Castlebrook Village

August 4. 2008

2008-08-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we went for a stroll around the park.

We'd seen this road sign on Saturday evening, flashing out in the soccer field. It was obviously purloined from the Minto construction area. It looked kind of funny, cute even, sitting out there in the field in the dark, flashing away. Sunday, it had been moved to this spot by an entrance to the park. I wonder if Minto will come get it?

As we approached the pond, I wondered if there would be any waterfowl left. Certainly, there wouldn't be any babies. We had not brought bread with us as it really is better to leave the birds alone, even though I am guilty of having fed them before. This fellow showed up on a small-wheeled bike, with a milk crate full of bread and what appeared to be corn in a large bag.

The geese saw him coming and steamed over in a long flotilla.

Now, he is surrounded by gulls, ducks and geese, with the geese muscling their way to the front of the line.

I wanted to check out the potential hazard at the bridge and although I had seen workers there earlier in the week, and there was lots of evidence that work had been done on the bridge (several new upright posts had been installed), the discrepancy between the level of the pavement and the wood surface of the bridge remained. I have now sent this photo with a second email to my city councillor but since I never even got an acknowledgment to the first email, I am not holding my breath.

The construction is proceeding apace. There are at least three more foundations with no superstructure on them that we saw on Sunday. But as we found out at the sales office, there are several more foundations planned that haven't even been started.

Here's a different view.

We noted that the front doors of the units fronting on Centrepointe appear to be awfully close to the sidewalk. Don't come running out of your house in a hurry here! But then for the first time, we stopped into the sales office. There was a very nice, low-key fellow there who spent some time explaining things to us. There are a LOT of units going in here. "Intensification", indeed. There are six row house units that will front on Centrepointe, each one containing four housing units of about 1900 square feet each. And each one will have a 2 car garage! That surprised me. They are going for well over $300,000 each, even though they are SO close to the road. Interesting.

July 23, 2008

2008-07-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

I guess no news is good news. Not much new in the 'hood these days. And it's not even the dog days of summer, what with all this rain and not-that-hot-but-man-is-it-humid weather.

We heard sounds of cheering from the park and went for a walk after dinner last night to check it out. Every single soccer pitch was full with teams playing and some were even practising on the outfield of the ball diamond in between.

Some kids had even arrived on their bikes. This is a good thing.
It was a beautiful evening to be outside.

July 2, 2008

2008-07-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

Interesting how Minto has its own building wrap, custom made just for it.

Interesting how it's not made in Canada. But then, maybe they don't make building wrap up here.

A couple of days ago, we were out for a bike ride and down by the Ottawa River, which is still high for this time of year - all that rain! Peter bikes by here every morning and he said, keep an eye out for a log where ducks are always sitting, and sure enough, there it was. It was raining fairly hard when I took the picture, and still, they were all sitting in a row on that log.

Yesterday, on Canada Day, we decided to hang out at home, rather than fight the crowds downtown. We knew the Snowbirds would be buzzing the Hill at 11 so we went out to see if we could see them go by. And there they were! They even had smoke on for a moment, maybe to test before they got to the Hill. We waited for a while but they didn't come back, but we could hear them off in the distance.

We strolled over to Nepean City Hall and except for a few people, the place was deserted. The fountain always looks nice.

And there is a garden off to one side with some benches in the shade that seems to be a bit neglected this year. There was a sign explaining the garden but that too, is missing. Plus some dorky vandals had broken a couple of slats in the benches. Why do people prefer to destroy things? I don't know.

So there I was, sitting out the back, reading, when movement caught my eye and I saw a large brown rabbit slowly hopping by. I stealthily got up and whispered for Peter to please get my camera and then I followed the rabbit around the side of the house.

He didn't seem to be in a hurry or on a mission.

Peter got a close-up of him. He had really large eyes and small ears.

Then he hopped around the corner to our neighbour's front door and went right up on the step.

He started going after something in the cracks where the step met the house but we didn't know what it was. I threw him a piece of carrot and he turned and sniffed at it and then completely ignored it, even when he decided it was time to move on. Curious.

June 29, 2008

2008-06-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

Anticipation.

By Bike Rider

June 27, 2008

2008-06-27T06:25:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it's almost the end of June? I can't.
When I went running this morning in the park, my goal was to run around the circuit at least 3 times. Then I changed the goal to 25 minutes (I run a circuit in about 6.5 minutes) and I almost made it, when I got a stitch in my side at 24 minutes. That allowed me to walk back to the house and get my camera and some bread and then go back to to pond where I got some fun pix.

Those are baby geese! The one at the back on the right is the parent. You can tell the babies easily because of their "whit-whit-whit" baby voices (they don't honk until they are grown up) and the white cheek patches haven't come in yet. But they are so big now!

The baby in the foreground still had a fair bit of fuzz on his neck.

I just like this "action" shot. And you can see what I meant earlier about "white bums".

And the babies aren't shy about coming right up to you.

I found a big difference with the baby ducks. They look like they have their adult plumage but they are still pretty fuzzy and I don't think their wings are developed. But they aren't yellow fuzz-balls any more!

And they aren't shy any more either! Last time, they wouldn't approach me, nor take anything from my hand. This time they pecked me unmercifully and came and stood right on the tops of my feet.

I don't know why we find waterfowl more engaging than many other birds, but they are.

June 25, 2008

2008-06-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

Here's that building that I mentioned yesterday, with the brick on one side, from the side with the brick.

Doesn't this building look awfully (as in "awful") close to the bike path and the hedge?

I usually bike through the park but I decided to walk to the library which is why I got this photo.

That's right. Someone stopped to enjoy sitting in the shade of some trees in the park, to enjoy the natural environment, and to have their cup of coffee. And then they spoiled it for everyone else by leaving the empty cup when they left. Shame on you. (To forestall the question, yes, I picked it up and put it in a bin by city hall.)

On a more pleasant note, I noticed killdeer in the park for the first time this week. I saw one running away from me and stopping to hunker down every few feet. it wasn't the "broken wing" decoy they usually use but it was close.

A wildlife photographer, I am not. I figure they must have a nest near by but I'm not going to look for it for fear of jeopardising the babies. I'm amazed that birds like this that just lay their eggs on the grass manage to survive year after year. I know that killdeer young hatch way late and can run about earlier than other birds but still - they must be so vulnerable.

June 24, 2008

2008-06-24T10:02:00.001-07:00

I didn't take the camera when I went jogging this morning but I noticed that my "fluffy dinosaurs" now have white bums! They are getting their adult plumage and you can even see where the white cheek patches are going to be.

The construction is still going on. This building has the brick on the other side already.

The parking lot was full at the old Nepean City Hall today. I asked a parking lot attendant, having never seen them or signs before, what was going on. He told me that was a graduation. Whatever happened to using the gym at school?

This is where the voles hung out in the winter. It is nice to see that they have pretty yellow and purple flowers and tall clover at the back to enjoy. I suppose they'd have to stand on their tippy toes to see it, however.

They've just been mowing a swathe of grass by the path and not the whole thing so far this summer.

And now there are parking meters on this side of Centrepointe! There never were meters before now. I wonder if there was a memo at city hall saying "bonus to any employee who finds new places to put meters."

In the 12 years I have been living here, I've never noticed there was a parking problem that needed meters.

June 15, 2008

2008-06-15T08:32:00.000-07:00

The geese will eat right out of your hand but not the ducks. But there was one baby goose who wouldn't take anything from me. The other goslings gathered right in, practically under my skirt and nibbled at the hem of my skirt while I was feeding bread to their brethren.

We are so fortunate to live here. There were baseball teams out playing in al the available diamonds. Some were camped out with dogs and coolers and chairs.

June 13, 2008

2008-06-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

So I haven't abandoned this blog! First I was away, then I was sick, and now I am blogging on my other blogs. But today I finally went back for a run in the park and saw baby geese and ducklings!

I brought my camera with me while I went running and saw the fluffy babies on the first pass. When I came around the second time, I stopped to take pix.

An older man with his grandson in a baby carriage had stopped along the path and he started throwing bread to the birds. They were up and running toward him in a flash.

They didn't seem shy at all, not even the goslings. But the parents were pretty aggressive with the other birds.

Don't they look like fluffy dinosaurs?

These two parental geese were giving me the hairy eyeball, as I was trying to get close for pix. One of them took a chunk out of a duck that got too close too - there was a wad of feathers on the grass and the duck limped away after that. I scolded the goose but got scolded by him in return.

This duck was limping too but for a different reasons - he might be Waddles One-Foot! You can't tell from the photo but he was missing his right foot. Of course, I can't tell or remember which foot Waddles was missing but anyway.

Here's his faithful missus with their seven children.

To round it off, here's the progress of the construction to date. The first row done by the road has roof vents on and everything. This is the one where the back "yards" will be sitting right on the bike path.

But here is what it looks like from our quad. It looms over the houses by the park. Well, it doesn't look that loomy here but believe me, there is looming. And the constant noise is driving those guys crazy.

May 7, 2008

2008-05-07T07:22:00.000-07:00

Finally I took my camera with me on my morning run and now I have pix of the beaver damage.

You might want to click on this one to see it larger. As well, it has notes on it to point out where the hole in the bank of the island is, which may possibly be the beaver's home. The downed trees look like they were a clump of three trunks together before the beavers chewed them through.

A wildlife photographer I am not. However, this bird sat there prettily enough for me, with his red wing patches shining in the sun. Past him is the other end of the island in the pond and it's possible beavers have their home there too. Or maybe the island is honeycombed with tunnels! Except, I don't think beavers make tunnels.

Pretty blossoms in the Spring. Let's hope someone traps and relocates the beaver before he chews all of the trees down.

This is what the construction looks like from the other side of the park

May 5, 2008

2008-05-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

This little pansy popped up in the garden, even after I cleared all the plants out last Fall. It must have self-seeded and I do see them all summer long, here and there. Despite the fact that I didn't deliberately plant it, I let it stay because pansies are so cheerful.

On the other hand, despite the fact that this is also a cheerful yellow volunteer, I am afraid it has to go with all its brethren.

My mixed bag of tulip and other bulbs that I planted last Fall has done its work. The crocuses were first but they are long gone.

They open right up when the sun's out and close up when it's not.

Finally, the cardinal again, this time set against the fresh new green of the maple tree. All this new growth makes for pollen everywhere and so I am glad I do not suffer from allergies.

May 2, 2008

2008-05-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

On my way to the grocery store this morning, a route that takes me behind the bus station, I passed a young man picking up garbage. He had a large green garbage bag and a large paper yard waste bag. I didn't stop because I was on a mission but I noted that he was not wearing an orange safety vest. That, coupled with it being a Saturday, made me think he was not being paid to do this. On the way home (only 30 minutes later), I saw that he had been joined by two women, also each with a green garbage bag and paper bag. The plastic bags were those fancy types that don't puncture. They were wearing gloves and had long handled grabbing devices.

[An aside: I thought there was a major brand called "Grabbit" but when I Googled it, I only got software with that name.]

As I biked toward the first woman, I stopped and asked if she was a volunteer and she said that they were volunteers and had decided to walk around Centrepointe and pick up garbage where it needed it. I thanked them and said we all appreciated their efforts. Me especially.

I think it sets an example when people do good works. And I think there is validity to the broken windows theory of urban living and prevention of vandalism. If you see a lot of trash strewn about, maybe you won't hesitate to throw your empty Horton's cup into the mix. But if you are looking at a garbage-free space that looks nice, maybe you will hesitate before dumping your own trash on the ground. So kudos to those volunteers and maybe more will be inspired to do good works.

April 30, 2008

2008-05-01T04:44:00.000-07:00

Today, I went through the park to look at the back of the construction site.

I haven't been biking through the park since I saw that they had cut a swath across the path and replaced it with loose gravel. Even with the grocery bike, it's difficult to negotiate loose gravel. And I don't really know what this trench was in aid of. I would think the sewer and other connexions would go out to the road in front.

Standing at the gravel, I took this shot. I don't know why the fences are always down and why they are so bent and beat up.

I took the above (dark) picture and am putting it up here so you can see the difference between my amateur shots and a shot made from the same place by someone who knows what he is doing with a camera.

Quite the difference, eh?

Finally, here is what I was writing about when I said the backs of the houses will be smack up against the bike path. Where the path bends, it comes within about 10 feet of the foundation wall of that building. Maybe they will move the path?

April 29, 2008

2008-04-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

Almost May! We have had a run of extremely beautiful weather which ended yesterday and I think I have been outside the entire time and so not blogging. I even have a tan line on my arms! But now it has got cold and damp which is more normal for this time of year so I will post a few pix.

I took this photo of the construction site on the 18th, one of those gloriously sunny days. The roof trusses are in place.

Here it is on the 28th (a grey day) and there is plywood on the roof now. There are several other buildings going up too - I should go take pix of them. Some of them have their back "yards" (we assume it is the back) smack up against the bike path in the Centrepointe park. I can just imagine them sitting out on a nice day, staring at people walking by within a few metres... maybe they'll put up a fence? I'm still not convinced about the planning.

