Walking up to Summit Park

The city's leaves are also changing. Their display is never quite as intense as in the country but I still find myself stopping to admire.



This splash of colour begged to be noticed.



Gardens, too are in a state of change. Some flowers show signs of retreat while others are still at their peak of glory.



Each tree in its time - while some stay green, others lose their green pigments faster.



No walk up to Summit Park should be without a stop to look over the city.



Autumn, like spring, is a time of constant change - all the more reason to get outside so as not to miss these glorious moments.

Snow then Sun

Close to 40 cm (close to 15") of snow accompanied by high winds fell on our city on Tuesday into Wednesday. Snow crews are still dealing with streets and sidewalks and some people have yet to shovel out their cars.



Along with some chaos comes beauty - the pristine white, the snow decorated branches and the beauty of people helping each other with shovelling, with pushing cars and with the understanding that a city moves differently when hit by a sudden intense blizzard. We get through it and come out smiling at the other end.



The temperature has warmed and the snow is melting but there was still plenty for snowshoeing up in Summit Woods. Spectacular blue skies, the sound of birds calling, woodpeckers pounding, dogs frolicking - all combined to make for a spectacular day.



While I have modern aluminum snowshoes, my spouse favours a more traditional pair.



A little escape in the woods - looking down on part of the city and the river beyond. We are very lucky to have these enclaves where nature still rules parts of our city.

A Late Autumn Afternoon

Photos: December 4, 2016

There is something beautiful about a walk in the afternoon in the late autumn. The air in December has a bit of a bite as temperatures hover around freezing. Bits of ice cover this bit of water which pools in a depression.



By 3:30 the sun sits low, casting long shadows and tinges everything with golden tones. Many were out enjoying a walk on Mont Royal.



The birds, too were enjoying the sunshine, swooping down to the feeders and back up to a safe branch to enjoy the seeds.



Mont-Royal is a place to escape the city but also to enjoy the city. The views from the promenade at the chalet are expansive, from the buildings of downtown, to the river and even to the mountains in the distance. It reminds us that we live on an island, so easy to forget as we see only the street scenes as we walk.

Cone City

You can't go through Montreal without encountering cones. Signs send pedestrians to the opposite sidewalk; detour signs send motorists on exploratory missions. Each time I go out, I'm prepared with a mental map of alternate routes. You don't believe me? Check out this map from the city with all the road work marked. Bus routes are rerouted so even leaving your car at home and taking public transportation is a treasure hunt to find where the bus stop has been relocated. 

That's what happens when cities become complacent about their infrastructure. Centuries old pipes spring leaks and make the ground around them unstable. The city is playing catch-up - replacing water pipes and sewer pipes or lining existing ones. This is a huge undertaking so the cones will be around for a long time, simply moving from place to place causing constant surprises for motorists and pedestrians alike.

Looking Towards the River

That shining ribbon of light is the St. Lawrence River. Montreal, an island, sits in it. Hidden from view all summer, from this vantage point, when the leaves are off the trees in winter, the river appears. It is the gateway into the interior of North America with ships now able to bypass the Lachine Rapids which stymied the early explorers, and travel via the St. Lawrence Seaway into the Great Lakes.

My mother was born in Russia before the revolution and came to Canada in the 1920s. I remember her telling me that she had learned about the river in school - probably as they studied the geography of the world. She was excited to actually see it. I often think of how it must have felt to be an immigrant at that time, to know you were never going back. Connections with the past were via mail which could take many weeks to arrive. How instantaneous everything is now as we connect through our devices and not only hear but see our friends and relatives from far off.

Looking Down

After a day of sitting in a conference, I went up to a colleague's room on the 25th floor of the Chateau Champlain Hotel. This was the view. The building with the dome is the Cathédral Reine-Marie-du-Monde - the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Montreal. Behind it is the Sun Life Building (I've written about it before). To the right, the tall building in the shape of a cruciform is Place Ville Marie, another landmark that has been featured on this blog.



In the other direction we could see Habitat 67 (the building that looks like it was made with separate blocks near the river) and the nearby mountains. Fun to see the city from this vantage point.

Summer Moments

Time seems to have slipped through my fingers this summer. Life is like that sometimes. Time sometimes speeds along and then it seems to fall into a morass. It takes me time to adjust to the lack of schedule of summer... no concerts, no work, no courses, just endless time to fill up. Sometimes I fill it well (I've been working my way through a music theory text) and other times hours pass with not much accomplished. Some weeks I walk a lot - my fitbit registers my many steps. Then the heat of summer settles in and I cocoon in my air conditioned home.



My walks take me all over the city. Here I passed people enjoying a cooler summer day, lingering and enjoying the outdoor space. An impromptu performance on a public piano - summer moments.



You never know who (or what) you will meet - opportunities for conversation starters! This fellow drew a crowd.



Or just times for inner dialogue.




Time for summer theatre - life moves outdoors at a leisurely pace in the summer. Even a few raindrops don't deter the majority of the audience.

August has crept up and I feel the pressure of filling up these next weeks productively... books to read before the autumn schedule imposes constraints, people to see, music to play... And get my camera out more to observe and stop and enjoy these summer moments.

Walking on Mount Royal

The colours are starting. They are never as vibrant in the city as in the countryside. This year, in particular, I find them mainly muted, with leaves drying up before they really show their usual flashy fall foliage.

A walk around the mountain is never complete without a stop at the lookout to see the view. When the distant mountains are visible, I know we are breathing fairly clean air!




