was dry enough....taking Kaleb in to see Shelley or Max who worked there and always had something to say to a curious little boy.  A gathering place for the farmers to shoot the breeze about how the crops were doing.  Definately a hub in the community and a part of the important railway system to move grain across the country.

These pictures of the Hanna Elevators were taken by Kevin Connolly

He enjoyed taking pictures of prairie elevators and we actually carried his collection of 

many photos in the gift store when we operated That Country Place

So, what does this have to do with our fireplace room you are wondering?  Well Darrell knew that he would want to incorporate some of those great ole timbers in some DIY project! So we hauled them along in our move!!  

A fun store in Medicine Hat is Real Deals...

That is where I got this clock and I will have another one

to reveal in the Guest Bedroom soon.

Be sure to check out their Face Book page.

Another spot the elevator timber was put to use was the "outside room" we

had on the Hanna property.  We have plans for creating another fireplace area

here and I think we may have one more timber to make use of there.

Sigh...I miss this room.   The rocks were all picked from the fields, a touch of the prairies...

An outside room, with pergola and stone fireplace are in the works for here too.

Stay tuned for that project!  Yikes!! Where are all those DIY people that you see

on TV when you need them!!

Hope you enjoyed some of the finishing touches on this room.

Have a great week end everyone!

Sharing on :

Inspire me Please

Homestead Barn Hop

I have a question ????

Hey fellow blogger friends.  I was wondering how many of you have your "who can comment" on your blog set?  I am getting ALOT of anonymous posts in my in box and of course don't want them.  Should I have my comments set up differently?

Thank you for your help as I am terrible at the 'how to make this blog work" stuff at times!

Happy APRIL everyone!

and who wants to get out in the garden?

I SURE DO!

Spring just has to be around the corner soon...

Hace a wonderful week !

Sweet n Simple for Sunday

So glad I got a picture of this tree dressed in its finest color before the wind blew the leaves all away.  Wishing you all a very happy Sunday and enjoy the last of the wonderful display of leaves in your area...snow has hit some of the province and it feels like the cooler temperatures are here....

Friday Fences

Thanks Barn Charm...gonna miss ya!

Harvest time on the prairies

Golden fields

Hum of combines

Dusty Days

Supper in the field

Headlights shining in the night

Long hours

Unloading on the go to make good time

Grain bins full

A thankful heart

Prairie Girl 

Barn Charm over at Bluff Area is closing..

So sad, this has been one of my favorite picture parties!

I drive by this little barn everyday, so thought I would use it for todays post.

I didn't want to trespass on the property, so couldn't really get the angles 

that I wanted.  The tree in front  of the barn is dead, but now it fits into with the other 

trees that are dropping its leaves.

A collage of some of my previous Barn Charm posts.

Its been fun, and I hope someone will maybe continue the party!

Have a great week everyone!

Linking to :

Barn Charm

Mosaic Monday

Farmgirl Friday

Friday Fences and Carrying on the Peaceful Prairie theme

This is a long forgotten playground just a few miles from the farm we used to live at.  Some old, forgotten play ground equipment, and an old section of fence.  Swings blowing in the wind instead of the sound of children playing are the sounds you will hear at this peaceful prairie playground.

Life was simple, you went outside to play, without the thought of checking your facebook page or sending a text.  I kinda miss those days .....

Hope you enjoy the prairie playground  :)

I am sure many kids at fun blowing these puffy seeds around

My favorite shot of a sunflower, the color turned out so pretty!

I love sunflowers, and they are a reminder that fall weather is around the corner...

Posting to the Friday Fences  over at Jan and Jerry's

Have a great week end everyone!

Thanks for stopping by the country.

Notecard Wednesday - Prairie Stillness

It is time for another Notecard Wednesday hosted by Vee!  I hope you will pop over to her site and see what creative notecards you can find!

These are some of my favorite prairie shots.  Stillness, vastness, and wide open spaces come to mind.   The one of the clothes on the line is one of my favorite shots.  You can read about it here.

Country Church in Montana

Grafitti Grainery near Beiseker

Country grave yard near Spondin

 Clothes on the line at Plover Lake Bible Camp

Linking up to Notecard Wednesday

Little Church on the Prairies

Today, Darrell and I went to Havre Montana....just a 2 hour drive from our place.   Thought we would travel on some roads we have never been on before.   Well, lets just say, I don't think I have to return to Havre anytime soon!  We did get in on a BOGO sale on shoes though!!

I forgot to take my camera, but thank goodness for Iphones!  This little forgotten church on the prairies caught our eye.   It was in the middle of nowhere!  I just wonder what it was like to have people attending it and where they would have come from on a Sunday morning?  Old buildings always make me wonder about the people that used them....hmmm.

I hope you enjoy the solitude of the photos I captured.

Have a great long week end everyone!

Thanks for stopping by the country.

Happenings around the farm...

It is hard to believe that it is a year ago that we moved !  Yikes, I really don't know where the time has gone.  Even though we spent 25 years at our farm in Hanna, it amazes me how settled we feel at our new "farm".  Our land in Hanna is rented out, and I am so glad  that area of the province has had good moisture.  The 1/4 that we own here is rented and planted as well.  It is so different having irrigated land,  seeing the fields being watered and not being so dependant on rain is something that farmer Darrell is amazed by!!  

