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Ah, vacation.
I feel guilty for not posting in this blog for almost a month. I have been around and have been getting around town this past week during a wonderful vacation break.
Choosing to stay close to home, I still got out to festivals, Ottawa area parks, to visit with family and friends and to celebrate a milestone birthday. And there's more to come!
Below are just a few photographs documenting where I have been as I savour these last few weeks of summer weather when the temperatures are bearable. I haven't gotten much writing done during this time. I hope these pictures can paint a few hundred words.
Visit my WordPress blog where I have been sharing photographs of a near-obsessive desire to visit as many Ottawa area parks as I can in one week. I don't think I can do it by myself. Perhaps you have been attempting it too?
There are so many beautiful places in our city that one can access by foot, bicycle or public transit. It sometimes helps when you have friends with cars.
Until next time, enjoy!
T
Another weekend. Another chance to relax and recollect.
Another chance to satisfy a writing obsession.
This past Canada Day was a quiet, creative one for me and my family. That seems to be the way I like my holidays lately.
We spent most of the late morning and early afternoon indulging on a tasty brunch fare while watching the downtown Ottawa celebrations on CBC Television.
Later that afternoon, my daughter convinced me to go to Dow's Lake, to see if there was a carnival a-happening. It turned out that the city buses were few and far in-between. We gave up waiting at the bus stop and began walking. To avoid the noisy traffic, we detoured through the Experimental Farm.
It was much quieter and cooler. We walked and talked. We got caught up on what was new or interesting in each other's lives. We greeted and smiled at other people walking or cycling past us. We even saw and smelled some huge, fly-swatting cows.
I had my camera with me so of course I took some photographs. Below are the ones that were most picturesque or relevant to this meandering blog post.
We came upon a field of colourful wild flowers and plants.
Something caught my eye. We went in for closer scrutiny.
As we zoomed in on the little darling, a gentleman cyclist stopped to watch us and inquired what we were looking at.
"Shhh," I responded, "We've spotted a ladybug." (I don't think it would have mattered to the ladybug whether I was whispering or not.)
His reaction was one of amazement, in that we could see a small insect so many feet from the walking path.
I was thinking about my fondness for such a helpful, cute and insignificant creature. I thought about another ladybug encounter on a hot summer day in 1969.
The gentleman continued chatting and successfully lured me into a debate about varieties of milkweed.
During our tedious conversation, my argument was that I recalled milkweed plants looking much different, as known from living beside patches of them during my childhood. My recollection was of the green pods of puff on plants where the Monarch butterflies lived.
Mr. Chattypants ended his contribution with a promise that upon his return home, he would check his plant manuals to confirm. We pleasantly agreed that we would see in a month or two if these were milkweed plants and if pods of fluff would soon appear.
(With a bit of research online, I have determined that this was indeed some kind of milkweed. I still want to go back in a month's time to confirm pods of fluff!)
Moving along the path, my daughter and I continued to the Rideau Canal. Everything seemed to be enveloped by a dreamy haze. We would later learn that this was due to smoke wafting into the valley from forest fires in Quebec.
We came upon a lovely willow-like tree. It provided a convenient canopy, an awning of sorts to protect one from the hot sun or drizzly rain.
The next tree that caught my attention was a tall one with a large knot hole about 15 feet up the trunk. It seemed like an oh-oh-shaped mouth or the eye of Sauron. Silly me. It couldn't be the eye of Sauron since it was on a tree. Perhaps the eye of Treebeard?
(Even after scouring pages of my copy of "For the Love of Trees - a Guide to the Trees of Ottawa's Central Experimental Farm Arboretum", I cannot identify this fella. I'll have to go back and look for signage.)
As we rounded one of the shady curves of the pathway, we came upon a duck family. Mother was keeping watch while her fuzzy offspring napped on a rock just a few feet from shore of the Rideau Canal.
It was difficult to determine if there were two or three of the fuzzy little ducklings.
It was a beautiful scene of peaceful fauna, of birth, parental love and growth.
By this time, my daughter was becoming impatient with my distractions.
Next we came upon another flora scene: one of growth, decay and rebirth.
A few more yards ahead, I noticed something odd.
It was a tree whose trunk almost looked like its roots were showing.
I am intrigued by this structure and am assuming it is intentionally designed that way.
We were getting closer to Dow's Lake. Things were still quiet. There was no audible or visual evidence of a carnival.
