Most people think Saskatchewan is flat and boring. They're wrong, ... it isn't flat.

My grandfather homesteaded in what is called "northern Saskatchewan" even though it is only about 1/3 up the province. About 10 miles north of his
farm is the Prince Albert National park, and north of that it's just trees and water.

On the prairies "land" is the measure of a man, and every farmer seems acutely aware of what he owns/farms/rents, and what his neighbors own/farm/rent.
If I understand my family history properly, my grandfather died owning four quarters (one section or 640 acres). A fair amount of land in his day. My uncle ended up with all of it, but my father ultimately bought back the two original homesteads.   Here are some pictures of that land.



 

      

Note the rolling terrain, trees, and water. The last picture not only has my (tall) cousin Gary in it (the last remaining Allen farmer), but you also see "Allen Lake", an unswimmable watering hole, and part of the homestead.

My grandfather came to this spot in 1913, and by 1914 had built the house below.

 It was from this house I got the wood to build the small tables. The inside doesn't look as good:
 
The later picture is of some graineries my father and grandfather built by hand from wood on the property in the early 1950's. The fact these buildings still stand  is a testimony to how little moisture there is on the prairies.

 

These last two pictures are from my brother's homestead. He's standing beside the remnants of an old barn, the old cabin looked the same. These were just summer places to sleep and keep the horses because the 4 mile commute was too long to make each day. They've not lasted  because they probably had sod roofs. The last picture is of the lake just adjacent to this property. It is the only swimmable lake within miles and is called 3-mile lake (a prairie exaggeration if ever there was one).

Finally, I should note these pictures were all taken by my brother's nice girlfriend Neetria: