A River Through The Seasons

Twice a month I come out to the Portage Bridge, which crosses the Ottawa River upstream from Parliament Hill, to photograph the scene as seasons change. I last did this in the fall, which you can find right here. I come to a spot on the bridge that designates the provincial border between Quebec on the left and Ontario on the right, and photograph the view, which includes the Alexandra Bridge, the National Gallery, Nepean Point, Parliament Hill, and the Supreme Court of Canada.

I'm starting off with this view taken on an afternoon in early September.

Later in September I returned.

I came by one day in the latter half of October. Fall colours were more noticeable.

Just a few days later, on the second to last day of the month, conditions were very different.

I returned on Remembrance Day in November.

Later in November, here was the view. It was one of those days with brief interludes of sunshine; you can just see some blue sky above.

In early December, I came down on a much sunnier day.

A few days later in December, this was the view.

In the latter part of January, the river was iced up downstream. The river never completely freezes over here, as the water flow coming down from the Chaudiere Falls is swift enough to break up forming ice to a certain point.

A few days later, it looked like this. Note the difference in the ice- a bit of a mild spell and the force of the current can make quite a difference on where the open water is to be found. 

Early February saw a brighter day.

And I finish with this view in late February. I'm already taking photos for the next post in this series, sometime in the fall.