Landscapes Of Canada In The Fall

 It is my habit each season to stop by at the Canadian Museum of Nature and document the Landscapes Of Canada Gardens. This is on the west side of the property, and features trees, bushes, shrubs, flowers, plants, and grasses from four distinct ecosystems in the country. The first is Boreal Forest, an ecosystem occupying a vast swath of the nation.

Larch trees are characteristic of the boreal forest. These are deciduous trees whose leaves look like coniferous needles. Each fall they start to turn golden yellow and drop. There's a tree here that was just in the first stages of that.

This tree was at its peak.

Nearby, signage for the Prairie Grasslands, the next ecosystem represented here. Grasses, plants, and flowers from the Canadian west have been transplanted here.

This time of year, their growing season has been completed.

A steel sculpture crosses the path. This iceberg is the work of the late Canadian inventor and artist William Lishman.

The third ecosystem lies between the sculpture and the west perimeter of the property. The Arctic Tundra is represented by plants, grasses, and shrubs planted among the rocks. They do well over an Ottawa summer.

The fourth ecosystem lies on the north side of the path as it curves back to the museum. It is the Mammoth Steppe, with plants that existed in the days of those animals and that still thrive today. These pretty purple blooms caught my eye.

The path continued, with another tree at its peak.

A sculpture family of mammoths is found here at the end of the path. Beyond is the Museum, with its glass lantern containing a model of the Moon.

Visiting Nuit Blanche

 There was a lot going on in the Byward Market during Nuit Blanche, with music, art installations, and restaurants doing a brisk business. It was crowded- I've only seen it like this at Canada Day- but enjoyable to circulate around.

Illuminated teeter-totters were a big hit with guests.

This drew my eye.

A series of prisms were set up nearby. Spin them around, and the colours within would brighten up and dance.

Garden In Summer

 Each season I come to the Landscapes of Canada Gardens at the Canadian Museum of Nature. On the west side of the property, plants, shrubs, grasses, and trees of four distinct ecosystems are found here. I came on Canada Day, with ominous skies looming. We start with Boreal Forest, which covers a vast portion of the country.

The west entrances of the property include these bricks, usually from family members honouring other family.

Prairie Grassland is the next section, with grasses, flowers, and shrubs growing tall in summer.

Arctic Tundra features the plants of the far north, planted amid rocks, and doing quite well in the summer here.

An iceberg sculpture by the late artist and inventor William Lishman crosses the path.

I always try to get a shot from the west boundary of the property, with Arctic Tundra, the iceberg, and the Museum together.

The last ecosystem is Mammoth Steppe, planted around a statue family of Mammoths, consisting of plants that existed in their day and still thrive today. The Queens Lantern is seen beyond, with the Moon inside. The Museum was exceedingly busy; I stopped in for a drink and continued on my way.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Sky

The beginning of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and for June, that theme is Sky. See how others are interpreting that theme right here.

To begin, I took this one morning in the first half of January before dawn at Lansdowne Park, with light in the east starting to brighten up the day.

In late January, I was passing along the National Gallery of Canada headed towards Major's Hill Park. I noticed this set of evergreens which occupy a portion of the Gallery property, covered in snow, against a slate grey sky, with snow falling. I composed the shot to only include trees and sky.

I moved into the park, where I photographed across the frozen Ottawa River towards Gatineau, with the Museum of History on the far shore, composing the shot to let the sky dominate things.

And did the same here, turning around and photographing towards Notre Dame, with the bare trees a contrast against the sky. There were hints of blue in that sky.

I took this on a night walk of the Rideau Canal during Winterlude in February, with an emphasis on the sky, with a mix of clear and light cloud, and some visible stars.

On two February days, I was around Lansdowne Park, and I took this sunrise shot at the east end of the property.

On the second occasion, I was at the west side of the property. I noticed the crescent moon, and lined up a shot, framing the sky with the office building at right, the stadium north stands at left, and the south stands in the background.

A March morning close to home, with the sun not yet up.

A short bus ride away, and the same morning.

Here we have the same location, but another morning, with contrails being lit by a sun yet to rise above the horizon.

And yet another morning in April, this in the pre-dawn at Lansdowne Park. This is taken from the west side of the stadium. Over at the east side, it's a construction site, with a new event center being built before the north stands are taken down and rebuilt. It'll be a long process.

I took this sky shot for the clouds on another day.

One day in early May, I noticed how dramatic the sunset was getting, lighting up the underside of clouds from the west. With not much time before the light gave out, I took two shots from my apartment windows. It was a cotton candy sunset.