Stories
Conceived with the wide sweep of the prairies in mind, this literary field guide is especially dedicated to the urban grasslands of Saskatoon, notably the Northeast and Small Swales. Enjoy exploring these inspiring landscapes in the company of some of the province’s most accomplished writers.
The Weight of Twig and Flower
And then I hear a voice or is it voices? Is it the woman? The aspens (they do like to talk), those blazing stars, the harebells ringing, those butterflies fluttering by?
Leaving Green
our days leap with a rich array of raw resonant prairie browns and sky blues
Divine Moment All Full of Geese
…they rose for me and the world was a wild winging honk-a-lonking, divine moment all full of geese.
Quarry
Wise sage, we honour your millennia. What portent lies ahead?
Mainly Birds
the catbird, towhee, song
sparrow, she loved them all
waniskâ
as the sun crowned the east
I closed my eyes and found my voice
Resilience
One prayer at a time we rise We are the Buffalo Nation.
Green Soul
..in their language so unlike our own. I have heard a bird laugh and one full of praise.
Wîsahkêcâhk Migrates South
So Wisahkecahk never made it south but still, when migrating, geese fly in this same formation: as if still holding Wisahkecahk.
See How the Wee Feet Clutch at Nothing
Imagine being married to one who animates the dead! Look, burying beetles have won the home lottery, he says.
Urban Coyote
…despite the animal’s casual ignoring of us, we were the ones on full alert.
The Agoraphobic’s Guide to Nature
You’ve never been to Swale
World yet even hemmed within your skittish days you sense it out there, holding its breath…
The Trouble With Beauty
a hard light fills our dreams
its clamour smashes nest and shell
Smell Giveaway (Threes on long stalks)
…the sweet-scented bedstraw,
the ascending bedstraw hawkmoth.
In the Midst of It All
A sudden movement beyond the brush, a white-tail doe…
Wild Mint
everywhere you look, careening from green to green, the world exhales mint
Country Singers
… her rest never adjusted to, the absence of wild singing…
Raw Beauty
For years on blistered feet the hikers have followed their hearts…
Garter Snake
A garter snake knits up the ravelled sleeve of the world.
A Prophet in His Own Country
How can you not believe an animal who goes down headfirst into darkness?
kikawînaw askiy wîscakasa – Mother Earth’s Hair
I will always be connected to kikawînaw askiy wîscakasa that lives in her many forms and collectively lives and breathes as I do.
The Breath of Looking
The teachings of a great horned owl underfeather found suspended on brome.
On Swallowtail Butterflies and the Western Red Lily
How loveliness attracts the kinds of exchanges that lead to more lovely things.
This Grass
Blue grama grass, Bouteloua gracilis: a grandmother holds her ground.