Agricola Street Doors

I took a walk north along Agricola Street this afternoon. And yes! I spotted a few gorgeous doors.

Some absolute glowed in the slanting November afternoon sun.

And here’s a snazzy door knocker:

And sunny streets cape.

Linked with Norm’s Thursday Doors.

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Schmidtville Doors

I am temporarily hold up in a downtown condo that was built in the early 90’s. To the North, the building fronts onto the city’s busiest shopping street. There are brand new developments under construction immediately to the east and west of me (it’s a little noisy).

But step out the door and turn south, and BOOM! You are in Schmidtville!

This charming wee neighbourhood has recently – very recently, like three months ago recently – been designated a Heritage Conservation District.

Thank goodness for that! This place has the same urban density stats as Paris, proving that we do not need only glass and steel towers to improve urban density. More than that, Schmidtville’s residents provide an excellent example of economic diversity. Plus is really pretty!

Elizabeth Schmidt subdivided Pedley’s Fields after her husband, Capt. Christian Schmidt, died in 1830. The 12 acres of grazing land was purchased by her father, James Pedley, in 1781.

The houses are mainly Georgian in style, but the neighbourhood also has some Victorian architecture.

I’ve been watching this spot. Someone has dug the soil beside this house to expose a deeply buried door. They have only just filled the doorway in with concrete blocks. I wonder where that door went when the house was originally built?

I feel like there is a story there …

Linked to Norm’s Thursday Doors.

She’s Still a Standing

Here she is in mid October. The blossoms turned to seed pods ages ago. I assume they continue to ripen/dry on the stalk. And there’s almost nothing left at the base.

The good folks at the City have offered to give seeds to anyone who wants some. But not fast government people! Agave Maria isn’t giving up yet.

I don’t think so, anyway.

The weatherman is calling for a “weather bomb” tonight and tomorrow: high winds and lots of rain. So, just in case, I popped by to see her today.

Some very creative person has been running a twitter page in her name; it’s hilarious to follow. ( @AgaveHali if you are interested.)

Yesterday’s tweet suggests the poor plant is beginning to worry about the low temps:

You can see, too, that she’s changed her handle in keeping with the season.

While visiting today, wandered the Gardens appreciating the gorgeous autumn colours.

It will likely look very different after the wind gives the leaves a push.

Hope you enjoyed the visit.

Beacon Hill Doors

Recently, we found ourselves in Boston, on a layover; a few delicious hours to reunite with one of my favourite cities.

Not surprisingly, we gravitated toward Beacon Hill, where the low November sun added to the ambience – even though this shot was taken at 11:00 in the morning.

The pre-Thanksgiving (American) door decorations were bang on point. Natural, understated and elegant.

There were big doors… (love the reflections)9

… small doors …

… and the door of a famous author!

Did I mention it was chilly? As in, and downright cold? These little birdies had the right idea … soaking up the tiniest bit of heat from the sunny door step.

We took our cue from them, and popped into a warm and bustling corner coffee shop.

If you find yourself in this neighbourhood, drop in. The rest of the menu looked just as amazing as the pastries and coffee.

Linked to Norm’s Thursday Doors.

Just Dropping In …

This lovely lady rested beside me for a moment or two.

Dragonflies carry with them a weight of myth and folklore.

In Feng Shui, dragonflies mean change, new beginnings and bring all kinds of nice things.

Some people think a visit from a dragonfly is a visit from someone from heaven.

Another take suggests that they represent self-awareness and living in the moment. This might come from the fact that dragonflies spend most of their lives as nymphs, living as adults for only usually a few months.

All of this adds to the beautiful mystic of the dragonfly. These elegant and versatile fliers are equally at home in the air, on land and on the water. And they eat mosquitoes!! Or, so I’m told. A positive characteristic in any visitor.

One thing I know for sure, when this particular dragonfly alighted beside me, the world stood still for a few breaths as I marvelled in this small gift.

WPC – temporary

Rounded

Dew drops on my pumpkin.

WPC – rounded

Pedestrian

This late summer squash blossom is attracting lots of attention from the honey bees. They seem to be queuing up. And, if you could see further in, you’d find three more bees in the throats of the flower. Amazing!!

WPC – pedestrian

Local Colour

The colours of Lunenburg on a brilliant, sunny October afternoon …..

WPC –local 

Seasons

“Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence.

Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance.

Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence.

Winter passes and one remembers one’s perserverence” – Yoko Ono

  
Innocence

  Exuberance
  
Reverence

  Perserverence 
WPC – Seasons

A Walk in Gatineau Park

With all the heart breaking news reports and difficult conversations taking place at this moment, it kinda feels like a good time for a walk in the woods.  About a month ago, we were in Ottawa, with a day all to ourselves. We opted to leave the city behind and explore Gatineau Park. Come along, and I’ll show you a little of what we saw ………

This conservation park covers 361 square peaceful kilometres of land, but is just 15 minutes from downtown Ottawa.  It is popular with locals and visitors alike, apparently attracting 2.7 million visits a year.  But on this day we were lucky…. It was a chilly, damp Monday and the place was relatively quiet, but as you can see, still very beautiful.

After a couple of hours of exploring, we made our way to the Mackenzie King Estate, a country property of the former prime minister, bequeathed to all of Canada. It’s now part of the Park.

It seemed like the right thing to do, so we finished off with a warming visit to the Tea Room.