L'Amoreaux Park

While driving north on Brimley Road, I noticed a sign to L'Amoreaux Park on the east.  I had a curious inclination to visit it since it contains a strong resemblance to my family name.

Although I was on my way north I had some time to stop by.  I must admit now is not the best time to be taking a lot of nature shots as most of leaves have changed colours and dropped to the ground already leaving many branches bare.  Most of the latter part of autumn this year I missed due to an injury (klutzy me!) 

 It was pretty mild out still for November, so I took a little walk around to see what little surprises this park had for me. 

My first impression was that it wasn't going to be very big but before long you could see many curious paths going into different directions.  One small paved trail bordered a vast pond, another to small leafless trees, while still another circled a wood chipped covered trail.

To the north end of the trail it expanded to the L'Amoreaux Sports Complex which included the Kidstown Water Park, and the L'Amoreaux Community and Recreational Centre to east.  

The animals seemed quite comfortable in the centre of a heavily populated part of town and used to plenty of visitors crossing their path.

The L'Amoreaux Park constitutes over 50% of parkland between Steeles to the north and Finch to the south, it deserves another visit once the foliage returns.
 

It is also quite close to Passmore Forest, which is a tiny piece of shaded bliss of woodland.  It resembles more the look of a provincial park, rather than a piece of urban forest.  The woodchip trail that leads through a diversely populated mixed forest.  I am not at all educated in the many types of trees but I could easily identify the red oak, beech and white pine.   and red oak to name only a few of the tree species present.

I enjoyed my little visit and sometimes prefer to take photos on my own for this particular reason so that I can stop and discover hidden gems like these.  

Rogers Reservoir Conservation Area (East Gwillimbury)

If you've ever stumbled upon a beautiful place than you will know how I felt when I came here.  The Rogers Reservoir is located in East Gwillimbury (a very difficult town to pronounce when asking directions! Thank Heavens for GPS)

This is the Rogers Reservoir Conservation Area.  It is 96 hectares of breathtakingly beautiful landscape.  Located on the Holland River, this shallow reservoir and marsh area brings in all types of nesting birds and waterfowl.

The canal is home to one of the locks along the 'ghost canal system, which was apparently built somewhere around 1911 and never used.  The idea was to aid in water transport between Newmarket and Lake Simcoe.  You can see the remnants off of Green Lane to the 2nd Concession in East Gwillimbury of the canal, a lock and a swing bridge as well.

I didn't check out the hiking trail, but instead chose to walk along the shoreline to catch some pretty awesome views here.  Maybe back again for the first signs of Spring, but for now pretty happy with the memories I caught here in my camera.

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Sharon Temple

This elegant structure was another wonderful find, located in Sharon Ontario, known as the 'Sharon Temple'.  It was built by two master carpenters under the religious vision of David Willson between 1825-32.  Mr. Willson's plans were inspired by the biblical description of Solomon's Temple and the New Jerusalem.  The square design symbolized the egalitarian beliefs and cooperative principles of the sect called 'The Children of Peace'  

Once a month and on holidays there were celebrations of song and festivities in the temple.  Today there are still activities that continue including illumination of the Temple, art and music shows, fall lantern tours and Christmas time events.  

David Willson, the builder of the sect leader of the Children of Peace was born in New York city in 1773.  For some reason, he was disowned by the Society of Friends (known as the Quakers) so he set off to live hereabouts in East Gwillimbury.  His religious beliefs and principles had grown a small following which still maintained some of the code of ethics used by the Quakers, howeve
r there was much emphasis placed on music and education.

The Children of Peace were known as Davidites.  The sect of the Davidites subsided after the death of David Willson in 1866.  The last service performed in the Temple was twenty years later.  

The Temple and property were salvaged from demolition by the York Pioneer Historical Society in 1916.

Ontario Science Centre

It was a long time since I've been to the Ontario Science Centre, and since I never blogged it in the 'Things to Do Around Town' section of my blog, this cold and blustery fall afternoon seemed as good as a time as any.  As you enter the Science Centre you will be taken down a long hallway (known as 'The Bridge').  This was one of my favorite spots in

the Science Centre as a child because of the awesome views of nature out of the windows.

Today, the views are still there and just as awesome, as well as a long line of ancient rocks up to four billion years old (the actual rocks aren't that old, but tiny grains in them called zircons are.)  The earth is 4.5 billion years old.  You may wonder why the oldest rocks aren't that old too?  It turns out shortly after the Earth formed, in the violent early days of the solar system, it was hit by a Mars-sized planet and mostly liquified into lava again! The debris launched into space coalesced and became our Moon. It's mind-blowingly daunting and humbling that a human lifetime on this scale is a thousandth of a millimetre, much thinner than a coat of paint!

