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30 Days of Photos - #4 - The Experiment

If you expected to find Pause Ponder and Pun here don't worry. You can still leave a caption on this week's pic over at dufus daze while we run 30 Days of Photos on my main blog...

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Welcome to 30 Days of Photos, where 18 bloggers are participating in posting a photo a day for 30 days. Here are the other 17 you can visit after you've been here:

Ziva, Mike, Nicky & Mike, Mo, Meleah, Bryan, Mariann, Malissa, Nora, Laughing Mom, Tanya, Elizabeth, 00dozo, Cheryl, Kristen Pam and Katherine



Here's something unusual for an urban centre. In the heart of Canada's capital is a huge block of open land (400 hectares) called The Central Experimental Farm. It was established in 1886 (thats a long time for an "experiment") as the central research station for the federal Department of Agriculture. When I first entered the public service in the mid 80s (that's the 1990s) I worked at Agriculture in the Sir John Carling Building located on the farm.

Cutting through the farm is a public road, a picture of which is above. The road is actually called The Driveway. We usually drive on a parkway and park on a driveway. But in Ottawa, at least, one can actually drive on The Driveway.
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Comments

Mo "Mad Dog" Stoneskin said…
The Central Experimental Farm sounds like something that belongs in a thriller. I would worry about driving down that driveway for fear of being eaten by a ginormous rabid fly-trap.
4 April 2012 at 08:32
Unfinished Person said…
The Central Experimental Farm: It sounds like something out of Doctor Who or Torchwood. I don't know if I want to know what they do there...
4 April 2012 at 08:55
Nora Blithe said…
It does sound like a scary name for a place that's supposed to be pretty.
4 April 2012 at 10:02
Liz A. said…
Are you sure the CIA isn't involved somehow?

