This past May long weekend was one of the hardest I have ever experienced. For over 22 years we have spent time at  Jack and Len Chernysh's farm on this weekend....Any of you that follow my posts know we lost Jack on January 29th of this year. It was hard then but it was even harder on Saturday when we started the drive into the farm from the main highway down the Prairie River highway.....

The sun was shining and we were reminiscing and discussing quietly how this drive had led to Jacks place and no matter how many times we drove this stretch of road he was always at the end of it.....their farm yard was the end of the road....
Looking into the following picture the lane way in is directly to the left of the trees on the right.....the foreground is Jack's garden...At this time of year this is where we normally found him. His garden probably followed only his animals when it came to his labours of love. He often would ask me gardening questions and hope I had some answers . I grew gardens but not to the extent Jack did. By now he always had a hot bed for the tomatoes started and the rows were clearly marked with pickets and orange baler twine....He grew corn,beans ,peas,carrots,horseradish,tomatoes,parsnips(my fave) cucumbers and more ....and hills and hills of potatoes. The chickens ran free in his garden . They were the insect eaters and kept the  garden clear of the pests. When he planted his dog or dogs were always right there beside him....

Arriving Saturday even though we knew he wouldn't be there......THE painful reality hit us hard as we got closer .....we passed by the farm entrance to try to contain our emotions. After all we were coming to see Len ...he had lost a brother....we hoped to be strong for him....we drove past the yard and into  the sports ground . The very place we first met Jack ...the place Jack and his brothers and sisters had played sports as kids...........the tears flowed ...and my heart ached.....after some time we turned and headed south again to the yard...We hesitated at the entrance to the pasture.....there were no cows..........there were no new born calves hopping around....and ....no Jack....

.more tears more pain....

Slowly we worked our way to the yard and as we turned in Tom spotted Len in the garden with Duke, the dog Jack had just gotten last spring and he loved so very much.....I got Tom to stop ASAP and I jumped out and slowly walked over to Len!

"Sheila " he said sounding dissapointed when he saw my tears and heard my sobs. He reached out his arm and pulled me close.... "It has been four months " You need to be strong" 

 "No Len", I said "Ffor us this is it the time is right now"....".The second we could see in your yard", I told him," was when it became real"..... He understood and gave me that smile of his... and we all hugged and ofcourse I hugged the dog.

I was happy to see Len in the garden ....It reminded me that so far there was still someone still on the farm . We nearly lost Len four years ago when he had a valve in his heart replaced. He too is like a brother and has been there for us every year to have a drink with for Tom and to play scrabble with me along with the many discussions around the kitchen table to solve all the worlds problems or just figure out our own.

Len although very different from  Jack has a heart of gold and is very dear to us too.

This is the place we parked our camper for the last several years as Jack and Len liked our company and we theirs so we quit dragging it into the bush. When we arrived each spring Jack would have the extension cords all hooked up and the heater going so we would come up to a warm space.Its an old 60s camper you can see it back center of photo. I sold my guitar and we bought it for 500 . It was better than sleeping in the tent as we had for years!  We slept up to 8 people in that little camper...

Walking around the farmyard was very difficult . It was great to recall though how I would help feed the cows and how I learnt to trust them . I wasn't fond of cows when we met Jack. He showed me how to interact with them and I enjoyed spending time with him and them especially in the spring when the new calves were all around.

This is where "Busy" the bull spent his falls ands winters. He was a great friend . I would call him and he would let me scratch his huge head and brush the loose hair off his back ...He seemed to appreciate me chasing the flies way from his eyes and would show it with a huge cowlick.

Jack in the beginning would say why would you be scared of them ? YOU just need to get to know them.. he was so right.. I was scared of the bush too when I met Jack......not even sure why..I am no longer afraid in the bush...I am much more leary in the city ;)

The farm yard Jack had his critters in

THE weekend passed with many memories shared, many tears shed and many thoughts of being grateful for what we still  had and what we had lost.

Grateful to have met Jack, Len, Eva, Joe and all of the other Chernysh family.

Grateful to have had this place to come to and even more grateful

 for the love we were shown in friendship.

As we drove away we realized that nothing will ever be the same at the Chernysh ranch..or at Prairie River Saskatchewan..Len will be moving to town and I am not sure what the future holds for the farm

 The one thing I do know....is it will always be a place we will cherish in our memories . A place we were made to feel at home...a place we went to visit our BEST friends....a place that was very special and always will remain that way in a tender spot... deep inside of us.