Ends And Odds

A note to members of City Daily Photo that the theme for the first of December is Transportation. 

I was at Lansdowne Park on the first Sunday in October. This shot is taken from the stadium's Gate 3, taking in the Aberdeen Pavilion at right. The building is now shuttered for rehabilitation work on the roof. The tents in the distance are that of the main farmer's market, which has now moved indoors for the winter in the nearby Horticulture Building. The skies looked ominous, but nothing came of it.

The reason I was here? The Panda Game is an annual October tradition, a football game between crosstown rivals Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. The game is always a sell out, and the lines long, but the stadium management has got things organized pretty well, and the security team at this gate kept things moving.

I tend to walk around a bit during sporting events and take photographs. This looks towards the South Stands.

While this looks at the North Stands. When the new event center is finished (it's being built on the east perimeter of the stadium) in the fall of 2028, the North Stands will be torn down and rebuilt in a tiered structure taking up less room. At present, the arena is still beneath it, and the building itself is nearing the end of its life. The South Stands, on the other hand, is a bit more than a decade old.

The game ended, with a narrow victory for Ottawa U, and the spectators got out onto the field. It was a fun game.

While walking downtown one morning, I came across several crows. I stopped to photograph this one, and said hello.

On another morning close to home, that sweet cat I often see. These are the last photos of her for the year, as she stays indoors through the winter.

I don't usually photograph garbage bins, but this squirrel coming out of one with a bite to eat made me smile.

The stadium at Lansdowne Park has for the last few years hosted a game or two of international rugby each year. This year one game was held in October, between the Canadian and English women's teams. I attended, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Rugby is an intensely physical game- at one point, one of the Canadian players got up off the turf, with swelling already visible around one eye. Who knows how bad that black eye would have turned out to be.

On Hallowe'en day, the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne hosted a Day Of The Dead event. The Mexican holiday, normally held at the beginning of November, is big. Here this costume drew my eye, particularly that hat.

On stage, there were dancers.