Beauty Under the Saskatchewan Sky…sunsets and lilacs

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My my Saskatchewan sky…

A couple years ago, our then five year old granddaughter Kennedy, jumped up from the floor and the craft project in front of us, and shouted ‘oh my gosh’. At first I thought something was wrong, until she ran to the window, pointed at the exquisite sunset and exclaimed ‘that is sooooo beautiful!!!’.   Many evenings my partner Steve and I invite one another to the west balcony to experience the sun’s journey to the horizon and the streams of mauves and oranges, pinks and blues that adorn our Saskatchewan sky. 

Beauty makes my heart sing and sometimes dazzles me. I especially delight in the gifts of nature. I lived for seven years on a prairie farm in western Canada. The land was barren, and open, the wind could be wicked and the blue sky expansive. Our yard was surrounded by rows of hedges of old style lilacs, which were an annual offering of beauty. I don’t know for sure who planted the lilacs, or where they came from, but I picture the homesteaders of that land planting the trees on a rainy day, when they couldn’t seed or cultivate or tend the land in other ways. I imagined Mrs. H., who lived there, appreciating the colour and aroma every spring, in this land where colour was minimal. I have wondered how the settlers brought beauty into their life, into their work oriented, work hardened culture. There was so much to do and growing potatoes and beans so much more important and efficient.

Lilacs along Meewasin Trail
Lilacs along Meewasin Trail

Sometimes I have kept my passion for beauty to myself, as if it wasn’t as important as other passions. Now I consider my love of beauty as a gift, a gift that helps me flourish, that I can share, and through its sheer joy, supports my contributions to the world.

“Let the beauty we love, be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” Rumi

Happy Canada Day, Linda

Photos: sunset from our west balcony and lilacs along the Meewasin Trail, Saskatoon.