My few tulips are up on the back now - the crocuses have long since faded. Peter has taken some pix of tulips downtown but has only seen one full bed of them in bloom. These are some daffodils by the old Nepean City Hall. they were under a layer of snow fencing all winter but they are looking good now.

This is that tree in the 'hood that was buried in snow up to its first fork. Who'd have thought it would ever be seen again?

April 16, 2008

2008-04-16T14:23:00.001-07:00

More Spring today! By 5pm, we had achieved a temperature of 16C (60F), the sun is shining, the birds are singing. I got my hands dirty in the garden, although I only spent a few minutes out there. It seems my thyme survived being buried under 4 feet of snow and it is growing and green!

Some neighbours were out talking about gardening. One fellow was already raking. I'm not going to rake even after the last of the snow goes because the lawn is too tender right now but it will soon firm up. I talked with another neighbour and she told me that she has actually seen the nefarious beaver in Centrepointe park! She was walking her dogs in January during the big thaw we had then and the animal walked right across the path in front of her. And her dogs went crazy of course. We wondered and don't have an answer for where the beaver came from. But she said it has done even more extensive damage in the park. I may call the animal control people to have it removed to a more suitable location because it isn't doing our trees any good out there.

I notice there is a roof line forming on the first of the new housing units to go up.

There are still unmelted piles of plowed snow all over the place, but most of the rest of the snow has gone.

Except for here on the bike path. I rode out this afternoon to see how far I could get going north to the river. Some of the bike path had been plowed in the winter, as evidenced by the grit all over it. But when I got to the Queensway transit station, it suddenly stopped. I guess they figure no one walks north from the Queensway. I walked the bike over the small bit of snow and ice at the station but when I crossed the road and headed toward the creek, I decided to call it a day when I saw quite a bit of snow still on the path. I could have walked through it but it probably would have gone over the tops of my running shoes and I didn't need wet feet. I figure there must have been one huge drift here, for this fallen (not plowed) snow still to be unmelted.

April 15, 2008

2008-04-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been an entire week since I blogged. I've been busy but I guess the 'hood has been quiet. After my gripe about garbage, I spent about an hour (maybe less) picking up garbage along the route I always take to get out of the 'hood. It filled four shopping (grocery) bags. Later, I went for a walk where I don't usually walk (now that we don't have a dog, we just don't get around the other parts of the 'hood like we used to). I was appalled at the quantity of garbage strewn all over. Especially bad was one location where an entire row of houses places their garbage on garbage day (if you don't have a garage and a driveway, you put your garbage out in a collective spot). Nobody had ever picked up one thing over the winter, from the looks of it. We have got to take more pride in where we live! Of course, for me, "where I live" is the whole darned planet but for most people, it should be a source of embarrassment to see your garbage that didn't get picked up, sitting day after day by the road. Anyway.

It's great how quickly but without fanfare the snow is melting. It just keeps shrinking, day by day and even the giant piles that overwhelmed trees are shrinking.

In the last few days, there is evidence that street and sidewalk sweepers have been out. I even saw one in action today. This stretch of sidewalk was particularly grim, with mud from the construction site caking it.

Speaking of construction, the above ground structures are going up fast. This unit caught my eye for how very close to the road it is. Centrepointe isn't a highway and it does have a 40 kph limit but it is still busy and I wouldn't care to have my house that close to it. I wonder if the front doors of those houses will face onto Centrepointe? If not, they sure won't have any backyard to speak of.

The melt water still covers this part of the bike path in a shallow pond. The ducks and gulls enjoy it. In the morning, you can catch ducks sitting around the perimeter, snoozing with their heads under their wings. This morning, two gulls were busy preparing to make more gulls. But soon the surface water will be gone and the water birds will move down to the river or any of the several creeks that feed the mighty Ottawa. The geese have been spotted flying back north too. I know they can seem a nuisance but I am pleased we are on a flight way, as they are the harbingers of the seasons.

April 8, 2008

2008-04-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

This time I'll start with something nice and then move to more complaining about garbage.

It's hard to believe that this path has emerged down to the asphalt. I figured when we were climbing over 3 feet straight up to even GET on the path, that it wouldn't melt until May. But melt it has and we are rewarded by bare pavement - sprinkled with bits of dog poop that weren't picked up over the winter.

Speaking of picking up...

These are just two of the many blue rubber bands discarded at mailboxes.

Here are six more bands, two of which are not blue (the other thing is a contact lens case - goodness knows why someone didn't go looking for it). I have had mail come bundled in rubber bands. If I want to look at the mail while still standing at the box, I put the band in my pocket or around my wrist until I get home. Why on earth would I throw the band on the ground? I can re-use it at home or I can throw it in the garbage at home. If you pick up mail at the same box every day, you have to now look at the discarded rubber band every day. I just don't get why you would want to do that.

These are the plastic wraps that larger bundles of mail come in. It is my theory that the mailman himself discards these on the ground because I don't think individual mail comes wrapped in the plastic. I will eventually complain to the central mail-place-whatever and hopefully these things won't continue to be discarded. But as for the residents who live here, who throw garbage on the ground, the only audience I have is themselves. You wouldn't throw garbage on the floor in your house, so why would you do it on the floor of your common area? Just because you share the space with others is no reason not to care about it. And that goes for your front yard and driveway and the street in front of your house.

It occurs to me that perhaps people are annoyed or perturbed by the rubber bands. And in being so disturbed by them for whatever reason, they take them off their mail bundles and toss them on the ground in contempt. All I can say is "good grief". If there is some sort of consensus that rubber bands are annoying, then let us speak to the post office and prevent them from arriving in the first place.

April 6, 2008

2008-04-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

The weather alternates between freezing and really nice - around 10C or 50F.

This was the first pair of ducks I've seen this Spring. Ducks tend to mate for life and I recognized this male from last year because he is missing a foot.

It is pathetic to see him struggle in the snow without a webbed foot on one side. I am sure I don't know how he manages to swim in a straight line.

But his wife stays near him and waits for him to catch up. They must manage all right together because here they are again. I wish them well.

April 2, 2008

2008-04-02T13:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, I wasn't going to complain about garbage but really...

You know you threw that particular box away, after you bought the Shark vacuum cleaner (as well as that Delissio pizza and those eggs). Just because the garbage guys didn't pick them up for whatever reason, doesn't mean you can look the other way every time you pass by them, lying by the side of the road. It was your garbage the first time and until it's gone for good, I think it's still your garbage. So please pick it up and try to throw it away again. Thank you.

Also, now that they've banned smoking on OC Transpo premises, we get this yuk factor. Butt buckets anyone?

Okay, back to the no complaining, especially as it was ultra beautiful yesterday. We've gone back into the deep freeze today, especially with the wind chill, but yesterday it was plus 13C and sunny and a joy to be out. Oddly, the construction site was empty, devoid of human life.

This sidewalk is covered in the kind of sticky mud that clings to your shoes and then builds, mud upon mud. Best to use the one on the other side of the road for now.

There's not even a pretense that people want to keep skating. Winter is over and we want spring!

I wonder if the bark on this bush has been stripped by hungry rabbits? I'd have to examine it more closely to be sure. But why only this one and not the ones beside it, I wonder?

It had rained all morning but when the sun came out later, it was a nice contrast to the lingering dark clouds. They were being pushed out of the way in a hurry by the stiff winds.

I noticed the usual lake of melt water in the middle of this part of the bike path. I think I'll have to avoid walking there for a while.

And they shoved so much snow out of the way, so many times, that they broke this fence at the transit station. One of the many casualties of winter.

April 1, 2008

2008-04-01T13:17:00.000-07:00

Not an April Fools joke (I loathe practical jokes in any event).

It's a terrible photo but I couldn't wait to make it better to share it. These are my crocuses coming up! All Winter, I have been staring out the upper window, off at the horizon or at the cardinal in the top of the tree next door. But I have obviously failed to look down until this afternoon. I was opening the windows because it is so balmy - currently it says it is 13C (55F) - and chanced to look straight down. That's when I noticed that not only had the snow melted from the corner of the yard but that my crocuses were out and blooming! Of course, I still can't get over to them without tall boots but soon! Actually, sooner than I think because I have a netting over them to keep the squirrels away from the bulbs in the Fall and I don't want them to grow up through the netting so I will have to get out and shovel. But it's worth it.

March 31, 2008

2008-03-31T10:40:00.000-07:00

I have noticed dried thistles poking out of the snow lately and realize that they are the source of the phantom voles I think I see:

You can see how, at a distance, I could mistake this large thistle head for a mouse all hunched up and having a bad hair day.

This is that tree that was and still is buried by the snow plows. I thought I saw branches from which the bark had been chewed by rabbits but I can't see them now or in this photo.

However, I did see rabbit foot prints hopping up this snow bank and onto the roof of this carport, so I may have been right that rabbits have been chewing the bark in the high branches of trees that they would never normally have access to. Time will tell - in the Spring when the leaves start out, the girdled branches will likely be dead. At least, I know that when young trees are girdled (bark chewed off all the way around the trunk), they die.

Every day, you see lost things like a single mitten, obviously fallen out of someone's pack or pocket. And I usually try to put the item up somewhere where it will be seen if the owner travels the same route again. I am not the only one who does this:

In a 20 foot stretch of sidewalk at the transit station, I came across two found items hung up for the owner to see.

I saw hundreds of webbed foot prints beside the bike path.

At first I thought they were duck prints but then I realized I had not seen any ducks but I have seen seagulls. And I guess they are not "sea" gulls but just some other sort of gull. At any rate, it looks like they were having a meeting at this mud puddle!

March 26, 2008

2008-03-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

We're finally getting a whiff of Spring here.

I took this photo of the construction site early in the morning when the light was low and golden. It was still minus 12C that morning but the sun was strong.

This is a slightly different view of the site, showing the progress that is being made. I'm still surprised that they are using 2x4 construction in the walls, but then, I don't know what they are using for floors.

All winter, they've been plowing some of the paths off to one side. Now we have to walk through mud.

This also shows me that when people pave where people have worn a path, they often make a more "artistic" path and don't go where people (and plows) naturally tend go. Of course, they may have just wanted to make the path cross the street at right angles to make it safer.

This photo shows how much the snow has melted under its own steam, so-to-speak. Plows and shovels don't go into this centre island and so any snow that fell on it, stays on it. At one point, you couldn't see the top of the stylized "N" that holds the Nepean bell but now you can see quite a lot of it.

This is the snow bank near the Centrepointe Theatre, which faces roughly west. It hadn't started to melt yesterday morning when I took this picture but it is dripping today!

March 25, 2008

2008-03-25T09:44:00.000-07:00

I'd like to point out a poor driving habit that makes me crazy almost every day. Here are the facts:

I walk across Centrepointe every day, at least twice a day. I use the designated crosswalk near the Marshy's plaza and I usually push the button that makes the traffic lights go red for the cars (if there are no cars in sight, I just walk across without pushing the button). These traffic lights are the regular kind, with the red/yellow(amber)/green lights, not the big yellow crosswalk "X". So when cars are approaching the crosswalk, after I have pushed the button, they see the lights turn from green to amber and then to red. I haven't timed how long the lights stay red but it is for about one minute - long enough for a slow walker to get safely across. There are four lanes on the road along Centrepointe. Usually traffic travels in the centre two lanes and the outside lanes are used for turning onto roads that branch off of Centrepointe. However, at this crosswalk, a lot of the traffic travelling south makes a left hand turn into the plaza and so cars going straight trough go around them and into the right hand or curb lane. All of this is legal.

Here is what happens that makes me crazy:
After I push the button, I step a little to one side so that I can watch as the lights change from green to amber. Then I watch the approaching traffic. Almost without fail, every single car that approaches the crosswalk as the light turns amber continues through the crosswalk. Some of the cars even speed up a little so they won't get "caught" in the intersection as the light turns red. This in itself is illegal. (Check out section 114 of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act.)

What really burns me are the cars that proceed through the crosswalk AFTER the light has turned red. They do this because they can get way with it because no one has actually started to walk across the road and so they don't risk hitting the pedestrian who pushed the button. I experimented recently, watching the cars approach on the amber and I stepped into the road AFTER the light had gone red but while a car was still motoring through the crosswalk. The car was in the far lane from where I was and so we both knew I was not going to get hit but I got close enough to the car as it passed me (going through the red light) that I could have touched it if I'd run instead of walked.

This makes me crazy because the wait at the crosswalk is all of one minute (maybe less - I'll try to remember to time it one day). The driver of a car, who, by the way is sitting down in a nice warm box, has to wait an entire 60 seconds while some freezing pedestrian struggles across the road. Apparently that is too much to ask of drivers.

Here are the pertinent subsections of the Highway Traffic Act:
Amber light
s. 114 (15) Every driver approaching a traffic control signal showing a circular amber indication and facing the indication shall stop his or her vehicle if he or she can do so safely, otherwise he or she may proceed with caution. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 144 (15).