High Park Toronto

After three weeks of healing a broken foot it was really an amazing feeling to toss aside my aircast boot (my frankenboot) and to squeeze into a running shoe again to get back on to the trails. I actually opted for the air boot over a plaster cast for comfort and convenience. It's great when you need to take it off for sleeping or before bathing. It's been really difficult without having the agility to move around and explore the parks and trails I love so much, and my camera had to have the dust blown off it as well. But today was a great day to try an easier trail before all the fall colours were gone.


High Park is centrally located in Toronto has 338 acres of some of the most beautiful settings anywhere. It has such an unusual sense of wilderness in an urban setting as it combines the forests with watershed creeks and contains the largest pond in the City (Grenadier). It's also protected and has the only area of Black Oak Savannah trees within the city. Trails here are hard pressed and some are paved so its a good choice for a virgin outing without the cast.


 
As it turns out, I may have been a little too enthusiastic, so was unable to finish but still took a few pictures to add to my collection. A dose of Vitamin D from the sun didn't hurt either!

Here are a few of the shots I took today.

Don River Trail

the flow of the Don

On a recent trip into an old haunt, I took these pictures of one of the nicest trails in Toronto, the Don River trail.

It starts at Edwards Gardens as you head south towards the Lakeshore, and covers over 13 kilometres, which is a nice trek whether you're running, hiking or biking.  The pavement is smooth for the most part and offers a wide range of photo opportunities as you can see here.

Entering the Don Valley

Since first discovering this trail in 2005 I've seen lots of physical changes to it over such a short time.  The land on either side of the path has been bulldozed in some areas and opened up to expand to further forests to discover, as well as new bike trails into Crothers Woods.

on route to Crothers Woods

natures' lovely mess

There are new additional waterfall features that have been added to the southern flow of the Don River as well.  I wouldn't compare this to the more spectacular flows of the Niagara Escarpment but for an urban city as large as Toronto, it's still pretty incredible to find as much parkland as still exists here.  One of the locations of the new waterfall features is south of the footbridge on the west embankment as the Don Valley Parkway and Don Mills Road conjoin. 

When the Don Valley Parkway was first built up in the 1950s and 1960s to meet the growing demands of the commuting city, some geographical changes to the land surrounding the Don River involved a pretty large engineering project.  

Port Lands

spooky reflections

I see a lady's face, do you?

new Don Waterfall (handheld-no tripod, no good)

I have no idea what he's doing here

For example two of the hills within the valley were leveled out and the soil was used for grading the highway.  The railways and the Don River were then diverted, as Don Mills Road was expanded along with Eglinton and Lawrence Avenues.  I don't want to dwell on the details of the projects as much as the damage that the price of modernization caused the Don Valley and the river flow of the Don River, which was soon inundated with pollution, heavy flooding and sediment-laden waters.  In other words the Don became a filthy, neglected, polluted mess.

I actually remember when my father would take us down the DVP when we were kids, telling us to hold our noses because it smelled so bad.  It may have been funny then as children, but as an adult, I can tell you nothing upsets me more than polluted waterways.

Guard House - Cherry Beach circa 1930

the docks of the Guard House

Thankfully, in the early 1990s a public forum gathered much steam at the Ontario Science Centre of all the appropriate places to start up a task force to 'Bring Back the Don'.  I'm happy to say than now, over 20 years later, it's just a beautiful sight and sound to hear the crashing flow of the Don over rocks and ridges while making her way south into the Lake Ontario.

Busy bee

So, once you find yourself at the the Lakeshore, if you have enough energy left, scoot across to Cherry Street past the Port Lands Ship Channel all the way down to Cherry Beach where you'll find lovely views of the Lake, the Life 'GuardHouse' circa 1930 and pretty interesting people.   

..life's good..

Entering the Don Valley

Abandoned bridge on the trail

In the midst of all the hubbub of a city of over 5 million in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), you can still find a man swinging on a hammock with a guitar in his hands, toque on his head, and a song in his heart... life's good.

Tabor Hill Iroquois Burial Mound

Taber Hill also spelled Tabor Hill is an Iroquois burial mound in Toronto, Ontario. It is located near Lawrence Avenue and Bellamy Road in Scarborough. The cemetery was discovered on August 17, 1956 when a steam shovel was in the process of demolishing the 60 foot high hill. The soil was being transported for use in construction an overpass for Highway 401 and the cleared site was then intended to be turned into a suburban subdivision.

After digging some one hundred feet into the hill the workers found a large collection of human bones. The ossuary was eventually found to be about fifty feet long, seven feet wide, and one foot deep. An estimated 472 individuals are believed to have been buried there. The burial dates to about 1250 CE.





The provincial government expropriated the site, exchanging it for land elsewhere in the area. It was proclaimed a cemetery and has since been administered by the city. At the top of the mound is a memorial with a historical plaque on one side and a prayer written by an Iroquois leader on the other. While designated a cemetery, there have been concerns that the area is often used as a park. Tobogganing is an especially popular activity on the steep hill.