Another shot of our little red hip roof barn...its small, but I love it!!

There is a small field that Darrell put up for hay, so he did get some farming in as well.  Can't take the farmer out of the boy!! 

Time of the year on the prairies where you will see lots of bales in the fields

A robin taking a break on the irrigation pipe

SASKSATOONS ARE READY!!

You are all welcome to come and pick some!  Last year, with just moving, trying to sell our property in Hanna, and all the other stresses associated with that, the Saskatoon patch {acre} didn't get much of our attention.  But, this year is a whole lot less hectic and we will enjoy some of this wonderful harvest. I think there are about a bizzillion berries out there and I kinda have A.D.D when picking them!!  Here is one thats big,,here is one thats big,,here is one that is BIGGER!!  I guess I have to take Pickin 101 to stay on track!  I do have a lady coming in to pick though,,,,she will pick and in payment she will share the crop with me.  

Purple goodness!

Made a delicious Saskatoon crisp , I think there will be lots of those this summer!

This "photo shoot" took place in the rock tree bed I am working on.

Found a rock with a heart right in it! 

A few things I {heart} today:

~ a day off from work  :)

~ God's goodness in the form of berries!

~ a pleasant day to work outside

Have a great week end everyone!

"If you're not from the prairie..."

Today was a cloudy, windy day on the prairies.  Our church was having a camping week end at Plover Lake Bible Camp.  The camp is located right in the middle of the prairies!  I don't know if there is a tree around!!  Lots of kids have had great memories of time spent at this camp though.

We were doing clean up after a great lunch and I happened to look out one of the windows of the kitchen.  I saw the clothesline, and I got a photo idea!!  I grabbed a handful of wet tea towels and headed out the door in the wind with my camera in hand.  It took me a few minutes to even get the towels on the line as the wind was whipping them every which way.  I stepped back to see how things looked and decided I better set my camera on sports mode!!

My Mosaic Monday post is an edited collage of clothesline pictures.  While I was editing them I thought they looked a bit like some photos from my favorite "prairie" books writtten by David Bouchard and illustrated by Henry Ripplinger.

"If You're Not from the Prairie..."

"Prairie Born"

One of the rooms in our BnB has a trio of some "prairie shots" I have taken.  I placed them over the headboard and then have "Prairie Born" below them in wall talk.    You can visit our website to see our bedrooms at the BnB.  I also ordered some pictures from Dave Bouchard's book and have them in a grouping on one of the walls as well.  

While operating the gift store, I had guests that were born on the prairies sign a favorite page from the "Prairie Born" book.  It provided some interesting reading....   I wish I could say that was my great idea to do that, but a fellow gift store owner came up with the idea first and I liked it so much that I did it at our store  :)   

So I will end today's post with a quote from "If You're Not from the Prairies" as well as

my windy day collage.

"If you're not from the prairie, 

You don't know the wind,

You can't know the wind.

Our cold  winds of winter cut right to the core,

Hot summer wind devils can blow down the door.

As children we know when we play any game,

The wind will be there, yet we play just the same.

If you're not from the prairie,

You don't know the wind."

Be sure to check out all the other great Mosaic Monday entries.

Have a great week everyone!

Oh!  Almost forgot,,,I was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan 

Raised on the prairies in Saskatchewan and

have called Alberta home now for 26 years.

How about you...where were you born?

Linking to :

Sweet Shot Tuesday

Delightfully Inspiring Thursday

Show off your Shot

Photo Story Friday

Fabulous Friday

Gold on the Prairies!

I had a great drive to Red Deer today.  The small community we live in has a population of 3000.  We are about 2 hours to Calgary, or Red Deer or just a little over 2.5 hours to Med Hat.  We can get most everything right here in our little town,,,but what girl doesn't like a day of shopping!  Although, I wasn't in the city for long...I am a very quick shopper!!

Anyways, the weather was windy and stormy this morning when I left.  I put my camera in the car, a habit I am trying to get into.  I was glad I did, as the fields of canola are in full bloom and there is nothing quite like seeing the prairie bursting in yellow.  I stopped to shoot a little barn that is surrounded by canola.  The landowner cleared some old carraganas from the field, but left the barn!  I see that a piece of it was removed, but for the barn was left intact.   I guess he knew I would be needing a subject!!    I have also shot this barn in the winter.  Quite a difference when the prairie is full of color.

Cloudy skies this morning...

Coming home late afternoon, the sun was trying to make an appearance..

So, I pulled off the road again to shoot the barn with some different light.

Those are the Handhills in the background.

Don't you just love the wide open spaces !!

No traffic jams, no long lines, just peace and quiet.....

The only thing I dislike about coming home from a day of shopping is unloading the car and putting everything away!  I wanted some new summer clothes for work and found some great sales today!!  and of course found a few good items at Homesense.   After getting home, I went for a good hour walk and think I am ready to call it a day!  

Thanks for stopping by the country!

Posting to Photo Friday

Mellow Yellow Monday

Barn Charm

Project Aliciawww.projectalicia.com