It’s a beautiful Saturday morning in my neck of the woods: the sky is bright blue, the sun is shining, and the wind is down… It feels more like late March than like February. Despite the fact that this winter seems to have gone on forever, it’s actually been quite mild and melty. It gets nice and cold for a day or two, then messy and puddly and drippy for the next few days. It makes me wonder if the sap’s running yet…
Last year the gang and I went to the sugar bush for a lovely breakfast in March… The nice thing about living in the Ottawa area is that we are so close to so many sugar bush options. While the Valley has loads of cool options, I prefer the Quebec ones as the French Canadian cuisine is hearty and fun. We drove about 40 minutes from the city and had a gigantic breakfast of baked omelette, roasted potatoes, baked beans, “oreilles de crisse” (REALLY crispy bacon), and -of course- pancakes! Afterwards, to beat off the food babies in our stomachs, we trekked through the trees to take a look at the sap dripping into buckets. I took a host of awesome pictures… and promptly deleted them as I admired them on the way home. Durrrrr.
Here is a picture of maple taffy to make up for it.
Maple taffy... a cloyingly sweet childhood favourite!
OK, so now I’ll admit that I took that picture at Winterlude last year… Where, really, you need to partake in Beavertails instead of solidified maple syrup. (If you’re from Ottawa, you should be ordering the Kilaloe Sunrise, a combination of cinnamon, sugar, and lemon juice. I maintain that Nutella and garlic-cheese people are not native to O-Town.)
Half-noshed Beavertail... with napkins to account for sugary mess.
With the new baby and a baptism and a new work assignment, I’ve not been able to get to the festival this year. I’ve been dedicated to attending three years running now, so I am disappointed in myself. I am not a winter person, but there is something very magical about viewing the ice sculptures at night, and the sense of fun and novelty as you walk through Confederation Park and onto the Canal is quite nostalgic.
Ice sculpture during the day...
Two years ago, one of the art installations was a series of scarf-covered trees. They were in Confederation Park and Jacques Cartier Park, so it felt like a nice theme...
A twilight view of the Parliament Buildings from the Canal...
More tree scarves, and an ice troll to discover it.
An art installation that -to me- is a nod to nomadic dwellings and "I was here" totems... and pylons, too, I guess.
A crowded day on the ice.
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Today I’m going to see baby W and baby T … and their parents. (Poor parents are second fiddle now!) I’ve made some things for the wee ones that I’ll show you soon; there is magic to be found in polyester felt!
~S
Cezanne's Rainbow 