Prairie Spring

Today I had to take a trip to a town east of here. I passed through Daysland, Strome, and Killam

where I saw this sign. Yes, Alberta, home of the ironic redneck.

From here, we proceeded to the next town, and then took a few detours to enjoy the sights of the prairie in the spring. Again an abandoned farmhouse, this time occupied by cattle.

For some reason it brought to mind the work of Nathaniel Hawthorne, and his (and Poe's) penchant for the word "tarn". Many of the gothic buildings inhabited by his characters had "tarns" nearby. I've never heard a living person refer to a pond as a "tarn". It sounds a mite pretentious to me. Nevertheless here is a fine example of a gothic house with a tarn accompaniment.

You can imagine a jilted heroine living out her dry virgin days in this house until finally throwing herself into the pond after she's spent the family fortune buying all the melancholy sheet music she could order from Sears.

The willows are red in the spring and fall.