Dawn Arises Upon The Brand New Year

 As I end the year with sunsets, so too do I start it with sunrises for my first regular post of new material, taken from the last few months of last year.

I took this shot in the latter half of July early one morning, before dawn, coming out to the stadium at Lansdowne Park. I couldn't have asked for better conditions.

This shot was taken at the end of July near home very early one morning.

I took this one in the first half of August, back at Lansdowne Park again.

A few days later, another shot from close to home.

Another late August shot.

While this was at the beginning of September.

A few days later, I took this shot early one morning in the north end of the Glebe.

In mid-October, back at Lansdowne Park, I took a different perspective for dawn shots- the east side of the stadium, using the pedestrian bridge as a foreground.

I took this shot at the beginning of December. This is the last time you'll see things like this- the city has allowed for some work to be done here, and it's already started. A new event center will be built at the east end of the stadium field, where the berm is, and then the north stands will be entirely rebuilt. The idea is to do this without disrupting the teams. My view of things at this site has changed considerably from when the south stands were rebuilt over a decade ago- the city has an arrangement with the organization that runs the site to let them do so, and I've seen enough of how the city fumbles things themselves to know better.  The north stands are at the end of their life and need to be replaced. It's going to be quite a process, and in hindsight, it would have been better to do all this at once back in 2012. 

These were taken in mid-December. at Lansdowne.

I took this shot on Christmas morning, close to home.

And some days later, I approached the Flora Bridge, a pedestrian bridge over the Rideau Canal that links the Glebe to Old Ottawa East.

Bitterly cold, but worth coming out for with the sun soon to rise.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Best Of The Year

 My last of this set of favourite shots of the year takes us out to Gatineau Park, a federal park run by the National Capital Commission over on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. The NCC runs shuttles into the park on weekends, and I took one in the fall, stopping at the Champlain Lookout, where the southern flank of the Gatineau Hills descends to the valley floor along the Eardley Escarpment. The Ottawa River can be seen, with the limits of Ottawa on the far shore. This place is a delight to visit, high above the valley floor.

Another visit made on this fall day was to the Mackenzie King Estate. William Lyon Mackenzie King was one of our greatest prime ministers, and no one was more dominant in the Canadian political scene in the first half of the 20th century, seeing the country through much of the Depression and the Second World War. He bought land up here early on in his political career, inspired by nature, and would make it his weekend and summer retreat, starting with cottages he called Kingswood. This is the main cottage.

The land was along one shore of Kingsmere Lake- the name preceded his time here, but must have convinced him this was his place to call a home.

As time went on and he became prime minister, he built a house that he could properly entertain the great and the good in. The second house on the property he called Moorside, and here his ideas of landscaping, gardening, and being engaged with nature took full form, alongside his ideas for the country.

He was a man of staunch Scots Presbyterian sensibility and sentiment, and among his ideas were follys- structures that served no purpose but sentiment, salvaged from buildings that were being demolished, and turned into something new on his property.

This is expressed best in the Abbey Ruins, which blends together pieces from homes in Ottawa, as well as sections of the former Center Block on Parliament Hill, and even stones from the printing press of his own grandfather.

King left his estate to the people of the country he loved so much, as thanks for the opportunity to serve them in leadership. A visit to this estate uplifts the soul.

My last stop on this visit was Pink Lake, not that far away from the estate. Named after a family of settlers from the 19th century, it is a meromictic lake- a rarity among lakes in that the layers do not mix, and there is low oxygen content in the deeper layers. A hiking trail winds around it.

It is a peaceful place, with a life all to its own.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Best Of The Year

Gatineau is on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River, and part of the National Capital Region. I don't get over there nearly enough (unless you count twice a month when I'm standing on the provincial border at the Portage Bridge, for a post I'll be showing in the coming days). The city takes part in Winterlude in February, where Jacques Cartier Park, which lies along the river, is turned into a big playground with snow slides.

This wood carving caught my eye.

Steel drum musicians were here.

Snow carvings are expected to be here, and this year, beavers were carved into the back of the giant mound where snow sliding takes place. For scale, note the people in this shot.

Alcoves are built with ice benches put in for photo ops.

Leaving, I photographed this house that caught my eye. It houses offices for a social service agency these days, and looks like it has been there a long time, and added onto over time.

Spring changes things, and I took this photo of the Canadian Museum of History for the Shadow theme day. The curatorial wing is at left, while the exhibition wing is in the background.

The city also takes part in the Tulip Festival. There's a bed of tulips where the Portage Bridge comes into Gatineau that I always photograph.

This is along the river, with Parliament Hill across the water, near the Museum of History. The flowerbed is in honour of the photographer Malak Karsh, who was the man who proposed the idea of a festival of tulips. He took a famous photograph of the river from here decades ago- a photograph that spent many years on the Canadian one dollar bill, while his brother Yousuf Karsh's photograph of the Queen was on the other side of that bill.

The Museum of History is a wonder inside, particularly its Grand Hall, with its collection of totem poles.

More tulips- these are in Jacques Cartier Park.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Best Of The Year

 The theme for the first of January with members of City Daily Photo is Best of the Year, and you can see how others are interpreting that theme right here.

I am doing this over three days, beginning with Ottawa itself. At the end of 2024 and into the first days of 2025, the city hosted the World Juniors hockey tournament, held at TD Place and the Canadian Tire Centre. I attended some of the games at the former.

This particular game was between Finland and Slovakia.

February brings Winterlude to the area, and this year was very good for skaters on the Rideau Canal skateway. I do not skate, but I walked it a number of times, and this particular time was on Dow's Lake itself, close to the end.

Winterlude also includes ice sculptures downtown. This one featured the great Canadian jazz legend Oscar Peterson.

As spring unfolded, one day I took a photograph of this very cooperative Canada goose.

The Chaudiere Falls is a large, sprawling waterfall on the Ottawa River, and during the spring, it rages.

May brings the Tulip Festival to the national capital region, with the biggest area of them at Commissioners Park at Dow's Lake.

Parliament Hill is a frequent photo subject for me. I took this shot of Robert Borden, one of our prime ministers, with West Block beyond the statue.

Doors Open takes place here in early June, with the opening of various sites for public visits. One place I went to this year was a familiar site- the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat. The Aga Khan stays here from time to time, but it also houses the Canadian chapter of his foundation, which does philanthropic work around the world. The architecture inside is a wonder.

This sweet cat lives near my place, and is seen outside her home in warmer weather.

I went up to Kiweki Point, which commands an impressive view of the Ottawa River.

Another visit this year was to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, where this Lancaster bomber dominates the World War Two area.

These fall colours were found by the Canadian War Museum.

And my last shot is taken in the National Arts Centre, some nights before Hallowe'en, where the orchestra was in costume. The concert was a mix of classical music and film score selections, very appropriate for the occasion.