Wetland Bowl
Winter is not the usual time to think of wetlands, everyone of them being frozen at the moment, no life seeming to be there at all. But this year the ewes can still travel through them on their grazing forays and they nibble on old grasses they find there. Some of the dried out slough bottoms are well sheltered from winds by their boundary of tall, dry reeds.
Approximately 185 acres of our total land base is wetland, just over one quarter section of land worth. When we arrived here we didn’t pay much attention to the wetlands. Then when our pursuit of crop farming fell to its knees and we switched to grass, the wetlands became important and we took notice of what was here. This area of the province is a seasonal home to some of the largest migrating waterfowl populations and we partnered with Ducks Unlimited Canada to return the land base to grass and to repair wetlands drained by the previous owner. Whatever plants that wanted to grow back were left alone to do so.
Today the sheep use the wetlands, our guardian dogs too, and wildlife comes to drink from them. Bird life thrives because of them, and insects are abundant. While we do not intentionally alter the course of the wetlands our quiet presence here undoubtedly still has some affect. An affect we try to keep to a minimum.
When dealing with fence and fence lines wetlands are a big headache but oh the number times I have watched waterfowl fly into these wetlands and listened to prairie songbirds flirting and singing in the reeds.
Ringed with tall thick cattails and cool earth guardian dogs rest at the edges to cool off on hot summer days. And in years when the wetlands dry back the broad leaf plants that turn up present another food source for the ewes. They also nibble the earth at the shores, finding natural trace minerals.
We are small time ranchers with an uncommon approach but when I pause and take in the scene around me, even in the dead of winter, I am grateful to be reaching for a way of agriculture that is also profitable to the soul.
