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

May 5, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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.