Monuments In The Park: Animals At War

This is actually the newest military monument in Confederation Park, unveiled in November 2012 during the days leading up to Remembrance Day, and it stands beside the Boer War Monument. It marks the service of animals in warfare, from early days to the present. The plaques on the stones depict images and information on the use of animals, such as horses and mules for transport in the trench conditions of the First World War or homing pigeons for sending messages at the time. Animals were used during the Second World War as well, and still are today; the lifesized dog that accompanies the monument is fitted with search and rescue gear, and dogs are used in collaboration with  bomb disposal teams in the military.

It's a different kind of monument. If you look closely on the paving stones before it, you can make out the horseshoe prints that were deliberately added. Dog prints can also be found in the paving stones. The dog itself, so lifelike in its expression, really commands the attention of passersby.

Monuments In The Park: Valour And Sacrifice

Confederation Park is a stretch of greenspace along the Canal in the heart of the city. It's a welcome place to walk through, and tends to be well used. In the summer, the jazz festival is one of the activities that calls this place home. In February, the ice sculptures of Winterlude are placed here. There are also a series of military monuments placed here, and for the first of three blogs, I thought I'd take the images in chronological order- of either the person or event in question.

This fountain once stood in Trafalgar Square, and was given to Canada. It was erected in honour of Colonel John By, the military engineer who designed and oversaw the building of  the Canal in the 1820s and 30s. For a time, the town that sprang up around it was known as Bytown, so he's considered the founder of the city.

Below we have the oldest of the monuments in the park. This memorial was erected after the ending of the Boer War, or South African War as it's also called. More on this forgotten war can be found through the Canadian War Museum website.

Finally we have this, a plaque in commemoration of the lives of Canadian pilots and flight crews who died in operations over Poland during the Second World War. The plaque originally hung elsewhere, as it dates back to 1964 (I suspect at a Polish-Canadian centre a few blocks away). Several years ago it was attached to this granite slab and rededicated here in the park. It's a fitting place for it. 

The Forgotten War

The Mackenzie King bridge is the second bridge crossing over the Rideau Canal in the heart of the city. Along the walkway, overlooking Confederation Park, is a relatively new memorial, commemorating the Korean War. We often pass over this war, so soon after the Second World War. Canada sent troops to that conflict, twenty six thousand in all, serving during the war and afterwards. Over five hundred Canadians died during the conflict, which to this day technically is still ongoing, as there was no peace treaty.

The memorial itself, admittedly, I don't care for. At least the top portion, the soldier and the children, who are all at life sized scale (which by a trick of the eye seems to actually diminish the size of the statue) It seems to render the soldier as babysitter.

It's the base, however, which reminds you of the purpose of the memorial.

The five hundred plus names of men who died in the Korean War and during UN peace duties afterwards are inscribed around the base. Many of them, of course, are enlisted men, their ranks very typical of the foot soldier: privates, sergeants, corporals. Young guys mostly, maybe some who'd gotten through the Second World War and stayed on, dying in a place far, far from home.

Tomorrow I'll start taking you down into Confederation Park, where there are a number of military monuments.

A Day At The Market

There are many farmer's markets in and around Ottawa through the week. The main market, on Sundays, has in the past been up at Lansdowne Park, but with the construction there, has been over at Brewer Park in Old Ottawa South for the time being. It's a busy place to wander through, with over a hundred vendors of produce, crafts, and meals at the peak of the season. Starting in May, it runs well into November here. You can stop in at several different places for a bite to eat (I recommend the farmer's breakfast, because after that, you will not need lunch).

The rule here is that the venders must grow their own goods; there's no buying and reselling that you see in some other markets, such as the Byward Market. And the majority of the venders are from within a hundred miles of the city, aside from one or two, for example, who bring in plums and peaches from southern Ontario. Such fruits simply don't grow in this part of the country.

It's a great area to walk through, find some fresh food along the way, have a meal, chat with people, and get your hands on tasty baking. I'm here each week for something or another, all the more convenient, given that it's so close to home.

And of course dogs are welcome. You'll see them with their humans, walking about, wagging their tails, pleased to see so many people and dogs... entranced by the smells of food, and even drooling. Like this magnificent fellow. Can you blame him?

A Work In Progress

Lansdowne Park is a forty acre space along the Rideau Canal at the south end of the Glebe. It's a forty minute stroll down from Parliament Hill, but it's the scene of some heavy construction these days. The city pretty much handed the facilities over to a sporting and entertainment group, who are busy building facilities for retail, condos, and offices, not to mention refurbishing the Civic Centre and completely rebuilding the football stadium. For the record, I hate football. I don't care for the decisions that were made; it seemed the city just gleefully let these people do whatever they want, and now it's too late to turn back.  They claim they'll be incorporating a lot of parkland and greenspace on the east side, but I doubt it. I'm just waiting for the day that the announcement is made that the parkland will just have to be forgotten, that the project can't make it viable. 

