Grab Shots Near Kinistino
Between Melfort and Kinistino CN has decided to clean up its right of way and is clearing scrub along the tracks for several miles.
If you look closely at this image you will see three small children on that frozen pond just West of Kinistino, a fourth child is on the little dock. Though the continuous below freezing temperatures is sealing in the ponds the ice is still not very thick and scenes like this one are recipes for disaster. So many ponds have aeration systems, some have small amounts of moving water while others have muskrats and beaver who will maintain breathing holes in rather deceptive manners. All of these can produce very thin frozen surfaces that will not support much weight. This pond is a borrow pit and would be more then ten feet deep, one child going through that ice could mean the others would be lost in rescue efforts. This is a danger that can be avoided.
This building of questionable value is heading along the highway North of Birch Hills. From the scene you can see that whatever snow had fallen, has now vanished from the countryside. One wonders what vanishing act is being performed with this structure.
Editor's Note: The term "grab shot" refers to the way these pictures were taken. With out slowing down, these pictures are taken at arms length through the windows of the moving FTLComm van you can see the slight blur in them and blemishes on the windshield, the wide angle lense on the Epson PhotoPC 500 catches what ever is in its field of view.