Rabbits and chipmunks frequent my yard

Rabbits and chipmunks are common in my London, Ontario, subdivision.

If you have followed this blog at all, you know that rabbits, chipmunks, foxes, raccoons, skunks, groundhogs and other small animals frequent my yard. One winter there were deer tracks in the snow behind my home and one summer an armadillo was spotted. You might think that I live in the country, or almost, and you'd be right --- at least, for a few more short years. New subdivisions are going up and the day is coming when I will be deep in the urban landscape.

Winter is Over!

Warm weather brought thousands out to enjoy London's parks.

Warm enough to carry water

With the temperature climbing into the seventies on Good Friday in London, Ontario, Londoners in the thousands hit the parks: Some to walk, others to jog, or bike, or skateboard, but all to enjoy. Winter is over and these Canadians have come out to celebrate the spring.

London wasn't alone. People across the province, plus Quebec and Atlantic Canada, were all enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures. Forecasters were expecting warm weather records to fall in many places.

In London it's possible to walk from the north end of town, above the university, all the way to the southwest end of the city past Springbank Park using mainly walking paths along the Thames River. No one need battle traffic and congestion, unless you count other walkers, jogger, bikers and skateboarders.

Historic London

You'd never know from this picture but in London, Ontario, it is often down with the old and up with the new. In this picture, the castle-like building on the left is the former courthouse designed in 1827. On the right is the former jail which was added in 1842. The last hanging in London occurred on the grounds of the old jail.

Towering over both is a recently completed apartment tower. The bird sculpture featured recently hangs just above street level in one corner of this building.

It is believed that the courthouse was partially modelled after the ancestral home of Thomas Talbot's Malahide Castle, near Dublin, Ireland. In future London Daily Photo posts we will revisit these buildings and spend more time examining the old courthouse and jail. Both are worth a more extensive look.

Art Gallery

Museum London is now skinned with simple grey plates. Note chimney-like vent.

Officially it's Museum London but locally it's simply The Art Gallery. Located at The Forks of the Thames in downtown London, Ontario, the building itself is rather interesting, both to look at and to write about. First, the story which ran as an investigative news story when the local paper claimed the design is a rip-off of Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art museum in Fort Worth, Texas. I don't think so. The Kahn building is an inspiration for the London's building. And, as any student of art can tell you, inspiration of this nature has a long and very proud history in the world of art. This is a non-issue.

Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art museum is in Fort Worth, Texas.

Designed by Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama and built in 1980, Museum London was originally a deep rich blue, a colour almost demanded because of the gallery's location at the forks of the Thames. The original blue plates had a dynamic fan design filling each arch.

Unfortunately the metal plates rusted badly and a few years ago the blue skin disappeared to be replaced by the present grey panels. The dynamic fan shapes were replaced with rectangles. Some say this was done to save money. Supposedly, the fancy shapes came with a fancy price.

Inside, the lower level shallow pool has been removed. Rumour has it that a lady tumbled into the pool during the opening night celebration. Deemed a safety hazard, the pool was removed. Others say the pool was causing humidity problems in the gallery but I recall a similar pool in a large hall just past the entrance to the Detroit Institute of Art. It apparently caused no grief.

Note the original blue colour and fan shapes under arches.

And the unpainted, grey concrete walls are no longer unpainted and grey. Many have been sloppily painted white. Personally, I liked the unpainted walls but then I liked the original blue colour and the fan shapes at the top of the arches.

The vast majority of readers who have responded to this post, favoured the original Moriyama design over either the Fort Worth building or the modified London gallery.

Moriyama had it right.

Cheers!

Ratty not a Muskrat

Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows, written early in the last century, is one of the best-loved children's books. In 2003 it was voted one of the UK's top 21 books in the BBC's Big Read. Some folk think that Ratty in the Wind in the Willows is a muskrat. Wrong! Ratty, contrary to what his name may imply, is a British water vole, a distant relative of his cousin from across the pond.

This muskrat was spotted in a marshy area leading to a rain runoff collector pond in one of the newest suburbs in London, Ontario. The culvert under the nearby major roadway, seen at bottom right, gives the muskrat quite the large range.

But if Ratty wasn't a muskrat, don't worry. The muskrat still has made it into pop culture. Are you old enough to recall The Captain and Tennille and their hit single Muskrat Love? No? Well, check out the YouTube video of Toni Tennille.

Pipeline Serving 350,000 Ruptures

The damaged pipe sits off to the side as workers finish the pipeline repairs.

A 48-inch pipeline runs for 48-km through Southwestern Ontario carrying water from Lake Huron north of Grand Bend to Arva on the north edge of London, Ontario. Early Monday morning that pipeline broke, pressure dropped in the line and a small pond formed near the village of Mount Carmel.

Tuesday the break, which affected two sections of pipe, was repaired. By afternoon the line was being refilled and would then be flushed to return it to full operation by sometime that night.

London, Ontario, and area is growing and the pipeline is admittedly overtaxed both in volume of water carried and by the velocity of the water being transported. The line has been partially twinned and this break has underlined the importance of finishing the twinning job.

Full story on Digital Journal.

Art

A simple sculpture dresses up the exterior of a new apartment building.

There's a new apartment building in downtown London, Ontario. It was built as an upscale place to live but it is getting mixed reviews. A retired gentleman told me that he and his wife considered moving there but when they saw the apartment that was in their budget range, it was far too small. It made them feel claustrophobic, he said.

Today I was downtown and noticed that a large piece of art has been hung at the corner of the building. The place does keep trying.