Penalty for disobeying red or amber light
s. 114 (31.2) Every person who contravenes subsection (15) or (18) is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not less than $150 and not more than $500. 1998, c. 5, s. 26.

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90h08_e.htm

March 17, 2008

2008-03-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

Not much green on St. Patrick's Day, except for what people were wearing. Nice sunshine though, even if it was unseasonably cold at minus 14C this morning. Ouch.

On the weekend, you could really see that things were melting nicely but you only see bare pavement if it had been scraped earlier. The city is still working at removing snow banks and probably will be until summer.

We passed this dog and his owner out for a walk. He is not even a year old - a great big puppy. I think his name was Meiko. He was lovely.

The construction is proceeding. More foundations are going in and the Stone Slinger was there, slinging stones. This one building now has some structure above the foundations. I see they are using what looks like proper safety barriers at the edge of the top level. I learned about them during the "Fall Prevention Course" that I took at Safety Training Inc..

Speaking of falling, someone has dug out the storm drain at the base of the snow mountain where everyone walks every day, to get into and out of the 'hood. There was a huge puddle there and so it's good that it is draining now. But that first step is a whopper! It is actually about 4 feet off the ground, if you are standing on the storm drain, trying to get over into our neighbourhood.

Thankfully, some intrepid souls have stomped out some new foot prints in the snow bank to the side and so I can take a short detour and still use this path. Not for long however, as once it starts to melt in earnest, everything will crumble. I just don't want to be standing four feet off the ground when it decides to give way.

March 14, 2008

2008-03-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

The Equinox is almost here! And this morning I heard the Cardinal singing again.

I snapped a photo out the back, upstairs window with full (albeit limited) telephoto on. Then I cropped it to make him as big as I could. (If you hear a Cardinal, and they are the loudest birds around here, look up because they like to sit in the very tops of trees.)

He's all pixilated but he still looks lovely to me.

On the way to work this morning, I saw that the snow banks had started to crumble in onto the sidewalks. I suppose I cannot complain because there are places that don't have clean sidewalks at all.

I also noticed yesterday that the fire hydrant that would service the houses in my area has not been uncovered. I knew approximately where it was but couldn't remember exactly.

Here is what the island with the two trees on it looks like. The hydrant is somewhere in the middle, or so I thought.

So I looked through some old photos and here is the puppy we raised for Guide Dogs, not interested in the hydrant but showing where it is. If you compare the two pix, you will see where one would have to dig to find it. I think there must be at least 3 feet of snow on top of it but because it is at the back of the island and near the car that isn't coming out until Spring, it will be difficult to dig out. I was going to go at it with a shovel but it really has to be attacked from the road side (because the car is on the way) and that means using a small snow blower to get near it.

March 11, 2008

2008-03-11T10:30:00.000-07:00

We're still digging out. Apparently, we had 52 cm (20 inches) of snow and with the 10 feet or so we had before this dump, there's no where to put it. And it's not melting much yet. Crews are clearing for vehicles first but there are a few spots cleared for pedestrians.

At the big intersection at Woodroffe and Navaho, where many people coming from the bus station cross to get to Algonquin College and to the College Square shopping plaza, they have done a good job clearing the way.

They haven't cleared in all directions so you may have to walk out and then over but at least you can manouever.

At the shopping centre, there are still huge piles of snow, waiting to be taken away. Where, I am not sure.

They haven't bothered to plow the bike path behind the bus station - it's not a priority. The wind was strong during the snow storm and after and the snow has drifted into pretty shapes.

Along this section of the path, I saw some nice wind-sculpted shapes yesterday. Today, they are being broken up a little by people walking along and touching them. You don't even have to bend over to touch these drifts! What you can also see is how the sun is melting whatever is left on the pavement. If you could navigate some of the snow banks, you could be riding your bike in some places.

Compare this photo to the one I took on December 17, 2007. The Nepean bell is almost completely buried now.

This is where I usually cross Centrepointe. In the past, I have complained about how they don't plow a path through the snow banks at the crosswalk. This time, there's a nice clear path but nowhere to go!

Once you cross and head south on Centrepointe, the cleared sidewalk ends abruptly and you have to walk in the road. I guess I can't have everything.

Finally, I wonder if the path between Plunkett and Castlebrook will be cleared any more this Winter. After the second last snow fall, they didn't clear it and now it looks like a lost cause. Apparently, it's not in our snow clearing contract so they have been doing it just because it's there.

However, now, we are walking about 2 feet off the ground. The main problems are negotiating the mountains at either end of the path, and going off the narrow packed path and up to your hip in snow. And hope you don't meet anyone walking the other way on the path. It's just like the good old days!

March 10, 2008

2008-03-10T10:44:00.000-07:00

People are still digging out. There are enormous snow banks to traverse - I feel I should have ropes, an ice axe and pitons. I wore my a-line skirt today and the knee high boots and was glad I had for climbing the snow banks. A narrow or pencil skirt would have made it impossible and anyway, I wouldn't have wanted to hike it up because of the cold this morning. Yikes! Talk about insult to injury. It was minus 17C this morning not including the windchill. With the sun out, it has now warmed up to - 7 but really, I think it is supposed to be warmer. But even so, the sun is melting snow and ice. Every few minutes, something slides off my roof and smashes to the ground. It'll be a while before the grass sees the light of day again but there are stretches of bare pavement here and there.

This morning I saw a large sun dog and tried to get a photo of it and failed. You'll have to take my word for it - it was quite pretty through those bare branches.

March 9, later in the morning

2008-03-09T06:36:00.001-07:00

Even though I was pretty sure not many people would be at my class, I decided to act as if I was going anyway. I got up and had breakfast and organized myself and then spent about 20 minutes shovelling a path to the street, which itself was not yet plowed.

Nice neat path! The wind was from the East all night and our side of the quad drifted in more than the other side. That snow was about 2 feet deep and packed in. Before I took these pix, I had seen and talked with another neighbour who was out taking pictures. Right after I finished shovelling, I got the phone call that my class had been cancelled so I decided to take a few extremely local pix of my own. I didn't even get out of the quad, although I could now that they've started plowing.

I saw Robert across the way shovelling out.

I got a little closer and noticed that he didn't have Logan out with him as usual. Can you spot the dog?

There he is!

They have all the machinery out today.

John is saying, "Where are we going to put it all?!"

When John first shouted "hello!" from near the garage door, I could barely see his head above the snowbanks.

But. We still have not broken the record from 1970-71.

March 9, 2008

2008-03-09T04:27:00.000-07:00

I just went to get the paper and when I opened the front door, this is what I saw:

And there wasn't a paper, either.
I took these yesterday afternoon from my sewing room window.

In this photo, that lump to the left of the tree was a car.

Peter took this one last night. The car has completely vanished.
More pix when I get out to get 'em.

Update:
I just remembered to look at the weather on the web.
Environment Canada says:
Ontario provincial police in the upper Ottawa Valley and Northumberland have resorted to snowmobiles for transportation.

March 8, 2008

2008-03-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday in between snow storms (insert humourless laugh here), I noticed that there was now what appears to be framing above the foundations on the Minto building across from Marshy's.

I wonder if it is framing because the buildings are three or more storeys high but time will tell. I don't have the blueprints.

I also noticed that the snow is kind of piled high at the side of the plaza. Last night we got another foot (not an accurate measurement - I just looked out the door) and we're getting more now. Peter took a few pix this morning. Zoom has decided she doesn't hate Winter any more. I know that no matter what, Spring will come along and soon. But the bother of boots and the weight of coats and the struggling through snow is beginning to pall.

March 6, 2008

2008-03-06T13:55:00.000-08:00

The Citizen had a "winter by the numbers" story today. Part of what it said:

First snowfall: Nov. 20
Number of days since first snow: 108
Number of days with snow: 83
Number of days without snow: 25
Average March snowfall: 39.8 centimetres
March snowfall to date: 47 centimetres
Latest and heaviest snowfall: May 10, 1963, 15 cm

From CBC I get the following stats:

"With 357 centimetres of snow already this winter and more to come on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Ottawa seems on track to top the record 444.1 centimetres that fell in the winter of 1970-71."

[357 cm = 140 inches = 11.7 feet 444.1 cm = 174.8 inches = 14.5 feet]

But you know, it IS melting when the sun is out and the sun IS getting stronger and it really can't last forever. Really.

March 5, 2008

2008-03-05T04:45:00.000-08:00

(Happy Birthday P.!)

The weather is typical of the month.

Two days ago, we had freezing rain. Thankfully, it melted quickly but I was glad to have my YakTrax walking to work, especially after I saw one student fall hard on the slippery sidewalk.

They have been working away at the construction site, in spite of the weather. Yesterday, I noticed they had a Stone Slinger working at the foundations. I first encountered one of these machines at the Habitat for Humanity Build in the Summer and it was fun to recognize it.

Everything really starts melting when the sun comes out and I have noticed an appreciable reduction in the snow pile over the last few days.

Unfortunately, this morning it had all come back. Sorry about how crooked the photo is but I was trying for a quick snap before the ice pellets blew in the door. We face East and that's the way the wind is coming this morning. Gusting to 41 kph.

Out the back, it looks like we won't be barbequing for a while. But you know, that's deceptive because once it starts to melt, it really gathers momentum. We might have the bikes out before the end of the month! I live in hope.

March 2, 2008

2008-03-02T05:03:00.001-08:00

I saw two Cardinals last weekend but this morning, I got a photo, as he was calling his territory from the top of a tree.

February 28, 2008

2008-02-28T08:57:00.000-08:00

Sometimes depending on the mood, I remember that Very Odd alphabet rhyme by Edward Gorey: "N is for Neville, he died of ennui", only I always think it is Nigel, maybe because that was my uncle's name, but he didn't die of ennui.

It's not that I really have ennui so much as that I have nothing new to write about the 'hood. We have had more snow and more snow and today it is c-c-cold out there. Today started at minus 22 C (-8F) with a windchill of -30 (-22F). I have determined that I am not going to go outside today - it's too much bother. Two pairs of pants, two hats, scarf, mitts, big socks. I get to the point where I just don't want to any more. I am longing for all the things that Zoom mentioned in her blog about what Spring has to offer. Mostly, to be able to leave the house without boots and three additional layers.

But I do have to say in its defence that the sun is noticeably, appreciably stronger. Even walking home yesterday in the wind, I could tell it felt warmer because of the sun. The Equinox is only 20 days away! And despite the temperatures, the sun is melting the snow wherever it can get a purchase on dark pavement.

Here's the bike path behind the transit station. In spite of the cold and the blowing snow, there is still some bare pavement here and there.

The wind has blown the snow into ripples like sand in a desert. I suppose in the desert they say the sand looks like snow drifts.

The wind is relentless and blows the fine dry snow into the path.

Sometimes, the snow drifts get more sculpted than in other places.

At home, that snow is now above the place where the branches come out of the tree. Previously, it had got close to that height but then we had the January melt. But now it is higher than ever.

As I was taking pictures, I noticed rabbit tracks and it appears that this athletic bunny hopped UP the mountain of snow. On his way to where? Maybe it is a treat to be able to eat the branches high up in a tree - something a rabbit would never get to do in the Summer. At least, I don't think rabbits can climb trees.

But squirrels can. Here are two robust looking squirrels' nest. I hope they are safe and relatively warm up there today.

February 11, 2008

2008-02-11T10:31:00.000-08:00

It's always about the weather, these days. Today started out with a windchill of minus 29C so I dressed for it. Strategic layers, leg warmers, warmest mitts, a headband under the hat. I didn't carry my camera thinking, what's the use, the batteries would get too cold to work. As I turned onto the bike path and into the wind, I shielded my face from its sting with my hand. My eyes teared up and I closed them to narrow slits. Then I noticed a small brown puff of fuzz beside the path. I thought it must be a pompon fallen off something and took a step past it. Then I stopped and turned back, because I had seen the fur move in the wind, without the object itself being moved.

It was right in the junction of the vertical wall of snow and the path, as sheltered as it could be from the wind, without being really sheltered. I stooped to look more closely at it and realized it was a vole. I couldn't see the tail or evidence of the nose but that's what it was. I thought it must have frozen to death in the cold and felt a pang of sympathy for the poor, wee thing. I reached down to pick it up and it came to life! The creature tried to escape away from the snow bank and toward my feet, burrowing under the arch of one boot. I steered him back to the bank and he tried burrowing in there, little bare pink feet scrabbling. Bare feet!

I could see he wasn't going to make much headway, so I took my foot and stepped a hole in the snow about a foot off the path. The snow was about a foot deep there and I wiggled my foot at the bottom to try to get near the grass. Then I scooped the vole up against the snow bank wall and steered him toward the hole I had formed. He plopped down into the hole and began digging down at the bottom of it. I have hopes that he made himself a better shelter and can chew on some stems of grass until it warms up a little.

