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.

Odds And Ends In The Capital City

I have some odds and ends from the last few weeks today and tomorrow. We start back on Canada Day. I stopped briefly by the Museum of Nature that day, and as I was leaving the property, these ominous clouds were presenting themselves. Within minutes, the first rain began, falling hard. 

A little while later, and a bus ride away, I took this photograph downtown up at the sky. Another round of rain would soon fall, and when I got home, the worst storm of the day came down late in the afternoon.

On another day, close to home. This sweet cat spends a good part of the day napping in front of her house.

Another furry critter. I've probably photographed this rabbit before; this is in the front yard of St. Matthew Anglican Church in the Glebe.

In Major's Park stands this work of art. Twist 1.5 is by Alex Wyse and Ken Guild, done in wood.

Back in the Glebe, this church is one I don't photograph often. Blessed Sacrament Parish is a Catholic church in the south side of the neighbourhood.

The Supreme Court of Canada late in the day- a masterpiece of Art Deco architecture.

One day when I went into Gatineau, I stopped to photograph these flowerboxes alongside the street. You may remember the tulips being in them. After the tulips are done blooming, they get replaced by flowers lasting the season into October.

Once more in the Glebe. The stump of an old tree is hidden beneath all this greenery.

One morning at Lansdowne Park I noticed this squirrel, who noticed me.

For today, I finish here downtown. This is a work in progress, a large mural on a building. It's since been completed, and looks beautiful.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Purple

The first day of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo. This month, the theme is Purple. Take a look at how others are interpreting the theme right here. 

I start with these shots taken in Confederation Park during Winterlude. A large screen had been set up for watching Winter Olympics coverage, though this was a night or two before the opening ceremonies. Alongside the screen were LED lights in purple.

At one entrance of the park, shifting lights illuminated evergreen trees that had been placed there. I caught them as the light was shifting into purple.

Lights also shift gradually over the ice sculptures. Blue was turning into purple when I took this shot of a sculpture.

A few blocks away, and on my way home, I noticed a car that had been given an exterior design that looked like something from space. There was purple in the mix, and I concentrated on that.

One night during that month, I was coming back from a walk on the Rideau Canal and was passing by the Canadian Museum of Nature. Some of the streetlights had purple bulbs, which were lighting up the main entrance.

I took these two shots of ice sculptures on Plaza Bridge, part of a set of sculptures that had been set up for Winterlude. Blue coloured lights were gradually shifting into purple.

Later that same evening, I was back in Confederation Park. The place gets decorated for Christmas not with lights in the trees, but coloured shifting spotlights on the trees, and they left them on for Winterlude. 

An underpass beneath the 417 was painted for Canada 150 back in 2017. I'd never photographed it, but this section, with a purple triangle, fit the bill.

And I finish with this toque for the PWHL, the women's professional hockey league, with its lettering in purple.

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.