A ring-billed gull drifted past the quiet shoreline of Astotin Lake Beach with a calm, unhurried grace, its wings stretched wide to catch the gentle currents rolling in from the open water. The bird seemed suspended between sky and lake, gliding so smoothly that its movement felt almost dreamlike, as if the air itself were carrying it forward. Sunlight glinted off its white plumage, illuminating the soft gray mantle across its back and the crisp black tips of its wings, while its yellow bill flashed briefly each time it turned its head. Below, the surface of the lake shimmered in soft ripples, reflecting fragments of sky and motion like scattered glass. The sandy curve of shore lay peaceful beneath it, edging the wild beauty of Elk Island National Park, where distant grasses whispered in the breeze and the world seemed to move at a gentler pace. The gull dipped slightly, riding a current that lifted it again with effortless precision, demonstrating the quiet mastery of a bird perfectly adapted to wind and water. Its cry rang out once, sharp but not harsh, echoing faintly across the open space before fading into stillness. Against the wide sky of Alberta, the gull’s flight became a fleeting brushstroke of motion across a tranquil landscape, a simple yet captivating moment that embodied freedom, lightness, and the quiet poetry of nature unfolding in real time.