This January Day

It's so damn cold out. But that's January in Ottawa. It's cold, but it's beautiful too. Everything now covered as it should be, with a nice thick covering of snow. Looks like winter. Mind, it's also damp and windy or it was this morning when we set off for our daily ravine walk under cloudy skies. But even then the sun was a high glimmer in the skies, trying very hard to beam through the clouds.

We were well bundled against the chill, and even our little dogs wore their boots, otherwise this level of cold - minus 15 degrees celsius - is guaranteed to stop them in their tracks. Nice, too, to come across old ravine buddies from time to time. Everyone warmly and colourfully attired, the women sporting red cheeks, the men with icicles hanging off their faciall hair.

And the dogs! full of joy to be out there in the woods happy with life, with the weather, with their companions who left their warm homes to offer them this treat. The dumps where someone had spilled unshelled peanuts are still there. We'd left peanuts around ourselves from time to time, but can't imagine who could have left such a large stash. The squirrels don't appear particularly eager to avail themselves of this largesse.

Later the sun did come through and managed miraculously to send all those clouds elsewhere. With the clear skies came a more crisp feel to the cold. We set off on the Eastern Parkway, passed people skiing, walking dogs on the paths alongside the Ottawa River. And the river is finally frozen over; we can see ski tracks on the frozen river and here and there an ice hut. It's a superb winter day, and we're glad to be out in it.

Passing the Aeronautical Museum, the RCMP stables, the Peacekeeping Memorial, and the Parliament buildings. Even in this cold temperature, there are groups of sight-seers visiting all the tourist destinations of this beautiful city. As we access the Western Parkway we see the rapids on the river have kept the river from freezing over and it's darkly open, rushing onward.

Wisps of white clouds reappear in the sky, and they're lovely to behold, nature's paintbrush busy changing her landscapes. We reach our destination, a small shop which sells stained glass and lead and all manner of supplies for those interested in creating their own landscapes in imitation of nature's effects.

Yet another of many reminders we live daily of our good fortune.