Readying The Canal For The Spring

These shots date from the morning of April 16th. I was crossing the Mackenzie King Bridge and saw this crane. It was removing one of the skate shelters from the Rideau Canal to be placed onto a flatbed trailer. The shelters are removed over a few days so that the water levels on the Canal can be raised, which is apparently being done this weekend. This location, with the Convention Centre as a backdrop- as well as Parliament Hill, the Chateau Laurier, and the Government Conference Centre- made for an ideal photo opportunity. If you're wondering about the line of people down below, they were waiting to get into a trade show inside.

His Supreme Majesty King Harry

I was passing through the Glebe one afternoon when this cat walked over. The first and last two shots were the final shots I took- the rest were taken one handed and with no screen reference after the cat- a grand fellow by the name of Harry- decided to take possession of my lap, my shoulder, and the rest of me, purring madly the whole time. He was a very friendly kitty and benevolent superior life form.

Wandering Through Hintonburg

Another reminder to members of City Daily Photo: the theme day for the first of May is Smell.

Around the beginning of the month I went up to the Hintonburg neighbourhood early one evening. It is dominated by this Catholic church, St. Francis of Assisi (Paroisse Saint-Francois D'Assise in French, which is the dominant language used here, as the church website is in French). When I lived in the neighbourhood, the church bells were a regular sound.

This nearby apartment building though is new; there was a car dealership where it now stands.

There must have been a large scale road infrastructure project here at some point; sculptures like these line the street. The city compensates neighbourhoods for the inconvenience with public art. These two stand a short distance apart, the second one in front of a community centre.

Lastly, this mural dominates a wall on the side of a store.

Departing From The Museum

Some final views around the Museum of Nature, including the central atrium, the mosaic art of a moose on the floor in the entrance, and the stained glass windows above the main doors. I hope you've enjoyed this first tour I've taken you on in here.

Fossil Gallery Displays

Here are some more of the fossils on display.

I finish with the display panel and fossil installation of Daspletosaurus, a predecessor to Tyrannosaurus Rex. Tomorrow I'll be wrapping up my series from the museum.

Predator And Prey

In the second section of the Fossil Gallery are life sized sculptures of dinosaurs face to face; it's interesting to walk among them and see the attention to detail. As you can imagine, it can be difficult to photograph them without people being in the images.

Also in this area are displays and exhibits on the aftermath of the age of dinosaurs and the rise of early mammals. This includes a mock up of a skull and small rodents crawling on it. Have a close look around the eye socket and you should see the critter.

On an upper level here in the Gallery, one can find this set of large mammals, long since extinct themselves, but which gave rise to later life forms.

Jurassic Ottawa

The Fossil Gallery is always popular in the Museum of Nature, and Canada continues to be a big source of dinosaur fossils, with rich deposits in the West. There are quite a number of fossils and dinosaur reproductions set up here. I have more over the next two days.

Gallery Views

Here are some additional views from within the Mammal Gallery today, including otters, a badger, fisher, wolverine, a muskox skull, squirrels, and that pair of banes of canines- the skunk and the porcupine.