Little country church

Two days ago, on 13 December 2017, I was out on the road by 9:20 am, which is a miracle in itself. I find it almost impossible to get out early when I am going for a drive by myself. I didn't have any photos edited ready to post that morning, which helped. Seeing snowflake icons in the forecast for too many of the days this coming week, I thought I had better take a drive SE of the city while the roads were clear. I was lucky with the clouds in the morning, but it did cloud over in the afternoon. I always stop and take a few photos of this beautiful little country church when I happen to be on this road. Actually, this tiny church was 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

My hope was to maybe find a Snowy Owl in this whole area, like I had done in previous years. I knew I would probably have more luck if I drove the back roads NE of the city, but I didn't feel like driving that far. No luck finding a Snowy Owl and, in fact, there were barely any birds of any kind to be seen - just a small flock of Common Redpolls and two or three Magpies. At least I knew that I would pass several old barns that I have photographed on previous occasions. It just felt good to be in such scenery on a beautiful, sunny day. That is, until I somehow got lost on the way back home. I looked on Google Earth last night and I now know where I went wrong. Seeing a huge road sign that said North Calgary, I wasn't sure if I would end up on the dreaded Deerfoot Trail, like happened last time I was out in that area. So, I kept driving straight and found myself in a fairly built-up area that I had never been in before. Ended up driving back the way I had come until I was on familiar ground. A long way and a lot of wasted time!

Our temperature this morning is 3C, much cooler than what we have been having the last while. The forecast for tonight and tomorrow is for a few snow flurries, then a couple of nice days before the snow returns, just in time for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Counts. Looks like we may be getting a white Christmas after all. Everywhere is bone dry and firefighters were battling a grass fire just the other day, so moisture is much-needed. Crazy in December!