Facing west, you can see out to the silver ribbon of a river. As we go about our daily routines, it is easy to forget that Montreal is on an island. It is not everywhere that we get views of the river. Yet that is such an important part of why the city was established here in the days when ship travel was the most important form of transportation.

Rising Over Montreal

Rising Over Montreal, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

We stood at Westmount lookout, waiting for the moon, looking east. It rose over the mountain in the distance, hazy at first, but becoming clearer as it rose higher in the sky. Photographers stood with their tripods and long lenses snapping away at the perigee moon.




How different is it from a regular full moon? It did appear large, but once it was high in the sky the slight difference in its apparent size was minimal. Nonetheless, every full moon is captivating and on a clear spring night, this one hovered over the city.




As it rose higher, the city lights blinked on, while the moon's shimmer could be seen in the river.

John Redpath Mansion

John Redpath Mansion, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Demolition on this building started in 1986, one hundred years after it was built. It was stopped when Heritage Montreal managed to get an injunction, but in the 25 years since it has been left to decay. Sad to this this stately building crumbling. The owners want to completely demolish it and build condominiums. This may still happen. After all, there is not much left of the once stately property now.

In the 1960s, many such buildings were demolished to make way for high rises. Now we are a little more careful with our heritage, but this one will probably not survive.

Learn more from Heritage Montreal
And an article from the Montreal Gazette

On a Clear Day

On a Clear Day, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Spring softens the cityscape with its gentle greens. A delicate curtain begins to close, hiding bits of buildings, obscuring what was once in plain sight. From up here I can see far, but other views are now cut off as this delicate lace grows into a thick canopy.

Concordia

Concordia, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Concordia University in Montreal keeps growing. It has now edged onto what was once part of the street to create a mini park. Its history goes back. Started in the local YMCA, it was a community college as well as a place where adults could complete their high school at night. My father had to quit high school and work to help support the family. It was at, what was then Sir George Williams College that he completed high school. He later went on to McGill University.

The college grew into a university and the building you see behind was the main campus. My late husband graduated from Sir George Williams University as did my current spouse.

In the 1970s it amalgamated with Loyola College and became Concordia University. Now many buildings in the area are part of the university with a few built in recent years. My son graduated from Concordia University. So the university in its many iterations has played an important role in my family.

City Hall at Night

City Hall at Night, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Walking in Old Montreal, I enjoyed the lighting on the buildings. I was astonished to find that virtually all the restaurants on Place Jacques-Cartier close in the winter. The square is still pretty in winter and though the buskers aren't there, I would have thought there would still be clientele for the restaurants.

We did manage to find food around the corner and at least were rewarded with a lovely concert in the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours by Les Boréades.

Without Words

Without Words, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

I tend to react to art as to whether I like it or I don't. It's a gut reaction, an emotional reaction. I don't pretend to know whether it's good or mediocre.

There was something about this one that struck me as whimsical. A literate person? He's easy to read? He's like an open book? He just sits there, perhaps mulling things over.

It's great that the museum has so many pieces of sculpture outdoors, accessible to all.

Stairways

Stairways, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

As Montreal as outdoor staircases. This is so typical here, despite our snowy winters. I've written before about why they exist. The staircase to the third floor is indoors. I don't envy those who have to navigate these daily with packages, babies and other items in their arms. They are quite steep and despite anyone's best efforts, snow and ice accumulate. But such are the challenges of our climate and our city!

The Spoon Man

The Spoon Man, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

This man has been sitting outside Ogilvy's department store in Montreal for many years. He plays the spoons - a traditional percussion "instrument" in Quebec. People originally used kitchen spoons; now you can find wooden spoons that are attached at the top. At one time the store tried to get rid of Mr Spoonman as you can see in this article from 2004, but people rallied to his support and he is now quite a fixture.

At this time of year, he faces the Ogilvy's Christmas window - a long-standing tradition. It is full of animated Steiff animals - a whimsical scene. You can learn more about the history of the window here.




and more here.

This doesn't do it justice - as you cannot see the movement here. But here is a link to YouTube video that shows them in action along with Spoonman.

Getting Bare

Getting Bare, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Spring starts like a pointilist painting - dots of greens dabbed onto the trees. Now fall goes out the same way, with dots of autumn colours on the almost bare branches.

Soon greys will take over. I'm feasting my eyes on the last of the colours.

City Introspection

City Introspection, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Buildings bounce off buildings - like a street of imitators. They wear each other's facades. Sometimes it is hard to know what is real and what is just a reflection.

On a Clear Day: Montreal

On a Clear Day: Montreal, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

Photo: August 29, 2011

The remnants of Irene washed the sky clean of pollution. I have rarely seen such clear skies over Montreal. The views to the mountains in the distance were crisp and the buildings sparkled with their newly washed facades.

There is nothing like a walk on the mountain, but a stop to take in the view is essential.

Centaur Theatre

Centaur Theatre, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

I love when old buildings take on new lives. This was once (as you can see from the lettering) the Montreal Stock Exchange, when the financial centre of the city was centred on St-Jacques (then sometimes known as St. James. As the downtown core moved to Ste-Catherine, the head offices of companies also moved. A new building was built for the stock exchange. In the late sixties the first of a series of renovations took place, transforming the building into Centaur Theatre which now has two performance spaces.

I went to see "Schwartz's: the Musical" - a fun-filled romp about a local restaurant, Schwartz's (aka Montreal Hebrew Delicatessen). It was filled with colourful characters, many based on real people as well as providing a slice of Montreal life. Great fun!