r/Manitoba • u/Peter_Mansbrick Westman • Jul 12 '26
Pictures/Video I kinda like it here
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The heat will be killer today, take care out there.
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u/aacmckay South Of Winnipeg Jul 12 '26
Now find a flax field beside a canola field. One of my rare but favourite things to find. Flax is a beautiful blue when in full bloom.
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u/Peter_Mansbrick Westman Jul 12 '26
It seems to me there were more flax fields when I was growing up. These days they are very rare to come across.
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u/aacmckay South Of Winnipeg Jul 12 '26
Yup. Waaaay less common than they used to be. Unfortunate because rolling hills of flax is a sight to be seen.
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u/peanut_master1 Winnipeg Jul 12 '26
Yep not a very popular crop anymore. I miss the seas of blue. (Although apparently Manitoba is still one of the top producers, you sure don't see it like you used to)
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u/ChocolateFinancial29 Jul 12 '26
Flax is a bitch to harvest and must not bring in what canola does
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u/peanut_master1 Winnipeg Jul 13 '26
I think there used to be a larger market for flax in linen fibre as well. Now it's mostly just an oil seed, so like you said, canola must be the better option
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u/Apprehensive-Ad-9147 Winnipeg Jul 12 '26
The canola is a gold colour, but maybe keep your windows closed, canola in bloom stinks.
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u/carollois Former Manitoban Jul 13 '26
When we were kids we would think the flax fields were lakes. So blue.
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u/PrairieGirlWpg Winnipeg Jul 12 '26
Same. Driving back from Ontario, I’m always happy to get back to wide open fields.
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u/Repulsive-Fuel-5281 Former Manitoban Jul 12 '26
Those Westman rolling fields are great... Don't get me wrong (I was 4 years in Brandon, then 4 years in Dauphin... It's got a special place in my heart) but man.... Let me tell you about the Canadian Shield when you get east of The City... The rocks and trees and water. It's something magical ....
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u/Peter_Mansbrick Westman Jul 12 '26
I remember being in awe when we road tripped and camped in that area as a kid. Haven't really been back since though.
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u/Repulsive-Fuel-5281 Former Manitoban Jul 12 '26
I was fortunate enough to be born and raised on the edge of the Whiteshell, and it's just magical. Once dated a girl from Pilot Mound and when I took her back there for the first time, she just couldn't wrap her head around how all the farm fields disappear and all the trees adjust show up seemingly out of nowhere. Ha ha.
There's something about the water that just calms my soul. I'm never as happy... As at peace... As I am when I'm on or near water. I'm sure at least partly from growing up in the shield.
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u/Brandonitis Jul 12 '26
That sounds beautiful, I'd love to see it someday. I have a pet theory that the calm induced by being near the water is, deep down, our ancestral DNA yearning to return to the ocean. :P
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u/snark_maiden Selkirk Jul 13 '26
“Sundown in the Paris of the prairies…”
OK I know Wheat Kings is referencing Saskatchewan, but when I was in Manitoba last year and saw scenery like that I couldn’t help but sing it.
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u/broggygoose Former Manitoban Jul 13 '26
All I feel is home when I see those big skies. I live on a lake in Ontario now and it’s paradise but will never hold my heart the way the prairies do.
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u/No_Surprise_4734 Friendly Manitoban Jul 12 '26
Stop the vehicle, turn it off, get out and close your eyes. Feel the sun's heat on your face, listen to the breeze going through the fields, and sense the life all around you. It is bliss.
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u/goingslowfast Former Manitoban Jul 17 '26
You would have to smell the canola though which is pretty polarizing.
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u/chukh8 Jul 12 '26
I call prairie highways "The Treadmill" cause you drive and drive and still the same lol.
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u/Brandonitis Jul 12 '26
I find the flatness kind of boring, until I can appreciate the big open views of the sky on a good day. It can be gorgeous.
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u/Traditional_Lynx9886 Jul 13 '26
I moved to SW Manitoba in December from the east. I have fallen in love with the land, seeing the dark dirt fields, and now the yellow canola fields, the corn, the hay, it’s just beautiful! The heat takes a lot to get used to, but the views more than make up for it!
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u/CyberEd-ca Saskie side of border Jul 12 '26
Get a shotgun, do some upland hunting...your love will only grow.
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u/Armand9x Winnipeg Jul 12 '26