October 23, 2007

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

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

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

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