Canadian Museum of History & Tulip Festival

Since living in Ottawa, one of the museums that I have not yet visited is the Canadian Museum of History.  This afternoon, I took advantage of the free Thursday admission and visited the museum for the first time.  It is very similar to the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at UBC with a primary focus on the history and culture of Canada's First Nations.  Personally I thought the collection at MOA is more diverse and interesting.

Here are some of the things that caught my attention (most of them are associated with animals in some way).

One part of "Poo wiltso; Whaler's Dream" (silkscreen) by Ron Hamilton.

Rideau Canal, birds, and full moon

The school semester is finally over, but work (i.e., preparing for qualifying exam) still continues no matter what.  I took some photos the past two weekends just walking along the canal and hiking in the Arboretum hoping to see some wildlife.

Preparation for Winterlude has begun even though the ice is not thick enough yet.

Tulip Festival in downtown Ottawa and Gatineau

Today, I went to downtown Ottawa and Gatineau to check out the Tulip Festival in these parts of the cities.

The blossoms are here!

2014 Winterlude in Ottawa

Winterlude is a pretty well-known festival in Canada that celebrates winter.  The 36th annual event began this year on January 31 and will end on February 17.  I have been too busy to check it out extensively, but I took some time on Tuesday to check out some of the displays and ice sculptures, as well as this afternoon just to feel the atmosphere with so many people around.

The weather was really nice on Tuesday.

Holiday season in downtown Ottawa

People who have followed my blog for a while will know that I like to photograph Christmas decorations and lights during this time of the year.  In previous years, I usually fly back to BC at this time of the year, but this year, I will be spending my time here in Ontario and getting ready for my Ph.D and working on my manuscripts.

Nonetheless, I still keep an eye out for place with interesting Christmas decorations and lights, and this particular blog provides excellent information and images for such a thing.  I left my office this afternoon and headed towards Parliament Hill to take some photos.

I was a bit early so it was not dark yet.

Moving from Peterborough to Ottawa

I officially moved to Ottawa on Friday, thanks to my parents who flew from BC to Ontario to help me move.

Here are some photos from the past few days.

On Wednesday (Nov 20), while bored from packing, I looked at the wasp nest next to the house and found that all of the wasps were dead (probably from the cold) and so I took the nest out of the crevice.

Close-up on the nest.