Monday, March 17, 2014

The Mounties, Horses, And St. Patrick

Cead Mille Failte! That's Irish for a hundred thousand welcomes. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Over at my writer's blog in the morning, I will be posting my annual nod to the day. 

The Ottawa Valley has a strong Irish presence, and so the St. Patrick's parade on Saturday brings in a good number of marchers, floats, and participants. I took in the whole thing; the onlookers were far more present up and down the street from where I happened to be... so there were more people about than appears below. Mounties led the way, but were followed by marching bands, Irish families and associations, a contingent from the Irish embassy, representatives of the fire, police, and paramedic departments, the mayor, and St. Patrick himself. All with snow falling on the city. Yes, it was still snowing on the weekend.













37 comments:

  1. I love it that even the horses are sporting some green!

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  2. It looks like it was a lot of fun. And all those costumes are very cool.

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  3. That is fantastic. No such thing here and after a sleepless night, I don't think I'll even crawl to the pub tonight...

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  4. Great stuff! I especially like the top photo -- horses always make such nice subjects.

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  5. Nearly a foot of snow has--I suspect--stifled most of our St. Patty's Day festivities.

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  6. Linda: I wonder what the horses were thinking.

    Stuart: it was fun!

    Ciel: the pubs here will be busy all day even though it is a Monday.

    Tamera: they certainly do!

    Revrunner: that would certainly have a detrimental effect.

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  7. These are great! Nothing better than a good parade.

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  8. What a fun tradition! We don't have this in K-W. I know they're more Scottish than Irish, but I love bagpipers!

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  9. I love a good parade. Miss the St. Patrick's one. Not many Irish here; do have three friends, though, who live here and are Irish.

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  10. Great shots of the wonderful parade, William.
    Must be quite cold with those kilts in the snow, I think ...

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  11. Mounties and horses...so cool!

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  12. Now that is quite a parade. A little bit of everything. I love the horses--of course. Love the green ties on the big horses. MB

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  13. A superb series! Everyone of these photos is full of interest. Can't imagine why anyone makes such a big thing out of St. Paddy's day, but it certainly appears to be a lot of fun. I especially liked the horses and the old cars.

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  14. Really grate parade shots. I love the green ties on the horses.

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  15. @Luis: indeed!

    @Carla: I always like the sound of bagpipes.

    @Bibi: one doesn't have to be Irish, after all, to enjoy it!

    @Tex: it was!

    @Tanya: it must have been cold for them...

    @Jan: yes, particularly if there's an updraft...

    @Norma: I figured I had to get a shot of them!

    @MB: it's a good touch!

    @Lowell: I saw the cars, snapped off several shots, and went with this one.

    @Sharon: I wonder what the horses thought of the ties...

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  16. Hi William, greetings from Sault Ste. Marie. What beautiful photos. I'm just stopping by to say hi and am now following you. Please pop on over to my blog and perhaps you would also like to follow me. Hugs, Chris
    http://chelencarter-retiredandlovingit.blogspot.ca/

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  17. Hey, how did that red-coated band get in there without a sprig of green?

    Looks like a fun parade!

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  18. Looks like quite a parade. Great shots!

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  19. Looks like they know how to celebrate St Paddy's in Ottawa!

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  20. Everything is pretty cool but I'm in awe at all the beautiful horses!

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  21. What a beautiful and organized parade.

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  22. What a great parade, a lot of fun, huhh?
    Beautiful photos, William.

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  23. @Chris: I'll check your page out!

    @Cheryl: it was a lot of fun!

    @Krisztina: thanks!

    @Halcyon: and there's no shortage of pubs for that purpose.

    @Jose: both large and small horses too!

    @Eve: it certainly was.

    @RedPat: and we have the benefit of not having a drug addled mayor involved in it.

    @Karl: thanks!

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  24. St Patrick is also the patron saint of the city of Murcia.
    Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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  25. A wonderful post, that must have been so much fun. I loved the green ties on the horses.

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  26. I've never been much for parades, but this might have been nice to see from inside a pub, with a pint of Guinness.

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  27. Nice ones! I love those bagpipers (even if it's Scottish:). How fun this must've been to see...and photograph!

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  28. I love St. Patrick's Day but I was a failure this year. The Naples parade was on Saturday and I had already committed to playing golf, so I missed it. Then, today, I played golf again but I don't have a green golf shirt so I was the only one in the foursome without any green. And I am more Irish in heritage than anything else! So, tonight I went online and ordered a n emerald green golf shirt to wear next year.

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  29. Neat! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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  30. I don't know how I missed this. Great photos, but the snow and cold has to be a bummer for a parade.

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  31. @Murcia: I didn't know that!

    @Denise: it's a nice touch.

    @Hamilton: there is one pub I can think of along the route...

    @LondonLulu: for some strange reason, some people don't care for bagpipes.

    @Jack: you'll have to make up for it next year!

    @Linda: thanks!

    @Mari: well, the snow gave it a nice touch!

    @Elaine: it was a lot of fun!

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  32. Doesn't look like snow's falling at all!!! Love a parade!!!

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