As part of the Tulip Festival, there are tulips on Parliament Hill. Here on the highest ground on the Hill, a statue of Queen Victoria has tulips at its base. We celebrate Victoria Day as a tribute to her, our Queen when Confederation was enacted in 1867. Compare this statue to this one I've shown you before.
There were a good deal many people about, so it wasn't possible to get pictures without others posing for shots, but it does give you a sense of scale. The groundhog (or groundhogs) that live on this hill didn't have a quiet weekend, with human visitors up around the Queen through each day.
Some bulbs were out, others just waiting to bloom, as you can see in this closeup.
Yesterday, soldiers mounted four Howitzers on the east side of Centre Block for an annual Victoria Day tradition.
It's a twenty one gun salute, and it is loud.
Back at Dow's Lake, here is the next panel in the series.
Nice! Great photo of the 21 gun salute.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that the Dutch flag flew over Parliament after her birth! The statue of Queen Vic is so different! Much more stately!
ReplyDeleteI love the tulips around the statue
ReplyDeleteLovely post ! Tulips are my mum's favorite flowers and I can't help but think of her every time I see some.
ReplyDeleteThe farmer's market in Velleron is not open in the morning but in the evening from 6 to 8 p.m., not a.m. !
Wonderful pictures. Tulips looks beautiful round the statue!
ReplyDeleteWonderful serie again, the first and the last shot are my favourites today.
ReplyDeleteElaine: thank you!
ReplyDeleteCiel: it was a nice touch of the government aat the time.
Gerald: so do I!
Nathalie: my mistake! I must have been bleary eyed.
Weekend windup: they fit it nicely.
Jan: thanks!
i would have loved to hear the 21 gun salute!
ReplyDeleteLovely!
ReplyDeleteHow magical that the tulips were blooming so well around the statue on Victoria Day.
ReplyDeleteAnother great series, William!
ReplyDeleteI like the monument and the photo with the whole smoke, I think I hear the big noise!
Wish I'd been there for the gun salute!
ReplyDeleteJane x
How very cool! Love the statue. I had the same problems getting photos of The Thinker in Paris what with people everywhere. Your shot of the 21-gun salute is magnifique! Enjoy your holiday!
ReplyDeletethose canons must have been LOUD! i do like that statue cluster, though.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful monument and I have read that was made by a Canadian artist. I have just learned that there are many more interesting statues on your Parliament Hill and I hope you will show us some of them sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteThe statue is very nice. I love the pink and yellow color in those tulips!
ReplyDelete@Tanya: there were quite a few people around for it.
ReplyDelete@Luis: thanks!
@EG: just the right timing for it. Often these tulips have faded by Victoria Day weekend.
@Karl: Earplugs would have come in handy!
@Jane and Chris: I first saw it a year ago. I'm pleased it's an annual event.
@Lowell: I'd heard the same problem happens with the Mona Lisa.
@Tex: they did warn people in advance that it's loud.
@VP: oh, yes. I've shown a couple of them before, and I took shots of some yesterday as well that I'll post sometime.
@Lois: thank you!
Nice photographs. Thanks you for sharing your experiences. It looks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see so many people out enjoying a sunny day. They seem to be really fond of the statue.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, so beautiful. Glad to see Vickie's looking good!
ReplyDeleteHi William, your photos are lovely! Sadly, here in Quebec, they have changed the name of Victoria Day to "Patriots Day". It bugs me, but I know why "they" did it...because they want to break ties with the royals. (well, the PQ gang does, anyway), certainly not all of us. I have found myself explaining to immigrants here that don't know, and that are new here that this holiday is really "Victoria Day", in memory of Queen Victoria's birthday. Sigh. LOL! :)
ReplyDeleteGroundhogs live by the statue? Bet all the tourists annoy them!
ReplyDeleteCanons and tulips... now there's a contrast in celebrations.
ReplyDeleteThe ground must have trembled when those guns went off! And the poor groundhogs!!
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm Mariusz. The first time I came to your blog. Ottawa did not know, but I hope that you will know.
ReplyDeleteYours.
If you find a little time you can look into my town in Poland, which is called Nowy Sacz.
Nice photo of the gun salute! And the statue is impressive.
ReplyDelete@Lady Lilith: thank you!
ReplyDelete@Sharon: they were all around it the two times I was up there over the weekend.
@Halcyon: she definitely is!
@Linda: the ways of the PQ, who'll be back someday, puzzle me endlessly.
@Cheryl: they're okay if it's one or two people up there, and there's enough grass for them. They tend to make their dens beneath the bushes ringing the top of the hill.
@Stuart: a big contrast!
@RedPat: I'm sure they're happier now!
@Mariusz: thanks! I've checked your page out!
@Marleen: thank you!
We'll soon be visiting Q.V.'s namesake city in B.C. There's a rather grand sculpture of her there, too. I'll have to regard it and decide whether yours is larger. I do know that she doesn't have anything sharing the base of her monument.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful place!
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing a statue of Queen Victoria on the grounds of the Parliament Building in Victoria, BC. It was really something seeing it with my own eyes. Hopefully one day I will be able to see this one too. Great photos William!
ReplyDeleteA very nice sprinkling of life in Ottawa. Personally, I like photographs better when they DO have people in them, to add some life and energy and sometimes to give scale. I think your photos of the Victoria monument benefit from the presence of people. These days, when I find a scene that I want to photograph, but there are no people in it, I often wait for someone to pass through.
ReplyDeleteAt least you didn't get mooned.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous statue! I'm shocked to see people hanging on it. You really don't see any of that at the historical monuments around here. Though it is impossible to get shots without people walking by!
ReplyDeleteI really like tulips, but you don't seem them that often where I live. I used to live in Kentucky and people couldn't wait for them to pop up every spring. It seems like everyone had them around the houses. Nice photos!
ReplyDeleteMy son, and his (now) wife, both born on May 19th, were married on May 19th. Great holiday!
ReplyDeleteInteresting slice of history.
ReplyDelete@Kay: that statue remains inaccessible at present with the work around the Hill. You can see her, but you can't get near her.
ReplyDelete@Norma: it is.
@Denise: thanks!
@Jack: I'll tend to avoid photographing people if I can.
@Whisk: definitely not.
@Krisztina: it happens.
@Pat: your area would have the wrong environment.
@Jennifer: quite a choice!
@Chrissy: I think so.