Road Trip Krydor to Hafford Part 2

“…this country would always be populated with presences 

and absences, presences of absences, the living and the dead. 

The world as it is would always be a reminder of the world that was, 

and of the world that is to come.” 

from Jayber Crow

by Wendell Berry

After our visit to Krydor we drove to Hafford about 21 km away.

A 2016 photo taken from outside the bistro in Hafford. 

These are typical prairie towns with beautiful skies and 
landscape that stretches off forever.

Hafford with a population of  360, still maintains the normal small town

businesses, a CO-OP, credit union, pharmacy, grocery etc. I noticed that

in 2017 the sign has been removed from this business I photographed 

in 2016 and it as been boarded up. Hafford does have a K to 12 school a 

vital link in maintaining community health. 

We also had to stop at the Hafford Ukrainian church, the distinctive

silhouettes of these churches are a beautiful feature of the 

Canadian prairie.

Photos of the church in Krydor taken in 2016 can be found here.

https://thatsjustthewildwood.blogspot.ca/search?q=krydor

An extensive article on Nykyta Budka can be found here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nykyta_Budka

“Some of the best things I have ever thought
 of I have thought of during bad sermons.”

from Jayber Crow
by Wendell Berry 

Road Trip Krydor to Hafford Part 1

“You may say that I am just another outdated old man 

complaining about progress and the changes of time. 

But, you see, I have well considered that possibility myself, 

and am prepared to submit to correction by anybody who cares 

about a community, who can show me how the world is 

improved by that community's dying.” 

from Jayber Crow

by Wendell Berry

Last year we went through the town of Krydor, we spent 

most of our time at the church, a link to those photos will

appear in Part 2. I noticed the boarded up stores then and so

we came back this summer to look around. There are signs of

life, the community hall is maintained, the church kept up,

there are recycle bins. But as you can see the main street consists

of boarded up stores and vacant lots. My brother in law pointed

out that most have metal roofs so some attempt has been made to 

maintain them. Founded in 1911 the town now has 25 residents.

As you drive through you see houses that have been abandoned

and a few with signs of life or an RV plugged in indicating some

seasonal occupation. As I said to my wife, it would be very

eerie to be a child in such as town at night, with all these dark 

overgrown homes and the vast dark prairie sky above.

Demographics can be as relentless as any tsunami. A few 

years ago the rural high school I attended closed after 112

 years in Harrow ON when the decision was made to consolidate to 

large towns. This immediately affected local businesses and the 

sale of town lots.

A link to other photos and some very interesting 

comments about the community of Krydor.

http://www.pbase.com/impalass/krydor_sk

"There was a river under First and Main, 

the salt mines honeycombed farther down. 

A wealth of sun and wind ever so strong 

converged on that home town, long gone. 

At the north edge there were the sand hills. 

I used to stare for hours at prairie dogs, 

which had their town, and folded their little paws

to stare beyond their fence where I was. "

from Prairie Town

by William Stafford

"I go and lie down where the wood drake 

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. 

I come into the peace of wild things 

who do not tax their lives with forethought 

of grief. I come into the presence of still water."

from The Peace of Wild Thing

by Wendell Berry

(trouble with font spacing today sorry)

Yesterday having run out of paint for the farm, we are redoing the outbuildings red with white trim, and having heard we were getting a storm today, one inch so far and no end in sight, we went bird watching. We headed out toward two historically Ukrainian/Canadian towns, Krydor and Hafford. More on these towns in a later post. One advantage to heading in this direction is the A&M

Bistro Bakery in Hafford. I am in no way associated with this enterprise, okay
(while in town we did purchase a ceramic rooster from people who professed to be their relatives at a yard sale, and we did have their cinnamon buns for breakfast) but my endorsement is based solely on merit.
http://www.bakeryinhaffordsk.ca/about/

The other reason for heading in this direction is a series of sloughs, we were hoping to see shorebirds and we learned last year birds here leave early.

We only saw one, shore bird. 

We did see some interesting ducks.

A Mallard? mom and brood.

One slough had both Redheads and Canvasbacks

hanging out together.

And we saw Ring-necked ducks at several sloughs

thanks Helen for the quick ID.

So it was a wonderful trip, we have not seen much less

photographed most of these duck species recently, and 

we still have cinnamon buns for tomorrow.

"From troubles of the world I turn to ducks,

Beautiful comical things

Sleeping or curled

Their heads beneath white wings

By water cool,

Or finding curious things

To eat in various mucks

Beneath the pool,"

from Ducks

by Frank W. Harvey