Well, it seemed like a good day for a stroll along the Ottawa River. This is a view on the south bank, not far from the Champlain Bridge.

After a bit of relatively fruitless beach-combing, I headed over the bridge to Bate Island (a place I’ve mentioned before). While I did come across what I’ll describe as a pottery shard, I don’t believe it was of any great value to the archaeological record. Anyways, things were hopping on the island. There appears to be some sort of construction project in progress, judging from the bulldozer and loaders rolling around. Road re-surfacing, maybe refurbishing the trails as well. The ubiquitous kayakers were also present. They were practising rolls, by the looks of it.

I settled down on a picnic bench, spread out some long overdue paperwork (is there any other kind?), and got to work. Before long, I was greeted by some of the island’s residents:

Geese parenting seems to be a tricky job — and man, are they territorial! At one point, a chubby old groundhog ambled up to a pair geese and their fuzzy offspring. The one parent immediately took to a fit of hissing that made me jump, which of course sent the critter packing. I assumed the he was just curious or whatever, but then got to thinking: would he try and take down one of the goslings? You can see the groundhog here (on the far right), along with the vigilant parents:

Noticing the great numbers of people out and about, I couldn’t help but think about this article I read recently (via kottke.org) — what’s their story? How come they’re not at work or something? Of course, I didn’t interrogate any passersby with the hope of satisfying my curiosity… I guess it’s heartening to see folks living outside the 9 to 5 paradigm. Like this fellow here, who works from his sailboat.

In addition to the benefits of sunshine and fresh air, setting up in the park this morning was something of an experiment in outdoor productivity. At first, it’s strange not having the internet right there to answer any questions that pop up — instead, you just have to think through things under your own steam. Even if you do the laptop/wireless thing, on bright days the glare can be so impenetrable that reading the monitor becomes impossible. Subscribers to the “Al fresco” workday are also left to contend with the wind and sun; shades and SPF 45 are a good idea, and a paperweight or two doesn’t hurt either.