White Water at Hog's Back

As you saw in yesterday's post, the waterways in the area are flooding. Here are some photos I just took at Hog's Back (Rideau Canal) - thanks for the tip Jen! I'd say that the water is easily 3 meters higher than it is usually!

Funneling....

Here's a photo from the same place that I took back before Christmas. The rock that you see in the middle of the photo above is what's under the snow in the next photo. The water has just about engulfed it! And if you look at the rock wall on the right you'll see how much of it is under water. It's really hard to tell, just by looking, how much more water is there but it's A LOT. I was talking to a guy who was also there taking photos and we could barely hear each other, it was so loud! And notice how calm the water looks in the last one, compared to the others. What's funny is that, even there, it's running pretty fast!

Morning with the A-Channel

Brannon and I were in the audience at the A-Channel morning show in Ottawa today (we arrived at 6:30 am!). They were having their Superbowl party. Keep in mind that I am not a football fan (Brannon very much is) but I didn't want to turn down the chance to get lots of free food - and lots of free food we received :)
I didn't think they'd let me in with my camera so I merely took a quick shot outside then left my camera in the car. Turns out they're pretty laid back and I think I probably could have gotten away with it. Aw well....
On the way home I snapped a quick shot of the Rideau Canal from our moving car; I apologize for the terrible quality but I just wanted to post one photo in honour of the kick-off of Winterlude today. Like the rest of Ontario, we're in for a walloping from Mother Nature today so these enthusiasts had to get in their skate early!

Ruins at Merrickville

I went for a drive to Merrickville yesterday; it's about 45 minutes from where I live in Ottawa and is also yet another stop on the Rideau Canal. These industrial ruins sit right on the edge of the canal. It's a popular spot for wedding photography actually :)
I spent some time 'googling' the area to find out some more info about the ruins and, to my surprise, there is next-to-nothing to be found on the net so I can't even tell you what time period they date back to...

As for Miss Flo, she continues to be upset and, for now, is hiding behind a wall of boxes in our laundry room. Not even treats will coax her to come out. She's been there so long now that my cats don't even realize she's still here. Cross your fingers for us that she'll come out!

Hog's Back

Welcome to Hog's Back; another stop along the Rideau Canal. Clearly though, the boats don't traverse this part of it!
I'm so disappointed with my photos from today:
1) I knew that I was going to try to make it over here at some point and I knew I should have gone this morning before work because the sun was shining brilliantly but I was itching to get into the lab (to get the final go-ahead from my advisor on a project I've been working on) so I decided to wait until later on. Well, when I came out of the hospital this afternoon it was overcast - ick.
2) It's next-to-impossible to shoot from any interesting angles here because of the fences that completely block off any access (I know, I know; it's for my own safety!), not to mention the deep deep snow I had to trek through to get there....
On a positive note though, all this trekking around is great exercise that I wouldn't be getting otherwise. I actually went out after my little jaunt today to get some new and more appropriate clothing for this....lol....I plan to spend every spare moment I have in Banff next week outside with my camera so warm clothes are key! :) Also, my new winter boots are in so I can go and get them any time - YAY for goose down and warmth capacity to -40 degrees!
Anyway, so enough chatter and onto the photos; keep in mind these would be a lot more impressive in the summer and if there was good light!

Why hang out in the frigid water when you could fly south?!?!?

Doesn't it look cold?!?!?!

Here I was just playing around with the colour.

Lastly, this is the railing that's supposed to protect you from falling into the rapids. They're not kidding when they say that our infrastructure is crumbling!

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.