I lived across the Canal from Lansdowne until recently, and the construction noise wrecked havoc with my sleep for months on end. I feel sorry for those living even closer, since the construction companies work at any hour of the day, causing endless amounts of upheaval and frustration. It doesn't help that the city seems to disregard any complaints from local residents.

All so a handful of real estate developers can make a ton of money for the next thirty years, while the city assumes the risk. Politicians. Idiots at all three levels of government.

Below, you see the Aberdeen Pavilion at the heart of the shot. That dates back to the earliest days of the park, a large building that's grand to get up close to. OSEG, the conglomerate behind this, promised sight lines to the pavilion would be preserved. To me, the pavilion is getting crowded.

And here we have the football stadium side of things. All for a pointless game that gets played once a week. Maybe twice. In a city that's moved past its football days and saw two professional teams close up shop. By the way, the name these people came up for the next incarnation of the team? The Ottawa Redblacks.

Here we see the stadium from the Bank Street Bridge, both sides of the stands. The north side is still from the original stadium, though it's undergoing serious renovations. The south side stands are a new building entirely. I'm not optimistic, all told. I'm still convinced the entire thing is going to be a scar and a blight on the city. The local government had a chance with this place to do something special. Instead they let a handful of developers run wild.

Changing Colours

Every once in awhile it helps to look down streets for a flash of fall colour. These were all in the Glebe neighbourhood, a trendy part of the city with a lot of old houses, shops and boutiques, and a laid back sensibility.

Below, another tree in full red, opposite the Glebe Collegiate...

These two shots were taken on the same block, just off Bank Street, one of the main streets in the city. I liked the gold of the small leaves, while other parts of the tree are still green.

More fall colours to come, but we'll go off in other directions for a few days...

The Turning Of The Season

I've taken shots from the Bank Street bridge before, and will again. Here we're looking east, and on the south side we have fall colours mixed with the trees that are still green. The building beyond with the cupola was once a convent, and is now home to the Royal College for Physicians and Surgeons.

Down at Dow's Lake, more contrasts between fall colours and the green of trees that are late in turning.

The tree below, you can just make out in the shot above: that flash of red at the top of the lake. The flowerbed before it will be filled with tulips come May.

And though I don't know how it's done, at this time of year giant pumpkins are out on display. They often end up misshapen. This one was on display downtown at the Byward Market, and someone was wise enough to put a regular pumpkin beside it to compare size. According to the papers, this one was seven hundred pounds.

Hog's Back Falls Part Three

Finishing up at the falls today. I mentioned last time out about the fellow perched out on the wrong side of the fence. He had a camera in hand, and sure enough, there was a good reason. Below, on the east side of the ravine, a great blue heron was perched at water's edge, among the swirling flow of the river, looking for fish.

I went back over to the west side of the river, and snapped shots of him again.

It was a lovely fall day. The trees were mostly still green, but here and there you see a bit of colour as fall takes over. I'll have to make it down here during the winter.

One more shot from above before going, this one including a rainbow in the mist.

Hog's Back Falls, Part Two

Down at the edge of the ravine, looking downriver, the Rideau remains a mass of rapids, for a long stretch out of sight. On the west side of the river, though, you'll often see fishermen out on the rocks, trying their luck.

And speaking of rocks, this reminds you to watch your step around the falls. It's not a flat surface, after all.

Looking downstream from the top of the east side of the falls.

And from the east side, another point of view

It's a lovely stretch of river. Still, there's a good reason there are signs to stay on the opposite side of the fences. A fall into the ravine can leave you seriously hurt, or worse. You can just see him in this last pic, a man on the wrong side of the fence across the ravine. There's a reason he was there. I'll show you next time.

Hog's Back Falls, Part One

The first of three posts, from the place where the Rideau Canal and Rideau River part ways...

Hog's Back Falls empties into a ravine below Mooney's Bay, these days harnessed by a dam that controls its flow. Millions of years ago, this was all under water, and the rocks around the falls- sandstone and limestone- bear witness to those events; one can still see evidence of ancient seas along the stone. Glaciation time and again has left its mark here as well, and more recently humanity. During the building of the Canal, the first diversion projects were undertaken, radically altering water flow here. The falls- originally named for a geological feature not visible because of the alterations- still flow, giving the Rideau River a wild and furious current in the midst of the city. The land around it is parkland, and it's within easy distance for pedestrians. You'll feel the mist as it kicks up over the fence on the right side of the river, and from time to time you'll see rainbows in the mist.

The birds, meanwhile, have the place to themselves, often found among the pools in upper stretches of the ravine. It would seem they know the mood of the falls better than we do, and know where it's safe.