Articles in Snapshots
The Invisibles
When I exited The Bay, he was standing here, playing the harmonica. I stood here for a minute, looking at him. I grabbed the camera which was slung over my shoulder and our eyes met briefly. He nodded, still playing. He first slowly turned on his side to show me the cat perched on his shoulders, safe from my camera’s peering eye. I smiled and waited. Eventually, he looked straight into my eyes. I snapped two pictures quickly, gave him a couple of bucks and walked away.
Warm Weather Makes Headlines
Just a few weeks ago, it was all ice and snow in Canada’s national capital. The weather had been mild by Canadian standards but we were still shoveling snow and wearing winter boots. We attended the Winterlude festival and we were skating (or eating beaver tails…) on the Rideau Canal.
And suddenly, it got warm. It surprised us all.
Skating On The Rideau Canal
Winterlude may be over, but the Rideau Canal, our national landmark, is still open for skating. Downtown Ottawa, I keep on seeing passers-by casually carrying a pair of skates in the hands or on their shoulders, heading to the longest skating rink in the world (okay, I know some may argue it’s not!). The crowd on weekends is pretty impressive!
Winter Fun
This weekend marks the end of the Winterlude festival (but sadly, not the end of winter yet). I found myself hanging around in Confederation park, where it all started a couple of weeks ago, thinking I will miss the ice sculptures.
Winterlude in Québec
Ottawa has ice sculptures, Québec has giant snow ones. The theme of the national Snow Sculpture Competition for this year was “winter fun”. Each team was given a huge 3.7 m x 4.9 m block of snow and beautiful winter themed art pieces were created.
Ottawa By Night
It’s mid-February now, and even though winter is far from being over, the days are slowly getting longer. Just a month ago, it was pitch dark by the time I left work, at 5 pm. Now, I can actually watch the sunset in the bus (provided I don’t miss it…).
Ice Sculptures At Confederation Park
And here are some of the sculptures that are at Confederation Park during Winterlude. The ice carvers did a pretty good job in my opinion… amazing what you can do with a few blocks of ice and a chainsaw!
Ice Carvers At Work
Winterlude, Ottawa’s annual winter festival, started last week-end. It’s very cold and sunny right now in the nation capital and for once, no ones complains about it. Cold weather means that the Rideau Canal Skateway is open and that Winterlude’s ice and snow sculptures won’t melt.
On Campus (Part III)
The Winter semester started early January, but I can’t seem to put myself into study mode. First, there is my very full-time job. I work in an environment where futile things such as eating and sleeping are almost frowned upon, let alone studying. And then, there is the usual winter blues. Hard to walk to class after a full day of work when it’s cold, windy and pitch black.
Hockey Day In Canada
Last Saturday, Hockey Day In Canada took place throughout the country. You basically had two option: 1) the lazy option, which was to watch the tripleheader of NHL action featuring the six Canadian teams on T.V 2) the brave option, which was to take your gear and go play hockey in the street.
