Riverside

I went for a quick walk along the Ottawa river today; it was really cold and I wasn't really dressed for it so it was a quick one! It was extremely gray today and now it's currently snowing again....here's what I saw...

I like the different levels of "frozen-ness" in this one.

The water has receded by about 50' from where it would be in the summer; hence, we can see the shells of the zebra mussels that have infested the river.

Pretty Pomegranite

I didn't have time for photography today; I spent the day at my research institute's annual Research Day. It includes presentations, posters, awards, and obviously lots of coffee. Overall it was a great day and our keynote speaker was one of the most decorated HIV/AIDS researchers in the country and on the world stage. Anyway, I didn't bring my camera with me today because I'd be forced to lug it around so my entry for today is a pair of photos I took on the weekend. I really like pomegranite but I would prefer not to have to do all the work to enjoy it...and I can never get over how gorgeous the colour is; just don't be like my hubby and splatter it all over your beige sweater!

A trip to the locks

It was another really really nice day in Ottawa; very cold but beautiful. Knowing that we only have so many of these days left I decided to take advantage of the day and expose myself to some sun (gotta get my vitamin D!) as the lab is completely devoid of any natural light; in fact, it's windowless.
For those of you that are unaware, the Rideau Canal waterway (built from 1826-1832) was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in June of this year. For us locals, it's a pretty big deal. My photos today were all taken at the lockstation in downtown Ottawa (it's one of 24 lockstations between Ottawa and Kingston) that lies between Parliament Hill and the Chateau Laurier. I have a little claim to fame here as well. There are 2 lockstations situated where my great grandfather (x 3, I think) originally built his home and the lockstations are named after him (and is my maiden name). Pretty cool as far as I am concerned.

Looking through the locks towards the Ottawa River (and Hull). There were some ducks bathing in the remaining water.

Looking up at the Chateau Laurier and the gorgeous sky.

The locks are still opened manually.

Hand cranks that are used to open the locks.

Looking straight through a hand cranks.

Tuesday randoms

I had a plan for what I was going to photograph today and while I held up my end of the bargain, the only person who could help me, bailed on his. Hopefully it'll work out tomorrow so for now I'll keep you wondering. So, I had to think of something else to shoot today......these 2 photos are completely unrelated to each other and also totally random. The first one I took from the hospital parking lot as I made my way to my car this afternoon. I was surprised to see the sky like this as it snowed for most of the day and is currently snowing again. This is a raw photo that I haven't "fixed up" in any way.

I'll leave this second one to your imagination....take a guess as to what it is.

Trees of.....Sens??

Today was a tough day in terms of photography. Brannon and I headed downtown after dinner tonight to make our third annual visit to the Chateau Laurier to take a look at the 'Trees of Hope', a fundraiser for Ottawa's children's hospital, in which local businesses decorate Christmas trees that are left on display for the holiday season. Visitors can walk around and check them all out, vote for a favourite, and make a donation. This is where Brannon proposed so as long as we're living in Ottawa we'll be visiting every year.... Anyway, I decided to bring along my camera to take some pics of the trees but found it to be really difficult. The flash washed everything out, yet not using it resulted in rather hazy and dark photos. Regardless, they are my entries for today. I wish I could remember the names of the companies that decorated each but, alas, I can't!

Merry Christmas Alfie...

...and to you too Mikey!

The Chateau from street level.

Sunny Sunday

We had a really late night last night and, therefore, got up late this morning (seriously, it was almost noon). We had a great breakfast with Kevin and Tracy then headed to Smiths Falls to celebrate American Thanksgiving with Brannon's family (for anyone following my blog who doesn't know, Brannon is my hubby; and our sister-in-law is American). Usually Brannon's a get-from-point-A-to-point-B-as-quickly-as-possible kinda guy and doesn't really enjoy when I ask him to pull the car off the road to take some pictures but today he was a good sport.Most of these I took while we were in transit but he did stop to let me take some photos of the house with the caved-in roof. Enjoy!

Snowy cattails

We saw this deer hangin' out right across the road from Kevin and Tracy's; I couldn't get close enough to get a better photo but she's beautiful all-the-same.

I was informed that there was an old log home at Fallowfield Rd. and Dwyer Hill Rd. whose roof had collapsed; sure enough we found it. I would have loved to have gotten a little closer but the area was entirely fenced in. Maybe another day when I'm feeling a little more daring, I'll hop the fence and get a closer look!

The skies were nothing short of brilliant this afternoon.

Again, I took this one through the front windshield...

