Winter

It might technically be spring now, but you wouldn't know it looking at this blog. Today I have some winter scenes from February, starting with a snowy evening on Parliament Hill.

On another snowy day, I photographed the view of the Ottawa Locks, here where the Rideau Canal meets the Ottawa River, from a spot on Plaza Bridge.

This is Lisgar Collegiate, a high school in the downtown core, seen from the south end of the property. A highly regarded school, its origins date back to 1843, with the current location being its home from 1873 onwards. It is a regular part of the Doors Open program, and is reputed to be haunted. I have never photographed it before.

This is a view of the Arboretum from the surface of Dow's Lake, taken during Winterlude.

Near the Bank Street Bridge, a large pond area, linked to the Canal, can be found. It is raised and lowered along with the water levels of the Canal each spring and fall. An inukshuk has long stood here on a mound of earth in the pond, a mound only accessible when the water level is lowered. When the water is at its summer levels, only the top of the inukshuk is visible. The bridge lurks in the background of this shot.

This outdoor sculpture in a front yard in Nepean looks a bit cold.

I took these during Winterlude, while touring Jacques Cartier Park. The Ottawa shore can be seen on the far side of the frozen river. The Rideau Falls are over there, frozen over. Before the end of the month I'll be showing you those falls on another day.

Leaving the park that day, I paused on an overpass bridge to take in the view north into Gatineau. This is the traffic going onto and coming off the Macdonald Cartier Bridge, one of the major crossings between the two cities.

And I finish with two views looking west on the Rideau River, taken from Billings Bridge in February. The first was with mist and snow falling. After running errands at the nearby mall, I came back and took the second shot. There was probably less than an hour's difference in time between the two takes.