Four strong winds that blow lonely.
Spring on the Canadian prairies is about wind. Constant steady wind that continues for days on end. I will always remember spring winds. There were many experiences in the wind.
As little farm boys in the forties we were very free range kids. We didn't have TV so there was no sense staying in the house. We had very few toys.
So what did we do? We made kites and flew them. We had seen pictures of kites so made our own. After a few experiments we had kites that would fly. We used heavy brown paper to make the kite and chopped off about 500 feet of dad's binder twine. We went out in a wide open space( it was all open space) and let our kites go. As little boys not very much held our attention for very long. Soon we would tie our kites to a fence post and leave. Remember that strong steady wind. Your kite flew by itself all day.
With the high winds it was very peaceful to get out of the wind. We would find patch of badger brush and crawl in out of the wind. Badger brush is a shrub that grows from 40 cm (18 in ) to 100 cm(3 ft) tall. It was thick and was a good shelter from the wind. We pretended we were coyotes and looked out for people with guns.
So as usual our short span attention moved us on. So you spread out your arms and coat and felt the force of the wind push you along.
Today was one of those spring days when the wind blew all day so I was reminded of the fun we had as kids being outdoors.
Oh ya? the kites. The wind usually went down in the evening and so did your kite.
Well, I never thought of tying the kite to a fence to let it fly all day long! Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteWith a high steady wind the kite will stay up all day on it's own.
DeleteI bought my first kite when I was in my 40s. At that time I was working as a care worker for children with disabilities and the kite was for them, so that they could enjoy things which other children take for granted. It was the kind that more or less flew itself, even in very light winds. They had huge fun with it and soon learned the First Rule of Kite-Flying - "DON'T LET GO!"
ReplyDeleteDon't let go and read what's going on from the tug of the line.
DeleteWe were always given one of those cheap kite kits that you could assemble in a few minutes. But I have a distinct memory of helping my father build a box kite out of scraps around the house. We took it out and got it up in their air only to find out the force the wind exerted on it's many panels was much stronger than the string could take and the string promptly snapped. I found the remains of the box kite a few days later in a brushy draw downwind.
ReplyDeleteWe used the regular kite shape but tried to make them larger.
DeleteFlying kites is fun! Take care, have a great new week!
ReplyDeleteIt's fun for little boys but it doesn't last long.
DeleteLovely post Red - your imagery spoke of a wonderful childhood.
ReplyDeleteMy childhood has some very wonderful parts and other parts that were dreadful.
DeleteEarly seventies: our geography department had a filmstrip kit of the various regions of Canada. I recall that the Prairie version was titled Wide, Windy and Wealthy.
ReplyDeleteThe wealthy is only in certain parts and before the second world war you couldn't put wealthy down at all.
DeleteWhat a lovely post. I could envision it all.
ReplyDeleteI've been an outdoors person all my life.
DeleteIt sounds idyllic to have that kind of freedom as kids. :-)
ReplyDeleteFor us it was the only thing we had.
DeleteKites are a fun way to put strong winds to use!
ReplyDeleteYou also learn about the wind and what it is like.
DeleteThat's impressive, that the wind was so steady it kept a kite up all day!
ReplyDeleteIt didn't work some days but during the windy time the kite would stay up.
DeleteAre you tempted to take a kite out now into the Spring wind, Red?
ReplyDeleteI remember those days of being outside all of the time and getting water from the outside hose when we got thirsty!
I'm not tempted to fly a kite but I do remember being high up in the Rockies and the winds that came over the ridges.
DeleteI love how the spring winds reminded of your time flying kites, playing in the badger brush pretending to be coyotes. When I was young my sibs and I made our own kite too. Thank you for reminding me of those sweet days.
ReplyDeleteOkay now, you have to remind me of something I've forgotten about!!!
DeleteThe good old days where simple things kept us occupied for hours. Nice memory, Red.
ReplyDeleteWe were involved in a process and it could be a success or a failure,.
DeleteHi Red, Thanks for sharing your memories of growing up on the prairie. This made me smile: “Soon we would tie our kites to a fence post and leave. Remember that strong steady wind. Your kite flew by itself all day.” Next time I see a kite I’ll probably think of this post. Have a great day Red! John
ReplyDeleteI can remember that it was my brother who decided to tie his kite to the fence post.
DeleteMemories of building kites with my dad.....thankyou!
ReplyDeleteWe got the idea of kites from pictures.
DeleteA lovely, evocative piece of writing. Thank you Red. A pleasure to read it.
ReplyDeleteThankyou. Much appreciated from somebody who can recognize good writing.
DeleteImagination was our only limitation in childhood too growing up in Newfoundland. Such good memories, Red!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how we were left unsupervised for large parts of the day.
DeleteWhat fun memories! The winds here are more capricious, gusty then stilling, hard for kits flying
ReplyDeleteThe flat open terrain makes for steady winds.
Deletethecontemplativecat here. Those are memories that remind me of our own days of freedom and the wind.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful memories, well written. I wonder what modern kids will look back on. Probably not pretending to be coyotes while hiding in a bush
ReplyDeleteMy kids who are in their 50's don't seem to talk much about their childhood but I have many photos of them playing on their own.
DeleteThose are good memories, Red.
ReplyDeleteI think we were more free range than other kids at the time.
DeleteKites were a spring ritual for us. We had lots of windy days and lots of hills.
ReplyDeleteWe lived in a very flat terrain but still got kites to fly.
DeleteI enjoyed reading this!
ReplyDeleteYou reminded me of my brother who tried quite a few times to make and fly a kite. He did pretty well except for the time one got away and ended up wrapped around a power (or telephone) line for months!
ReplyDeleteAnd now I have Ian Tyson's "Four Strong Winds" playing in my head. It's a good earworm to have :)
Kudos to Ian Tyson for Four Strong Winds & Springtime in Alberta.
ReplyDeleteI love reading your memories of childhood. Such a healthy way for a child to grow and learn. Flying kites, making those kites, pretending to be coyotes, wonderful! Never heard of Badger Grass before.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun childhood memories. Do kids even play outside these days? Your story reminds me of how my brother and I played outside, most evenings until it got too dark to see. Those were fun days.
ReplyDeleteWE made kits too...it was fun!
ReplyDeletesummers were for kites for the boys and being from hilly village we would see them ran up to the hills and fly kites .girls would hardly take part but would look keenly while playing their own pretending games :)
ReplyDelete