The Ganaraska Forest

How can anything be so perfect? The look, feel, smell and sounds of autumn. This is the Ganaraska Forest and it is the largest forest in Southern Ontario with hundreds of kilometres of trails.


It's also the oldest region protected under the Conservation Authorities act, formed in 1946. The watersheds throughout the forest cover a 935-square kilometre area from Wilmot creek in Clarington to east of Cobourg and from Rice Lake down to Lake Ontario.


It rained again on that day. I never remembered autumn being so cold and wet since I was a child. No matter what mood the weather is in, the colors surrounding you will always make fall the most beautiful of all seasons to me.


Missed the entrance to the forest off highway 35/115, a couple of times actually going north and coming back southbound. Be cautioned: once you see the signs of the Ganaraska Forest, you may as well slow right down because there aren't any heads-up signage, so you may very well miss the main 'tourist' entrance. In retrospect though, this allowed the findings of a more secluded entrance off of Boundary Road, a narrow dirt and gravel road. As this particular off-road entrance is forbidden to motorized vehicles, you'll have to trust your vehicle off to the side while you hike in. 

Didn't do much of a hike today, rain really fell hard at times. Took some photographs before darkness came, saw no wildlife at all around. Smelled some wood smoke nearby and heard the quiet tapping of wet rain under my feet. Like I said before, how can anything be so perfect ?

Roy Thompson Hall

Well, I finally experienced the symphony for the first time in my life.  What I saw was a uniquely beautiful geometrically charged facility with its geometrical designs and luxurious plush carpeting with layers and layers of mirrors and glass, chrome and brass.

Winding staircases everywhere with large doorways that brought you to whichever level of the stage you would be lucky enough to enter.  The pictures of the actual stage were taken when the concert was finished, as we were forbidden to take pictures (for obvious reasons) while the concert was on.

What I heard was something else!  The most eloquent balance of harmony and transparency ever before heard.  There were 3 pieces all conducted by Peter Oundjian.  The first piece was composed by Kati Agocs, a young female composer who was humbled by the experience of having the Toronto Symphony playing "Shenanigan", which sounded very exotic to me.

The second piece, composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor was a crowd favorite, which featured  Joyce Yang, a 26 year old pianist who has been playing since she was 4 years old!  She completely nailed it! A flawless performance.  

The third and final piece was my favorite, Modest Mussorgsky "Pictures at an Exhibition". It sounded like a soundtrack of a movie, very moving.  Although it was written over 130 years ago, it isn't too hard to see where modern day composers get their inspirations from. 

The entire duration lasted two hours, which is fine by me as I usually become restless by that time. 

lower right was the art display out the window :)

We left for the "after party" which featured a male trio playing several instruments in the lobby, which had free coffee, and entertainment.  This allowed me the opportunity for plenty of photo ops around.  You may have heard about the Nuit Blanche (sponsored again by Scotiabank), in Toronto, where artists were displaying their works, while Torontonians walked the streets all night long checking out various exhibits.   Right out front of the Roy Thompson Hall is a water feature, and looking through the glass window I thought someone was littering!  It appeared like a bicycle, several articles of clothing, a cane and a pizza box.  It wasn't until later, it was revealed that this was in fact ...art....