Monday - A Trip Through the Highland Creek Ravine

I know this is Monday and I should be showing you what I am going to work on this week, but I have nothing to show.  I plan to finish a few more things from the past couple of weeks.  It is hot and sticky in Toronto today.  The temperature will go up to 32C with the humidex at over 40C.  I plan to do some handwork because my sewing room will be too hot.

So for today I will take you on a scooter ride through our closest ravine.  I took this ride a few days ago in order to buy the last of my annuals at a local garden centre.

I started my journey along Lawrence Avenue.  There was not a lot of traffic, but you get the idea.  This is looking east.

I took a photo looking down into the ravine from the bridge.  It was a good thing I did because I did not get a shot of the hill going down into the ravine.  It is quite steep and it was all I could do to control my scooter.  This shot is facing north.  I went south in order to get to the garden centre.

The bridge has many huge concrete 'legs' to hold it up.  Graffiti artists just can't resist painting them.  This was the nicest, in my opinion.

The ravine is a wonderful place to ride through.  The path is paved and goes through the forest with the river in one side.  There are many bridges and views.  I love it!

These trees have fascinated me this spring.  They sport long, white clusters of flowers that resemble wisteria.  They even smell like wisteria.  I have no idea what they are.  They seem to have been planted where they are.  Does anyone have any ideas?

This is the path, coming up to a bridge.

The river meanders along.

This area has some high bluffs.  This is what makes this park area so pretty.

The path is surrounded by trees.  And wild flowers.  And all kinds of shelf fungus.  And even some animals.

This is a view of the Lawrence Avenue bridge, from below.  I was on my way back when I took this.

Then coming out of the ravine this is a photo of the bridge, looking west.

Hope you have enjoyed my little journey.  So much wild stuff, so close to home.  Living in Scarborough is often criticized and discouraged, but for me it is the best!

A Walk Along the Bluffs of Lake Ontario

My DD picked me up yesterday and took me to Rotary Park in Ajax, just east of Toronto. The park has a paved path along the top of the bluffs. People are encouraged to walk, bike, skate or jog with a view of Lake Ontario all the way. I walked a little and got pushed in my wheelchair for part of the way.

It was a beautiful day. The temperature was around 21C and there was a sort of hazy sunshine. There were Monarch butterflies all over the Milkweed and Yellow Goldenrod plants. Canada Geese honked from the water down below the bluffs. I took this photo facing east. The sky was a nice blue colour. It is hard to see the water, but that is what I like about Lake Ontario. It is different each time you see it.
Although these photos were taken at exactly the same time, the view to the west looked completely different. The clouds were beginning to roll in. It is hard to see, but that large area of concrete buildings is the Pickering Nuclear Plant. To me this is the only blight on an otherwise beautiful natural setting. I know we need electricity, but heck.... don't get me started on that!

Nature Walk

I was invited to join my daughter's grade 4 science class for a nature outing in one of our local ravines yesterday afternoon. What a great time I had! The weather was perfect! And the kids were wonderful!

(Oh, look! It's a red-winged blackbird!)

They were polite and respectful of the flora and fauna they came in contact with. We saw frogs and snakes, snails and spiders, birds and bugs, woodland flowers and blossoming trees. They each had a little box with a magnifying glass top. If they were able to catch an insect, they could put it inside the box and look at it more closely. I was pleased to see how gentle they were. All the insects and spiders were set free before we left.

(Hmmm. I wonder. Is this an igneous or sedimentary rock.)

Everyone was exhausted, but happy by the end of the walk. We arrived back at school just as the dismissal bell was ringing.

(Doing a head count. Good! We didn't lose anyone!)