Dedicated to Marina Decuypere

I love southern Alberta,

I love its sweeping plains.

I love its golden Canola fields

And all the other grains.

I love the grand wind turbines

That stretch for miles and miles

Replacing forgotten power lines

That lay on huge brush piles.

I love the corn from Taber

And the irrigation machines.

Oh, how those farmers labor

To produce crops of their dreams!

I love the drive to Pincher Creek

And the homesteads along the way.

We made the trip just last week

I'd gladly go again today.

Many farmers were harvesting 

Their early summer crops

Wheels  spinning, dust flying,

Farm work simply never stops.

I love the galvanized grain silos

That shine in the blazing sun.

I love the newborn buffalos

Just learning how to run.

I love the antique stores

In the small rural towns

Where I find many treasures

Before I'm homeward bound.

I love the prairie winds

But sometimes they do harm.

They remind me  of Australia.

Need a windbreak on a farm.

I even love the winters

With the warm winds called chinooks.

They melt the icy walkways,

Make them safer  underfoot.

I love  Alberta's people;

So friendly, you can see.

The ladies love their quilting,

Such fine stitchery!

I love to see wild rabbits

Fending off teasing magpies.

They are comical to watch,

So feisty for their size.

I love the Canada geese

Flying high in the sky

In impressive V formation

As they go honking by.

I love the Oldman River

As it winds through wavy coulees.

Oh, the beauty of the landscape!

I simply love it, truly!

Each time we come to visit

We look forward to have fun.

Our thirteen hour road trip

Concludes with the setting sun.

This year, twenty twenty-four

I chose to fly both ways

So now I can stay longer.

I have fourteen extra days.

I love the city, Lethbridge

Where I spend four months each year.

When I need to fly back home,

I usually shed a tear.  

I'll miss my son's kind neighbors

Who always make me welcome.

I'll miss the corn from Taber

And those farmers ; they're so handsome!

Those visits mean so much to us.

The life is simple, not much fuss.

Though I leave my writing shack,

I look forward to  coming back.        

                  Revised September 6, 2018

                  Revised August 18,  20 -22, 2019

                                   September 13,  27, 2019

                  Revised  January 13, 2020  

                  Revised and amended September  15, 2023

                   Revised and amended August 29, 2024