Beautiful Evening!

Terry is and I recently headed to Andrew Haydon Park, on the Ottawa River, for a walk - and to hear the Nepean Concert Band play in the bandstand, which they do several times in summer.

I don't know why I didn't take a picture of the band - but I did get one of their appreciative audience - most of whom had brought folding chairs.

The paths had been cleaned...

We noticed that there weren't as many geese as there often are...

Sailboats were returning to the marina.

Such a beautiful - peaceful - place to be at the end of the day... 

Interesting! Beauty is always found in the mix of sun and clouds, light and dark.

Labyrinth Hunting

After my recent introduction to labyrinths, I did an online search for "Ottawa Labyrinths" and discovered one a few miles / kilometres from our home.

The Bells Corners United Church has an outdoor one, modeled after the one in Chartres, France.

Years ago, I visited Chartres Cathedral and I saw the labrinth inside the church, on the ancient stone floor... but I didn't appreciate labyrinths at the time, so I didn't bother trying to walk it.

But this time I did. I loved the "instructions." 

(They're really just helpful suggestions!)

There was traffic on the road next to the church, so I was a bit distracted - though I shouldn't have been! Maybe next time I'll manage to block it out.

I love labyrinth walking - it’s a beautiful, ancient, meditative way to walk and pray.

A Quick Look Inside...

Whenever I visit the historic mill in Manotick, I think of my grandfather's childhood - when his father owned several mills in Ukraine.

Did they resemble this one? Or were they powered by wind? He mentioned that one of the mills was several stories high. 

Then the Russian Revolution came and buildings were destroyed... People rushed to escape to save their lives... I wonder if any of the mills remain...

Everything here was made of solid wood and stone. I wonder if they also used bricks instead of stone in the Ukraine...

It's amazing to think that, hundreds of years ago, they built strong structures like these without the construction machines we depend on today. They only used horses, oxen - and human strength and ingenuity. Yet they built structures like this one that last. I find that amazing.

Manotick Mill Gardens

Volunteers man the gardens around the historic mill in Manotick.

They're lovely!

It takes a lot of volunteers and community spirit to keep the mill and its nearby historic buildings open to the public.

The buildings are open as heritage museums in summer.

It's a place that the whole community is proud of.

The river - and the dam - add to the charm.

It's a peaceful place to visit any time of the year.

Under Hazy Skies

Terry and I were recently walking in Andrew Haydon Park under hazy skies.

Were the forest fires in the Canadian prairies causing the haze?

I could see a bright red sun in the sky - but when I photographed it, my camera didn't pick up the sun's red color...

But it did pick up the red reflection in the water! If the haze was acting as a filter, why did it only filter out the sun and not its red reflection?! In the photo above, the red sun I could see through the branches was totally obliterated! Why?!

It was all very puzzling to me!

Flowering Trees

We have no flowering trees in our yard. We do have a lilac bush which is beginning to bloom. We used to have several honeysuckle bushes - but they were dig up when we added our addition to the house. I do miss them.

Flowering trees and bushes are so beautiful!

I saw these along Prince of Wales Drive at the central experimental farm a few days ago. 

They were a reminder that I have never walked along the paths in the arboretum. Must add that to my "to-do" list!

Construction Season

I'm not sure if this summer is particularly congested - but everywhere we drive, we encounter road blocks due to construction!

As Canadians often say, Canada has two seasons:

Winter... and construction season!

Ottawa's Tulip Festival

A few days ago, Terry and I went to Dow's Lake to see the large display of tulips growing there.

(No, his hat does not have a lantern attached to the top! That was an accidental optical illusion!)

The park across from the lake is the center of the annual festivities.

Maybe it was the great weather...

But the park was brimming with people!

A little overcast as well - making for better photographs - with no shadows!

We wandered over to Dow's Lake to see if we could find a vacant chair from which to enjoy the view...

(We couldn't!)

Nevertheless... a lovely day!

View By the River

When Terry and I recently went to the Miller's Oven in Manotick, we also wandered towards the river and the mill.

We wanted to see if Canada Geese were again nesting on the cliff - where we had noticed them before.

Yes! The male was strutting about, on guard...

While the female was just sitting there.

I didn't go close enough to see if the female had eggs in the nest  - but I assumed that no eggs had hatched. The birds weren't as aggressively protective as they are when they have their young.

We then went over to check out the dam. It was totally open... Lots of water rushing through with all the melting snow.