Autumn At The Hall

This is one of the approaches onto the property at Rideau Hall. The house you see here is the visitor centre for the property. Rideau Hall is the official residence for Canada's Governor-General (today a largely ceremonial position), and there are nearly eighty acres of land here, much of it open to the public to walk about. Many of the trees here were planted by visiting dignitaries- foreign leaders or royalty- going back over a century now.

This view of grass includes a cricket pitch, the only such one that I know of over here. While the sport is popular in Britain, and thus this would be a legacy of the days when the governor-general was always British, it has never really caught on here. I have seen games being played here during previous visits.

A lovely rose garden is found nearby. Most of the roses were at the end of their season during this visit.

Here we have the manor. What started as a family home for Thomas McKay and his family became the residence of the Governor-General upon Confederation in 1867, expanding over time, and has remained so ever since, a working official residence that is open for tours. The hours vary during the year.

I started on my way back down the driveway, photographing as I went, looking at the small markers at the bases of numerous trees to see who'd planted them.

Along the way is an inukshuk, or inuksuk. These stone markers have been used from time immemorial by the Inuit in the far north. This one was placed here in 1997. 

In New Edinburgh

As mentioned in yesterday's post, I headed over to New Edinburgh on Thanksgiving earlier in the month. Coming into the neighbourhood, I photographed some of the fall colours before heading over to Rideau Hall nearby. I'll be showing my visit there tomorrow. What is today a neighbourhood was founded as a village by stonemason and businessman Thomas McKay, who bought land on the east shore of the Rideau River where it meets the Ottawa River in 1829. He named the settlement after Edinburgh in his native Scotland, and prospered here. Today a mix of lovely homes, churches, parks, and embassies are nestled around Rideau Hall. The colours here are particularly lovely in the fall.

This view looks down the roadway alongside Rideau Hall's grounds towards some fall colours.

After I left Rideau Hall, I took this shot looking down Sussex. I proceeded on towards the spot in the shot that follows, a few metres down the road.

Here we have a view of the Embassy of France beyond the fall colours. Canada geese were on the grass in the foreground, likely taking a break on the migration from points further north.

The embassy borders the parkland that surrounds the Rideau River in its last stretch. The Rideau splits into two branches at Green Island, and both branches spill into the Ottawa River as the Rideau Falls. This is the east branch, taken from the viewing platform with fall colours present and accounted for.

I photographed across towards Gatineau. Leamy Lake Park is the heavily wooded area along the shore, and the rise of the Gatineau Hills can be seen in the background. I'll be showing you a fall tour taken on another day up that way soon.

Here we see the east falls from a viewing area on Green Island.

The park features a number of monuments, most of them military in nature. This glimpse towards two of them features an artillery monument and a statue of the First World War soldier and poet John McCrae. I'll have a post with more shots of them at Remembrance Day.

Here we have a view of the west branch of the Rideau Falls. Both branches are regulated by dams, so the water flow varies.

Fall Viewpoints

Major's Hill Park tends to have good fall colours. I came through here on Thanksgiving Day.

A bit further along the path in the park, I turned around and photographed Centre Block on Parliament Hill, framed by the trees.

Across from the park and the National Gallery of Canada, the Peacekeepers Monument is positioned on a large traffic circle. I liked the contrast of fall colours with the monument, which from this angle includes debris one might find in a war zone, a deliberate part of the monument's design.

I headed in the direction of New Edinburgh, which I'll start showing tomorrow. The fall colours at this spot caught my eye. The labs of the National Research Council are seen in the background.

On that same day, coming back from New Edinburgh, I passed through the campus at the University of Ottawa.

Just up the street from the above shot, I photographed across the quad towards Tabaret Hall. A careful eye might find the squirrel on the lawn.

Another day I happened to pass by the National War Memorial. This is on the northwest side of the grounds.

Taken another day, this is from the east side, and includes one of The Valiants, the series of statues and busts of figures of Canadian military history. This one is Pierre d'Iberville, the explorer, soldier, colonial administrator, and perpetual irritant to the British from the days of New France. 

I came over to the Memorial to photograph the fall colours contrasting against the sentries and the monument.

This perspective is taken from the grass behind the benches on the northwest side of the Memorial.

And here is the view from the west side of the Memorial, with fall colours here and there.

I finish today with two shots from Centretown. These were taken on Monday morning, and are the most recent fall colours I've taken this year. I still have more to come from other locations, and the colours are still in good shape here, but odds are any more shots I take of fall colours will turn up on the Ottawa Daily Photo Facebook page as opposed to here. This first shot features leaves from a tree that always has these colours this time of year.

This second one features a view at Dundonald Park, a few days after a shot I featured yesterday, with golden leaves.

Red And Gold

Today I start out with this view of autumn leaves in the Glebe. The home serves as the Embassy of Tunisia.

A few blocks away, this tree was in full red.

These colours were outside a home elsewhere in the Glebe.

During this particular walk I headed along the Rideau Canal towards Dow's Lake and Commissioners Park, where under gloomy skies I photographed the sculpture The Man With Two Hats, which I've shown before, against autumn colours.

These golden leaves in the park caught my eye.

And I photographed one of the flowerbeds with fall colours. Tulips will be here next May.

This autumn view from Plaza Bridge looks over the Rideau Canal. The glass wall of the Convention Centre stands on the far shore.

This view is taken at the area called Richmond Landing, along the shore of the Ottawa River. The spires of Parliament can be seen in the background, while Library And Archives Canada stands above.

Close by, I paused to photograph this tree.

One day I was walking along a bike path in Gloucester. This tree caught my eye.

For today I finish with three views at Dundonald Park. This is on the north edge of the park, with the leaves changing colours. I'll have a similar perspective from this spot in tomorrow's post, taken a few days later.

This was early one morning, on the same street as the first of two shots from the park shown in my first post of this series- the tall tree down at the end featured more prominently in that case.

While this was taken from within the park, with the trees backlit by morning sunlight on another day, looking towards that street I was on in the above shot.