THE END OF SUMMER AS SEEN BY PENN LEWIS

It's hard to believe August 2014 has slipped past so quickly, September is gone ,too. Soon Harvest Festivals, Thanksgiving …

Ottawa continues to surprise me in pleasant ways.  Just along the Ottawa River, near Remic Rapids, I saw several different breeds of ducks, including these Mergansers 

Close to the Canadian War Museum [which has some extraordinary regular exhibits, plus some exceptional special exhibits related to the 1^st World War (Paintings, Sketches, Sculptures) well worth more than a few minutes as they are put together quite thoughtfully]I was one of the first people to photograph this adult Great Blue Heron 

  I was more than 50 metres away, when it stretched out its neck (sorry my shot of this was terrible) it was over 5 feet tall!  Apparently they are quite reclusive. 

There have been many events & activities to keep locals & visitors busy.  The Balanced Art show I mentioned last year was even more fascinating.  The Ottawa River was (& has stayed) higher than last year, so a greater challenge for the artists.  They came from around the world (Africa & Australia not represented).   You can see what happened when artist Kathy Clarke from Atascadero, Ca was adjusting one of her works that had stood for 3 days:

Friends were in from England, France, Germany, Italy  and the Netherlands for visits/weddings etc.  Only a couple had been here before – they were impressed by sights, museums, food and beverage. Tourists I met (Tanya, Bobbie, Ivor, Marten, Ryan are just a few of the more than 150 in August alone) all had compliments.

Heritage Ottawa held informative walks on Sundays, the weather always co-operated.  I have learnt so much about the Parliamentary Precinct, New Edinburgh, early bank buildings, the Clemow area. Even tourists attended several – thanks to hotel concierges/staff (Lord Elgin, Westin, Marriott, Delta, Chateau Laurier, and Capital Hill were most frequently mentioned), B & B owners…

The extremely shy Cardinals in our backyard have occasionally remained still enough for me to not only enjoy their songs, but also capture them digitally.  This 1 year old (the bright red plumage signifies male) still hears the supposedly silent digital works on my Nikon at over 78 metres – you can see he is looking right at me. Either 70-300mm or 12-24mm wide angle lens have been used.

Ottawa’s Food scene remains vibrant – Navarra, Carisse Studio Café, Grounded Kitchen & Coffee House, La Favorita, Cylie Patisserie & Chocolaterie, The Foolish Chicken, Das Lokal, La Bottega Nicastro are some that exceed expectations on a regular basis. These are not named in order of preference.

As it is the 100^th Anniversary of the start of the War to End all Wars (wow, we know that has not happened, and we are certainly learning more about why not), I thought that an image of an incredibly resilient flower – much like our human spirit - should appear here: