Journal Entry 1 by _Figment_ from Regina, Saskatchewan Canada on Monday, June 29, 2009

"This impassioned, wide randing book carried me back to my Saskatchewan childhood, to the grass and the sky and exhilarating smell of the wild that was always there on the wind. River in a Dry Land fascinated me and filled me with admiration." - Sharon Butala 

Journal Entry 2 by _Figment_ at Echo Valley Park in Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan Canada on Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Released 2 yrs ago (6/30/2009 UTC) at Echo Valley Park in Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan Canada

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

The book is about growing up in the Qu'Appelle River area. I figured Fort Qu'Appelle might be a good place for it, so I set it free near the Trans-Canada Trail as part of the 2009 Canada Day Release Challenge. 

Journal Entry 3 by gypsysmom from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on Monday, July 13, 2009

I am so looking forward to reading this book after reading Grass, Sky, Song. Thank you very much boutin-maloneya for offering it to me. I'll try to get Little Bee read soon and off in the mail to you. 

Journal Entry 4 by gypsysmom at Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on Thursday, July 15, 2010

Trevor Herriot is passionate about the natural world and it comes through loud and clear in this book. Part history, part field guide, part memoir and part community exploration it follows the Qu'appelle River of Saskatchewan from its Western source to the eastern edge of the province. Herriot's roots are firmly dug into the soil of the Qu'appelle Valley. He only lived there a brief time but both his parents grew up there and he spent many weekends and summer holidays with aunts and uncles in the Valley. Now he has a cabin in the Valley that he "spends as much time as possible at" according to the author notes at the back of the book.

Before reading this book I had no idea how extensive the Qu'appelle River was. I've travelled through what I now realize was just a small portion of the Valley and I thought it was beautiful. Now that I've read this book I want to explore more of it.

I imagine this book created something of a stir when it was first published. Herriot has decided views about how people should live on the prairies and it has nothing to do with agribusiness. In fact, he would be happy if people still lived as the natives did, moving with the seasons and the game. He sees how the land has been abandoned by the immigrant settlers and how modern farmers are losing touch with the earth.

I too have witnessed that. My father managed to feed a family on a half section of land, leaving river bottoms to be pasture for the cows and letting land lie fallow every few years. We had milk cows and horses and pigs and sheep and chickens so that there was always something to do even when there were no crops in the field. My mother kept a huge garden and sold eggs in town. We kids did farm chores from the time we were young. But my mother was also one of the first farm women I knew who took a job off the farm after a dry spell destroyed the crops. Three of the four children went off to university and never returned to the farm except for visits. The home I grew up in is owned by someone else although the land is still farmed by my nephews. But in order to make ends meet they have jobs off the farm, they no longer keep cattle except to sell and most of the river bottom land has been cleared for crops.

Reading this book made me long for those simpler days of my youth. When Herriot got to talking about his relatives he could have been describing mine. "Listening and taking pleasure in the cadence of their descriptives, rising and falling in talk of last night's storm, this fall's deer hunt, or the prospects for a wedding. An oozing sore was 'mattery,' calm was pronounced cam, the Palmers were the Pammers, and deer were always 'jumpers'."

Thanks boutin-maloneya for sending me this gem. I really enjoyed the newspaper reviews you stuck inside the book for me to discover. My brother-in-law, who grew up in Saskatchewan, is next to receive this book.

For anyone who wants to keep tabs on Trevor Herriot, he has a wonderful blog called Trevor Herriot's Grass Notes.  

Journal Entry 5 by gypsysmom at Park Theatre & Movie Cafe- Winnipeg OBCZ in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Released 1 yr ago (9/15/2010 UTC) at Park Theatre & Movie Cafe- Winnipeg OBCZ in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I'm going to take this book to the Winnipeg BookCrossers' Meetup tonight. If no-one grabs it you can find it on the OBCZ shelves. This release is for the 2010 Keep Them Moving release challenge. 

Journal Entry 6 by Pooker3 at Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on Friday, September 17, 2010

Okay, I all but begged for this book from gypsysmom on Tuesday night, going so far as to growl at anyone else who might have thought to stick out their hand for it. I too have read Grass, Sky, Song and am looking forward to reading this earlier work by Trevor Herriot. Thanks gypsysmom!