Archive for April, 2026
Our Power, Our Planet
Friday, April 17th, 2026
Prairie Dogs, the Badlands Hoodoos near Drumheller, Alberta Canada. 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper, 27H x 33W” framed size – white mat and custom-built white wood frame with crackle finish. Showcased online at KBM Art Gallery, presenting “Our Power, Our Planet 2026” April 18th through May 29th.
The Canadian Badlands in Alberta and Saskatchewan are recognized for unusual mudstone and sandstone landscape formations, and also for having the largest deposits of dinosaur bones in the world. The geography in Horseshoe Canyon, Alberta is ancient, unique and incredible, and the prairie dogs – locals call them “gophers” – are an impactful part of prairie ecology, having extensive influence on vegetation and animal life. They live in colonies of up to several thousand, burrowing in networks of tunnels where other ground-dwelling creatures move in, various grass species are maintained, and rainwater is reserved and redirected.
They are cute to be sure, sitting up on their haunches chirping at one another, but they can be a nuisance to farmers whose horses and cattle can trip in the holes. Pest control programs during the 1900’s meant their numbers have declined, which congruently reduced acres of grasslands they helped sustain. As their own highways became populated with humans and cars, particularly during Springtime they are a road hazard.
In Torrington, Alberta, one lady has found a creative way to utilize the unfortunate casualties. You must visit The World-Famous Gopher Hole Museum located in the middle of nowhere, in a small hamlet where there is not even a gas station, along a seemingly endless dusty gravel road about an hour Northwest of Drumheller. Gophers are stuffed, sporting handmade costumes and placed in small cubicles displaying historic scenes. Completely bizarre, but actually very well done and absolutely worth the conversation-provoking side-trip if you are planning to visit Drumheller and the Tyrell Dinosaur Museum.