In The Shadow Of The Moon

 This series of panels on the Artemis mission details the extensive preparations undertaken by the crew.

Around the back of the snow mound, another smaller slide, this one made of ice, for younger kids who might not be ready for the big snow slides. Snow carvings accompany the area.

They include a moose in bas relief.

Frozen Splendour Along A River

 The lines were long to head up to the main slides.

This year, a ferris wheel has been included in the festivities.

Through a gap in the trees, I looked across the frozen Ottawa River. On the far side, the frozen east branch of the Rideau Falls, where the Rideau River meets the Ottawa River.

Behind the big mound are smaller mounds of snow, geared towards activities for smaller kids.

A series of photographic displays are embedded into the wall of the big mound.

They are about the Artemis II mission to the Moon, the first manned mission to our moon since the Apollo program ended. NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman are being joined on the mission by Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen. 

A Winter Playground By The River

 Winterlude is also marked across the Ottawa River, where Gatineau's festivities are centered around Jacques Cartier Park, which is turned into a winter playground on the shores of the Ottawa River.

These were on display near the entrance.

A large mound of snow is created, with multiple slides lined up.

There are also a couple of oversized Muskoka chairs here.

This being an Olympics year, a bobsled was set up for photo ops.

We'll pick up here tomorrow.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: White

 The first day of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and for March, that theme is White. Check out what others are doing with the theme right here.

For me, this theme evokes winter. Snow certainly looks white- strictly speaking, it's translucent, but our brain sees it as white. And there's no shortage of snow in an Ottawa winter. I went out from home one night in January to the corner shop- with that white sign up ahead above the door. White headlights of a car on the road and the falling snow made the rest of the picture. Walking back headlong into the wind was an issue.

Coming back into my apartment, I took a shot outside to the west. The buildings you can see are government buildings. Completely lost in the snow was a condo tower, out beyond the taller building.

The following night was clear as I passed through the Glebe. The building at center is a community center and former church. The moon was bright and white in the sky.

One day while coming back from the Portage Bridge, I photographed textures in the snow, particularly the drifting.

Snow was falling on another winter day, close to home, when I took these shots.

A couple of days later, in late January, I was passing by the War Memorial, which had snow coating it late in the day as more snow fell.

Passing near the Holocaust Monument one afternoon, I took these two shots of the field beside it, concentrating on the white of the snow, and including the shadow of trees, the lines of other trails, and the texture of the snow itself.

One evening while taking shots for Winterlude, I photographed this ice bench outside the Lord Elgin Hotel. The white spotlight behind it did the trick.

Just up the street, a lot of snow. This is a descending walkway, not shoveled in the winter, with a raised flowerbed, covered in snow.

And I finish with this view of the War Memorial in winter conditions, taken in the area on a snowy day while photographing for Winterlude.