February 5, 2008

2008-02-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

Someone had cleared the path at least as of this morning. I got a photo on the way home, when it was drizzling hard enough that I had my umbrella up. The freezing rain warning was finished by this morning and when I looked out and saw another 4 inches of snow, I figured it had missed us. So I shovelled the driveway and by the time I got home, it was all slippery from the drizzle. You can't win.

Over at the construction site yesterday, I noticed they were removing foundation forms and there seemed to be more foundations. I always wonder how good that concrete is going to be in the long run, when they pour it under winter conditions. But I suppose that's why they are engineers and I'm not.

February 3, 2008

2008-02-03T13:15:00.001-08:00

We got another foot of snow on Friday, just in time for the opening weekend of Winterlude. It wasn't that cold and the fall was slow and steady so we weren't paralyzed by it or anything.

I'm glad we had that huge melt after the first storm because there really wouldn't be any place to put this fresh snow. In this parking lot, all the snow is pushed to one end and I pity the person who has the end spot.

The small mountain of snow was created anew in the College Square parking lot. They haul that snow away after a while. I note that it is mild enough that the snow on the pavement has completely melted after having been scraped clear.

When I got up close to the pile of snow, I noticed a plastic Santa on top and wondered how it got there.

This year was the first in a while where the snow clearing crew actually plowed the path between our subdivision and the next. Unfortunately, nothing has been done since Friday except to push the mound of snow up against the edge of the path.

Coming home from the store, I asked Peter to go ahead so I could get some scale.

I took this last one teetering myself on the top of the path that some intrepid humans had made over the snow pile. I wouldn't want to try to shovel it by hand now (too densely packed) but I am hoping someone may come along with a small snow blower and clear it out before too long.

January 31, 2008

2008-01-31T08:37:00.001-08:00

It's almost Groundhog Day.
Someone at the weather office is getting creative with the writing. There is a weather watch up on the main website and when I clicked on it I read the following:
"Meanwhile a low pressure area over west Texas is getting organized and setting its sights on southern Ontario."

January 28, 2008

2008-01-28T11:02:00.000-08:00

We had a successful weekend. We rented a car because Peter had to get out of town for a dental appointment and because we had it for the weekend, we got to get tons of groceries and go other places. After we used the car on Friday to go to the dentist, get a hair cut, renew my driver's license and get groceries, we finished up by walking to Marshy's for our usual Friday after work rendezvous.

Marshy's has a weekly draw of something hockey related and on Friday, I was the lucky recipient of a genuine NHL Senators jersey! My ticket happened to be drawn by a cutie with the lovely name of Skye so I got Peter to take our picture together.

Here is Brad after awarding me the jersey. Yes I am short but man, is he tall! Now I have no excuse and will have to go cheer on the Sens at a game - at the pub.

On Saturday we went to breakfast with friends and then, after doing laundry and such, we drove to Carleton Place to view a photographic art exhibit. Someone Peter knows was one of the exhibitors so it was a nice excuse to drive out of town and do something different. When we got to the tiny, owner-occupied gallery, we were greeted by a 5 year old Golden Retriever named Finnigan, who completely charmed me as much as he shed hair on me.

Today, the sun was appreciably warmer. Even with a high haze, you could feel the warmth of the sun getting stronger as we approach the Equinox. My cyclist spirit soars like an eagle. That's because it's not getting on the bike until March.

I've noticed for some time now that the construction on Centrepointe is finally more than just a hole in the ground, so I took a picture of the foundations.

It was a beautiful day for a skate. When I walked by the other side of city hall at 11 am, I saw this fellow heading over to the rink. I only saw one person on the rink but I bet it's crowded now.

I see I am not the only one to "rescue" lost woolies and put them where they might be spotted by the owner. This was a headband that had fallen out of someone's pocket or pack.

As I walked down the bike path, I heard a faint noise and stopped to listen. It sounded like a rodent chewing and sure enough, when I started looking at the ground, I saw a vole, busy with the bark at the base of a cedar bush. I watched him as I sneaked closer and took out my camera. His little tail made it apparent that he was a vole and not a mouse. Just as I got the camera ready, he whisked back into his snow tunnel! Rats! Voles! I had missed the opportunity. Just then, he poked his head out to assess the danger and I snapped this picture - no better than the poor one I took on January 6. Then he disappeared completely and did not show himself again while I stood there. So you'll have to click on the photo and then view it large to be able to believe me.

January 24, 2008

2008-01-24T09:18:00.000-08:00

I guess it is the January doldrums. Nothing new happening, weather cold, more snow. I go to work, go to the gym and hang out at home. I am thankfully not depressed and not even blue. But the days pass and I don't even see rodent tunnels so there is not much to blog about, 'hood-wise.

Yesterday I came home and spotted four bold crows in the road. I suppose that is redundant, to call them "bold crows".

They looked like they were picking at garbage on the ground but then I got up to where they were, I only saw a flyer flattened on the ground and no food. So I don't know what they were doing.

One flew up into a tree as I approached and the others finally flew off toward the park as I got within a few feet of them.

Today I was sitting at my computer and I heard a noise outside. When I went to look, I didn't see anything and no fresh tracks in the snow either. But something caught my eye, in the tree on the other side of the fence. I got the binoculars which are much more powerful than my little zoom lens on the camera and I could see the object clearly. It looked like a ball of yarn almost but on closer examination, I could see it was a ball of small twigs and shredded leaves, sort of like a tiny squirrel's nest in its materials. But it was so nicely round and looked dense that I knew it couldn't be even a bird's nest. I don't remember seeing anything in the tree recently, so it has appeared in the last couple of days and therefore can't be a nest of some kind. Now I'll have to keep an eye on it and see what happens. Short of climbing the tree, I don't know how I could examine it more closely.

January 16, 2008

2008-01-16T12:48:00.000-08:00

I saw marks on the snow the other day but didn't have the camera with me. Then I saw more of them today and got some pix. Can you guess what this is?

How about from this angle? Don't forget, you can click on the photo and make it larger at Flickr.

They are tunnels made by rodents! The extended mark in the upper part of the second picture is the roof of a tunnel made by the creature who popped out of the snow and went back under a foot later. It is risky being out on top of the snow - birds can pick off little voles who linger too long.

I'm not quite sure how the vole got from the obvious hole on the right to the tracks beside it, unless he was jet-propelled and flew through the air a little.

I'm not really sure in what direction this vole was travelling. Does he drag through the snow as he leaps forward or as he lands?

I think those are dog tracks going through the middle. On the right is the roof of a tunnel. And tracking through it are the distinct prints of some bold rodent who managed to not drag through the snow at all. Did he have long legs? Fun stuff.

January 12, 2008

2008-01-12T11:07:00.000-08:00

The sun is still warm enough to melt some things, like thin snow on top of dark pavement, but winter has returned.

The internal path had been plowed around Centrepointe Park but it wasn't scraped enough to prevent the freezing of slush into ice and so walking is dicey on some parts of the path. You have to tiptoe around the edges of the path where there is crunchy snow which creates traction. I didn't walk back through the park. But it was very nice to see the sun (it has been so grey lately) even if it does come with colder temperatures.

The main paths with the yellow painted stripe down the centre (what I call the NCC paths) are bare and dry except for this one persistently flooded spot behind the bus station. I think the only way to fix it is to dig it all up, raise the height of the path and then re-pave it. Putting some drainage tiles leading away from the path under the grass would be good too.

January 11, 2008

2008-01-11T10:49:00.000-08:00

This blog tends to be more about the weather than anything else, but weather is a big thing up here, I guess.
That wind we had two days ago really was fierce and blew parts of houses off and trees down. We didn't have any damage here in the hood thank goodness. And now Winter is back, even if it's not that cold. We had had a little snow over night and then freezing rain in the morning, followed by plain rain. It's above freezing now so we won't have the horrible results of the Ice Storm of 1998 following up today.
On my way home, I saw several bunny tracks but couldn't find a clear enough imprint for a photo. Then, right in front of my own garage door, I found this set in a track that went all around the house and into the back yard.

You can tell by the toenails that this bunny was hopping from right to left. His front feet are in the "back" - they are the pair set close together. He plants his front feet and then swings the hind feet forward and that's why the hind feet prints (they are wider apart) are in front of the front feet.

January 9, 2008

2008-01-09T12:15:00.000-08:00

We've been having quite the thaw for the last few days. Here's what the circle in front of Nepean city hall looked like on December 17:

And here's what it looked like today:

You can see the bushes now.

For the last few days, we have had thick fog, as the air temperature has soared to 10 C or above (50 F). It is spookily quiet, especially early in the morning. This photo doesn't do it justice but my batteries died the day before when it was thicker.

Today I took notice of how much snow had disappeared off the "bunny hillside".

But there was plenty of evidence that new bunnies were busy (look at the centre of the photo). Today the wind was ferocious. If there had been ice on the ground, I wouldn't have been able to make any headway at all. The weather folks say it is gusting to 60 kph (38 mph) but I think it is even stronger than that.

January 6, 2008

2008-01-06T11:56:00.000-08:00

We are having a January thaw. It looks to last several days but I am sure it won't make much of a dent in all that snow we have had. The temperature was slightly above freezing yesterday and currently stands at 4C (39F). Monday it is supposed to be 10C (50F). That's jean jacket weather!

Mostly what a January thaw does is make things mucky for walking, although thankfully not life-threatening.

Unless you fall down and drown in this enormous puddle. I was happy to see that when I walked by it two hours later on the way home, the drain had been opened and it had (mostly) drained. It was about ankle deep prior to that.

This tiny mitten was there yesterday and since it was still there today, I took its picture. Someone had placed it on the top of the snow bank, to wait for its owner (or owner's parent) to return. I often wonder what the story was, when I pass these little vignettes. Did the child cry later when its hand got cold? Did the parent only notice when they got home? Do they walk here every day and so will they retrieve the mitt?

On the bike path behind the transit station, I noticed a tiny movement and as I focussed in on it, I saw it was a vole out eating some grass that had been exposed by the snow plow. As I hurried toward him taking out my camera, he scampered into a hole in the snow bank.

I drew up beside the hole and as I peered in, I realized he was still there at the entrance, holding his breath and waiting for me to go away. I snapped a photo and then stepped closer to take another and he vanished. It would have been better with a flash but you can't have everything.

January 5, 2008

2008-01-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

I hadn't had a really good chance until today, to take pictures of folks skating on the reflecting pond at the old Nepean City Hall.

There were quite a few people skating when I saw them from across the street, after I came through the park.

A little later on my way home, I spotted the Zamboni trundling down the bike path toward the rink. They keep it in a large garage with other things like lawn mowers and snow blowers behind the city hall and I think it's great that they have a real Zamboni to clean the ice here.

Here, the Zamboni has turned off the main bike path and is waiting near the rink. It was hooked up to something - maybe electricity to charge the battery?

I think the kid in the foreground was waving at his family but it looked for a moment like he was waving at me.

I had put my camera way but when I spotted this little girl lying on the snowbank, I had to capture the moment.

She was just taking a breather but in a minute, she sat up and was good to go skating again. Pretty cute.

I happened to notice, as I walked by the parking lot at the old Nortel building, that it was chock full of snuds. I don't ever recall seeing an empty lot with so many snuds all scattered around. You might want to click on the photo to see it larger and even then, it doesn't capture what I saw with my own eyes - photos rarely do. I had heard them called snuds for years and remember hearing someone call them that on CBC radio, before I knew they had a name. I looked them up at dictionary dot com and the word isn't in there. However it is at Wikipedia (the link is above) and if you scroll way down, it says it is a colloquial term. But even they don't define them properly as the snow and mud that accumulates in the wheel well and on the mud flap. Snuds are what you take pleasure in kicking off your car when it's in the parking lot, as these people obviously had done.

Finally, I noticed how high the snow had been pushed up against this tree in the 'hood. It is way over my head and even if I am short, it is still a lot of snow!

January 1, 2008

2008-01-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

The snow was blowing and the weather website said the wind was gusting to 45 kph (28 mph), so we took a turn around the park today. It had been snowing for hours before we got there and no plows had been out so the path was drifted in solidly on many spots.

There was no one at the little playground when we went by. That is the knife edge of a large drift on the right, leading into the middle of the photograph.

The swings are still above the snow but I don't know if someone has been shoveling under them. They weren't there today, in any event.

The wind was whipping across from the right and had blown needles off the pine. I waited for a gust to make it look windier but had to move on to keep warm.

I got snow down my boots, trying to wade through the drifts, in spite of the boots being knee-high. We saw a couple of cross country skiers and a lone woman struggling but determined to go for a walk, as were we.