I captured a delicate looking water flower in the stillness of the lake shore.
Oh, good grief. I still cannot identify this plant. I'm assuming it's some kind of water lily?
As we strolled closer to the Pavilion area, we were greeted by a small wooden throne and trees lounging near the shoreline.
I think one of these is about to become a new, favourite tree.
I was not disappointed that there was no carnival. We saw a few people strolling about the grounds and a crowd enjoying the outdoor restaurant patios on the upper pavilion. I accepted my daughter's invitation, her treat to dinner inside of one of the eateries overlooking the water.
While dining, we observed black-winged Loons flying by, landing, diving and disappearing. I didn't have the energy or time to pull out the camera for that nor to capture a large Heron suddenly taking off from God knows where below us. It was an entertaining and delicious dinner in the company of my daughter.
Although we could have used the exercise, we did not attempt to walk back home after dinner. I gladly paid for a taxi.
The remainder of the evening was spent celebrating Canada's 146th birthday from the comfort and quiet of le petit apartement. That was until we heard the sounds of firecrackers and fireworks within our neighbourhood and in the hazy distance.
I'm not a fan of fireworks and loud, explosive sounds.
I suppose I could put up with the celebratory noise of expensive, colourful explosions once a year. It's a small price to pay for living in a clean, safe city and a stable, democratic country.
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Thanks for dropping by - and reading this far. I am flattered. I hope you enjoyed the photographs. Did you find this blog entry funny, interesting or inspiring? (See the
reaction check boxes below). You can also subscribe to / follow this blog via email notification. See the little sign-up box on the right hand side of this page.
If you can identify some of the trees and flowers, please submit a comment. Thanks!
If you enjoy my writing style, you may enjoy The Year of the Rabbit, a novel about Fate, Family and Forgiveness. It contains mention of milkweeds and trees. The main characters are a Catholic priest, a little girl and a retired exotic dancer.
T
Fields of yellow, green and blue.
Dandelions. Who doesn't love them?
Okay. Okay. The perfectionist groundskeepers and landscapers don't love them. They are always looking for ways to get rid of them or prevent them altogether.
There are people who celebrate the yellow weed on an annual basis. The Dandelion Festival is this coming weekend. It promises to be a "2-day celebration of art, music, food and fun for the whole family!"
If transportation accommodations work out, I hope to get in a short road trip with family and friends.
During last weekend's train trip to Toronto, I caught some beautiful shots of dandelion fields. I thought about one of my favourite summertime books by Ray Bradbury, "Dandelion Wine".
Early this morning, as I was making laundry trips up and down the back stairs I spotted a furry brown fella in our backyard. He was nibbling on dandelions.
Follow the rabbit.
Follow the rabbit.
Caught you!
Permit me to segue to my novel, "The Year of the Rabbit".
Alas, the only rabbit spotted in the story was within a native boy's dream. Otherwise, it's just a novel about Fate, Family and Forgiveness. The main characters are a priest, a little girl and a retired exotic dancer.
Follow this link to nibble on some short excerpts. I hope you will like them.
Thanks for dropping by.
T
At a social gathering after a professional event this past weekend, I visited an Ottawa pub for the first time. No, this wasn't the first time I visited a pub; it was the first time I had visited a certain one called "Pub Italia".
I was in shock and awe due to the decor. It was colourful, eye-catching and slightly irreverent towards the Catholic church, monks and saints. Holy mother of ...!
Since I was in a pub, I followed cue to order a beer as recommended by the waitress. I felt intimidated when I saw the hefty Beer Bible. My distress was calmed by an order of deep fried zucchini sticks which I shared with my ride.
When I became overwhelmed with the loud chatter and joyful noise, I pulled out my trusty Canon PowerShot and took a few pictures. One batch was taken on my way back from the ladies room.
The pub visit was an interesting social experience yet a little too noisy for my liking. Thanks to the guys who offered to buy the first round!
I look forward to more gatherings with SharePoint professionals but in a quieter venue.
I also look forward to some quiet moments with family and friends over the next few weeks. You will have to drop by again or subscribe if you want to learn about the next life adventure.
If you're looking for something interesting to read or a thoughtful gift, drop by the domain for my pretentious novel, The Year of the Rabbit. Thanks to the flexibility of publishing with Smashwords, I get to let you set the purchase price.
T
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