Winter is Coming

Last Sunday afternoon I had this ominous mantra from The Game of Thrones in my head as I took the roof off my Jeep and hit the road on a warm, 26 degree, sunny day. I had just checked the weather forecast for the week ahead and was dismayed to hear that it could be a snowy…yes, snowy week in southern Alberta despite the summer-like conditions. Hoping this dire prediction would not hold true, but not risking it, I turned my Jeep north up the Cowboy Trail from Cochrane to see if I could capture a snap or two of the iconic Alberta wheat harvest; a sight I had yet to capture in my photo adventures to date. I am SO glad I did! I discovered this colourful, graphical wheat harvest shot just east of Cremona, Alberta, appreciating the contrast of colourful fields against a typically expansive, expressive Alberta sky.

Unfortunately, Monday did dawn cold and snowy on cue and what wheat was not harvested by Sunday (roughly 87% of all wheat crops!) was flattened by Monday and Wednesday’s blanket of wet, heavy snow. In fact, over 30 cm’s fell between Monday and Wednesday, setting an early September record in southern Alberta while simultaneously snapping snow laden trees and felling most of Alberta’s 2014 wheat harvest in one deadly, drastic fell swoop. It was quite frankly shocking to see snow on Monday, after such a warm summer day on Sunday, but even more shocking to wake to at least a half a foot of the wicked white stuff on Wednesday. The sound of snow-scrapers and sadly cracking branches filled the eerie snow-laden silence throughout the day while the hydro flickered and threatened to go silent too. Even the hardy Cochrane-ites who have often told me it could snow here at any time throughout the year admitted that this was not the norm. But in true Albertan fashion, everyone here kept calm and carried on.

The snow has now melted while a massive clean-up continues in all southern Alberta communities effected by “The Summer Snow Storm” of 2014. For more coverage on the effects of the storm, especially on Alberta’s wheat harvest, please visit here, here and here. If you would like to see more of my wheat harvest snaps from last Sunday, please visit my website. Thanks as always for visiting!

Pleased stay tuned next week as I have a special guest lined up to help share another Vagabond Photography Adventure across stunning southern Alberta.