Tourist season is well underway. And finally, NO construction noise, at least not on the Hill itself. There is still construction next to the former U.S. embassy across the street.

Lots of people sounds, seagull sounds, tours in progress - a tour guide just walked beside me, arms outstretched and softly singing it "Wouldn't it be Loverly" from My Fair Lady.

It's a bit windy today - as it has been all summer. It's been hard to find a still day conducive to good recording. I am sitting next to a concret pillar sheltered from the wind. I am waiting for the 12:00 chimes.

I now have a structure for my piece -- using the bells of the Peace Tower as a unifying motif, I will be composing the various moods of the hill. Nine am will be the tourist mood of the hill. Noon is the usual time for dialogue on the front lawn -- most political demonstrations happen at noon. At two pm, we get to see our leaders in action at a dramatic event called "Question Period".

I'm not sure yet what there is to be said at the end of the day ... that part of the piece will have to wait.

I am thinking about all the sounds I have collected over the past few months. I actually began this part of the suite last winter, long before I even knew what shape this project was going to take. I have listened to this space a lot -- it is a place I like to go to reflect, think, write and practice my mike technique. I do wish there were more benches to sit on, though. Fortunately it's a place where one can sit in the middle of the lawn when it's not snowy or rainy. I have done this many times.

One of my favourite sounds I've recorded happened last winter. I came down to a small protest being held around the Centennial flame. It was in the winter. I realized that protests in Ottawa are a lot less loud in the winter than they are in the summer. It's just not possible to generate loud, enthusiastic applause through thick, insulated mittens. My recording cannot accurately reproduce the unique "thwump, thwump, thwumps" of a Gore-tex ski glove. No wonder Canadians are so quiet on the world stage. Our voices get lost in all our padding half the year.

Time to listen back again and figure out what the last movement of this adventure will be.

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