August 4. 2008

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.

June 25, 2008

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.

May 7, 2008

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

April 15, 2008

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.

November 20, 2007, afternoon

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.