opheliac

Quarry Lake, AB.

ophelia — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:02:08 +0000

Let us probe the silent places, let us seek what luck betide us…The simple things, the true things, the silent men who do things.

-Robert Service The Call of the Wild

I thought I would hate him.

ophelia — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:48:53 +0000

On the way home, two traffic lights went out as I drove under them, right after each other.

Later ‘Take it Easy’ by The Eagles played on the radio.

Now outside there is a snow sky.

It is the first snow of the year. Silently over the next few hours a little white blanket will cover the outside like a death shroud. A beautiful, soft, gentle, poetic death shroud.

I thought I would hate him,

When he told me he didn’t want me after feeding me homemade vegetarian tacos.

…But I don’t.

I gathered my things without looking at him, walked around checking rooms and cupboards, put on coat and shoes, brushed my teeth without looking at him.

Thought I’d walk right past him without saying a word but nicely handed the key over. A change from the times I threw it. Smiled into his eyes. “Better luck next time.”

Now I know why he didn’t open the bottle of wine I commented on during dinner.

And why there was only one wine glass out.

Dust of snow

ophelia — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 03:31:41 +0000

The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.

Robert Frost, 1923

One year ago today, we met. I can’t believe it’s already December again. These snapshots do no justice to the stillness of air and softness of snow I found in the park today. Come back soon…

Emily gets older.

ophelia — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 02:01:44 +0000

As the weather gets colder, it’s nice to look back at photos from earlier this summer, and remember how long, hot, and green the days were. On a hot Sunday in July, my little sister turned another year older. A family BBQ marked the date, complete with the best potato salad anyone will ever taste. These are a few snaps from the day.

Heritage Park, quickly.

ophelia — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:21:19 +0000

We finally made it to Heritage park on the last weekend of the season. I’ve been busy shooting most weekends this summer and fall, so there are lots of photos to catch up on, and many posts coming. I brought the camera, but it was actually so busy that it wasn’t a good photo day. I dragged Steve along, we bought some old-fashioned candy, passed up on all the rides, and took the ferry on the reservoir. Oh, yes – and Steve touched a horse for the first time. (City boy…) He was also hit on by a 50 year-old lady, but I’m sure it wasn’t the first time that happened. Being a nerd, I like hearing about the way people used to live. We think we need so much, now. Four hours in the fresh October wind made the soup afterwards seem just right. Here are a few snaps.

PS. My second shooter is getting quite good!

Atlas and Dorothy.

ophelia — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:44:06 +0000

Next stops – Nacmine, East Coulee, and Dorothy. They are all supposed to be ghost towns, after suffering population decline when their mines or train stations shut down decades ago. There isn’t much at Nacmine, as it’s mostly redeveloped, and looks like a bedroom community for Drumheller. I don’t even have photos of these places to show. East Coulee is smaller but the same deal. There is a restored school house which has become a museum, but we were too late for admission. I did notice the separate entrances from boys and girls, though, which my parents confirmed as the way it used to be. I even found out that my dad grew up in a town small enough that his elementary still used separate entrances. The way things used to be…

Down the road from East Coulee is Atlas Coal Mine, which was the most interesting stop. These are all Atlas photos. When the coal mine shut down, everything was left as it was on the last day – train cars and coal scattered on the hill where they were thrown out of the mine and all. There’s a complete interpretive tour set up, and you can walk through all the old buildings – miner’s cabin, wash house, locker room, infirmery, parts store, and battery shed. You can even walk through the entire old tipple, but we were too late for that as well. We were the only ones there at 4:30 in the afternoon on a beautiful, sunny, fall day, and it was a perfect photo trip.

Dorothy was the last stop. The town never grew over 100 people. The main landmarks are two old churches and one grain elevator still standing. I spent some time with the elevator and tried a diffuser on it, which worked better than I expected. At the end of the day, we shared a mini cheesecake before heading back, exhausted. Birthdays aren’t always so bad, I guess. Thanks, Bdgr.

Rowley, Alberta.

ophelia — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 03:04:42 +0000

The first stop! If you need something to do this Halloween, there’s a pizza party at Sam’s Saloon in Rowley, AB. There’s one every month, to raise funds for the tiny town. I think there are only a few people still living there! A volunteer group has kept up the maintenance of some wonderful old buildings on the little main street. You can actually rent out the saloon for events, and there’s free camping right across the road. It’s nice that this little town has someone fighting for it. Most of them don’t.

Badlands preview…

ophelia — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 04:54:37 +0000

On Saturday, October 1st, I was taken on a wonderful tour of the badlands. I’ve got loads to show soon, and couldn’t resist a little preview. These were snapped from the car as I was testing out my new filters…thank you, Bdgr…

Bridges to Wayne.

ophelia — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 03:25:13 +0000

Finally, here are some shots from the first stop on the fall Badlands tour. Wayne is tiny and historic, but definitely not abandoned yet. There’s a cool old hotel still running, but we chose to shoot some of the 11 bridges on the road into town instead. On the way back through Drumheller, we tested out an old suspension bridge across the river. Yelling on a shaking bridge in the cold wind – a lovely autumn thrill. Props to Steve, who doesn’t like heights…or the cold. Hoodies bought at the Drumheller Wal-Mart made all the difference that day.

Another year.

ophelia — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 06:17:52 +0000

Sunday, September 10th was a breezy, sunny, perfect day.