Avis Riva

Like awkward and wobbly toddlers, two sunflowers struggled to grow in the shade of a building. They bent and bowed to wind and sun, struggling ever-upward. On my daily visits I watched and waited, giving silent encouragement. Despite the unseasonably cold weather, small buds turned into glorious blooms as they reached for the sun.

The McNaught homestead, original home of the well-known Canadian artist, Euphemia (Betty) McNaught, is a provincially designated historical site near Beaverlodge, Alberta. Beyond the farmyard, I walked along a trail of nostalgia, where scattered farm machinery of a bygone age was partly hidden by new growth. In a distant field, I could hear the hum of modern farm machinery where engines have replaced horses, and life goes merrily on.