The Ottawa River, on this last day of March 2015 remains yet frozen, not surprising, given how extremely cold this month has been. Some of the snow has melted atop the ice, giving the river a strange mottled look, but the ice remains intact except for one area adjacent the Pickard Wastewater plant. Snow is beginning to melt with the heat of the sun, but this day won't get above freezing, and the melt will be slow in coming, more advanced as April moves in. There are still ice pans moving ponderously along to the Rideau Falls, then hurtling over into the river below with a resounding !splash!, though we didn't venture out there today to have a look.

Our destination was ByWard Market to pick up a few magazines at Fags and Mags, and then on to one of our favourite cheese shops for a medley of both imported and local cheeses; their variety cannot be matched anywhere else -- oh, of course at other cheese specialty shops co-located at the Market -- and they're fairly priced.

We stopped briefly at a lookout over the Ottawa River to have a closer look and take a few quick shots. The view across the river into Quebec always reminds me of a 19th Century landscape. And in the background, the Gatineau Hills can be seen, beckoning and familiar.

We could have parked almost anywhere at the Market, there were not all that many people browsing around. It's just not the 'right' time of year for that. And we don't mind one little bit, since we don't have to bulldoze our way through crowds of people at this juncture. A few booths were set up on the street, selling jewellery, handicrafts and woollens from Central America. And one large booth selling maple sugar products. Soon they'll be joined by flower vendors, gardening vendors, and the usual locals selling local vegetables and fruits later on in the season; root vegetables to begin with, then gradually late spring berries and asparagus and wild garlic, and eventually autumn tree fruit.

It's a pleasant drive along the Western Parkway with long, wide views and plenty of specimen trees, and now and again good sightings of the river itself. A nice trip, one that doesn't take long, and exposes us now and again to the familiar parts of the city we live in that we enjoy visiting on occasion.