Capital Views

 One day in September I went up with a friend further up the Ottawa Valley into Renfrew County on a moody day. Round Lake is in the heart of the county, with two provincial parks on its shores. The Bonnechere River travels through here en route to the Ottawa River. I took two shots.

Late one day, near the last light of the day, on my way home, I photographed the Glebe Community Centre, home of the raccoon sculptures I showed you yesterday.

A few minutes makes a considerable difference. This is a few streets further north in the Glebe, and I took it to show how dark this particular street really is at night.

In early October I gave blood. In the past, my only side effect has been the occasional bruising around the point of puncture afterwards, but it's been several years since that happened. This time, this bruise was the result. 

An old friend in the night sky. The constellation Orion, with its characteristic belt of three stars, rises in the northern skies by the end of summer and remains for months. I took this shot at Lansdowne Park.

Early October brings another tradition to Ottawa. The Panda Game is a football game held at Lansdowne, pitting Carleton University against the University of Ottawa. Crosstown rivals at a neutral site. It's a sell out event, mostly students, but also alumni and faculty, and I attended. This particular entrance point was very busy.

The game is a raucous one. I walked about, taking two shots from the South Stands.

And then this one from the west end of the North Stands. Ottawa U won. More's the pity, as I am a Carleton Raven. Just what the hell is a Gee Gee anyway?

After the game I had a bite to eat in one of the restaurants. When I came out, there was an absolute wonder in the sky. I've never seen skies like this. They are called asperitas clouds, a recent term for a cloud deck that looks like roiling seas as seen from below. An apt term for something that was strangely beautiful. For me, they looked like something out of a dream- or something Van Gogh would have painted. I took one shot looking up.

And another making use of the South Stands of the stadium for perspective. These skies were the talk of the town in the days after online.