Albert County, NB

I'm writing, writing lots or rather re-writing, creating revisions.  To escape from hours of bum-in-the-chair, I switch to bum-in-the-car.  We take a drive through places in Albert County, we haven't been for months.

It's a delight to travel through the interior of Albert County in winter.  The mountains and old-growth forest (at least, those trees that haven't been hacked to the horizon by clear cutting) hang onto the snow longer than in urban areas.  Coming around curves on the bare road lead to surprises of hard-packed snow and ice build-up, evidence of the hidden spaces in the hills, where shadow rules and sun can't reach.

With leaves gone and winter here, the countryside displays different sides of itself.  Little River almost disappears under cover of snow, yet seams of open water tell of the river's presence.

At the crossroads where Parkindale Road separates Turkey Trail Road from Sugarbush Road , there are farms, fields and forests as far as we can see.  The vistas are huge, invite breathing large and melt tensions away.  There is a sense of ease, of space and rest between the seasons of reaping and sowing.

A homestead tucked into the forest at Meadow, with the wind-farm in the Kent Hills as backdrop, makes me yearn for country living.  I remember the days of my childhood when the nearest neighbour was over a mile away and the woods were our playground.

Even, the Pollett River is hidden in winter's cloak.  It idles as it waits for the freshets of spring to swallow its snow and ice.

When we come home, we promise ourselves to return in summer, with blanket and picnic lunch and wine to explore the snow-locked spots of serenity we've seen on our drive.  We hope we can find them again once the leaves are full.

For now, we hold the magic places in memory and words, these delights that are just minutes away.  We comfort ourselves by saying that if we can't find them, we'll find others.   Albert County offers beauty and wonder no matter the season.

Words and photos are mine.