Friday, April 10, 2009

Spring Thaw

Thaw with her gentle persuasion is more powerful than Thor with his hammer. The one melts, the other breaks into pieces.

Henry David Thoreau

I'm back. I was in Alberta last week and after attending a conference, I had the chance to travel from Edmonton to Sundre to visit friends. As soon as I arrived in Edmonton I realized that I had never traveled to another province in Canada during the winter. Since I have lived all my life on the West Coast this is the first time I witnessed the promise of the 'Spring thaw' and Canadian's eager anticipation of warmer temperatures. Sundre is an unassuming small town with a majestic vista of the foothills and mountain range of the Rockies. At the local school, kids still go out at recess and practise their roping skills for the annual rodeo. Sundre, a town that urban sprawl forgot. This trip has shown me that
I have a lot to learn about my own country.




1 comment:

V Yonkers said...

I've been to Alberta in November (Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, and the tiny town of Innsfail). It is interesting how the entrance of winter looks different than the Spring Thaw.

Spring for us who live in a "difficult" climate is non-existent. We refer to spring as Mud season and is the ugliest time of the year. It is interesting to see it through your eyes (although these pictures look like it currently is in the Mountains of New York). Honestly, it is hard to see the beauty of this weather when other spots on the continent have the promise of beauty with budding trees, flow buds, and the vivid green of new growth.