The Ice

I start off today with a series on Winterlude, which has already wrapped up here in Ottawa and Gatineau. An annual celebration of winter, the festival has events on both sides of the Ottawa River. Its centerpiece is the Rideau Canal skateway, which has been having an exceedingly good year. Opening its full length of 7.8 kilometres in the first half of January, the Canal has been open since, blessed by consistent cold. A difference from some recent years, when only a portion could be opened due to warmer temperatures. And people will skate it, any time of the day. I've been on it several times this winter, and I start this first visit at the Bank Street Bridge, which spans the Canal between the Glebe to the north and Old Ottawa South on the south.

I was heading west for home, taking shots along the way, back and forth. It was good walking. The Canal is regularly maintained, flooded when the ice becomes rough, and even patrolled by skating first aiders.

I took two shots of the ice surface, with a flash and without. Imagine these as a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle.

And then I carried on.

Up ahead, the Bronson Avenue Bridge.

Winter

 Last week we got hit by a rather significant snowstorm. It started around nine or so in the evening. I went for a walk while the snow was relatively light, out into the Glebe. There was wind, but the buildings provided an effective buffer. This first shot includes the domed structure of the Glebe Community Centre at left.

Passing through one street, I saw rabbit tracks come out of one driveway in the fresh snow, move along the sidewalk, and promptly go back into the next driveway. Rabbits are less active in winter, and this one must have decided that a return to the burrow was a good idea.

Another shot, closing in on home.

The brunt of the storm came in shortly after twelve thirty in the morning. This first shot out the window had the condo tower starting to fade in the distance.

Ten minutes later, it was gone.

The following night, after the storm had ended, another walk in the Glebe was called for. The roads in the neighbourhood are generally quiet at night, and were passable. The sidewalks, not so much. I kept to the roads.

I passed by Glebe-St. James United Church.

Snow was in piles along the roads. Some sidewalks had been shoveled or plowed.

A final shot, close to home. After this storm, another major snowstorm hit the city. The snow banks are now taller than me.

Winter

 Here we see the Rideau Canal at night, as seen from the Bank Street Bridge. This shot was taken in late December. It has been a good year thus far for the skateway, and I have gotten out on the ice for walks.

A look out my windows at home, taken in mid-January. A condo tower near Dow's Lake is a ghost in the snow.

This sculpture stands outside the headquarters of Library and Archives Canada. A boy and girl sit on a bench, looking at home in the snow.

A pair of shots using bare branches against an overcast sky, taken at home.

Another view out the windows.

I was over at Lansdowne Park one day as snow was falling. The stadium field was quiet.

I walked over to the far side.

Here we have the Aberdeen Pavilion as seen from the south side.

And the southeast.

The Horticulture Building stands nearby.

And here's the Aberdeen from the west side.

This was taken the other night at home- icicles hanging off a lamp post, zoomed in.

A last shot for today- the National War Memorial on a February winter's night early on in Winterlude. More winter shots tomorrow before we get into Winterlude itself.

Finale

 This collected specimen is a holotype- the first of its kind to be discovered. Chasmosaurus irvinensis is a horned dinosaur, and this one was uncovered in 1958 but not studied until four decades later.

This is what the fossils look like displayed of the species as we might expect.

Here we have another first. This is a reconstructed skull, while the bones of the original are in a nearby display case. Spiclypeus shipporum is a recently discovered species of horned dinosaur, and this one has the name Judith, in honour of the river basin in Montana where she was found. The river was named by  the explorer William Clark in honour of a woman back home he wanted to marry. As I write this draft, I'm listening to music from the Ken Burns documentary on Lewis and Clark- oddly fitting.

An artist's rendering looks at what Judith might have looked like.

And here are the original fossils.

They dominated the world. And long after their day ended, they fascinate us.

I end inside the gallery with two views of daspletosaurus. 

Back out in the main atrium, one more look up at Gaia.

Down on the floor, a moose is in mosaic form.

And a final view of the Museum in late afternoon sunlight. I hope you have enjoyed this visit.