Working Wednesdays - Concrete Pour

So I'm introducing another theme day for this blog...

Working Wednesdays #1

Each Wednesday posting will feature folk at work in and around Calgary and this is the first. I couldn't talk to this guy because he was busy concentrating on where his concrete was going and his truck was parked at the side of a four lane avenue full of traffic. I would have liked to ask what building he was helping to construct... but I was driving past with no chance to stop.

Talking of Tall Towers

The Calgary Tower was once the tallest building in Calgary. These days it's a bit of a midget!
The Calgary Tower is the red mushroom on a stick that you can see reflected in the blue glass building. It still offers great views of the city from the top and on special occasions (like New Years Eve) there's a gas flame on the top that can be lit to provide a brilliant flare against the night sky.
The Canadian Pacific Rail line runs at the base of the tower...those round tankers are carrying grain...at least the red one is. I'm not sure about the rest!

Looking through

I mentioned in an earlier post that there are lots of cranes in Calgary right now. Today downtown I counted...there are more than twenty. It's almost impossible to take a photo without including at least one crane.

This shot was taken through a porthole in the fence of a construction site...put there so passers-by can peek. The cranes are busy building a huge skyscraper which will be called "The Bow."

Originally planned as two towers, only the north tower will now be built. The south tower fell victim to the economic crisis.

Street Art Sunday

Just so you know...Sundays on this blog will be dedicated to Street Art (both the official and the unofficial kind) and and so this is the first posting for: -

Street Art Sunday #1

This shot shows half of a giant mural in downtown Calgary. It's painted on the side of the CUPS building. Calgary Urban Projects (CUPS) is a non-profit organistation dedicated to ending individual and family poverty and their message is one of hope. They deal with people living life on the margins of society and on weekdays their doors are always open.
The mural is beautiful and a bright spot on a dusty downtown street corner.

Bygone Days

This brightly coloured display of vintage gas pumps is at Calgary's Heritage Park.

Heritage Park is an outdoor museum featuring actual buildings from Calgary's past, transported to this site, restored and furnished to their original state.
There's a working paddle steamer and steam train, a land claims office, hospital, one room school house, farm, RCMP post (complete with gaol)...it's a fascinating place to spend a day. Especially at weekends in summer when throughout the day actors in period costume tell the story of a
young couple - each scene set in a different building.

The barn with it's display of the history the motor vehicles in Western Canada is one of my favourite parts of the museum.

It's all those colours!

Spot the Imposter

One of these is not a newspaper vending box but an electrical switching box cunningly diguised as an advertisement for one of our liveliest visual art venues - Art Central. Can you spot it?

This picture (taken last spring) shows what life in our growing city has been like for the few years. New buildings going up everywhere! The downtown was full of construction sites.
with the recession, it's a little quiter these days but on any given day it's easy to count nine or ten huge cranes at work in the city centre.

GO FLAMES GO!

The NHL playoff's have begun.

Here's hoping for a long run for the Calgary Flames hockey team.

This picture is from the 2004 playoff run when we came soooo...close!

This is the reception you get when you're the runners up...just imagine if they brought home Lord Stanley's cup! The city would go nuts.

Here in Calgary, we love the Flames.

What? More snow!

This jack rabbit looks about as pleased as I was to see the snow this morning. I shouldn't be surprised...we can get snow in any month here in Calgary (yes, even in July and August!)

These wild jack rabbits are actually hares and not rabbits at all. They can be found in most residential neighbourhoods in this city. Year-round residents, they change their duds according to the season. Also known as snowshoe hares, in winter they are a beautiful pure white to match the snow. About three weeks ago their fur began to take on it's brown summer colouration. Looks like they changed their outfits just a little early!

Kids Building Blocks

A reflection of Calgary's new Children's Hospital in the windows of the parkade.
The hospital opened in September 2006 with a look designed with the involvment of the patients and parents who would use it.
It stands on a prominant hill above the Bow River valley looking like a tower made from of brightly coloured wooden blocks.
It certainly makes a statement!

Snow is Melting Fast

Spring is coming to Calgary...but it's slow. After weeks of cold temperatures we finally had a week of sunshine and warmth and the snow is going. Today was a day for sitting by the Bow River in your lunch hour and watching the last of the river ice melt.