Although spring is my favourite time of year, I do admit to feeling glum when the snow is gone and gray skies linger far longer than they should.  This year, when the gray skies and cold winds were blustering and chilling me to the bone, I decided to look for things around the city that make me feel cheerful and look forward to the warmth soon to come.  For me, I noticed the murals around the city, and although there are murals on display inside public buildings, it turns out Prince Albert has its fair share of art painted outside on buildings as well.  

Spring.  It’s my favourite time of year.  And with the North Saskatchewan River now freely flowing, my enthusiasm for the season has only intensified.  I see Superstore has erected the green house and I look around my house at the seeds waiting for me to plant them and I am so excited to start gardening again.

As the ice flows after breaking up on the North Saskatchewan River, I can’t help but think how many of us will be drawn to the water, wherever we live.  I’m always so surprised by the energy of the river and how quickly the water is flowing.  As beautiful and captivating as it is, I thought I’d take a moment to remind people to stay safe and think before you set foot on the bank of the water you’re visiting.  In addition to being muddy, the ice is quite slippery and very weak.  There’s no reason to step out onto the water.   Make sure you’re not alone and be careful as you enjoy the time spent near the water, wherever you are.

Velda Court’s home town of Candle Lake is growing and diversifying as a tourist mecca by leaps and bounds.  As with any tourist destination, it is the unique ideas people remember and talk about long after their vacation has ended.  Velda, along with her spouse, Mick Levitsky, have created a business that began as a hotdog cart, which was purchased on impulse one afternoon while Velda was at work in the medical field.  She says her parents, Frank and Anne Marchand, have roots at Candle Lake that go back to 1932 when her maternal grandparents homesteaded, running the trading post and the sawmill.  So, having a unique business is not new to Velda’s family.  One could say it runs in her DNA.

Each of us has a secret obsession that we tend and nurture like a small child.  For me, gardening is my vice.  It helped me through a particularly challenging summer last year and gave me hope when a lot of people would have fallen to despair.  I was fortunate to have my container gardens to help me feel hope and keep my eyes focused on the silver lining life was offering me.  One of the people who helped me through it, though she doesn’t know it until she reads this, is Betty Rancourt, owner and operator of Obsession Greenhouse in St. Louis.