This was the turning point, where we went forward instead of retracing our steps. We headed into the wind here and as soon as I tried to capture these snow drifts, the camera refused to work. It turns out the batteries had given up but at the time, I thought it was the camera. It was quite a struggle with the wind but mostly trying to walk through knee high drifts. At a few points, we tried walking on the snow banks that had been windswept clear of new snow but they crumbled underfoot and we were back up to our knees again. I'm glad we went but I'm glad to be back inside too.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

I took these pix back on the 30th and here it is, the new year already and no new pix! It is so nice that the interior path in the park is being clearing this year. But the back of this bench poking out of a snowbank shows how much they have had to work at it. I don't know why the picture is crooked - I don't think I was standing with my right leg in a hole.

I spotted this squirrel keeping an eye on things in the copse of trees by the old Nortel buildings.

I wonder if they are digging through the snow to find the nuts they buried in the summer? I haven't seen any evidence of tunneling and it would probably take them all day. To add insult to injury, we are currently getting even more snow. I know we can always look out the window, but I like some web cams for giving me a view of other parts of the city too. At any given moment, you can see what is happening up on Parliament Hill. And for comparison, the spider cam points south.

December 28, 2007

2007-12-28T10:12:00.000-08:00

What I saw today was bunny tracks.

A few years ago, I saw a rabbit most days when I walked by the Centrepointe Theatre. He seemed to hang out on the hillside (very steep but not deep) that ran down to the driveway access to the theatre basement. I saw evidence of him in the early winter but then nothing until one day in the Spring, I saw his little body as the snow melted under one of the trees beside the building. It was very sad.

Today, I noticed bunny tracks for the first time in the years since his demise. There is some cover on this hillside - some sturdy evergreens. But it doesn't look like there are many resources and I am not sure where the rabbit would have its home. In this third photo, the dark grey at the top of the photo is the driveway at the bottom of the steep slope.

I'm pleased that the bike path behind the Baseline transit station is being kept clear. Now I can walk in relative quiet and saltlessness, instead of trekking through the station itself.

I also noticed the fir trees covered in picturesque snow forming a wind break at the edge of the giant parking lot that once belonged to Nortel but now belongs to the City. They looked so classic that I snapped their picture, even if the picture itself is not great. And it was a grey and dull day today but for all that, nice and mild. I'll take this over 30 below any day.

December 27, 2007

2007-12-27T13:54:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! I have had the pleasure of family visiting but now they have gone home and I have been looking for something to blog about. We are currently getting yet more snow but I didn't take the camera with me when I ran out to the store today.

I checked what pix were on the camera and the only one for this blog was from yesterday, showing they have finally removed the giant snowbanks from the main road. It makes it so much easier to get around, without having to scale small mountains. I'll have to take the camera with me when I head to the gym tomorrow and see what there is to see then.

December 18, 2007

2007-12-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

The paper today said we set a new record for the most snow on one day in December, 37 cm (14 inches). We also have a record amount of snow on the ground, 75 cm (29 inches). But I haven't seen any signs of snow blowers removing snow yet. So far, the snow has just been pushed around.

At least today there is a way off the shopping mall premises and onto the street, even if you do have to walk around a little to get back on the crosswalk.

People will make a path if they always walk somewhere and this is no exception. Apparently, I rejoiced too early that they had shoveled the path between our subdivision and the next one. Now it has been blocked at our end by a wall of snow. But people have still managed to trample a narrow path and have got around the wall of snow by snaking in at the mail box where the snow has been shoveled away.

Here's how it looks from the other end.

Here is the street sign, holding its own against the pile of snow.

Thank goodness we engineer our roofs for snow load.

And here is that car! I thought it was a goner until Spring but I saw today that someone had shoveled it out.

December 17, 2007

2007-12-17T11:32:00.001-08:00

I don't remember seeing that much snow all at once since the 70s.

This one was taken from the upstairs window (note the snow building up on the sill) in the early afternoon of the 16th. Note the car nearest the tree. They haven't driven it since the snow came, so it has a head start being buried.

This is the same car, about 6 hours later. All you can see now is the side mirror.

We went for a walk around 7pm and took several hand-held photos. The plow had been around once, to clear the streets, but nothing had been done about driveways or anything else. The bump sign warns of a speed bump but it's buried under the ton of snow.

That's your normal height street sign.

Sorry this is blurry but that's what happens with no flash. But it looks nicer than the flash. When you have a dog, you have to get out!

I am reminded of the old saying about snow on the roof.

The next day, there were no sidewalks, except where private plows had been at work. I had to walk on the street to get to the point where I could cross to a cleared sidewalk.

I've taken several photos of this tree in front of the old Nepean City Hall. The snow around it has not been piled there - that is just buildup from falling snow.

The big problem is where to put all that snow. You really have to chew it up with a snow blower, spit it into a truck and take it away to the snow dump. Here, it has been piled at one end of a very large parking lot.

This is the northeast corner of Woodroffe and Navaho and it is owned (up to the public road allowance) by the shopping centre. The centre's plows have been out and done a good job of clearing snow - up to the point where the land turns public. You can get almost all the way up to the road and then there is a three foot snowbank blocking your way. There was a "path" formed by a few foot prints in the bank so if you put your feet in the holes left by the intrepid first person, you could cross the street. But you couldn't push the walk signal buttons on the east side of Woodroffe and if you don't push them, you don't get the walk signal. So you have to take your life in your hands and run across when cars are making the left turn. Good grief.

December 13, 2007

2007-12-13T07:17:00.000-08:00

The snow clearing happened yesterday. Unfortunately, I think we are to get more snow today.

Some paths were cleared early in the day but by the afternoon, they had drifted in with blowing snow. The wind was quite stiff yesterday and even though the temperature started mildly at about minus 3C, it slid during the day and ended up at minus 16 this morning (3F). Currently (at 10am) it is still -16C but the windchill makes it feel like -24 (-8F). Hmm, doesn't sound as cold in Fahrenheit.

The wind continues to sculpt the snow on the roofs. I called the condo corp about getting that overhang knocked off before it falls on someone's head. It's only because it is right above someone's doorstep.

Then later in the day, the machines were out clearing snow in the immediate neighbourhood. I went to see what they were doing when I noticed them all stopped at the end of my driveway. I saw someone with a gas can but that's when I noticed they had broken off the entire branch of the tree in front of our house, the one that had the squirrel's nest on it. I am sure there were no squirrels in the nest, but it bothered me to see that the whole branch had gone.

Part of it was in the driveway but the bulk of it had been shoveled off to the side and was sticking out of the main pile of snow. I know accidents happen but it's a little annoying.

December 12, 2007

2007-12-12T06:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we got more snow. The weather guys say it was about 11 cm which is about 4 inches. Seems about right although it feels like more when you are shoveling it. But it was nice and light and fluffy, so for that we are grateful.

Peter went around upstairs and took pictures out the windows at about 10 pm last night. The snow was still falling and it looked like a winter wonderland. All the shots are hand-held with no flash, taken through the glass.

If we want to continue barbequing, we (meaning Peter) will have to shovel again.

I took this one this morning, just before I shoved the snow out to the road so it can get plowed away. The plow guys will drag the snow out of the driveway but I like the little bit of work shoveling it and I also get neater edges doing it my way.

December 11, 2007

2007-12-11T13:40:00.000-08:00

It's snowing now but it was just threatening to do so when we took a walk in the park. Peter took the following photos and you will notice some of them are much better than my usual, which is why I'm giving him the credit up front.

They have just paved the roads at the construction site! I don't think they have foundations in but there is asphalt down on the roads. I wonder if it is to make plowing snow over the winter months easier? I would think that the heavy machinery will tear it all up by the time construction is finished but I also guess they know what they are doing.

The burbling fountain at the entrance to the Centrepointe Park has been shut off for the winter (obvi!).

Here's the sun, trying to shine through the clouds and not being very successful.

On the other side of the street, by city hall, the ice is being put in at the outdoor rink. This is normally a reflecting pond (not very deep) and they take most of the water out and then make proper ice with a Zamboni. It still looks very rough so I think they have more flooding and scraping to do.

I didn't hear exactly what they were saying but I assume they are going to be working on the ice. The hose is out and ready to go. And I found it interesting that two of the people were wearing hockey helmets. I don't think I've noticed that before but it makes sense to wear a helmet if you are going to be working on ice.

These small trees (or are they bushes) have all their seed pods still hanging on them.

And these too.

Not sure what kind of tree this is but the berries make a nice colourful touch to the winter scenery.

Finally, look at all those bunny tracks! I am not sure how many bunnies made them but they are everywhere. I can only hope they have a nice warm place to spend the night, somewhere I suppose, under all those trees.

December 7, 2007

2007-12-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

Last night on his walk home, Peter noticed some nice lights right in the immediate 'hood and went back out to take a snap after I brought him the camera. I have a giant bucket of lights in the basement and haven't deployed them since we lived in the country. One day.

On the way down Centrepointe this morning, I thought I would try to give an idea of how tall the snow banks are. I stood right next to one and placed my hand on top of it, without bending over to that side. Granted, I am only 5'2" but I would say my old Labrador would have had a hard time seeing over them!

The photo doesn't look like much but the sky is really dark in the north, past the hedge. It was about 8:30 on the morning when I took this one, and it was snowing when I headed home at about 11 am.

Here's the bike path on the way home. If you look really closely, you can see the snow against the buildings. You can always click on the photo and it will take you to Flickr where you can make the photo larger. It looks like a plow has gone by on the left (or south) side of the path and hasn't returned to clean the bit of drifting snow that is starting to accumulate on the right side. I am not sure why the snow is interspersed with spots of bare pavement, however.

This is what an excess of road salt looks like. This is over at the old Nepean City Hall and the salt has been this way for several days now. I had a comment yesterday about too much salt and this has been one of my constant gripes over many years. However, I am not sure if complaining to city hall (or whoever) would do much good. I fear we would get a response that said something about better too much so people don't fall down, sort of thing. And the amount of salt is not consistent so I think it depends on who is putting it down and how they were instructed, etc. I do remember the days when I had a dog and the poor thing would end up holding one paw in the air and then she would have to stand still so she could hold two paws in the air, because the salt stung her feet. Maybe a petition is in order?

Finally, this garbage thing has always been an issue with the condo and probably always will be, I don't have photos but this morning on my way out, I noticed one particular blue box piled very high and precariously with plastic items. They were a foot above the rim of the blue box and I had a feeling that the garbage collectors might not be too careful when they picked up that box. Sure enough, on the way home I saw that all the garbage had been picked up but that beside the overturned blue box were many yogurt containers, a jar, a plastic bottle, and some other things - all of which had been perched on top of the other contents of the blue box. I have learned that it is not in the garbage collector's job description to pick up stuff that falls out of the bag, or in this case, off the top of the recycling box. It is up to the homeowner and garbage-putter-outer to make sure the garbage is contained and in such a format that the garbage collector just has to grab it and toss it in the truck. So let's be careful out there people.

December 6, 2007

2007-12-06T13:18:00.000-08:00

We're getting there with the clearing of snow for pedestrians. But we still need the snow blowers to come along and chew it up and spit it into trucks.

For some reason, this one little stretch of sidewalk in front of a building for handicapped folks was not cleared. The main exit to the handicapped busses is cleared (that's where I'm standing) but not the sidewalk leading over to the marked crosswalk.

Up at the crosswalk itself, the banks have been completely cleared away so you can cross the street where the lights are. I snapped this photo when I did to catch the cyclist braving his way down Centrepointe.

Finally, the walk signal has meaning!

Out behind our house, it is apparent that we won't be needing the air conditioner for a while. The pot perched on top of it normally holds a candle in the summer, and hides among the leaves of whatever herbs I'm growing in the garden.

In spite of not needing the air conditioner, Peter is still out there, bravely barbequing for his summer-starved wife.

December 4, 2007

2007-12-04T13:32:00.000-08:00

A little more snow overnight and then we got wind and now we have drifts.
The weather people on the internet say we got "21.2 mm" of precipitation, which I believe should be 21 cm of snow. That's 8.3 inches for non-metric types. Seems like more.

Don't try to get across the street at this crosswalk - not only can you not walk on the sidewalk because of the drift, and can you not reach the button for the walk signal, you couldn't make it over the snow bank to get onto the street.

And even if you made it over that snow bank, you'd be faced with this one on the other side. Thank goodness there are the all-important cars that get things plowed for them first, so you can use the driveways and entrances into malls.

At the short-cut through Plunkett, the snow has been piled high and blocks a paved path.

People have trampled a narrow path around the snow piles but I may start walking out another way.

Fortunately, the main link between Castlebrook and Plunkett has been plowed this year, for the first time in years. It's sort of no-man's-land but someone has got the message that people use it and now it has been plowed. Thanks!

I thought this little snow drift was perfectly shaped, except it must make it difficult for the resident dog to get out!

December 3, 2007

2007-12-03T12:13:00.001-08:00

Not many adventures today, although it snowed a lot and is still snowing. I walk to work so it's not a big deal when it snows - no spinning my wheels in the driveway. However, the plows had been out by the time I was walking at 7:30 and they had shoved all the snow from the road to the edges of the sidewalks. This meant there was a very large (and dense) snow bank to clamber over if you wanted to cross the street. Which I did at several points. I wore my knee-high boots and I still got snow down one.

