Infill development: Where will all the dogs go?

Maybe you've seen these containers pop up here and there around town. They look like garbage receptacles with a plastic bag dispenser. This one's behind the new condos on LeBreton Flats, along the tailrace:

The building manager of the Gladstone Sports and Health Centre first brought this to my attention. Since the giant Bell Street Apartments are surrounded by concrete and asphalt all around, the residents of that building let their dogs go on the GSHC lawns. The owners tend to leave the dogs' leavings where the dogs left them, with disgusting results come springtime:

Confronted with this infiltration of defecation, the building manager asked how to get enforcement of the stoop-and-scoop by-laws. These regulations are posted on signs around the city, usually in public parks.

The Birdcage gang

These three birds were at Bridgehead on Elgin one day recently, lined up like three gangsters up to no good.

They've been around for a while, and they have a record of sealing from Bridgehead customers. I put my spikey helmet on top of my plate to protect my food from them when I go inside!

I blogged a bunch of photos and videos in this 2008 post. In 2009, I took some photos of this one helping himself to my muffin. You can see the threatening mobster look in his eye, saying "don't even think about doing anything about this!"

He's got backup watching from the ledge, to make sure I don't try any funny stuff. They mean it! One of them left a 'surprise' on my head the other day.

And they were raised so well by their mother. Where did they go wrong?

Just kidding about the mob stuff! ;-)

But in other bird-related news, the free outdoor film festival Centretown Movies will be showing The Birdcage tonight (which was screened separately last year in the Village), 7pm at Dundonald Park. On the Friday screenings, donations collected go to a specific group or cause. Tonight's proceeds will go to Planned Parenthood Ottawa.

Donations collected at the Saturday films go toward the festival's operating costs to keep it free. Last week's screening of E.T. filled the park with moviegoers on their blankets, camping chairs, and even a couch!

Pigeons

This pair of pigeons at a house on Flora were almost posing for a painting, mirroring each other's position on the third-floor windowsill. Though I think the symmetry was a coincidence.

[Look for more one-photo posts under the label Singles]

The Bridgehead Birds (with videos)

I had the opportunity to visit Beijing a few years back (just before the SARS scare), and one of the tings I remarked over the 10 or so days I was there was that I only noticed two birds during the whole trip.

In Centretown, the situation is much different. Here's Bridgehead on Elgin, as taken from the 2nd storey of the Fox and Feather Pub--essentially the reverse of the first photo in this post. (Note: the steak was good at the F&F, but everything else was pretty cheap. Salad was tasteless, and dressing comes in individual Kraft packages.)

I frequently go here after work, and if it's a nice day out (or if it's freezing inside), I'll sit on the patio, read the papers, do the crossword, meet a friend, or perhaps prepare a blog entry or two. Here's a nice shot of the view from mid-June:

There is a small flock of birds that likes to hang out in the little garden next to the patio, and these birds bring much pleasure and enjoyment. Here they are this past week, one of them (presumably the mother) feeding the others crumbs off the pavement: