It doesn't quite look like spring in this final pair from the photos I took in Major's Hill Park. This view overlooks the Ottawa River between Ottawa on the left and Gatineau on the right. The Rideau Canal cuts between this promontory (thus the name of the park) and Parliament Hill, and the ice at this part of the river was still in place when I took these shots on the Easter weekend. However, when you look upstream, there's open water on the river. The Chaudière Falls, upstream and out of sight from here, keep a portion of the river open through winter, and that open water is now expanding as spring asserts itself. That is one reason I never walk on this ice even in the dead of winter. About a week ago, a youth from Gatineau died after going through the ice.
Pulling back a bit gives another look at Parliament Hill, particularly letting the Library of Parliament shine in the sunlight. The first of the Canal's locks can be seen below.
Neat pictures! Tragic about the young person though.
ReplyDeleteI love that second shot! Very sad what happened in Gatineau.
ReplyDeleteA sort of Ultimate Place. You share it's soul. . . . .Wise old wolves stay off of thin ice!
ReplyDeleteALOHA from Honolulu,
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=
Still mostly frozen--wow!!
ReplyDeleteThe last image must be from Germany.
MB
Of course, these photos, are wonderful, give the feeling of belonging to a large and beautiful city. As this is.
ReplyDeleteTomás.
Lovely to see soft sunshine highlighting the elegant Library structure ...but so sad to think that a lad lost his life while skating near this place of beauty
ReplyDeleteThis is a decidedly un-springy view! Bring back the sun and flowers, please. :)
ReplyDeleteI try to stay away from walking on ice like this. Sorry to hear about the young man dying.
ReplyDeleteThere are always young daredevils who don't see any danger unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteNice shots William.
ReplyDeleteWow! We really are much farther along seasonally. Thankfully, ice is but a distant memory--well, maybe not all that distant. :-)
ReplyDeleteVery sad, a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteoh that is so sad :(
ReplyDeleteWilliam, I really like that second picture with the parliament building. So scary for that person to go through the ice.....I would never venture out on a river covered in ice.
ReplyDeleteIt's quite beautiful. I agree about the ice. Even when living in Minnesota, I was very careful about walking on any iced-over pond or lake.
ReplyDeleteHow sad that a youth lost his life!
ReplyDeleteThe sky seems so blue at this time of year!
ReplyDeleteJane x
Call me chicken. I wouldn't walk on it at any time.
ReplyDeleteYoung men often don't see the dangers... so sad !
ReplyDeleteNice pictures, William !
That second shot is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteI like this series of photos of your past 2 posts and this one. How sad about the youth that drowned.
ReplyDeletebeautiful views (from here!) glad you stay safely off that ice!
ReplyDeleteAh, greetings to your icy river from the banks of the Potomac, which is entirely free of ice. Nevertheless, the trees are still leafless here as well.
ReplyDeleteYou give a different view of this area which is nice. Usually photos are taken from the other direction.
ReplyDelete@Linda: death by drowning, I can say from experience, it stays with the family.
ReplyDelete@Linda: you hear stories like this every year- someone strays out onto ice far too late in the season and pays for it.
@Cloudia: this river can be very deep in places, and with strong currents. Even on the coldest day in February, particularly with that open water upstream, I would never cross the ice here.
@MB: the look of the Library portion of Parliament really does have a classical feel to it, and being on that height adds to that castle sort of feel.
@Tomas: in this case, two cities, but both sides of the river have a lot in common.
@Dianne: I was quite pleased with how the second shot turned out. It's a good thing to take multiple shots.
@Halcyon: and yet there are elements of spring there, including bare patches of ground down below. The slopes of the Hill, though, get very little sunlight, so snow takes much longer to go there.
@Stefan: I know there are people who do cross this ice when it is at its thickest, but I prefer using bridges.
@Marianne: unfortunately they think they'll live forever.
@Luis: thanks!
@Revrunner: yes, winter lasts much longer here.
@Peter: it's something that will always stay with the family. One of my brothers drowned in a quarry when he was a boy.
ReplyDelete@Tanya: it certainly is.
@Linda: I have no problem with crossing the Canal, but that's a body of water which has a controlled flow. Rivers are another matter, as are lakes.
