Upon The Hill

 The tulips continue along Wellington as I entered the Parliamentary precinct.

Crossing the street brings us to the Hill. There are six Parliamentary blocks in all, five of them on the Hill itself. The sixth is seen at right, and houses the offices of the Prime Minister and his staff. At centre is a statue honouring Henry Harper, a journalist and civil servant who died in December 1901 trying to save the life of a woman who fell through the ice on the Ottawa River.

I went onto the Hill, where there were more tulips in planters.

My path led me west of Centre Block, where there is a rise of land and two statues. The first is Queen Victoria, and at the time of this May visit, she was surrounded by tulips.

Beyond is a statue honouring Lester Pearson, who along with Mackenzie King was one of our greatest prime ministers.

Departing, I noticed the lilac blossoms overlooking the Ottawa River.

Humanitarian

 Humanitarian aid goes hand in hand with human rights. The World University Service of Canada established Girls Clubs in developing countries around the world to help girls along in life.

Christine Briand was an RCMP officer seconded to peacekeeper duty in Haiti in 2010 when that country was devastated by an earthquake. She took part in rebuilding an orphanage. People from her hometown raised money to help the country recover. This is part of being Canadian- lending a hand, particularly in a disaster, whether it's with money or with expertise.

Lester Pearson was one of our greatest prime ministers, but before his tenure in that role, he was the foreign minister. He and Dag Hammarskjold, the UN Secretary General, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the concept of using neutral soldiers as peacekeepers to resolve the Suez Crisis.

Mark Isfeld was a Canadian soldier serving as a peacekeeper in the former Yugoslavia, clearing mines. His mother knitted little dolls which he gave to children. He was killed while clearing mines in 1994, but the tradition of "Izzy" dolls continues today.

Robert Semeniuk is a photojournalist who has documented conflict around the world. Among other things, he has documented the damage caused by landmines. The Canadian government under Jean Chretien took the initiative in the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, or Ottawa Treaty, which aims to stop the use of landmines.

This is the uniform of Lt. Colonel Pat Stogran, who commanded soldiers in Afghanistan and later became the first veterans ombudsman.

Louise Arbour led the international prosecution team looking into war crimes in the former Yugoslavia. She would later serve as a Supreme Court judge, and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Country Drives Forward

These are rug hookings, of a puffin and a fish. They evoke the entry of Newfoundland into Confederation, which happened after people there voted to join Canada in 1949, becoming the last province, known today as Newfoundland and Labrador. With the exception of the partitioning of the Northwest Territories into the Northwest Territories and Nunavut at the end of the century, it was the last major change in the country's shape.

Joey Smallwood led the effort to join the country as the province's premier, and he is thus seen as a Father of Confederation, decades after the others.

Tommy Douglas was a premier of Saskatchewan who founded what would become the New Democratic Party of Canada. He established universal health care in Saskatchewan before going into politics at the federal level, and the federal government followed up on transferring that concept to the country as a whole.

The post-war decades were a time of significant change in the country. Fashions of the era are seen here.

Canada had used the Red Ensign as an unofficial flag- a combination of the Union Jack and the Canadian coat of arms. But a movement rose up for a national flag, with Prime Minister Pearson advocating for change. Hundreds of designs were proposed. I'm biased, but the winning design was just right. I can't imagine a better flag.

This is the evening dress of Marjorie Gehl, the daughter of a Canadian diplomat working in the southern United States. She made it herself to mark the country's centennial in 1967.

This photo is from July 1st of that momentous year. What was called Dominion Day and is now called Canada Day, with Parliament Hill being the center of attention, including a visit from the Queen. This photograph is actually taken by the great landscape photographer Malak Karsh, who spent his professional career photographing the country he loved so much.

1967 was also the year of Expo 67 in Montreal. This model was the Indian Pavilion, which deliberately sought to provoke questions about how indigenous peoples had been treated in the country's history.

The Sun Finally Sets Upon Another Year

I have a tradition of wrapping up the year with a series of sunset and twilight shots. And so here we have some from the last few months around the region.

This first shot dates to mid-July, with the late light of day disappearing behind an oncoming storm front as I walked through the north end of the Glebe en route home. 

One evening in August, I took this shot of the last light of day illuminating clouds to the south.

A few minutes later, I took this shot from the ridge along the east side of the stadium at Lansdowne Park. The sun had set in the west.

On an evening in the first half of September, I was back at Lansdowne, where among preparations for a music festival, I took this shot of the dusk sky against the stadium north stands and the Aberdeen Pavilion.

A short walk away, I took another shot.

Some days later, I took these two shots of Fourth Avenue Baptist Church in the Glebe at twilight, with the last light of day fading off to the west.

I took this shot on Remembrance Day in November just after leaving the War Museum. The sun was descending, and shining brilliantly through the trees on what had turned out to be a beautiful but cold day.

I took these in mid-December, a few minutes apart. The first includes an old farmhouse at center-right. Abbotsford House today is a senior's community center. A retirement home looms at right, while center-left is a building that houses a nursing home in the Glebe.

A few minutes passed by, and I was further along on the property at Lansdowne Park.

And just a bit further along, I took this shot of the Aberdeen Pavilion from the east.

I was downtown the weekend before Christmas; we'd had a bit of a warm spell that did a number on the snowpack, but got more snow after I took these shots. When I emerged into the late day, it was mostly clear, and I headed up to Parliament Hill for some final sunset shots. This looks towards West Block, with the setting sun behind it.

A look at Centre Block, partially hidden by scaffolding.

I headed for the area between the two blocks for my last two shots. This rise of land includes two statues- Prime Minister Lester Pearson sitting at left, and Queen Victoria at right.

A short walk beyond, a view of the Ottawa River, in the process of winter freeze up, and the last light of day. Happy New Year to you.