Monday, January 8, 2018

Odds And Ends In The Capital

I have some odds and ends today. I start with a view from early December of the Ottawa River in a place I haven't shown you before. West of the city core, out around the Lincoln Fields area, the river is wide between here and the Gatineau shore. The shot following it is from later in December, when the river was well into the process of freezing over.


This is Fallowfield Station, out in Barrhaven. It provides those who live out in the west side of the city with a train station if you're headed out to Toronto- a handy thing if you don't want to go all the way out to the main station east of the core. This also happens to be a transit station area; I was on board a city bus when I took this.


Near Fallowfield is the Longfields transit station, where a curious form of public art is situated. Bellwether is the title of a number of bronze sculptures on both sides of the station. Erin Robertson and Anna Williams created four life sized sheep and one border collie and placed them here. This one is the most accessible- most of the others, visible to the passerby on buses, are actually on the other side of the station, on a portion of the property that's actually not accessible to those on foot, so I can't get up to them and take a photo, more's the pity.


This work of art, also in Barrhaven, goes unnamed, as there was no plaque around it. This was before the snow came.


I took this back on the 6th of December, and some of you might have seen it in the Ottawa Daily Photo Facebook page, as I posted it the following day. It is a commemoration for abused and murdered women, a legacy of the mass murder of 14 women on that date in 1989 at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal by a psychotic with an intense hatred of women.


This is the Hazeldean branch of the Ottawa Public Library, situated in the Kanata area.


This plaque is outside the main entrance of the British High Commission. It pays tribute to Canadian Victoria Cross winners of the First World War.


I finish off with two shots taken late in the year. I passed beneath Plaza Bridge on the second to last evening in December. Then I took a shot of the National Arts Centre close by.

32 comments:

  1. I like street sculptures and that sheep looks very realistic. I never think of rivers freezing over as that rarely happens here. An interesting post of odds and sods.

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  2. It is amazing just how much snow has manage to find its way beneath such a long, totally covered, bridge.

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  3. I didn't know about the mass murder and oh, what a memorial/monument.

    Janis
    GDP

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  4. What a wonderful selection of images. They give those of us unfamiliar with your city, another sense of that goes on there. I'm always amazed at how such a large body of moving water like that river can freeze over. And I especially appreciate the last shot...beautiful colors.

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  5. ...I like the shot under the bridge!

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  6. Hello, I like the views of the frozen river. The Sheep sculpture is cute. Happy Monday, enjoy your day and new week!

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  7. @Fun60: it's only in places where the current is swift that the Ottawa River doesn't freeze over, like downstream from the Chaudiere Falls.

    @Rosemary: it's a wide open space under there, and the wind tends to blow it all in.

    @Janis: it is a date that is memorialized each year in the country.

    @Lowell: thank you!

    @Maywyn: I thought so.

    @Tom: that shot was a spur of the moment thing. I was passing through the NAC in the evening and looked over towards the bridge and decided to go under for a photograph.

    @Eileen: thanks!

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  8. Thanks for sharing more of Ottawa's numerous sights and districts and artworks - love the sheep!

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  9. That sheep sculpture is an interesting one. A bus station seems an odd place for it but I like it.

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  10. You certainly get around! I like the sheep too!

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  11. Interesting series of odds and ends William. Love the sculpture in the fifth shot and the commemorative memorial for the abused and murdered women is very moving.

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  12. It takes a good eye to see all these Ottawa features. then you also research and give us good information.

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  13. Nice serie, the photo of the frozen river and the shot taken under the bridge are my favorites today.

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  14. Nice to see more of the area! Public art can be awesome or 'what were they thinking?'. Also seems silly to put up art where you can't get to it on foot lol!

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  15. @Christine: you're welcome!

    @Sharon: we've got a lot of public art around, including in numerous transit stations like that one.

    @RedPat: sometimes I get a lot of traveling in!

    @Grace: it was fitting to visit that memorial on that day.

    @Red: I try to!

    @Jan: the ice has really built in on the river now.

    @Jenn: yes, I tried initially, because I saw those sculptures from the bus as I was getting off, and then was puzzled as to why I couldn't access them. There's one sheep on the other side's platform, and the remaining sheep and dog are together on the opposite end of the station, specifically past the public walking area. The next time I'm down that way, I'll at least try to photograph the set from across the road.

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  16. The sheep made me look twice. Very real looking. I enjoy your photos of Ottawa.

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  17. I especially like your first photograph, and doesn't that sheep look realistic! Amazing work.

    All the best Jan

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  18. Intriguing area ~ lovely photos and of course, my favorite is the sheep sculpture ~ ^_^

    Happy Week to you,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  19. You really make us see the beauty of your beloved town, William.

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  20. So did snow drift into the tunnel?

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  21. @Marie: it was quite realistic.

    @Jan: you half expect it to have come from a pasture!

    @Carol: I figured the sheep would be popular.

    @Cloudia: thank you!

    @Revrunner: yes, and there's also an open staircase at the halfway mark, so snow getting in there is not a surprise at all over the winter.

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  22. A wonderful selection of photos, William. You do get around, it's good that you can and that you enjoy your city travels. The tunnel shot is quite unique, I imagine many people don't see that view. The colour in the night shot is beautiful.
    Thanks again for the tour!

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  23. This is a beautiful tribute to the joys of living in a Great City!! Beautiful architecture, wonderful public art (the sheep is quite surprising -- and I'd love to see them all and the dog) ... and that you can take public transportation all around to see these sights ... that's one of the huge advantages! The commemerative sculpture for the murdered women is well done and a necessary reminder even now.

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  24. I love the sheep. Any relation to Shaun the sheep? It's interesting to see what a month of winter can do to the look of Ottawa.

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  25. I love your travels. We lived in Nepean, and this is a familiar route for me to go downtown. I used to bike it, as well.

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  26. @Bill: it's been awhile since I've photographed beneath that bridge, I think since last summer.

    @Sallie: from what I've seen of the station, you can see the sheep and dog on the other side, but not get up close to them like you can with this one.

    @Kay: I've never heard of Shaun the Sheep.

    @Francisco: thank you.

    @Beth: it's cute.

    @Whisk: me too.

    @Jennifer: I don't get down to Barrhaven often. Nepean, probably once a month or so, and even then, it's only in the northeast portion of that area before going back into the core.

    @Norma: so do I.

    @Klara: it's cute!

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