It's that time of year again. In British Columbia the sun is shining and fruit trees are in blossom. In Ottawa the sun is also shining, though the sky is covered with white billowy clouds in places, and milder weather is on the horizon; no fruit trees will bloom here yet for months to come. But municipal crews are out on the Ottawa River, cutting keys in the ice to ensure that spring flooding is kept to a minimum - when it begins.

An ice control boom is installed in the late fall at Strathcona Rapids to slow the surface flow, promote an ice cover, and limit the volume of ice (slush), anchored ice and ice dams in the river. The ice control boom increases the efficiency of ice breaking and clearing operations in February and March.

Cutting keys

Starting above Rideau Falls, saws are used to cut keys to remove large pieces of ice along portions of the river.

Ice breaking operations

Charges (explosives) and amphibious excavating equipment are used in various spots along the river to break ice apart to create open water. Ice breaking operations continue daily until the river's flow is stabilized.

And here, in our little geographic corner of the Ottawa Valley, part of the City of Ottawa, but somewhat removed, we can almost smell the teasing fragrance of spring at times. Today is also quite windy, so that will add some chill to the otherwise-mild temperatures. Which will also assist the snowpack to begin its long, inexorable melt.

Ambling through the woodland ravine adjacent our street it's clear, as is always the case at this transitional time of year, that neighbourhood dogs have abandoned their civility, and dog owners their social responsibilities, leaving the trails littered with dark piles of droppings. At this time of year we keep our eyes on alert and do the well-exercised spring side-step.

The squirrel population is far more in evidence now, veritable hordes of them streaming out of the trees to the cache places they know peanuts will be left for them. During the winter months they're less likely to be seen in their numbers, although on our round-trips we can see that the peanuts we've laid out have always been discreetly collected.

The ice on the streambed in the bottom reaches of the ravine has rotted, and the stream itself quickly moving. Where a light layer of fresh snow has fallen on what is left of the stream's ice, we can see the square footprints of ducks beginning their spring migration, stopping briefly in the urban forest, swooping down to the stream.