@Lowell: you simply don't know if the ice is weak in places.
@EG: unfortunately it happens.
@Jane and Chris: that kind of sky I enjoy seeing this time of year.
@Norma: for me it would be quite pointless- one would spend more time getting down to the river than to simply cross over the bridge.
@Karl: that is a problem with being that young- not thinking through the consequences.
@Sharon: thank you!
@Pamela: it still baffles me- why be so foolish as to cross that ice in April?
@Tex: I know better. Of course, I think having had experience with such a loss, it gives you more sense.
@Annette: we'll have to wait awhile before the leafs start coming out.
@Red: I do like photographing the Hill from this park, as well as Nepean Point, which is very close by.
Brrr looks cold
ReplyDeleteHow terrible about the boy dying!
ReplyDeleteI like the Library profile though. Nice photo!
That certainly adds to the river view for me.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the guy, I would never dare to do anything like that!
ReplyDeleteA real tragedy.
ReplyDeleteI saw pics in today's paper of people sunbathing up there yesterday! You got a lot warmer than we did. Love that last pic!
ReplyDeleteIt looks so beautiful, especially the second shot!
ReplyDelete26° here today. Unbelievable...
@Krieg: strangely, not that cold.
ReplyDelete@Cheryl: that particular portion of Parliament is my favourite part of the buildings to photograph on the Hill.
@Birdman: thank you!
@VP: it was reckless.
@Marleen: very much so.
@RedPat: there are some people who get that started early!
@Ciel: it's pleasantly warm today here.
Wow I can't believe you still have all that ice, is this unusual for this time of year?
ReplyDeleteas always stunning photos of the hill, need to have a drive up for the weekend.
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful but was sad to hear about this young person, repeated every year no matter what part of the world I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteThe young always try that as caution isn't in their nature. Spring is arriving even there.
ReplyDeleteYup it still looks chilly.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos ! Still lots of snow there eh? Our lake Erie is now thawed and our Otter river has been thawed for a few weeks . Thanks for sharing , have a good day !
ReplyDelete"That open water is not expanding as spring asserts itself." My favorite sentence of the day.
ReplyDeleteJanis
GDP
Sorry to hear about the young person. People don't seem to take warnings seriously. We lost two kayakers here last weekend. They didn't heed a small craft advisory. Very sad but in all cases preventable...making it sadder.
ReplyDeleteSadly, we have things like that happen here too. There is one place on the river that people use for an ice bridge and at least one car goes through the ice every spring. With our mild winter this year the river was never stable there, so we had a few cars go through early on, but I believe they managed to block it so people couldn't drive across after that. We're melting fast, but had a bit of a setback this weekend, with a couple of inches of new snow Friday and Saturday nights. It did melt off during the day, so not a big deal.
ReplyDeleteThat open ice is so inviting and the young just don't think anything will happen to them. We have a similar problem in Amboise. The Loire river looks so peaceful but every few years a kid ignores the "no swimming" signs and drowns.
ReplyDeleteIt's so cold. They haven't found that 14-yr-old's body yet, have they? So sad, teens and risky behaviour.
ReplyDeleteSad for this boy ... Your winter is toooo long !
ReplyDeleteOh, it still looks terribly cold!
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot of ice and snow.
ReplyDeleteThe view is wonderful (though you have a lot of ice still)
ReplyDelete@Geoff: it's not that different this year.
ReplyDelete@Gill: you should come on up sometime.
@Denise: unfortunately it happens.
@Mari: that is true.
@Randy: cold is a good thing.
@Country Gal: the ice does take its time to wear away, but each day takes its toll once it gets started.
ReplyDelete@Janis: thank you!
@Kay: yes, so many times death is preventable. One moment of stupidity or foolishness can't be taken back.
@Elaine: that doesn't surprise me.
@Stuart: and that isn't surprising.
@Jennifer: I don't know at this point. Most of the time a body gets recovered at some point.
ReplyDelete@TDP: but winter is a good thing!
@Joan: cold is a good thing.
@Jim: we get a lot in the winter.
@Orvokki: I love the views from that park.