I think I was just lucky to get this one as the sun started its descent.

Crackled concrete

I took these photos last week in the parking lot of the salon where I have my hair done. It was a really bright day and there was just something striking about it. The second photo is a close-up of the bottom right side of the first photo; there is a bottle in the hole that was clearly meant for something else. Weird, but makes for an interesting photo.
I'm off to find out what's happening with my camera (wish me luck everyone!) and then I'm hoping to buy a pair of winter boots (my feet froze at the Christmas parade last night) and then we're off to spend the evening munching on snacks, drinking wine, and watching the Sens kick the Flyers' behinds with Kevin and Tracy! If I could just get hubby out of bed.... :)
Have a great weekend everyone!

Lonely window

I had a plan for today's photo(s). My hubby and I are heading over to Aylmer (Quebec-side of Ottawa for those of you not familiar with the area) to spend the evening with our good friends Brigitte and Craig. A small Christmas parade is being held there and Craig (a photography enthusiast himself) offered to let me play around with his tripod in order to get some shots in the dark. However, last night, my camera decided to go on strike and I wasn't able to figure out the problem today (I couldn't even find a store that carried a battery for my camera!!) so unfortunately that puts a damper on my plan for Christmas parade photos. So, instead I'm offering a photo I took earlier in the week. I'm a bit crazy with photographing windows and doors so here is one of my favourite windows. Enjoy and wish me luck in fixing my camera!

Lab Manual

I didn't get outside for 5 minutes today and it was pitch-black outside when I finally got home after a dreadfully boring Thursday afternoon mandatory seminar. Knowing that this was likely to be the case, I grabbed my camera and took a few pics today in the lab.

Samples being tossed from our -80 degree freezer into the biohazard bag for disposal.

Glassware

Pipette tip boxes

All of our non-paper lab trash goes into the biohazard bag (we work with human samples).

Tubes and fun purple gloves

Let it Snow...Let it Snow...Let it Snow...

Those of us who reside in Ottawa woke up this morning to our first real blast of snow of the season. In hopes of finding some interesting, yet undisturbed, scenes this morning, I got ready for work as quickly as I possibly could and ran around outside for a few minutes before heading off for the day. Here is what I came up with.

The snow seems to have wrapped itself around this twig; I thought it looked neat!

The neighbourhood cats were up and out way earlier than I was today!

In the summer this holds a potted plant outside on the balcony; today it just seemed to attract the snow!

Blankets of snow....

The snow melted before it could really cover anything but apparently we're in for lots more tomorrow.

Early Birds

I was driving down Riverside Drive this morning and stopped to visit the birds along the river. Capturing a good shot while they're in flight is proving to be a difficult task. If I increase the shutter speed then there isn't enough light...anyone have any suggestions for me?!?!

It poured for much of the night and this morning.


So many birds congregate in the park....


...and this is probably why!

Lastly, I noticed that it snowed downtown (as opposed to where I was bird-watching) as you can see from these bicycle tracks.

Perfect Pottery

I have but a moment this evening.....here are 2 pics of some of the pieces I purchased at the pottery show on Saturday! No photographic feats but pretty colours!

Sunday brunch

I know, today I am scraping the bottom of the barrel with this photo. I came home after a lovely brunch with Janny et al., and after tidying the house a bit (hubby is returning from his trip late Monday night) I just didn't have the energy to go outside to take some photos. I am learning very quickly that I don't like photographing anything inside because of the terrible lighting but I'm glad I took this one anyway. It's an old old old, and apparently dusty, typewriter that was sitting above and behind our table at eggspectations this morning; hence the poor angle. Anyway, what I do like about it is that the shadow clearly shows us from which direction the sun is rising!

It's starting to feel like Christmas...

I had a great day today. I got up early (that part wasn't so great actually) and got my much-needed post-wedding hair chop (I easily cut off 9-10" so it's a pretty drastic change)! I love getting my hair done and that would have been enough to classify the day as a great one but it just kept getting better.
If you live in Ottawa then you know what a great day we had weather-wise today; I drove around in my car enjoying the sun and seeking out fun things to photograph. Below is some of what I found. Next I met Brigitte (get used to seeing her name here; we pretty much do everything together) and we headed to a pottery show where I bought not one, not two, but 5 (!!) Christmas gifts! Then we headed to Starbucks to sample this year's Christmas drinks (YUM-MY), then hit a few more stores to buy Christmas stuff. Let's just say that today was fun and productive in lots of ways!
So, on to the photos.....









Oh! And I have to add.......GO SENS GO!!