Dipping a toe in Prairies North

My first bit for Prairies North magazine is all about monks. The fall issue is out and I’m proud to be a contributor for the first time! My deepest thanks to the wonderful Father Demetrius Wasylyniuk, the subject of the interview. He’s a fantastic tour guide for me and Amanda Soulodre, Prairies North publisher. I only regret I didn’t get to witness first hand his legendary pruning of the apple orchard with his beloved Stihl chainsaw. Generous with his knowledge, time and good humour, Father Demetrius was the best monk with whom I’ve ever spent an afternoon!  And I got to visit “the dungeon” root cellar, hand-dug in in 1921. Get your copy for A Monk’s Life and so many other great articles and photos in Prairies North. Father and I swapped jams; the jury is out.

 

Hats off to SOS!

We had an excellent date night and were left breathless after the Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan performance of Hamlet. We enjoy a walk from home to the venue on the riverbank, and we love to soak up the ambiance before, during and after. My, my, my, what an end to the season. Skye Brandon was brilliant, the cast exceptional, and we are constantly impressed with the depth and breadth of the SOS performances each year. Thank you, SOS. We are looking forward to next summer already.

Garden buddies

Maple bugs. At first they’re creepy, and then you sort of start seeing them as garden companions. They’re not harmful (as far as I know), not like those nasty lily beetles I got for the first time this year. And now that things are browning off so early, they do add a little cheerful colour. But what do they do all day other than run around and suddenly cluster together to party?

That wonderful time of the year

It seems a little – okay a lot – early this year, but harvest is upon us. It’s only August! We love the bounty from our treasured community garden plot and captured just a little of it in some jars tonight to squirrel away for the winter. The sunflower seeds didn’t make it into the salsa; those are for the birds and surprise sunflowers in the garden next year.

Smoke defeats Hamlet

The people at Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan are a class act. Tickets to tonight’s performance of Hamlet in hand, we were faced with a cancelled show due to air quality, or lack thereof, because of the Alberta and B.C. forest fires. So we waited in line to see if we might exchange tickets for something less smokey. Lovely to see actors Skye Brandon and Joshua Beaudry come to chat to people in the lineup, and artistic director Will Brooks trotted in and out to explain the circumstances. We smoothly rebooked for Friday night; kudos to the box office staff who had to refund and rebook the audience. Smoke happens.