Trippin’ Around North America

Friday September 15

Just like home, rain and wind!

Rain, rain, rain, wind, wind, wind. Welcome to the prairies. What drought? This is our first trip to the prairies. [Other than three weeks at army camp in 1954, when it rained every day.] The myth of only BC being wet is proved, it is really a myth. The gas station attendant even kept the myth alive by saying this was only the seventh day of rain, this year in Saskatachewan.

We left Brooks, Alberta in drizzling rain and continued east. Next was Medicine Hat where we had a one hour visit to the MEDALTA pottery museum. Some older readers in Canada may remember the pottery made here between 1930 and 1970. Crockery type, rather chunky.


When looking at the pieces on display it was like "a visit to Grandma's kitchen" as Fellette said. My mother also used it for years. Globalization shut them down and they are now 90% museum. A similar situation to the China industry in England.

On the road east again to Swift Current then to Herbert, a small farming town. We stopped at Mary and Garry's farm 1/2 mile off the highway. [Mary is the sister and sister-in-law of our very good friends, Carol-Jane and Don.] As we came down the gravel road a pickup was pulling a van out onto the road from the gumbo driveway off to the right. Even the four wheel drive pickup slid along the shoulder as they drove off. We fortunately, neatly pulled into their driveway and were greeted by Mary and three of the five dogs.

Garry drives a grain truck, a 30 wheeler, and is an extremely talented and versatile man.

Two of his creations are in the photos, one is a buggy he made from scratch and the other is a moveable pen for the rams that fits into a wide dry ditch along the road and is pulled along, daily as the rams eat the grass. Mary usually does this task apparently, with the aid of a truck, sometimes!


Mary is a later-day farmer, living her dream. The population on their 160 acres is, [besides the dogs], two who are employed as coyote-deterents, seven miniature horses, about 100 chickens in a variety of ages, shapes and sizes, maybe 40 ducks and geese, nine turkeys, about 100 sheep, [40 lambs recently sold], two rams, three calf's, two cats and four peacocks.


By the way, they also farm another 640 acres just down the road 100 miles where they graze beef cattle.

During a delicious lamb dinner, which a local family of five attended, the proposed "Arrival of the Magi, Herbert Style" was discussed. Garry has a vision of a Living Nativity Scene in their barnyard just before Christmas, on three successive days.… Garry wants to incorporate some mechanical animation to the production, such as The Host of Angels coming down, being lowered by a front-end-loader, silently. The Star of Bethlehem will also move until it hovers. The other guests are also members of the Mennonite Brethren Church, which they are hopeful will be the basis of this venture. So, if you are in the neighbourhood of Herbert Saskatchewan, 200 Ks west of Regina, the weekend of December 15th, drop in, Mary is in charge of cocoa. This will happen.

The trailer was cool, but cozy during the night, the wind is still gusting as I write this early in the morning, not knowing when and how I will ever get onto the Internet, let alone wireless!

posted by Doug and Fellette @ 4:42 PM