As usual, whoever they have plowing around the old Nepean City Hall is extremely efficient and I was able to walk by that building complex without an effort.

By 9:30 I was making my way over to the GoodLife gym at the Loblaws and the parking lot was still in the process of being plowed - I think it was a continuous kind of job today. They have to shove all that snow somewhere and then come get it later and take it away in trucks to the big city snow dump.

Here's another giant pile of snow over behind the Marshy's. And it's not done yet. Here's the website I use for constant monitoring of the weather. You can get to the radar and satellite and everything there. So far, they say we had 5mm of "precipitation" yesterday. The website goes on to explain:

Q.
What does Yesterday's Precipitation Total mean? Does it include snowfall?
A.
"Yesterday's Total Precipitation", in the table on the "5 day weather page", is a total of all the types of precipitation that may have fallen on the previous day including: rain, drizzle, freezing drizzle, freezing rain, hail and snow.
The unit used to express "Yesterday's Total Precipitation" is millimetres. Therefore any snow that has fallen is melted and this amount of liquid water is recorded in millimetres and added to any other amounts from other forms of precipitation (i.e. rain). Even if snow was the only type of precipitation to fall on the previous day, the snow is melted and the water equivalent is reported in millimetres.

and...

In many snow events a ratio of 10 to 1 can be applied to the amount of snow to determine its water equivalent. In other words, 1 centimetre of snow is equivalent to about 1 millimetre of water once the snow is melted. This means that in many snowfall situations (on days when only snow fell), you can simply change the units from millimetres to centimetres on the "Yesterday's Precip. Total" on a specific location's weather page to get a reasonably good idea of how much snow fell.

So we had 5 cm of snow "yesterday". I'll have to check tomorrow, to see what we had today!

November 29, 2007

2007-11-29T09:46:00.000-08:00

Today was so mild that the ducks were back!

And I had my camera so I got these pix. Not great wild life shots, I will admit. But they are representative and I got to stand there and watch the ducks doing whatever it is that they were doing.

Mrs. Mallard had wandered off for the second shot but the male kept squishing the dirt and water and grass. I didn't capture his beak buried in the water and grass but it's close. I think he might have been swallowing here. :)

Then as I was approaching home and still had my camera out, I saw these perfect little footprints in the snow. I am always surprised by how big squirrels' feet are. And you can see the tiny toenail imprints and everything.

November 28, 2007

2007-11-28T04:31:00.000-08:00

It is minus 14 C out there this morning and I don't think I'll see what I saw yesterday along the bike path, as I was out without my camera. I was walking along and I heard this noise. It was a repetitive noise, not very loud and kind of low. Low in pitch and low in where it was coming from. It wasn't mechanical, although it repeated very quickly - sh-sh-sh-sh. I started scanning around to see what might be causing it and that's when I spotted the married pair of Mallards by the side of the path. They were standing in (for them) ankle deep water and they had their necks stretched out with their beaks as parallel to the ground as they could get them. And they were eating the grass under the bit of water. They'd grab the grass and squish it through their beaks and do this so rapidly that it made that noise I heard. They were so absorbed in what they were doing that they didn't even look up at me as I stopped and stood not two feet from them to watch them. And they were still there three hours later when I walked back the other way.

November 26, 2007

2007-11-26T13:10:00.000-08:00

We rented a car for the weekend and so we drove everywhere from Friday to this morning and that really puts a crimp in walking leisurely around the 'hood, I must say.

After the snows of last week, it is mild today and we are finally getting the patio furniture into the garage for the winter. I suppose it should have been done before now but I think we were hoping for one more day, warm enough to sit out, even if we had to wear coats. Now, we can always get out the folding lawn chairs, I suppose.

Today, I mostly took pix of the bike and foot paths. For years, I have bemoaned the fact that some of these paths are not plowed during the winter, even when there is plenty of evidence that people use them. When especially snippy, I would gripe that you just don't rate unless you have four wheels and an engine.

This morning, as I went over to the college early, I took this photo of the bike path as it bends behind the transit station. Sure enough, there were plenty of footprints but it hadn't been plowed.

Imagine my pleasant surprise to discover, later in the day, that the path had been plowed! This picture was taken looking north, The transit station is on my right and this is the path that goes behind it. I didn't explore to see how far north they had plowed but it looked like it continued on under Baseline at least. They didn't plow the part that curves to link up with the main east-west path, that part I took a photo of this morning, but you could go straight and then make a hard right turn if you were on a bike.

I decided to walk into Centrepointe Park on my way home, to see what was happening there since I hadn't been out on the weekend. I noticed as I got to Centrepointe Drive itself that the centre bollards keeping vehicular traffic off the bike paths had been removed to allow the plows in.

I pushed the signal to stop traffic so I could cross the street and as usual, cars went through on the red light. I guess they think that you can't get out on the road that fast and they have time to sneak through as the light turns red. This woman came barreling in pretty fast and then did stop, but only after she was halfway across the "stop line". I had my camera out to take the previous photo of the missing bollard so I turned around and snapped one of her. I have a theory that it's the speed that makes people even more impatient and warps their judgment.

As I headed toward the park I was surprised to see evidence of plowing. In my more than ten years here, I don't think I have ever seen the park paths plowed, even though a lot of people walk out of the subdivisions behind the park to access the bike path to get to the transit station.

I noticed that some folks had been ready with their cross country skis and had been out enjoying the fresh snow.

And then I saw that the whole of the internal pedestrian path around the park has been plowed! Not very well in spots and there was ice to stumble over, but it's a start. I am happy to see this because I think it encourages people to get out and walk even in the winter and that's a good thing for everybody.

At this point, the person driving the plow got off the path and caught a huge chunk of sod and curled it up like a wave.

Finally, I noticed that someone had been out rolling snow to make a snowman. Given the right conditions next time (the snow has to be the right kind of sticky, for those of you reading who don't live above the 40th parallel), I think I may have to go do that too. It has been years since I made a snowman.

November 22, 2007 "First snow"

2007-11-22T11:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the first day we had snow this season, but I didn't get the photos up until today. And then there was more snow.

Yesterday was slightly warmer and we had less snow than today. The skateboard park was quiet and empty. The slopes aren't long enough the attract people with sleds.

When I walked by the split in the bike path in the morning, nothing had been shovelled and there was evidence that at least one person had braved the conditions on his bicycle.

Later in the day however, both sections of the path had been plowed. This seems unusual to me because I don't remember ever having seen the branch of the path that heads toward the river cleared of snow in the past. I wonder if there was a new snow clearing person and they just wandered off down the path without knowing it wasn't part of their job?

Later, when I got to the corner of Woodroffe and Navaho, I saw the usual mess that has prompted me to buy waterproof boots. There are street plows and sidewalk plows and they don't seem to coordinate with each other, so snow piles up on the corners, right where pedestrians need to cross the street. Then when it is mild, a giant deep puddle forms because the snow is blocking the drains.

In addition, as I pointed out earlier, the poles that have the buttons on them to push so you get the "walk" signal, are surrounded by dirt which turns into mud and here is evidence of that.

Even though it was mild, the maintenance folks at OC Transpo had been out distributing more salt than you can imagine. I know they don't want to have people fall but this is ridiculous. And couldn't they use sand, as it is far less corrosive than the salt? When I had a dog, I couldn't walk the poor thing anywhere near the bus stop because the salt would hurt the pads of its feet.

When I left the house this morning, I saw bunny tracks on the driveway in the fresh snow. This is common all winter long but I always find it a pleasant sight. Still, I worry about where these bunnies spend their winter.

I walked by that abandoned chair, making a mental note to remember later when it disappears (finally).

Then I passed this flurry of footprints in the parking lot. It seems to be a combination of pigeon and rabbit tracks and they organize around some sort of food that left crumbs.

It was good and windy and still snowing when I walked home, and I wondered if the conditions met the criteria for a blizzard. They didn't. I looked "blizzard" up first at dictionary dot com and it said a blizzard has to have sustained winds of at least 56 kph and visibility has to be reduced to less than 400 metres. The Wikipedia article (at the link above) says the winds have to be 40 kph, visibility has to be less than a kilometre and this has to last for at least 4 hours. In any event, I don't think this will rate as a blizzard.

November 20, 2007, afternoon

2007-11-20T12:39:00.000-08:00

Today was a bird day.

When I rounded the corner of the utility building beside the skateboard park, there were all these ducks, sitting or standing near the puddles that had formed overnight from the rain. Many had their heads tucked under their wings.

But when you got a little closer, you could see that they still had one eye open.
The drake on the right with his beak open was quacking but not very loudly. It looks more animated than it was. They were pretty calm, these ducks, even if it was midmorning and people were walking by.

This is the long view, which shows them all in context, with the bike path, parking and garbage near by. A busy spot but when you need a nap, you just have to take one.

When I got over to the Loblaws, I noticed a flock of pigeons had decided to catch a few rays up near the peak of the roof.

I wonder how comfortable it is, hanging onto roofing tiles with one's toenails? Maybe if you only weigh a few bird ounces, it isn't such a big deal.

November 20, 2007

2007-11-20T06:09:00.000-08:00

Back on November 5, I noted a pile of cardboard over at Plunkett and wondered how long it would be there. It did stay for several days, but then one day, it was gone.

Now, in the same location, it has been replaced with an upholstered chair. The chair actually looked pretty good and its four wooden feet were sitting on the seat cushion. After last night's rain however, I am not sure what condition it wil be in.

Yesterday, I thought I would follow up another earlier post by showing the paving that has been completed on Centrepointe. I didn't examine it up close so time will tell how bad it might get over the winter.

I thought I'd take another shot of the construction site itself. They hauled away one of the big high hoes but there is still one working in the site. But there are many survey marks now and the crushed stone has been deployed so I think it is time for the foundations. As I was taking the photo, I noticed a small flock of geese coming in for a landing, and as I zoomed in on them, I saw the small garbage pick-up truck, trundling around the park. The garbage does get picked up nicely in the park but you rarely see them at work, doing it.

When I got home, I saw someone had been hired to not only clean out the gutters but fix them as well. Good work!

Finally, this morning, I looked out the back window and noticed something white at the exit of a downspout. When I went to look, I saw that it was snow! There wasn't snow anywhere else and it is above zero, but there it was, nevertheless. I am guessing that precipitation overnight congealed at the base of the downspout. But usually, it would come in the form of ice, not snow, so it is still a bit of a mystery.

November 17, 2007

2007-11-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

I forgot I took these pix on Thursday.

They are preparing the gardens at the old city hall for winter.

I think those are irises beneath the snow fencing. They have some lovely very dark purple irises that I enjoy every time I walk by in the early summer.

We took a turn around the park this afternoon and it was a real pleasure to walk into the park and see a bright kite flying.

It was a windy day and pretty cold - about 3C. The kite was initially tethered to the children's play structure at the edge of the park but later, we watched the kite flyer walking across the park with kite in tow.

It always looks better the real life but I snapped this photo anyway, when an airplane crossed the sky right where the kite was.

The geese were out in force today. You'd think they'd be seriously packing their bags to head south.

Instead, they were swimming in line in the pond (I think that is a dog collar on the post),

pooping everywhere - look at those poop logs!

and walking in several different directions at once. One group finds something interesting over the hill and another group heads for the pond. All with deliberation.

We noticed that a section of the metal chain link fence was missing over at the construction site and some orange plastic fencing has been put in its place. You always wonder if someone stole the fence or what happened to it.

November 15, 2007

2007-11-15T17:27:00.000-08:00

Just a few pix from other days. I haven't had the opportunity to use them yet and so saved them for days like today when I had nothing.

Two days ago, they paved the road in front of the construction site. I guess they have finished hooking up the sewer and water lines and whatever else runs under to road and now they are paving the hole.

For a couple of years now, the condo corporation has been gradually replacing all the windows in all the units. It's a good maintenance thing and the units are more than 20 years old (I think they are closer to 25) so it's money well spent. We got our windows last year and I have noticed a difference in drafts.

Over at the old Nepean city hall, they have drained the reflecting pond in preparation for turning it into a skating rink. They even have a real Zamboni to clean the ice!

November 13, 2007

2007-11-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

Last night was the Annual General Meeting for the condo corporation. I had decided that it was time I volunteered to serve on the board, on the basis that being on the board is one of the obligations of ownership and so I put my name on the list for the election that night. At the meeting, I got up and said why I was running for the board and in addition to the "obligations of ownership" line (scintillating I am sure!) I also said that I liked the community that was our condominium association and how I thought I could contribute to it if I was elected.

As it turned out, I was elected and so I'd like to thank all those people who voted for me and who said even before the meeting that they'd like to have me on the board. I hope that for the next two years I will be able to maintain the good works done by previous directors and that maybe I will be able to think of ways to save our association money here and there and make things even a little bit better.

