Little country church at Dinton

After two whole weeks of not getting a chance to go anywhere, including looking for Snowy Owls, I finally drove SE of the city yesterday, 13 December 2016, for a few hours. The weather had warmed up a little, after we had been getting windchills down as low as -34C. I just don't see the point of risking getting stuck along some country backroad during a deep-freeze. As it was, I did have a few minutes of panic when I couldn't get my car to start after getting out to take a few photos. The message on the start button said "Power is on", yet it would not do anything. When I pushed the button again, all the usual things came on, but the car still wouldn't drive. Eventually, after quite a few tries, I did get it to work, to my enormous relief.

My whole drive was along roads that I had driven before, some only once. Last winter, I had driven part of this area and saw several Snowy Owls, but they were no more than the tiniest white specks in the distance. In fact, during the winter of 2015/2016, I didn't see a single Snowy up close anywhere.

For most of yesterday's drive, I didn't see any, but then my luck changed, and I ended up seeing two owls. After driving quite a few backroads, I spotted the first one along a main road; the second owl was along a backroad.and further away. My fully zoomed photos of both owls are still not close. Unfortunately, I was not the only one to find the first owl - a large flock of 50 or 60 Snow Buntings had also spotted it and were harassing it, making it fly off before I got the chance to get better photos.

After stopping to watch this first owl, I went back to the side roads, where I came across the second owl, perched on top of a tall power pole. Though it was a long way down the road, it flew a few seconds later, landing near the top of a huge, bare tree that was even further away. I've only ever seen a Snowy in a tree a few times.

Feeling happy to have found two of these gorgeous birds, I decided to drive to see two favourite old things - the little country church at Dinton, and Superman's old barn and homestead, used in the 1978 Superman movie. I love photographing these old structures. Actually, the tiny church in Dinton was also used in a movie - Brokeback Mountain.

"Although the tiny town of Dinton, AB does not appear on most maps, it now occupies a place in motion picture history. Locations Manager Darryl Solly was asked to find a “small unadorned church” for the del Mar wedding scene in the movie, Brokeback Mountain. The unassuming Anglican chapel at Dinton, built by prairie pioneers in 1906, shown here in these exclusive pre-production photos, was the perfect spot for Alma and Ennis to be married."

The movie stars Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams and depicts the complex romantic and sexual relationship between two men in the American West from 1963 to 1983.

www.findingbrokeback.com/Albums/StThomasChurch.html

www.ourroots.ca/e/roots/lh6/lh6b0057.jpg

Happy with my findings, it was time to start on my homeward journey, as I didn't want to be on the main highway in the dark. There was just time for me to call in quickly at the Saskatoon Farm, only to find that the restaurant had closed about 20 minutes early, so I was out of luck for my usual Quiche and Sweet Potato fries. Saskatoon Pie was still available, which nicely filled the void, having missed my lunch. A cup of coffee came in handy for my drive home, too.