Piles of snow around Lachine

The part of the canal in front of Lachine is lined by trees and stone pillars that were nearly buried in snow today. And to think even more snow is on the way! Subtlety was the name of the game today, the scenery was monochrome and the sounds were of complete silence at times. To capture the canal, pale blue shadows were interleaved with some brownish-yellowish ice showing where the wind had blown the snow away at the bottom of the canal. A few sprigs in the foreground provided some colour.

Snowy trees canal, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, February 2025

 

A bit further west, near the old fur trading post, this similar view had  more variety in the trees including pine trees and a willow tree. A few brush stroked were added at home to enhance the contrast and textures in the foreground. 

Trees around snowy canal, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, February 2025 

 

The real snow birds, watercolour 5 x 7" cold press, February 2025

 Snow birds are people who live in Florida all winter, but these bird houses presumably were for the real snow birds. Maybe they were empty though. In the background is the st Lawrence river which had some visible water where it was flowing. I could not get very close to that part of the water because the path was completely snow covered and it had been a slog to get my bike this far. 

 

Turning up 18th avenue, I found this scene of some old fashioned houses covered in snow. The paint froze and dried pale, so I embellished the details at home. Victoria street had just been plowed clean so it made for a decent ride to and from Lachine. Its hard to get out here in the winter, especially if we get more snow tomorrow. I probably wont go back until Spring.

Houses in snow, watercolour 6 x 7.5" cold press, February 2025