I have been musing about an article I saw in the Citizen of November 3, 2007, where it was reported that condo owners were looking to reduce property taxes because they were already paying for things like snow removal through their condo fees. I'll see if the board has already been looking into this at our first meeting next week, before I go off and reinvent the wheel.

Suggestions were also heard about having a sort of Welcome Wagon for new members and improving communications. The new condo website was unveiled, which I think is an excellent means of getting information out to many members of the association. Of course, there are some folks who do not have computers and who do not access the internet so we still have to think of them. And being welcomed to a new neighbourhood should really come in the form of a personal touch. But this is said with the mindfulness that all work done by not just the board members but everyone else in the community is voluntary and so people should only be doing what they have the means, especially in time, to do.

Another topic of interest at the meeting was the hedge that divides our property from the new construction site next door. This hedge is as old as the subdivision which is to say, about 25 years old. It has grown very tall and apparently, it was supposed to be trimmed fiercely over the last few years to bring it down to a manageable size. On my way home today, I noticed for the first time what a state it was in and took this picture. The shorter hedge belongs to the community at Plunkett Court and ours is the raggedy hedge looming beyond it. I have a feeling that some time in the not-too-distant future, the whole thing may need to be ripped out and replanted. Nothing lasts forever, especially not living things and all that construction right beside this part of the hedge may not be doing it any favours also. It will be a wrench for the people whose property backs on to the hedge, to lose that privacy for a while. But my own property backs on to a chain link fence and we can see right in to the yards of the people who live opposite and yet we manage.

Lest We Forget

2007-11-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

November 9, 2007

2007-11-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

Preparations for Winter are proceeding apace. Unfortunately, some of them are inconvenient, at least to me.

They have removed the bike rack from the south entrance of the Loblaws. Initially, I thought it was to make room for the outdoor Christmas stuff, but there is still room for a bike rack. I guess it has something to do with snow shovelling. I don't ride my bike in the snow, although some people do. But it hasn't snowed yet!

For now, I will park at the LCBO, as they still have a little rack there.

As far as the geese go, they are still eating grass in the park! I think they had better get going soon or there will be no room in Florida for them.

And the construction site is busier than ever, lots of machinery, big holes, piles of dirt and gravel. It will be interesting to see what work they do after the ground freezes solid and the snow flies.

November 7, 2007

2007-11-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

I see that this blog is soon going to have to turn to more writing and fewer pictures.

On the way to work, I noticed that almost all the leaves have fallen from the oak tree in front of the old Nepean city hall. There is a real chill in the air AND a wind chill. But nothing else to blog about. Until Peter sent me a photo that he'd taken in another neighbourhood today.

There are good reasons to be happy that we live in the neighbourhood that we do. We have a nice community here and I have never seen anything like the above photo happen near here.

November 6, 2007

2007-11-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

Not much of a blog entry today. Didn't see anything walking to or from school.

But when I got home, I saw that the yard people were still busy clearing away the leaves. They must have taken a powerful blower to my front step because everything including the door panels was covered in dirt and dirt was resting on the leaves of my geraniums along with more leaves. I wonder what it would have sounded like if I'd been home at the time?

This doesn't look like much but it represents about an hour's work, planting bulbs and then stretching mesh across the bed to keep the squirrels out. I like squirrels but they can go get their own dinner.

I had more bulbs that I could fit in the one side garden so I stuck the leftovers in the other side. I trampled the dirt down but expect to see evidence that squirrels have discovered the bulbs here later. I decided to do bulbs only in the one side garden this year so that I could get annuals planted in the other side before the bulbs were finished in the Spring.

November 5, 2007

2007-11-05T11:00:00.000-08:00

On my walk this morning, I wondered what I might find to blog about and although I noted a pile of trash, I didn't take its picture right away thinking, there has to be something better than this! Then when I got to the Centrepointe Theatre, I noticed two highway coaches idling by the theatre entrance, together with a catering truck in front of them.

On my second pass some hours later, I noticed an 18 wheeler in the loading dock too. When I got home and finally read the paper, I saw that there was a show about whirling dervishes happening tomorrow. That probably explains the plain exterior of the buses. Usually, musicians' shows are travelling billboards.

Since all I had at that point for the blog was a photo of a mysterious bus, I decided I would take a picture of the garbage. That's my shadow. I wonder how long this will take to disappear?

The leaves are still falling and so the yard people are here again today, with a truck full and more to go.

And that's when Peter let me know that all the news boxes at his bus stop had been run over before he got there this morning! So I ran over to take a picture and they were standing upright but the poor orange one on the end was pretty mangled. The pole for the stop is bent too. Someone said a car had jumped the curb and scattered all the boxes but that they had been put back soon after the accident. I guess no one was standing at that stop when it happened and thank goodness.

November 4, 2007

2007-11-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

It has turned into a grey sort of day but I hadn't been out for a walk so we took a turn around the hood, this time including Millrise. It seems that without the dog, I don't get over there any more.

These starlings were having a noisy meeting at the top of this tree. They make quite a variety of sounds. I know a lot of people don't like them but they can be quite entertaining to watch.

I'm never sure what will prompt me to take pictures on a walk but today, it seemed to be bird feeders. I admired this nice feeder, as it had a copper roof and a mesh that would keep out squirrels but allow small birds inside to access the seeds.

This pretty feeder was next and silhouetted against the red leaves, it made a nice picture.

The big acorn was cute but I'm not sure how practical.

Peter spotted a giant paper wasp nest, right on the end of the branch of this big maple. I hadn't noticed it at all during the summer and I'm hoping the residents of it have left for good. It looks fairly tattered so maybe it can be knocked down safely. I think we should leave something like this to the experts.

As usual, there is always someone who forgets to bring in the garbage container, even though pick-up was three days ago.

November 3, 2007, afternoon

2007-11-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

It was a lovely day to go for a stroll around the park and see what was new.

Also a lovely day to do a little tai chi.

The geese were out in numbers again, filling up on grass for the journey South.

These four reminded me of the cover of Abbey Road (sort of).

Just past the walking geese, we saw two more little trees that had been felled by beaver. Someone had recently planted them and one even had an anti-rabbit collar around it - not much good against the much bigger rodent Castor Canadensis. Obviously, the beavers are still at large.

We decided to walk right around the pond, to see what else the beavers had been up to. And we wondered where they were living or whether they came in from somewhere else and left during the night (or day). I thought this sign might give me a clue as to whether the pond water had an external source but it didn't really say.

This is the view as you cross the little bridge, if you scrunch down and look through the railing.

And this was a pretty view from the other side of the pond. When I was over there, I realized that never before have I walked around the entire perimeter of the pond.

And this was what we discovered on the other side of the pond, away from the paved path. This was only one of three or four beaver-chewed trees.

When the geese on the pond started calling out, I knew that other geese were heading in to join them. I caught these two with flaps and landing gear down and one on the water with a bow wave.

Goose in motion.

November 3, 2007

2007-11-03T10:36:00.000-07:00

There were about 6 skateboarders at the entrance to Centrepointe Park today. I thought we built (and paid for) a whole skateboard park, just to give them somewhere to go where they wouldn't damage property and get in the way of pedestrians. These guys did not get in my way and they did get out of the way of some other folks who were walking out of the park as I biked in, so I am not faulting them in particular. And I didn't smell dope either so I can forgive a lot. But there IS an entire skateboard park not very far away so I was just wondering...

I saw this broken beer bottle on Friday so it was there before the boarders got there today. The pieces are widely scattered so I suppose I should take a broom and clean it up because I don't want to have a piece give me a flat tyre and I am still biking through there regularly. I fail to understand what someone gets out of breaking glass on pavement.

November 2, 2007

2007-11-02T11:00:00.001-07:00

It's a Friday and very quiet. I didn't even bother to go around the 'hood to see what garbage got left over after the pick-up today. But on my way home from the gym, I saw there were hundreds of geese in the park and I stopped to take some pictures of them, hoping to capture the wonder of so many big birds all in one location. I loved watching a gaggle of them strike out from one flock to another, walking across the park in single file. They are good walkers and don't waddle as much as ducks but still, I find their stately procession amusingly deflated by the waggling of big white behinds.

November 1, 2007, afternoon

2007-11-01T12:51:00.001-07:00

My back aches. I have been pulling out all the frost killed plants. And it always takes me longer than I think - every time.

As I was pulling out and throwing out the annuals, I decided to clip and save the last of the black-eyed Susans, which are perennials. The leaves (the rest of the plant) haven't been damaged by frost yet but the flowers will be enjoyed longer inside than out, now that the rest of the bed is mostly dirt. I'm not used to perennials but I think I will just leave the bases of the daisies and let the snow cover them. I don't have real mulch, tree leaves will only be blown away, and the leaves of the perennial may act as a sort of mulch.

This is the side garden we created this Spring for the first time, right after the condo dug up the foundation and repaired it where the water had leaked into my basement. I thought the ground had settled but I was very mistaken and after I had planted everything, the ground sank by a matter of several inches. The two green plants flanking the edges of the photo are the black-eyed Susans. Next Spring, I shall get a few loads of topsoil and fill in this dent.

Around the back, I cleaned out most of both beds. I clipped back the poinsettia right to the base of the stem and when I did that, two of the five plants popped out of the ground so I gave them the heave-ho. I have no idea if this plant will survive a Winter here but it is quite close to the house and sheltered by the fence too, so it might just.

I am always amazed at how hardy herbs are. There are two kinds of thyme and oregano, growing close to the ground and over the edge and some kind of odd parsley that appeared because it self seeded from last year. I don't remember what I planted last year but this is fairly flat leafed but with small leaves and it tastes faintly of anise. I do know that when plants self seed, they often lose the over-bred and chosen characteristics of the plants you buy from the plant people. In the middle is the wonderful pine-smelling rosemary.

I now have three big yard waste bags to put at the curb tomorrow. As you can see, the yard guys didn't take away any of my leaves - yet.

Addition, Nov. 2:
Due to popular demand, here is a photo of the side garden in July. Enjoy.

November 1, 2007

2007-11-01T09:40:00.001-07:00

It's a quiet day, even with the yard guys here to take away more leaves. Last week, they did end up mowing the grass too and maybe it's still growing and in need of mowing. I am going to be pulling out all my frost-bitten plants so I can put out the yard waste bag in tomorrow's garbage. Then I can plant my bulbs.

I only saw one pumpkin that had been rolled into the street and even it was not smashed. That's always a relief because it seems that people don't clean up messes like that once they hit the street, even if it was their pumpkin to begin with.

I liked the way the clouds looked this morning, contrasted against blue sky. It rained here and there, and now and then but I was lucky enough to avoid having to walk in the rain.

Some trees are hanging onto their leaves and some are completely bare but many are in this mostly-gone condition.

This was the western sky as I was out at 9 am and you can see the rain falling out of those flat bottomed clouds. They blew into the area while I was inside teaching and by the time I finished and left the building, it was sunny again.

Also at the construction site, I noticed one giant pile of crushed stone, along with a few smaller piles. Probably intended for foundations.

Enjoy the last few days of coloured leaves. We won't have any more until May some time.

Halloween 2007

2007-10-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

The weather was perfect for trick-or-treating - dry and not very cold. Parents came out with their little ones and there were some cute costumes, none of which are pictured. Oh well.

This was my first attempt at a scene on a pumpkin - not bad but not brilliant. It's a bat beside the moon with three little bats in the background.

This is my usual pumpkin face. Not too scary this year.

Two sisters in the immediate 'hood. Don't be fooled by the makeup - they are good kids.

The only action shot of kids at the door and me handing out treats. Note the skeleton earrings Mum.

Someone else had done a nice job with glowing pumpkins - the photo doesn't do them justice.
I think I will be taking candy to school tomorrow!

October 30, 2007

2007-10-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

Blogging is light today because I have set myself the task of carving a moderately intricate pumpkin. However, my right (knife) hand has a bit of a cramp so I pause in carving to blog.

We got two nice sized pumpkins and this is the smaller one.

Some weeks (or should I say months) ago, Loblaws started to get in their Halloween stuff and I spotted this booklet of templates. I usually make a face on my pumpkin and I have got good at not carving all the way through the flesh so it glows nicely. But I have wanted to so something more intricate and I liked some of these motifs. For this pumpkin, I chose the one with bats and a moon. Why did I not draw one myself? To much work. The set comes with two carving tools but they are tiny saws and their purpose is to cut all the way through the flesh and to get the proper effect, you don't cut all the way through. As I said, I bought the kit for the templates.

After cutting the lid out and scraping out the guts, I draw on the template and make my first cuts. The one tool that came with the kit that was great, was the gut-scraping tool. I have always used a large soup spoon but this plastic scraper works much better. I also cut a small vent hole in the back of the lid area to allow oxygen in for the candle later.

I discover that making this intricate pattern is quite fussy, and no, I am not surprised. I have to be very picky in ferreting out the tiny bits of flesh. For the moon however, I have discovered the perfect tool - a serrated grapefruit spoon! More pix will follow tomorrow, with the pumpkins lit and all.

