It feels like springtime in Alberta and the sloughs are filling up with meltwater again, even though it technically is still winter for a couple more weeks. The only sound here was that of water running in the ditch and the wind blowing through the fence wires and the grass. I was travelling with my friend Michael Chesworth on our way towards Drumheller when we came across this beautiful scene in Kneehill County. We travel with no agenda and no major goals in mind, simply enjoying our time together and the scenery along as many gravel backroads as we can find. Of course gravel roads allow us to travel slowly if we want to, and we do, and stop often without the worry of traffic, so it generally takes us a long time to get anywhere! But that is exactly how I like it!
there’s something rather strange and still
about a warm winter afternoon
when the sun has dipped until
there is only a subtle peach haze on the
clouds
and a silver sparkle on the trees
the snow is soft
with endless rills and rolls
and tracks
birds hush
for a change, and listen
animals smile with their gentle eyes
and people
people
look and look
and take off their mitts
and adjust their hats
and breathe deeply
trying to grasp it
I wonder if warm winter afternoons
mean this much everywhere
or just here
Marilyn Cay – “Strange and Still”
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Collin J Örthner - Photographer 