I have mentioned this before in my writer's blog. My maternal grandparents lived in Ontario's snowbelt near Hanover, and one winter, my grandmother's father came for a few weeks from the Netherlands. There was a snowstorm early in April, and the old man asked, "does the winter ever end in this country?"
Icicles are to be expected in an Ottawa winter, and some this year have been big ones.
This one was hanging off a roof in the Glebe.
Over in Little Italy, in the ravine the O-Train passes through, ice forms on the walls where groundwater seeps through. I've shown you this before. This ice formation is on the platform side of the rock cut, and will probably stay there well into April.
In Centretown, Dominion-Chalmers United Church has icicles along the south wall.
The church is an interesting one architecturally, rather different from conventional churches here.
You want to watch where you're going this time of year. Icicles like that falling could ruin your day, or kill you... whichever one is worse.
Those are big, William! Great finds!
ReplyDeleteAfter the warm weather we had on Tues and then the storm on Wed there are fresh, long icicles hanging from our eaves and railings. Though none are quite as substantial as these.
ReplyDeleteOh boy. They are absolutely huge and so pretty (if perhaps dangerous). They are so rare here...
ReplyDeleteThose are incredible icicles !
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
ReplyDeleteFrozen!
ReplyDeleteLove that old stone church. The ice looks amazing but lets have some Spring, shall we.
ReplyDeleteLinda: I saw an even bigger one in December but never photographed it.
ReplyDeleteHamilton: we'll still have them for some time to come.
Ciel: here it is quite common.
Stuart: thanks!
Revrunner: indeed.
Luis: oh yes.
I was wondering the same thing your grandmother's father was - does winter ever end up thataway?
ReplyDeleteAlso, is it possible the mafia really originated in Ottawa? I mean they're always talking about "icing" someone! :)
those are some biggies, for sure!
ReplyDeleteoh i'd be afraid to walk under those!
ReplyDeleteHave just been catching up on missed posts William, gosh is it still snowing over your way.. I thought it would be warming up a little by now. Love seeing the icicles, its still astounding to me that temperatures get cold enough to freeze water :)
ReplyDeleteBy law here in downtown Serbia you have to remove these icicles. If you can't reach them yourself, there's a number to call. Two years ago a lady was indeed killed by a falling icicle.
ReplyDeleteThese look very dangerous. I remember when I worked in Chicago there was a building along Michigan Ave. that had a slanted roof. At times they had to close the sidewalk below it because sheets of ice would slide off during the day.
ReplyDelete@Deb: today doesn't feel like spring!
ReplyDelete@Lowell: that's the first time I've thought of it that way!
@Tex: they certainly are.
@Tanya: with the church, there's enough ground between the sidewalk and where they'd fall that it's not a problem.
@Grace: we had more snow yesterday!
@Bibi: I've heard of it happening on this side of the Atlantic too.
@Sharon: I've seen buildings here that had to put up barricades on the sidewalk at certain times because of the risk of falling ice.
I suppose getting killed would surely ruin my day. MB
ReplyDeleteThose icicles look huge! But I'm no expert on the subject. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe icicles can be dangerous. I'm glad you were brave enough to get these shots for us. Canadian winters are beautiful, if cold.
ReplyDeleteI'm with your great-grandfather--I'm starting to wonder, too!
ReplyDeleteScary stuff, William!
ReplyDeleteUsed to go on icicle 'hunts' as a youngster. These days icicles on my house signal trouble.
ReplyDeleteThe snow is melting here this week (yay!!) and even though I know we'll probably have a few more storms, I couldn't be happier :)
ReplyDelete@MB: it'd ruin many a day!
ReplyDelete@Jose: I've seen many icicles, and yes, these are big ones.
@Halcyon: Well, I'm entirely too fond of winter to begin with.
@Norma: Old Man Winter's decided he likes it here.
@RedPat: you don't want to stand under these for long...
@Birdman: yes, there are drawbacks to that kind of thing.
@Meradeth: there's still plenty of time for more winter weather.
Impressive icicles! I have often wondered what would happen if one broke off as you were walking underneath it. Guess I don't want to know! People must have to keep looking up and see what they are walking under. Cute story about your Great-Grandfather.
ReplyDeleteNice photos ! The icicles we have here have got pretty big to ! I remember in 1976 in June we had a snow fall that was weird ! Thanks for sharing ! Have a good day !
ReplyDeleteHeehee, definitely don't walk under these! You were brave to be positioned underneath:) (I too love the story of your great-grandfather)
ReplyDeleteNever stand under an icicle! Or tug on Superman's cape...
ReplyDeleteThose are some formidable icicles, although this year we in Chicago could compete. On my way to work today I was pelted by icy bits of snow falling off the trees from yesterday's storm.
ReplyDeleteActually, icicles could both fall and hurt you and really ruin your day. Hopefully, that will not happen to people who are used to seeing them around this time of year. We have only had a few and short lived, a day or two then gone.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine living amongst all these icicles! Brrrr!
ReplyDeleteLooks sooooo cold, and i don`t think I could cope with a looooooong winter.
ReplyDeleteI should stop complaining about the rain....
It's been a BIG year for icicles. :)
ReplyDeleteHahaha ... Winter will NOT go away again this Year. Snow again this morning on the ground here on the Bruce Peninsula !
ReplyDelete@Denise: one must be careful.
ReplyDelete@Country Gal: you're welcome.
@Londonlulu: he must have been quite a character.
@Linda: hah!
@Annette: Chicago gets serious winters.
@Beatrice: here it depends on the building, particularly on roof insulation.
@Cheryl: I love the winter.
@Gunn: I can cope nicely.
@EG: it is most years.
@Cindy: and this year is the same.