In the meantime, this is what happens to impatiens after the first frost hits. I shall have to dig all this out this week, in order to get it in the yard waste pick up day time slot, which is this Friday.

October 29, 2007

2007-10-29T11:01:00.000-07:00

"Red sky in morning, sailors take warning."
It's not very red and they are only calling for a chance of showers.

Here's that can again, this time as flat as a crushed can. Still in the same parking spot, however.

The construction continues apace. Big piles of dirt, machinery rumbling, traffic being flagged. I took this photo standing halfway between the Marshy's mini-mall and the old Nepean city hall.

Just a few days ago, I took a photo of this oak tree and it had a lot more leaves.

This is where they all went.

October 28, 2007

2007-10-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

I thought today would be pretty slim pickings, being Sunday and with nothing planned.

But things started to happen when a neighbour asked if Peter could help her with dismantling her patio table so she could get it into her basement for the Winter. I haven't even cleaned out the garage to make a spot for our table, much less dismantled the garden and planted the bulbs. But it was a nice sunny day even if it was only 5C so we went over to see what we could do and ended up taking only a few minutes to take the table apart and move it into her basement.

With that chore done, we headed out to see what there was to see. A hardy cyclist pedaled by on Centrepointe. It really wasn't that cold and anything above zero is a bonus.

We waved hello to all our blog readers.

The wind was blowing the dried and nearly gone leaves in front of the medical centre at the little plaza whose name we realized we do not know.

And the wind had blown over a chair at the Marshy's patio, signalling the end of patio season in Ottawa.

October 27, 2007

2007-10-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after work, we dropped by Marshy's for a drink and to do the crossword puzzle. There is a small group of puzzlers who gather regularly at Marshy's and we partly compete and partly share answers, depending on how hard the puzzle is that day, which paper it is in, and who shows up. I bring over the one I clipped from the Citizen and Marshy's gets several copies of the Sun, so often we do both.

We discovered that Brad Marsh has just started the Brad Marsh Bar BQ & Grille "Great Prize Give Away" this week and the first prize was being drawn that very afternoon. Every week, Brad will draw a ballot for a Senator's jersey and less often, he will draw for more expensive prizes. I put my ballot in the box for the Grey Cup tickets. Then Brad asked me to pull the winner from the jersey box and I chanced to draw Darren Boyd's entry. I don't know Darren but when he accepted his jersey, he proclaimed that he was the Zamboni driver at the Merivale Arena, so that's what I am reporting. Anyway, it was fun and he seemed pleased. In case anyone was wondering, it was 16C that afternoon and therefore, Brad was wearing shorts. I, however, was not.

On the way to Marshy's, I stopped to take a photo of the debris remaining from Friday morning's garbage pick up. Oftentimes, the crows and squirrels have managed to pick things out of the bags and then leave the paper and other inedibles behind. In the spots where more than one household deposits its bags and boxes, there is usually a concentration of these leavings. Today however, I noticed that the debris was made up of the stuff that remained from last week! I sometimes get tired of looking at the garbage lying there, day after day, and so I pick it up. This week, I didn't and it was still there after the second garbage pick up. You'd think that the person whose garbage it was in the first place might recognize it and pick it up him or herself. Or not.

This morning, it was raining steadily and Peter thought the pumpkin at the front door looked nice in the light. Later, the rain let up and I went for a walk.

In spite of it being a damp day, people still like to get together and do something outdoors. This group was just finishing a game of frisbee football and it looked like they had had a great time.

Rounding the next bend in the path, I came across a red squirrel who ran up a tree and then stopped to shake his tail and scold me. We don't have many red squirrels compared with grey and black ones so it was a treat to stand and watch him until he ran up the tree and out of sight.

While I was trying to get as close as possible to the red squirrel, I noticed this thing on the ground. It might have been a nest but I didn't want to examine it too closely for fear of bugs or things more squidgey than that.

Heading across the parking lot for the park, I was reminded that, as far as I recall, the two outbuildings have never been in use in all the time that we have lived here, which is more than ten years. They may house washrooms and maybe no one wants the responsibility of maintaining them but I don't know for sure.

This is a very cute water "park' for the kids in the 'hood - obviously closed for the winter.

This was just pretty.

On the way back, the sun came out and I wanted to capture the contrast between the dark sky in the east and the lit leaves in the foreground. Sometimes, it's better to be there. And even if I made a little movie with the sound of the geese coming in for a landing, as they were then, you would completely miss the smell of the wet larch needles that completed the effect.

Finally, just as I was about to turn out of the park and into my own 'hood, I saw a bunny! As soon as I snapped his picture, he bolted around the end of the hedge and completely disappeared.

October 26, 2007 (afternoon)

2007-10-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

I took most of these pix yesterday but the geese were still there today, pausing in their exodus to warmer climes.

I've seen them more densely populating the soccer pitches but you take what you can get in the way of snap shots.

Here, they are walking toward the pond for a refreshing dip, after eating all that grass.

And here is what they left behind on the pavement. Again, this sort of thing has been more densely represented but I couldn't find a spot where there were more than one of the little logs of poo without backing up enough so that they then wouldn't be in close-up. The poo logs are generally bigger than one of my fingers.

This is the construction site from the west side, looking east toward Marshy's. You can see the fire hydrants and there are different kinds of pipe piled up. They have also installed storm sewers.

I thought this was just pretty, with the leaves scattered on the ground and some stuck to the fence.

October 26, 2007

2007-10-26T05:14:00.000-07:00

This is what the moon looked like at 7:47 am this morning. That's the north west sky in the Centrepointe Park.

October 25, 2007

2007-10-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

Today is St. Crispin's Day and for a thrill, you should go read Shakespeare's inspirational speech from Henry V. "But we in it shall be remembered - We few, we happy few, we band of brothers."

The construction site is still mostly at the dirt-moving stage. Dig big holes. Move dirt around. They are also assembling pipes of various sizes and colours on the field.

I think these are called high hoes and I liked the way they complimented each other from my perspective.

Later on, I saw one of the high hoes being used like a crane to lower concrete pipe sections into the big hole in the middle of Centrepointe. This time, they had a flag crew stopping traffic and only allowing one lane to proceed at a time.

These two guys were perched way up in a bucket, doing something with one of the high light standards along the bike path.

And today is yard maintenance day in the 'hood. No lawn mowing here from the look of it, but plenty of loud leaf blowing. But when you want to move a lot of leaves in a hurry and off different surfaces, this is the way to go.

October 24, 2007

2007-10-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

I often wonder when I see something like this can, standing upright in a parking lot. Did the owner put it on the ground while getting in the car, only to forget it and drive off? I've done that, with things on the roof too! It was still there when I walked home after 1 pm, but then it was lying on its side.

It was after 8:30 am when I walked by the construction site and nothing was happening behind the fence.

But when I turned and looked north, I saw that the sidewalk and the west lane were blocked.

On the way home, the blockage had moved to the middle of the road and cars were driving around the obstruction on either side.

Speaking of roads, I took a photo of the street corner at Woodroffe and Navajo but it is typical of many corners on the big roads. In order the push the Walk button, you have to reach over the mud. Or, if you can't reach, you have to step in the mud. Perhaps some pavement could be applied to the bare area around the post? I am convinced that in spite of Walk buttons and such, streets are not designed for pedestrians at all. Another case in point...

This is the corner kitty-corner to the last one. There, at least the pole is right beside the pavement. However, in the winter, snow gets piled up against the pole and eventually, a pedestrian cannot reach the Walk button unless she climbs up the snow pile. Wait for pictures in months to come.

I liked this view of the library with the nice tree in front. You can just barely see the top of the Nepean bell in the centre of the circle with the tree, although you can see its support. (You can click on a photo, go to Flickr and then see it larger.)

Finally, as I was crossing in the Castlebrook Village from Plunkett, I thought the fallen leaves looked awfully pretty, blanketing the ground like that.

October 23, 2007

2007-10-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

Today was supposed to be wet and cold but it started off at 16C so I'm glad of that. Now that I'm home for the afternoon, I guess it can go ahead and get cold, but I won't be happy about it.

On the way out of the 'hood, I saw that leaves were blocking some of the storm drains. It wasn't very bad and there was still some drainage, but I kicked the leaves away after I took this photo. Nice colours, anyway.

I looked up from the leaves and saw that the couch I reported on yesterday was gone. Don't know who moved it or where it went, but I'm glad it's gone.

I'm looking ahead to the pedestrian crossing lights here. I'm wondering what traffic the new housing development will bring and how we'll manage to get across the street when 300 people, each with a car, move in. It used to be that I hardly every pushed the "walk" button but now I push it all the time, in order to cross Centrepointe.

Once I cross the street, I look back to take a photo of the construction site. It's about 10 am but no one is around, maybe because it is an all-day rain?

Carrying on, I see that all the donations have been whisked away from the box by the library.

Heading toward the skateboard park, I see ducks have gathered in the "pond" created by rainfall. They are sitting, standing, grooming, wagging tails and eating something from under the water. They don't mind the rain. Please note the graffiti on the half walls of the park. I guess it's the nature of the beast. I think it could be more decorative but I also wonder if the shapes have meaning. Some of them are obviously letters and numbers but some I can't see what they are. And it's not my age, I don't think, because I used to draw stylized words in high school, even if it was back in the 70s. On the other hand, ask me if I really care.

Stepping onto the main bike path, I notice that the usual spot for a giant puddle is already filling up. They have repaved this spot at least once that I remember but apparently, didn't give the surface enough of a convex finish the prevent the water from collecting there. When it gets really cold, a rink develops in this spot. Okay, not really but it is a hazard.

Finally, I took a snap of a grocery cart that someone had trundled all the way over from the Loblaws. I tested it to see if it was one with a locking front wheel, wondering at the persistence of someone to push it that far in a wheelie position but it turned out to have all four wheels mobile. I wonder how long it will stay there and who will either take it away or come get it from Loblaws.

October 22, 2007

2007-10-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

I started the day early for me, walking over to Algonquin College at about 7:30 am. Winter is coming in spite of the hot weather we had today, and the sun doesn't rise until 7:30, not making it over the tops of buildings until after that.

I took a photo of the new Minto community construction site, with my back to Marshy's and facing west. I haven't decided yet on the optimal location to take a picture nearly every day, but I thought it would be interesting to show its progress.

As I passed the library, I saw a shy and nervous cat watching me from the circle in front of the building. As I took his picture, he ran off. I wonder about cats and traffic and I believe they are just lucky, when they don't get hit by cars. There are many more squirrels on the loose and you do see more dead squirrels, having been hit by cars. But occasionally, you do see a dead cat. Not around here yet, thankfully.

At the beginning of the week, the goodwill clothing donation box is always overflowing. It's nice that lots of people want to leave their stuff for others less fortunate. But I have seen all sorts of stuff there that doesn't qualify as clothing. However, after the pickup (which I think is on Tuesdays), it is all gone and tidy again.

On the way home, I admired as I always do, the brilliant red bushes at the entrance to Centrepointe Park. I don't know what species they are and they are ordinary during the summer, but their colour in the fall is worth the wait.

Here's the construction site from another angle. Does that sign mean they are still in need of approval for the development? They must be confident they will get it, like the minor variance at the meeting last week, for the holes in the ground are large and there are at least four fire hydrants already installed.

I don't know who abandoned this couch in the fire lane between Plunkett and Castlebrook. I think I saw it yesterday too. It will be interesting to see how long it stays there.

Finally, it seems that the ladybugs are on the move, getting ready to migrate or whatever it is that they do. They are not in numbers that one could call a "gathering" but there are enough of them in one place that one notices. They also hang onto your clothing as you walk inside and then show up in the evening on the lamps. Sometimes I can persuade them to crawl onto my hand and so take them outside, but sometimes it is easier to slide a piece of paper under them. Then you can watch the brightly coloured shell split in half and the wings unfurl and the tiny beetle fly away.

October 21, 2007

2007-10-21T17:58:00.000-07:00

Today the high was 22C and it was sunny and windy and especially lovely for October 21. We went for a walk around Centrepointe Park at around 6pm and took the big, complicated camera so Peter could teach me how it works, and so I could take a photo of the beaver-chewed trees. That's right, there are three trees that have been chewed by beavers at the duck pond! What I want to know is - where did those beavers come from? There must be a conduit from the stream the runs by the transitway and it must run under Baseline, otherwise how could they get here?

This is one of two that were completely chewed down and have been marked by the parks people. The other tree is the same size and has been chewed around so it will die but it is still standing.

Other people were out for a walk or a bike or to play a little pick-up soccer but there weren't any geese on the grass.

There were however, plenty in the sky.

Some folks biked over to feed the ducks at the pond.

When we turned around, the setting sun lit up the trees.

More geese flew north to the Ottawa River for the night.

And as the sun went down, it started to cool quickly and we were done for the day.

Preliminary set-up post

2007-10-21T17:40:00.000-07:00

In which I blog about life and Carleton Condo Corp. 408.