Discovering Ottawa: Hogs Back Park

Nature, weather permitting, is always the first draw for us when travelling.  After a lunch in Lansdowne, we decided to visit Hog’s Back Park and see the falls. Located in Ottawa, along the Rideau river, Hog’s Back Park offers lots of free parking and appears to be a popular spot.   While there are plenty […]

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V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #16: Shadows

To contemplate is to look at shadows. – Victor Hugo A child, when first encountering its shadow, might at first feel fear.  Later, she will experience fascination as she discovers that shadows stretch and play at her command. Carl Jung suggests that the shadow is representative of those parts of self that are suppressed and […]

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An End to Irony

Life is full of irony, or so it feels when that is foremost on one’s mind.  Here are just some of the ways that irony has played a role this week:  Concerned that the hotel we were staying at was pet-friendly (and I am deadly allergic to cats), we made distancing ourselves from animals the […]

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Discovering Ottawa: Mer Bleue

“Did you see anything cool?”  We ask the young boys running ahead of their mother in the parking lot. “Frogs!” they exclaim. “There’s a frog sitting on a wasp’s nest, catching the wasps as they exit,” another group tells us.  We head in that direction. We’ve come to Mer Bleue Conservation area just east of […]

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Discovering Ottawa: Manotick

We are drawn to Manotick, a suburb of Ottawa, to visit with friends.  Arriving early, we decide to check out Watson’s Mill along the Rideau river.  Unfortunately, as it is off-season, the mill is not open this day, however there is still plenty to explore. Next to the mill is a Veteran’s Memorial Garden with […]

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Photo A Week: Water

Water, I confess, holds me in its spell – I would follow it across the land from the Oregon coast, and ocean swell to the Arizona rivers, oh so grand: Set me by a waterfall and I will swoon, mesmerized by such awesome power, even deafened by its thunderous boom, I could watch the motion […]

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Ah, Irony

Jazz, from Steps and Pauses sent me this sign, taken in Uncertain, Texas, a place she says is worthy of a visit: I would think they have a rather large following. I spotted this sign, and well…I think the ironies speak for themselves: The black squirrel (featured) thought he had cleverly outrun his assailant – a raging […]

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Stoic Hunter?

Who is more stoic than the Great Blue, stealthily enduring rocks and rapids to catch the day’s meal? Appearances, however, have been known to deceive… seems this bird is no emotional void, no paragon of strength, but a closet thespian – caught him, mid rehearsal – aspiring to a phantom role – of the opera variety. (Written […]

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CFFC: Red

What tugs on heartstrings more than a child’s tiny red shoe? Maybe a regal resting post accented in such a rich hue. Red, when applied to architecture creates a classic facade – such class Some instances, such as blushing, or rash, render this fiery colour a pain in the ___ (Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge is […]

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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Fences

Fences? My first reaction was that I avoid fences in my photography, and now that we’ve moved into a neighbourhood without them, I will not be able to participate.  Then, I revisited old photographs, and what do you know?  Fences! The featured image is a garden gate at the Butchart Botanical Gardens in Victoria, B.C. The […]

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