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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:




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.

Comments

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.
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...
Nora Blithe said…
It does sound like a scary name for a place that's supposed to be pretty.
Liz A. said…
Are you sure the CIA isn't involved somehow?

I love the international class you're bringing to the noncompetition.
That is pretty neat!
laughing mom said…
An experimental farm, hunh? Growing pods for bodies?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
nonamedufus said…
"They're here already! You're next! You're next, You're next...!" (loved that movie)
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.
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.
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!
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.
frankleemeidere said…
I'm pretty sure my wife and her first husband used to steal corn from there back in the early '70s.
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.
nonamedufus said…
The tool age? Who you calling a tool?
nonamedufus said…
The 70s? And that would have been the cannabis corn?
Ziva said…
The Central Experimental Farm? I thought that was the official name for Canada...
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.
nonamedufus said…
Yeah, or investigate Cabinet Ministers who lose theirs.
I've no idea what you're talking about...
frankleemeidere said…
Yes. "Hey, Kettle? It's pot calling. He wants to tell you something."
nonamedufus said…
Yeah and we have an experimental Prime Minister. You've heard of the Frankenstein experiment, right?
...wait, I haven't finished yet...but I'm quite prepared to identify any tools if, God forbid, it is called for...
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.
Kristen said…
If you put your picture (experiment farm) and Ziva's gas mask together... and that would give me nightmares at night.
nonamedufus said…
Oh, listen, Ziva and her whip give me nightmares. But in a kinda good way.
nonamedufus said…
As long as you're not telling me my shed's shy a few tools.
Nicky said…
I love this picture Dufus! And my goodness, wasn't somebody paying attention in history class?! A+ my friend.
nonamedufus said…
Um, ah, no snarky comments? What the heck have you done with the real Nicky?!
meleahrebeccah said…
well, that sure is one pretty road. I wouldn't mind driving down that at all.
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.
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.
meleahrebeccah said…
I wish we had roads like that around here.
nonamedufus said…
You could always visit. The city's full of streets like this, canals, parks, bike paths. It's gorgeous.
Ziva said…
You shall be rewarded for this comment.
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.
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.
nonamedufus said…
Oh, yay. I aim to please.
nonamedufus said…
Well, okay then.
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!!!!
Nicky said…
What can I say, my friend. You bring out the best in me :-)
nonamedufus said…
Oh, yeah, absolutely. Not to mention chocolate peppermint lima beans and bacon flavoured snow peas for those of us who hate vegetables.
nonamedufus said…
Tough day at work, eh?
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.
nonamedufus said…
Exactly. You get it, Cheryl.
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!
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.
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.

;-)
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.

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