Canal

 Winterlude is the annual celebration of the best season of them all here in Ottawa and Gatineau, and it is very much centered around the Rideau Canal Skateway. 7.8 kilometers of ice are groomed for skaters between the Ottawa Locks and the Hartwell Locks. I do not skate, but I like walking on the ice. I make a point of photographing some of those walks for my Winterlude series, such as a day early in the month when I arrived onto the ice at the Bank Street Bridge, which links the Glebe on the north to Old Ottawa South on the south. Part of the bridge is undergoing some rehabilitation at present.

I started west, seeing the Moon poking through clouds in the pre-dawn light.

Not many skaters this time of day, but I seem to prefer to photograph when the skateway is quiet.

One look back at where I'd arrived- at Lansdowne Park, seen by the condo tower and South Stands at left. And then I proceeded on.

The Ice

I start off today with a series on Winterlude, which has already wrapped up here in Ottawa and Gatineau. An annual celebration of winter, the festival has events on both sides of the Ottawa River. Its centerpiece is the Rideau Canal skateway, which has been having an exceedingly good year. Opening its full length of 7.8 kilometres in the first half of January, the Canal has been open since, blessed by consistent cold. A difference from some recent years, when only a portion could be opened due to warmer temperatures. And people will skate it, any time of the day. I've been on it several times this winter, and I start this first visit at the Bank Street Bridge, which spans the Canal between the Glebe to the north and Old Ottawa South on the south.

I was heading west for home, taking shots along the way, back and forth. It was good walking. The Canal is regularly maintained, flooded when the ice becomes rough, and even patrolled by skating first aiders.

I took two shots of the ice surface, with a flash and without. Imagine these as a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle.

And then I carried on.

Up ahead, the Bronson Avenue Bridge.

Winter

 Here we see the Rideau Canal at night, as seen from the Bank Street Bridge. This shot was taken in late December. It has been a good year thus far for the skateway, and I have gotten out on the ice for walks.

A look out my windows at home, taken in mid-January. A condo tower near Dow's Lake is a ghost in the snow.

This sculpture stands outside the headquarters of Library and Archives Canada. A boy and girl sit on a bench, looking at home in the snow.

A pair of shots using bare branches against an overcast sky, taken at home.

Another view out the windows.

I was over at Lansdowne Park one day as snow was falling. The stadium field was quiet.

I walked over to the far side.

Here we have the Aberdeen Pavilion as seen from the south side.

And the southeast.

The Horticulture Building stands nearby.

And here's the Aberdeen from the west side.

This was taken the other night at home- icicles hanging off a lamp post, zoomed in.

A last shot for today- the National War Memorial on a February winter's night early on in Winterlude. More winter shots tomorrow before we get into Winterlude itself.

Twilight Descends Again Over Another Year

It is my tradition to close out the year with sunset shots. I begin with this shot from the end of July. I was over at the Billings Bridge transit station at twilight, and the sky demanded a take. 

These two shots were taken a few minutes apart in late August. I photographed the setting sun over the Rideau Canal from the Bank Street Bridge.

And then I was back at Billings Bridge again.

In the first half of September, I was out in Nepean, and the tones of the sky with the setting sun appealed to me.

A few minutes later and a short walk away, I took another shot.

Later in the month, I took this shot of Abbotsford House at centre in the Glebe, a senior's community centre, flanked by a nursing home at left and a retirement home at right.

A couple of nights later, I took this shot of the last light of day further north in the Glebe.

Around mid-December, I took this shot downtown after sunset, with the last light of day in the west.

A few days later, this shot of the last light of day was taken at Lansdowne Park.

On Christmas Eve, I took this shot of Parliament Hill from Major's Hill Park, with the descending sun hidden by the buildings.

A bus ride later, I was in Nepean to run an errand I should have taken care of days before, but such is life. The sun had set in the west, but the sky was still colourful.

My last shot, taken after my errands were done, and starting to leave this area. A Happy New Year to you.