Thursday, February 17, 2005

pools and twines

We went for a drive into the country yesteray, after days spent dipping in and out of ruts shaped by the endless freeze and thaw of the past month and negotiating banks that are as much sand and salt as they are bricky ice and crusty snow.

It was one of those bright freezing days, where the cold pools in the small of your back and twines around your neck, but the sun, unobstructed by trees, light standards, and electrical poles, was welcome.


Winnipeg Floodway, MB. February 16, 2005.

The country was flat and reflective, the snow shaved down nearly to the ground by wind but still white and glossy. Fall's sun-burnt grasses poked though, as in this picture, taken from the floodway bridge a few feet from exhausted on-rushing trucks.


Near Grande Pointe, MB. February 16, 2005.

One farmer's field had sunflowers rimming it, their heads fallen over, their stalks ropy and dry. I wanted to take a picture but there was a ditch between the beginning of the field and the edge of the road, likely filled with more snow than I am tall. I took a few steps, expecting to fall through the top crust and get mired, but it held.

Of course, it was so cold that the camera was reluctant to focus and my fingers started to go numb almost immediately. Once back in the car, I reviewed my pictures quickly and wasn't ultimately that happy with them, but refused to go back out, my fingers pressed to the heating vents and the camera abandoned in my lap.

We drove on.

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