St Lawrence II

Grandson Callum is on an amazing maritime adventure.... cruising the Great Lakes while sail training on board the brigantine St Lawrence II. No phone, no TV, no comfy bed, just lots of hard work and exposed to whatever the weather throws at him for two weeks on board ship. The cruise started on August 17 in the port of  Midland on Georgian Bay, then through Lake Huron to Sarnia and Port Huron.  From there along the St Clair River, across Lake St Clair, then the Detroit River past the City of Detroit.

The ship has been caught on various web cams along the route.

From there into Lake Erie, and a stop at Erie, Pennsylvania, to take part in the Erie Tall Ships Festival August 22 -24.  Then with a flotilla of the other tall ships to Port Colborne and through the Welland Canal to Lake Ontario. 

There will be a stop at Harbourfront in Toronto and I'm hoping to be able to meet with Callum and sing a few sea shanties! Not sure what day that will be though. 

From Toronto it will be sailing the waters of Lake Ontario to the port of Kingston where the cruise will end on August 31. And then it's back to school!

St Lawrence II was built by Kingston Shipyards in 1953 to a design by the legendary Francis MacLachlan & Mike Eames. The ship is designed to create teamwork, community, and cooperative effort between participants; to connect people with the natural world through tactile experiences, to deliver an understanding of both the power and fragility of nature; and to foster the creation of lasting friendships.

Wildflower Meadow

The making of a Wildflower Meadow (Younger Son's special project).

The end piece of ground far left was covered with a tarp for 18 months to kill the grass and weeds, and then tilled and winter rye was planted.

A second area in the foreground is covered to kill the grass, this will be the home of the next batch of wildflowers.... we hope!

When the rye germinated and started to grow it was cut down before it could form seeds.  This would discourage more grass and weeds to take root.

Then a pack of assorted wildflower seeds were scattered and fingers crossed, hope for the best.

The wildflower seeds were supposed to include evening primrose which is yellow, but mainly red field poppy and blue cornflowers appeared.

Photo by Sarah.

Work in Progress

Looks like the town council have voted to spend some money on paint.  This will definitely brighten the place up when it's all finished!  Snow... stay away!

Lights, Camera.... Action!

 

A TV show being filmed in the park at Port Perry, Ontario. They were filming all week.... this was their last day. The TV show was called...  sorry, I've forgotten already!

Badlands

 What is it?  A sea of mud? Sleeping elephants? A Mammoth graveyard?

It's the Cheltenham Badlands.  You can read all about the geology of the site here.

On the road....

 

The road to the Cheltenham Badlands.

Jefferson Salamander

If it's a rainy night between late March and early April, and you're driving along the Stouffville Side Road in the dark between 9:00pm and 5:00am.... you may encounter a road closure and have to make a detour. 

Why is the road closed? Accident? Police investigation? Midnight construction crew?  

No, none of those reasons. It's mating season for the Jefferson Salamanders, an endangered species here in Ontario, and the salamanders want to cross the road to their breeding swamps and ponds to lay eggs and make more little salamanders.

Sweet little chap, isn't he? or she? