City Daily Photo Theme Day: Soft

The first day of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and this month the theme is Soft. Check out how other are interpreting the theme right here.

I start with these shots taken in April inside the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne during a visit to the farmers market. It is typical to see dogs with their people here.

In early May upon leaving my place one morning, I came across this absolute sweetheart of a cat outside her home. She's often out front when the weather warms up, but never more than a couple of houses away from home.

A little further along the street, this kitty was watching me from the front window. This is one of a couple of cats in the house- the other is in my final shot below.

Rabbits are commonly seen in warmer weather in the north part of the Glebe, but particularly early or late in the day, or in the night. This one was in a front yard during the Tulip Festival.

I went to Dow's Lake during the Festival specifically for a few shots for a theme day later in the year. This dog drew my attention, and will appear in that future theme day post.

Spring tree blossoms are another soft thing. This is close to home.

And even closer to home- there's a lot beside my building that I suspect will never be developed. Two rabbits were having lunch when I passed by.

One day late in May I was heading to the War Museum to attend an exhibit opening. Several families of Canada geese were having supper on the wide expanse of grass here. Many babies were there, looking very soft and fluffy. It doesn't take long for them to grow out of that phase.

And I close with this cat, taken at the end of May. This cutie pie lives with another cat, as noted above, not far from home. I've never seen either of them outside.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Fruit

 The first day of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and for May, that theme is Fruit. See how others are interpreting the theme right here.

To begin, fruits can be made into many things. I pick up jam from a vendor at the main farmer's market. Two jars at home- blueberry jam and raspberry jam.

Last December during the Christmas market, I picked up some strudel. This one was blueberry.

From time to time I'll get a pie. Here we have apple-cranberry maple pie.

Taken in April, I came to Lansdowne Park to the farmer's market. Here at the east end of the property, we find a grove of apple trees off to the right on this central island.

The farmer's market is held in the Aberdeen Pavilion in the colder months, and through the winter, produce farmers that are still selling are those who have a good cold storage building on their farm.

One of them is an apple orchard I get cider from. I stopped by. Aside from apples, they have baked goods.

A retail business downtown, Edible Arrangements, does fruit baskets in lieu of flowers, and has been doing this for many years.

I finish with this painting from the archives, taken at the National Gallery of Canada. Eve, The Serpent, And Death is by Hans Baldung Grien, circa 1510-15. It depicts Adam, Eve, and the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Eve conceals an apple behind her, while Adam, having had become Death after eating from the Tree of Life, reaches for another apple.

Market

 The main farmers market in Ottawa is held through the year at Lansdowne Park, and during the cold weather inside the Aberdeen Pavilion on the property. This is a late 19th-century exhibition hall, the last of its kind on the continent. During the weeks running up to Christmas, the market goes from just Sundays to being here on both weekend days. And this time of year, it can be counted on to be exceedingly busy.

Visitors often have dogs with them.

There are gift ideas in addition to the regular farmer's vendors. With the exception of one farmer, who comes from the Niagara area, farmers here are from the area, and must grow their own product. A better thing than to have re-sellers.

I come regularly- there's a lady here who makes the best jam, and I get my cider from an apple grower. 

The dogs drew my eye. Both real.

And not so real- this one appropriately for a vendor whose product is dog treats.

This wee one had their eye on someone else.

The architecture is appealing, and full of history. This building has housed Stanley Cup games over a century ago. During the season, the arches are laced with green Christmas colours.

This is the view from the west side, with the big Christmas tree out front. A parallel Christmas market, in the European tradition, is held out in the square on the north side, and we'll look at that tomorrow.

On the east side, an ice sculpture. We'll get a look at another one tomorrow.

I finish with a shot of a miniature collie. I have a great affection for collies- one of the dogs we had growing up was a regular sized collie.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Sweets

The first day of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and this month, that theme is Sweets. Check out how others are interpreting the theme right here.

To start with, this is a slice of peanut butter pie, one of several desserts made daily by a corner grocer near my home. 

While here's another, a vanilla cheesecake.

I picked up one of these in the latter part of June for the first time. Why didn't anyone tell me how good these are?

Le Moulin de Provence is an eatery in the Byward Market. Here are some of their many cookies.

And some of their other treats.

It had been awhile since I had picked up stroopwafels. These are a Dutch treat, a thin waffle with two layers of sweet dough held together by syrup.

I passed by a cafe in Nepean one day, and photographed a part of the signage outside.

The Nutty Greek is a bakery near home, in Little Italy. I stop by once a week or so. Their cheesecakes are to die for.

The main farmers market in the city is Sundays at Lansdowne Park. I'll regularly pick up treats from this vendor, particularly the sweet scones. But on this trip, it was the butter tarts- a classic Canadian staple- that caught my attention. It had been too long since I'd had one.

From sweets to sweet. This beautiful cat lives near my place, and is often out and about during the warmer weather, but always close to her home. She's an absolute sweetheart.