On the final night of our May trip to visit and travel with John’s cousins in southern Saskatchewan last year, I had to retrieve something from the car just before bedtime. All of my senses sprang awake as I walked out of the door.
Above me the dark sky sparkled with an immense number of stars and one quarter of a moon. Streaks of clouds moved slowly along. Beside me, their daughter’s large prairie home gleamed with lights streaming out of the windows on both floors. Solar lights, having absorbed the sun’s energy during the day, now marked one edge of the semi-circular drive. Outside our guest room window, a few remaining Christmas lights flashed on and off. In the distance, neighbours’ house and yard lights cast a friendly, far-off glow.
My ears took in the gentle sound of a few of their cows lowing as they settled for the night. Frogs occupying some standing water from recent rains made their coarser ribbiting sounds. Perhaps they had taken care of the mosquitoes, for none had buzzed by me. The bell-tones of the wind chimes were melodic and cheerful. The same breeze brushed my skin gently. Although the strong wind of the day had passed, I felt cool and started getting colder as I stood there absorbing my peaceful surroundings.
The inevitable barnyard smells tickled my nostrils, but it was not overpowering and is part of the scene. Spring’s new growth added more pleasant odours. I didn’t want to taste any of the above, but we had just eaten a late night snack of cheese and crackers, and my taste buds are still enjoying the after-effect!
Add them all up and you can sense my warm feeling of contentment as another prairie experience came to an end. The view from our bedroom window when I arose the following morning added new components and was picture perfect. Blue sky was the backdrop for a flowering cherry tree in the nearest flowerbed, its dark pink buds just starting to open. Nearby two horses, one black, one brown, were hovering next to the rail fence watching for their people to come out to provide morning nose rubs. Behind them, light-coloured cows and their lively calves nibbled on the spring-green grass. Beyond the animals, pasture sloped down to their waterhole. Life was good.
A month later, gentle breezes brushing my arms re-awakened these memories when I was hiking in Trophy Mountain Meadows with friends. At this higher elevation, the feeling of spring was just now becoming evident with snow patches still lying around. Golden glacier lilies stretched out beyond the trail in every direction, interspersed with tiny white Spring Beauties. And it was getting close to lunchtime as we approached the log structure that was once a shepherd’s cabin. Life is definitely good!