Let's Make Some Art, Dammit

April 20, 2024. Ducks in the swamp in Monaghan Forest, in south-west Ottawa near Fallowfield. We went there for our hike today. It was nice, still very early spring conditions. A lot of it was still flooded. https://flic.kr/p/2qYScGg

April 6, 2025. We went for a 6 km hike in Pine Grove forest today, taking pictures of trees, meltwater, moss and fungi. https://flic.kr/p/2qWeEzp

December 15, 2024. There's no reason to block this wide sturdy bridge over the winter. But the city government in Ottawa seems to hate pedestrians and cyclists. Blocking winter pathways seems to be the norm, even though Ottawa is supposedly a winter city. https://flic.kr/p/2qAFMwb

December 1, 2024. We went to the RedBlacks annual locker room sale today and then stayed to watch an Ottawa 67s Jr. A hockey game. The 67s did not fare well, though it was entertaining and the first place London Knights did not disappoint. https://flic.kr/p/2qxp3VU

September 9, 2024. It was fungus day on our weekly forest walk. We went out to Rogers Pond in Marlborough Forest in rural south-west Ottawa. Very few animals or birds. The light was low and I wasn't really set up for dark fungus pics. Evening was spent on a No Man's Sky expedition. Here's the full album https://flic.kr/p/2qfj1Xk

August 8, 2024. The RedBlacks make their entrance into tonight's football game. It was a game not to be missed, as it went into overtime, we thought we won it, then we thought we lost it, and as we were on the way out the teams returned to play some more and it ended in a tie. Which really was the only appropriate outcome. https://flic.kr/p/2qb1cSY

June 26, 2024. The Ottawa River east of the airport. Another day in the office working on CList, and I took a quick lunch hour ride along the river. There was a whole set of aircraft flying over, from WWII vintage to modern fighters, so it was hard to keep my eyes on the trail. Took some photos but I'm going with this one since I did a Snowbirds photo a couple of days ago. https://flic.kr/p/2q19Tdr

March 3, 2024. Our walk today took us to Pine Grove forest. It's still showing the effects of the derecho a couple years ago, and it looks like they removed a lot of the downed trees over the winter. We listened to the Blue Jays lose another spring training game. Relaxed day overall, with an evening spent playing video games. https://flic.kr/p/2pBG6xR

October 31, 2023. Car is in the shop today getting winter tires and some servicing. I was at the office and had to walk for lunch (they don't provide any sources of food at NRC so it's about a 2 km walk). On the way, I took this photo of the CSIS building behind some weeds. Seemed like a good Halloween image. https://flic.kr/p/2pfFJvW

October 28, 2023. It was the last game of the year and the RedBlacks were not going to make the playoffs, but we still put a good crowd into the stands for what would be an inevitable loss to the Argos. Yes, we'll be back for next season. https://flic.kr/p/2pfzn28

Septem,ber 3, 2023. Yellow-orange leaves on a branch running diagonally from top right to lower left, bright, and set against a deep green background. Photo taken from Rideau Hall, the residence of Canada's head of state, the Governor General, which we toured today. It was only a 3 km walk, but because my back has been painful and spasming for the last couple weeks, it was all I could manage. https://flic.kr/p/2oZNxH8

August 27, 2023. We went downtown for the annual Pride parade today. I have lots of photos, but I really liked this shot of the Parliament Buildings I took on the way. The big news, though, is that my itch is finally on the mend! Not completely yet but there has been a noticable difference. https://flic.kr/p/2oZ7pyP

July 18, 2023. If you go up to the second floor of the By-Ward market in Ottawa (but who does, really?) you'll see these cloud figures in the attic. I was downtown while working from the office to pick up more Hungarian spicy paprika paste, which I put on salmon. Delicious! https://flic.kr/p/2oRK2st

April 23, 2023. Evn if they're not quite blooming yet, it's nice to see trilliums all through the forest floor. We went for an 8.7 km walk along the Mer Bleue trail. It was supposed to rain all day, but it didn't, though trail was pretty muddy in places. Otherwise a quiet day of rest. https://flic.kr/p/2ovoBeP

April 16, 2023. This is Joey Vinegar and guests performing at the Ottawa Farmers market. We drove into the city to check out the Tamal fesitval (and eat some delicious tamales from various countries) and on the way checked the market; both events were happening at Lansdowne Park. It was a brilliant warm and sunny day. I also put in some work on my website project. https://flic.kr/p/2ou1zCS

March 12, 2023. I sniffled and sneezed my way through a hike on Pinhey train in west Ottawa today. There was a lot of debris from last year's storm, as elsewhere, which led to things like this lichen being easily accessible for cool photos. Forgot my camera, and also, was trying 'EideWithGPS' to track our walk, which I messed up, so there's no Strava recording (I want to be able to create maps ahead of time for wilderness rides, that's why the new software, and it's always good to test this ahead of time). https://flic.kr/p/2ontRX1

March 9, 2023. This is the Nordstrom at Rideau Centre in Ottawa. I had never been to a Nordstrom, and with news that the chain is now closing in Canada, I thought I'd peer in before they disappear. So today I had a doctor's appointment in the morning (where I discovered that my kidney is fine after all, and got some hoped-for relief from my itching), and we had time to wait for the prescriptions, so we went to Rideau Centre. https://flic.kr/p/2omnGji

January 8, 2023. This week's hike was along the Ottawa River in the east end, the last part of the trail before it hits Orleans. About 8 km or so. It was fairly cold, at around -6, but we were dressed for it so it wasn't bad. The river was in that halfway state between frozen and not frozen. The light was really good, as you can see, https://flic.kr/p/2oawjTT

January 4, 2023. It took most of an afternoon but I was able to get my blood tests and an ECG done. All this is part of a regular checkup. I do notice that the private clinics of Doug Ford's Ontario are a lot slower, and a lot harder on their employees, than proper hospitals or public health care clinics. Sure, the tests were still covered by health care - this is Canada, after all - but by chipping away at the corners like this, conservative governments are making basic health care harder and harder to access. Which, of course, is their game plan. https://flic.kr/p/2oatseB

September 10, 2022. We were at a rare Saturday afternoon RedBlacks game (I would really prefer more afternoon games). Yes it was another loss, but we came within about 5 yards of winning this one. The losses have been (mostly) close all season, as though we're just a grasp away from having a good season. It was also one of those days where nothing clicks - our e-tickets didn't work, we were late for the game, etc. https://flic.kr/p/2nL8ppx