A Walk On A Late Winter Afternoon

For the last three days I've been showing you scenes in Sandy Hill. Today I bring that to a close. Finished with the bridge I showed yesterday, I took this shot looking north in Strathcona Park. In the distance you can see people skating on some of the ice that had formed on top of the snow as part of a freeze up days earlier. A careful eye might find a squirrel closer to me.

A historical plaque is in this section of the park.

I headed out. Along the way, I noticed this planter box outside a restaurant. Very Canadian, with hockey sticks being used as a frame for plants to climb on.

This also caught my eye. I can't recall the last time I've seen a New Mexico plate. Most American visitors in this area tend to have plates from the Northeast states.

A house caught my eye, including the historical plaque on one of its walls.

There is a fire house situated in the midst of the campus at the University of Ottawa, which forms the western side of the Sandy Hill neighbourhood.

Tabaret Hall is one of the older buildings on the campus.

Further west, a view of the Rideau Canal. Open water can be seen on the ice below in this view from the Laurier Avenue Bridge. 

And on the west side of the Canal, this view of the Cartier Square Drill Hall, which stands alongside City Hall.

A memorial to Ottawa fire fighters stands here on the grounds of City Hall.

A view of the contemporary wing of City Hall. The skate rink outside was still active.

And I finish with this view. In 2017 for the 150th anniversary of Canada, a torch was erected here at City Hall. The torch was lit as I walked past.

A Graceful Bridge Over Cold Waters

 Today I'm back in Strathcona Park where I left off a couple of days ago. I mentioned this bridge, spanning the Rideau River and linking Sandy Hill on this side over to the Vanier and Overbrook neighbourhoods beyond. There was a seasonal footbridge here for years, but washed away in 1952 and never replaced. In 2015 a new pedestrian bridge was opened up here. It is called the Adawe Crossing Bridge. Adawe is an Algonquin word meaning trade, and giving the bridge that name is a nod to the First Nations heritage of the area.

The river here is apparently shallow enough to be forded, but the bridge now means that's no longer needed. It's 125 metres long, and has two spheres added as an art installation.

Here we have the west entrance.

A view downstream, with some of the ice break up.

Ducks could be seen around the river.

The art installation is called A View From Two Sides, by Kenneth Emig. Consisting of two spheres suspended from either side of the bridge, it adds a visual element to things with the reflective surfaces at eye level. Irresistible for the photographer.

Here we have the one on the side facing upstream.

From mid way on the bridge, views looking downstream.

And upstream.

Another view looking westward. I had seen this bridge before on visits to Strathcona Park, but this was my first time on it.

The park is over there.

Another view as I was heading back, this including one of the spheres, with Vanier in the background. 

City Daily Photo Theme Day: April Fool

The first day of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and for today that theme is appropriately April Fool. You can see how others are interpreting that theme right here.

This one was a tough one for me. I could have gone and sat in the visitor's gallery at Parliament and photographed the members of the House of Commons. No, wait, that's not possible, since in the age of Covid there won't be public visitations until at least the summer. I could have just taken the easy way out and took several selfies with me making faces. Believe me, I was tempted.

Then I remembered a solution. 

A Company Of Fools is a theatrical company that does Shakespeare in the park productions each year here in Ottawa and the surrounding area. Have a look at their website here. I've seen some of their productions at various parks, and it's a lot of fun. While it's not possible to photograph them at work at the moment (thanks a lot, Coronavirus), I decided to photograph one of their regular settings. Strathcona Park is in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood, overlooking the Rideau River.

This is a view of the park from high ground to the north, along Laurier Avenue.

There is an ornate fountain up here.

"What fools these mortals be." - Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream

"God give them wisdom that have it, and those that are fools, let them use their talents." - Feste, Twelfth Night

"Better a witty fool than a foolish wit." - Feste, Twelfth Night

"The more fool, madonna, to mourn for your brother's soul being in heaven. Take away the fool, gentlemen."- Feste, Twelfth Night

Another look down into the park. It would be quite foolish to try to go down that slope. When I visited, it was a cold day in mid-March. There had been some snowmelt, but the downturn in temperatures had created some icy conditions. Standing up here I heard the familiar honking of Canada geese; the first of the season, coming back from warmer climates and taking a break here.

I took the road on the west side of the park to come in. Range Road is home to several embassies and ambassador's residences. This view looks north to the high ground I came down from. There's a building up there through the trees with just a flash of blue; we'll get a look at it tomorrow.

This is one of the features of the park, a mix of architectural elements called a folly, designed as a play space by an artist, Stephen Braithwaite. The Company of Fools has used this in their productions.

I moved along, wanting to photograph the river. I noticed several geese in the park, including this pair close to me. One was sizing me up.

A look at the river. The Vanier neighbourhood is on the east shore of the Rideau River, which roughly parallels the course of the Rideau Canal to the west, meeting its end downstream from here where it joins the Ottawa River.

There was significant ice break up in this area. The river is shallow here.

This view upstream takes in a bridge we'll get a closer look at in a couple of days.

I headed in that direction, first looking west. Because of the freeze up of meltwater, a large enough area ended up creating a spot for skating, and some people were doing just that.

My last shot: a male and female pair of ducks near the retaining wall overlooking the river. Tomorrow we'll look at some of the landmarks in this area. I took shots of them before coming down into the park.

The Folly Within The Park

This oddity in Strathcona Park is a work of art from 1992 by Stephen Braithwaite titled Strathcona's Folly. Some of you might remember it, but it's been awhile. The artist assembled parts of local architectural history and blended them with bronzed items for a different take on what is often found in estate gardens- the folly. Surrounded by sand, it makes for an interesting spot for kids to explore, as well as a handy perch for birds. There was a gull at the highest point of the folly the whole time I was here. I couldn't detect anything amiss with the one corner that had a caution fence wrapped around it. Perhaps there was some work scheduled for it.

Return To Strathcona Park

These shots are from early September. I was last up around Strathcona Park in the Sandy Hill area back in June while in the area for Doors Open; you might remember this fountain from one of the entrances into the park. In the second shot, the house at the left contains a restaurant and French cuisine school, Le Cordon Bleu, which is a regular part of Doors Open. I missed that this year, and will have to remedy that next year.

It had, however, been quite awhile since I'd been down in the park itself, and on this particular gloomy day, being in the area and having some spare time, I went down the stairs to pay a visit.

This squirrel was busy digging around in the grass.

The park runs along the west shore of the Rideau River here as it runs towards its end at the Ottawa River. The Vanier area is across the river.

Upstream from here, the bridge you see here is a relatively recent addition, a pedestrian bridge linking the two neighbourhoods.

I have more from the park tomorrow.