Squirrels And Confrontations

 The grey squirrel is a common resident of a good part of North America. The accompanying panel places this in the Gatineau Hills. From the look of the Ottawa River, which is seen painted in the background, this is in fact at one of the lookouts along the Champlain Parkway, an area I'm quite familiar with.

This one features the Arctic ground squirrel.

How social are mammals? It depends on the species. It depends on the animal. A wolf is a highly social animal. So are herd animals like caribou or bison. Something like a wolverine will tend to be less social.

The next diorama is another big one, with a showdown between a pack dog and a group of muskoxen.

All Creatures Great And Small

A species that undertakes great migrations each year is the caribou. A diorama features several of them, and even more painted into the background. 

From a big species to a small one. There are three small dioramas in this passage, and this is the first one, featuring a collared pika, a small critter of the far north.

Dioramas In Small And Big Scale

 Today I'm starting with more of the panels on mammals.

The next diorama features two grizzly bears. A pika, unseen in this photo, hides in the rocks beneath them.

This panel looks at one of the essentials for mammals: milk.

Coming out into the larger space of the gallery shows us one of the larger dioramas, which we'll get a closer look at in a couple of days. Two other specimens have been moved out into this area from their usual spots in a passage off to the right of here.

This small diorama features a cutaway of the burrow of a Richardson's ground squirrel.

For today, I finish with another panel on migrations, fitting for where I'm starting off with tomorrow's post.

Adaptation Of Mammals In Canada

First, in some places today a jittery, cranky, prognosticating rodent will make a prediction about the rest of the winter and break hearts of those wanting an early spring. Here in Canada we'll get at least six more weeks of winter regardless. Preferably more.

Second, my longtime readers will be familiar with Winterlude. With Covid being as it is, the festival is virtual only this year, so there won't be shots of ice sculptures or other things, more's the pity. The Rideau Canal skateway is open, however, so expect some of that down the line.

Returning today to the Museum of Nature, the next gallery is the Mammal Gallery, featuring dioramas, displays, and panels about Canadian mammals.One of the first things one sees upon entry is an area that looks like the far north, with an Arctic fox lurking. 

Close by is a polar bear, out to make a meal of a seal.

This is the first of the panels.

Several large dioramas feature a specific species or two, with a reconstructed foreground and a painted mural in the background that gives the diorama great depth. This first case features a family of beavers. Panels at the base give information.

This panel looks at adaptations mammals use for camouflage.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Smiles

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

I'm relying in part on archive shots, starting with this one taken at Arts Court downtown in 2015 during Nuit Blanche. Allison Blakley, a member of a local dance company, did a performance piece through the night at Arts Court and gave me this shot following one of those performances, with a splendid smile.

2017 was the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, and there were multiple events to mark the occasion that year in the city. One of those events, running through the year, was Ottawa Welcomes The World, held at Lansdowne Park in the Glebe. It was a series of events held by embassies to showcase their countries. One such occasion for Columbia featured this woman, Pilar, part of a chocolate consortium, with a bright smile.

Another occasion, profiling the country of Uruguay, featured candombe dancers with bright smiles and high energy.

Another event held that year was MosaiCanada, which was done over on the Gatineau side of the Ottawa River in Jacques Cartier Park. Part of the park hosted large topiaries in 2017 and 2018. They included a majestic First Nations version of Mother Earth with a gentle smile.

Doors Open is an event usually held here in Ottawa at the beginning of June. We'll see if it happens this year. In 2019, I happened to be at the National Arts Centre on stage and took this shot at the right moment, with a woman at the conductor's position holding the baton.

And then there's the smile. In 2019, the Canada Science And Technology Museum, another of our national museums, hosted an exhibit marking the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, examining his art, inventions, and concepts from a scientific perspective. That included an in depth analysis of his most famous painting, presented in multiple visual spectrums, with a look beneath the surface of the work, and an actual sized replica of the painting, front and back.

What is Mona Lisa smiling about?

Now for some fresh shots, these brought out smiles or laughs from me. First, this sheet I've come across showing the proper and improper way of masks in the Covid era, Gotham City style.

This is in a restaurant window in Centretown.

And this is the front billboard for a church in the Glebe.