I love the international class you're bringing to the noncompetition.
4 April 2012 at 10:22
Pam van Hylckama said…
That is pretty neat!
4 April 2012 at 10:27
laughing mom said…
An experimental farm, hunh? Growing pods for bodies?
4 April 2012 at 12:34
Cheryl P. said…
Very clever, you Canadians. Driving on the Driveway, that would confuse us foreigners. Well, actually a lot confuses us. People from the states are terribly confused on how to drive.
4 April 2012 at 12:49
nonamedufus said…
They grow different statins of crops to see how well they fare in our climate. A big help to Canadian farmers over the years, actually.
4 April 2012 at 13:36
nonamedufus said…
Oh, if the competition had been in May or June the trees, flowers and crops would have been in full bloom. The farm also has an arboretum and lovely gardens.
4 April 2012 at 13:37
nonamedufus said…
Hey we have our own spooks. They work for CSIS, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Nobody knows what they do. Maybe they secured these flowers.
4 April 2012 at 13:42
nonamedufus said…
It really is, when you think of it. The idea in itself is interesting but having it smack dab in the middle of the city is really something.
4 April 2012 at 13:43
nonamedufus said…
"They're here already! You're next! You're next, You're next...!" (loved that movie)
4 April 2012 at 13:46
nonamedufus said…
I found that fascinating that it was actually called The Driveway, because we actually have a lot of parkways in Ottawa. I really had to laugh and so I shared it.
4 April 2012 at 13:48
nonamedufus said…
Oh, I only travel there in daylight. Absolutely. But the rabid fly-traps are actually safely contained in the greenhouses and I steer clear of there.
4 April 2012 at 13:49
Linda Medrano said…
What kind of experiments do they do on that farm? I'm never going there. Animals and mad scientists scare me. Great photo though!
4 April 2012 at 14:17
frankleemeidere said…
CSIS is an oddity in that it is a strange combination of FBI and CIA -- it has powers both inside and outside the country, but can sometimes be over-ridden by the RCMP in some areas. It would be very confusing, and a potential source of intergovernmental rivalry, but fortunately CSIS's only real responsibility is to lose briefcases.
4 April 2012 at 14:28
frankleemeidere said…
I'm pretty sure my wife and her first husband used to steal corn from there back in the early '70s.
4 April 2012 at 14:29
Mo "Mad Dog" Stoneskin said…
That's wise. But I read about a frightening development in the evolution of animalised rabid fly-traps the other day, something about entering the "tool age" so beware.
4 April 2012 at 14:38
nonamedufus said…
The tool age? Who you calling a tool?
4 April 2012 at 14:55
nonamedufus said…
The 70s? And that would have been the cannabis corn?
4 April 2012 at 14:56
Ziva said…
The Central Experimental Farm? I thought that was the official name for Canada...
4 April 2012 at 14:58
nonamedufus said…
The photo would have been better if the trees had leaves and if it had been a sunny day. It's really a lovely driveway. No need to worry about the experiments, Linda. They test strains of seeds to determine how hardy crops are. That's all.
4 April 2012 at 14:59
nonamedufus said…
Yeah, or investigate Cabinet Ministers who lose theirs.
4 April 2012 at 15:00
Mo "Mad Dog" Stoneskin said…
I've no idea what you're talking about...
4 April 2012 at 15:02
frankleemeidere said…
Yes. "Hey, Kettle? It's pot calling. He wants to tell you something."
4 April 2012 at 15:05
nonamedufus said…
Yeah and we have an experimental Prime Minister. You've heard of the Frankenstein experiment, right?
4 April 2012 at 15:10
Mo "Mad Dog" Stoneskin said…
...wait, I haven't finished yet...but I'm quite prepared to identify any tools if, God forbid, it is called for...
4 April 2012 at 15:12
nonamedufus said…
I once had an employee who would take cabinet memoranda home with her to work on there. Problem was she'd read the document on the friggin' bus.
4 April 2012 at 15:13
Kristen said…
If you put your picture (experiment farm) and Ziva's gas mask together... and that would give me nightmares at night.
4 April 2012 at 15:23
nonamedufus said…
Oh, listen, Ziva and her whip give me nightmares. But in a kinda good way.
4 April 2012 at 15:27
nonamedufus said…
As long as you're not telling me my shed's shy a few tools.
4 April 2012 at 15:28
Nicky said…
I love this picture Dufus! And my goodness, wasn't somebody paying attention in history class?! A+ my friend.
4 April 2012 at 15:31
nonamedufus said…
Um, ah, no snarky comments? What the heck have you done with the real Nicky?!
4 April 2012 at 15:35
meleahrebeccah said…
well, that sure is one pretty road. I wouldn't mind driving down that at all.
4 April 2012 at 15:41
nonamedufus said…
It is Meleah, particularly in the summer. I have to visit the hospital in Ottawa a couple of times a month and this is the route I take. I never tire of it.
4 April 2012 at 15:54
Mikewj said…
I agree with Mo, it sounds very Orwellian. What do they grow there, and how is it that the valuable city land hasn't been swapped long ago for real farmland? What a strange concept.
4 April 2012 at 16:19
meleahrebeccah said…
I wish we had roads like that around here.
4 April 2012 at 16:23
nonamedufus said…
You could always visit. The city's full of streets like this, canals, parks, bike paths. It's gorgeous.
4 April 2012 at 16:29
Ziva said…
You shall be rewarded for this comment.
4 April 2012 at 16:30
nonamedufus said…
The original city/region planners built in "greenbelts" and zoned them so no construction could take place in those areas. Some areas have been rezoned over the years but there's still plenty of open green spaces. To rezone the farm, though, would be a sacrilege.
4 April 2012 at 16:32
nonamedufus said…
Bring your clubs. Hey we could do a threesome with Nicky. She just lives 2 hours down the road. No, not in THAT way.
4 April 2012 at 16:57
nonamedufus said…
Oh, yay. I aim to please.
4 April 2012 at 16:57
nonamedufus said…
Well, okay then.
4 April 2012 at 17:31
Steve Bailey said…
The Central Experimental Farm??? Do they grow things like Cucumber Radish Chicken Eggs..... or Pig Apple Corn Stalks???? I need to know!!!!
4 April 2012 at 18:16
Nicky said…
What can I say, my friend. You bring out the best in me :-)
4 April 2012 at 18:44
nonamedufus said…
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Not to mention chocolate peppermint lima beans and bacon flavoured snow peas for those of us who hate vegetables.
4 April 2012 at 18:46
nonamedufus said…
Tough day at work, eh?
4 April 2012 at 18:47
Cheryl said…
So many ridiculous things are racing through my mind but I'm going to go with what's in my heart: thank gawd someone had the foresight to set aside this beautiful space.
4 April 2012 at 19:12
nonamedufus said…
Exactly. You get it, Cheryl.
4 April 2012 at 20:49
Katherine Murray said…
I love the last line - around here, you indeed park in the driveway. Unless of course you are one of my sons who is learning how to drive. Then you park wherever you can actually get the car!
4 April 2012 at 21:36
nonamedufus said…
It's one of those oxymorons isn't it? Parking in the driveway and driving on the parkway. You know like jumbo shrimp and military intelligence.
5 April 2012 at 05:09
00dozo said…
And in Toronto, one does actually park on the parkway - The Don Valley Parkway, that is.

I like the perspective of your photo - one could imagine that The Driveway 'terminates' at the gates of the Experimental Farm. Eerie.

;-)
5 April 2012 at 10:06
nonamedufus said…
You're right. I've been on the DVP. The road you think ends at a gate actually ends at a very picturesque traffic roundabout. It's really a cool place. In the flower and shrub section locals get a great idea of what flowers will thrive in their own gardens and what they'll look like.
5 April 2012 at 10:18
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