Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan
Cyparissus was a young boy in Greek mythology who hunted with a tamed stag. The boy accidentally killed his companion with a javelin as the deer lay sleeping in the woods.
The boy’s grief was so profound he was transformed into a cypress tree.
Cypress trees are often planted in cemeteries, as an allegorical expression of mourning, death and transition.
Cypress sap forms like tears on the trunk of the tree.
The Cypress Hills of southwestern Saskatchewan are a geographical anomaly. The ice age flowed around this bit of prairie leaving behind a range of high-elevation hills with a unique biosphere.
Towering trees of the Cypress Hills.
Early Métis hunters called the hills les montagnes des Cyprès, in reference to the elevation and an abundance of lodgepole pine.
In the Canadian French spoken by the Métis, the pine was called cyprès, although it is not a true cypress tree.
Bear and I spent Saturday evening in the Cypress Hills. We are traveling to Saskatchewan to attend the funeral of a friend. We will return to Alberta mid week for another friend’s funeral next Saturday. The Cypress Hills seemed like a fitting mid-way stopping point on our journey.
We reflected on the lives that were, and the tremendous void their passing leaves. As we walked among the towering trees, their symbolism enveloped us.
Grief, manifest as a tree.
Dean Guest (1956 – 2025)
Dr. Greg Powell (1947 – 2025)
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Judy
So sorry for you loss of dear friends. The Guest name is familiar to me from Arcola days and I recall you writing about your friendship with Dr. Powell. So many do not get the years they deserve.
Russ Paton
Thank you. I am sure you met the Guest family on one of your trips to the farm. They were neighbours and good friends.