In Old Crows Nest Colony, William Kurlelek deftly captured the nostalgia of childhood adventure in the cold Prairie landscape. While growing up in a Ukrainian farming family - first in Alberta and then in Manitoba, north of Winnipeg - Kurelek experienced the hardships of the long winter months. Despite this, Kurelek and his family still made time to play outside, creating the childhood memories that would inspire many of his future paintings. Here, a child waits bundled up in snow gear, sled in tow, ready to frolic through the expanse of a crisp, white snowfall. In the distance are a group of trees, which by the title we infer was the site of crows nesting in the spring. The crow was a bird often depicted by Kurelek in his work – its return to such sites was a harbinger of spring.