Saturday, May 31, 2014

Canadian Liberators And Sanne Tulips


This bed of tulips at Dow's Lake are called sanne.


The way sun lights up tulips in these flowerbeds works wonders.



The red tulips in this bed are called Canadian Liberators. They're mixed in with some white tulips. The series of panels I showed you early on in this series are on the far side of the tulip bed.



I leave off with this bed of tulips further along in Commissioner's Park.


I have more tulips yet to come, but tomorrow is a City Daily Photo Theme Day, and I'm going in a different direction for that post.






Friday, May 30, 2014

If You Have No Catnip I'm Out Of Here

Back at Dow's Lake again today, this first tulip bed features a type called Moulin Rouge in the foreground.





This pink one's called Christmas Dream.


There was a local cat strolling through the park. I kept trying to take shots. She was having none of that; she was perfectly happy to be petted and stroked and fussed over, but wouldn't stay still. Well, it's not as if cats will make things easy for us lower forms of life, will they?

Thursday, May 29, 2014

U.N. International Peacekeepers Day

May 29th is the International Day Of United Nations Peacekeepers. I thought I would take today to show you another monument here in Ottawa. This one is dedicated to peacekeeping.


It's entitled Reconciliation.


UN and international missions- both current and past operations- that have involved Canadian soldiers as peacekeepers are inscribed on one of the walls. This inscription features UNDOF, the body of troops overseeing the border between Israel and Syria.


The monument is nestled across from the National Gallery (you can see the glass tower in the first shot) and Major's Hill Park. It also offers views of Parliament Hill; the Peace Tower can be seen from this angle.


Taken from the other side, one of the spires of Notre Dame rises up.


From this perspective, the American embassy is in the background. For another look at the embassy from here, check this post at Merry@Syracuse. Merry took a trip up here earlier in the month, and has several shots from Ottawa and Gatineau that can be found in the sidebar links.


Canadian forces have a long history with peacekeeping operations, though the current federal government seems to have a profound loathing for the concept in particular and diplomacy in general.








Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The Sanctuary In A Peculiar Place

Downtown in Ottawa, the Rideau Centre is a major retail mall with links to the Ottawa Convention Centre. While it's busy inside, up on the roof we find flowerbeds and quiet paths. It's an oasis of tranquility. Tulips blossom in the flowerbeds during the festival.


The colours are varied and bright.


The tulips in this bed were shaded by trees that were finally seeing their spring blossoms.


And we return again to the tulip beds at Dow's Lake.


Surrounded by violet muscari ameniacum, the tulips in this bed are called Princess Irene.


And this bed of tulips go by the name Leen van der Mark.


Tomorrow I'm stepping away from the tulips for a specific occasion, but I have more of these colours yet to come. Also a reminder to fellow CDP photobloggers: the first of the month is a theme day, and the theme is Zest. If you're stuck on the theme, bear in mind some of the definition of the word: enthusiasm or excitement. That's something open to wide interpretation.


Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Colonel By Among The Tulip Beds

Here in Major's Hill Park, the statue of Colonel John By is now surrounded by tulips. Check here for what it looked like in the fall.


The tulips in this particular bed are a mix of yellows and reds.


They lead back in a line, ending here. The statue can be seen at the end, looking out at Parliament Hill.


Back at the south end of the Glebe, the shore of this pond I last showed you earlier in the month has a bed of yellow and red tulips as well. It makes for a pleasant photo opportunity with the water in the background.







Monday, May 26, 2014

Red, White, And A Stray Yellow

Jacques Cartier Park on the shore of the Ottawa River in Gatineau had red and white tulips in the flowerbeds this year.



Not to mention this stray yellow tulip lurking among the rest.


This shot gives you some perspective of location- the curatorial wing of the Museum of Civilization is in the background.


The park is quite different than when I last showed it to you during Winterlude. Compare these spring shots with the shots herehere, and here. I like the view of the Alexandria Bridge from this park, and Parliament Hill beyond it.



At Dow's Lake, the last of the panels.


Sunday, May 25, 2014

The Tulips And The Rocket

There are other tulip beds here on the grounds of the Museum of Civilization. This set was on the west side of the curatorial wing.


While these tulips can be found on the east side.


And a couple of minutes away from that we have Jacques Cartier Park. Here at the entrance to the park, with tulips in the background, is a larger than life statue of the famous hockey player Maurice "Rocket" Richard, who played for Montreal. 


Tulips can be found here as well, and I'll show you more from the park tomorrow.


Back at Dow's Lake, we have this panel. Tomorrow I'll be showing you the final panel in the series, but rest assured there are yet more tulips to come. Assuming you're not getting sick to death of them by now.


Saturday, May 24, 2014

A View For Malak Karsh

It is altogether fitting that we come to this panel from the Dow's Lake set today, focusing on the photographer Malak Karsh, who played such a vital role in the creation of the Tulip Festival.


On the Gatineau shore of the Ottawa River, at the Museum of Civilization, this plaque is placed by a bed of tulips bearing his name.


And it's such a grand view, taking in the river, Parliament Hill, the Chateau Laurier, the Alexandria Bridge, and more.







Friday, May 23, 2014

Tulips On Major's Hill

Downtown at Major's Hill Park, there are more tulip beds. This one gets a neat backdrop from the glass tower at the National Gallery.


Nearby, this bed of tulips gives us a view back to the first bed, at the right of the picture. At the top left you can see the edifices of Parliament Hill amid the trees.


I particularly like that blood red type of tulip.


A view of this bed from another angle also gives us much of the expanse of the National Gallery.


Yet another angle of the same bed shows Notre Dame Basilica in the background.


I leave off again with the next in the series of panels at Dow's Lake.