Edge of winter
The prairie does not go straight from fall to winter. There is an in-between stretch when the leaves are down, the fields are bare, and the first hard frosts begin to turn the world white overnight. Those mornings are some of my favourites to photograph, because everything is still and nothing has been touched. These are eight photographs of the edge of winter in Manitoba.
Winter does not arrive all at once out here. It shows up first as frost, a single cold, still night that coats every branch and fence wire in white. This lone tree on an open pasture looked like it had been drawn in chalk.
Frosted trees close in over a snowy trail. Everything is quiet, and the only sound is snow squeaking underfoot.
Hoarfrost builds on anything that stands still in cold, damp air, which makes a row of field trees look like coral. It rarely lasts past the first real sunshine, so these mornings are worth getting up for.
Frosty aspens beside a broken gate. The gate has not been closed in years, but the field looks like it has been waiting for winter all the same.
A whole woodlot wrapped in frost. From the road it looks like a single white shape, and you only see the individual branches when you stop and look closer.
The old farm buildings are at their best when the weather closes in. This barn, with a frosted tree beside it, almost disappears into the fog.
The one spot of colour in an otherwise white morning. A red barn behind a split-rail fence is hard to miss, even through the fog.
The season ends where it started, on the ice. A small black ice-fishing shack on a frozen lake, with frosted trees along the shore, is about as good a sign of winter as the prairies give.
Photographing the edge of winter in Manitoba
The edge of winter in Manitoba is best on cold, calm mornings after a damp night, when frost builds on every branch and fence wire. Dress warmly, bring spare batteries because the cold drains them quickly, and check the forecast on Environment Canada the night before. For ideas on where to go, Travel Manitoba lists parks and trails across the province.
Winter on the prairie is long, but it starts quietly. You can see more in the winter and hoarfrost gallery, or browse the full portfolio.
