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I walked to campus today, which I usually don't do, and brought my camera, which I also usually don't do. But when I left the house there was a quiet, unbroken layer of snow on the ground and fat flakes coming down, and it seemed worth the extra time. The bike ride to campus is about twenty minutes; the walk is about forty. When I walk I sometimes take a more direct route, on main roads instead of down side streets and back alleys, but today I took the long way. A little over a week ago, before I went to Manitoba, I streamed Guy Maddin's film 'My Winnipeg' on Netflix. It's a documentary, of sorts, but he also tells several stories I suspect are false. One of those is about how, in order to avoid competition, one of the two taxi companies in town was relegated only to back alleys. This is probably false: but the image stuck with me. The movie, which also claims that everyone in Winnipeg sleep walks constantly, is kind of, maybe, about the strange weight of winter here on the prairies. But Saskatoon (not Winnipeg) is purportedly the sunniest city in Canada, and because of Saskatchewan's intense commitment to being flat, when the sky here is grey the whole world is grey, and when the sun is out the sun is everywhere. Today was a grey day, as it happens, but by sunset the clouds had moved on and the sky was completely clear.