Not Wise To Upset A Wookie

 In the first half of September, Ottawa Comiccon happened. I've been going for years, to pick up merchandise and to photograph. It takes place in a convention centre near the airport over three days. I came on the Sunday, and it was busy.

These swords are impressive.

These masks caught my eye.

Plenty of cosplayers are to be found, including this fellow from Star Wars.

There's a local Star Wars cosplay group that always participates in this event, and can be found in community events around the region on a regular basis. This was the most impressive Chewbacca costume I've seen.

I carried on.

More swords and axes. I was tempted, but where would you put them?

These were my favourite cosplayers of the event, a couple who came as Rogue and Gambit of the X-Men.

I'll leave off here, and pick up again tomorrow. 

Ends And Odds In The Capital

 We begin today with the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne Park at night. This is unique, the last surviving example of late 19th century exhibition hall architecture of its type in the country. Late last month, work began around the perimeter for some rehabilitation, coinciding with the work elsewhere on the property. The roof needs some work, which requires closing the building off with scaffolding.

Elsewhere on the property, also at night. At the east end of the property, I took this shot, with the constellation Orion rising above the southern horizon. This stays in the skies for months before disappearing in the spring. A sure sign of the end of summer.

I've shown this as a work in progress. This mural downtown was finished off. I spoke with the artist, and gave him my compliments on how well it looked.

Taken from home. I liked the moody skies and the last bits of light of the day showing themselves.

I was heading to an event one day in the first half of September when I noticed this panel on a wall in Little Italy, and photographed it.

Coming back, I was on the north-south LRT line as it crossed a bridge over the Rideau River between Vincent Massey Park and Carleton University. A number of years ago, a parallel pedestrian bridge was added here.

The waters are relatively shallow here, but swift.

On another late afternoon in the Glebe, the look of these clouds caught my eye.

Attending another event, I found that a rescue organization was present. The group saves exotic animals, and makes use of them for educational purposes. This is the marginated tortoise, which is normally found in dry environments around Italy, Greece, and the south Balkans.

And this is a ball python. Yes, of course I touched it. I wonder what it was thinking.

One morning in the second half of September, I came by Lansdowne to photograph some early fall colours. The rising sun illuminating the east side of the Aberdeen Pavilion required photographing.

As did the Horticulture Building, which is nearby. This regularly hosts a variety of events, and will be hosting those events that are normally held in the Pavilion during the rehabilitation project.

Odds And Ends In The Capital

 I have some odds and ends from recent weeks today. In the second half of August, I was coming home late in the day, and these moody skies caught my eye.

St. Matthew's Anglican Church is in the Glebe, and regularly features here.

The Bank of Canada is Canada's central bank, a government Crown corporation, and lies across from Parliament Hill. The older building is partially wrapped up in the modern new building, an interesting visual mix.

Sunflowers grow well here in the later summer; these are found in the Glebe, where early in the morning I found bees at work.

I attended a CFL game at the end of August at Lansdowne Park, with the Redblacks hosting. The team has had an abysmal year, to say the least. I took this shot while walking about before the game, from the east staircase of the South Stands. The moody skies didn't end up in rain.

Down a flight of stairs and turning to the northeast gives us a view of the work in progress. The North Stands will get torn down in the second stage of this project and rebuilt. The arena, which is currently beneath the North Stands and still hosting hockey, basketball, and concerts, is being rebuilt here at the east side of the stadium. Things are coming along, with the rink taking shape, and the main concourse starting to form. There will be another level added over this, and the new building is expected to be done in the late fall of 2028. At that point the North Stands will be demolished, replaced by a tiered structure taking up less of a footprint. That's expected to go into 2030, with two condo towers going up behind the new stands.

Elsewhere in the Glebe, this relatively new mural caught my eye one evening.

On another night, close to Lansdowne, I was passing by on the pathway beside Queen Elizabeth Drive. I noticed a skunk busily digging in the grass between me and the construction perimeter on the property.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Soft

The first day of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and this month the theme is Soft. Check out how other are interpreting the theme right here.

I start with these shots taken in April inside the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne during a visit to the farmers market. It is typical to see dogs with their people here.

In early May upon leaving my place one morning, I came across this absolute sweetheart of a cat outside her home. She's often out front when the weather warms up, but never more than a couple of houses away from home.

A little further along the street, this kitty was watching me from the front window. This is one of a couple of cats in the house- the other is in my final shot below.

Rabbits are commonly seen in warmer weather in the north part of the Glebe, but particularly early or late in the day, or in the night. This one was in a front yard during the Tulip Festival.

I went to Dow's Lake during the Festival specifically for a few shots for a theme day later in the year. This dog drew my attention, and will appear in that future theme day post.

Spring tree blossoms are another soft thing. This is close to home.

And even closer to home- there's a lot beside my building that I suspect will never be developed. Two rabbits were having lunch when I passed by.

One day late in May I was heading to the War Museum to attend an exhibit opening. Several families of Canada geese were having supper on the wide expanse of grass here. Many babies were there, looking very soft and fluffy. It doesn't take long for them to grow out of that phase.

And I close with this cat, taken at the end of May. This cutie pie lives with another cat, as noted above, not far from home. I've never seen either of them outside.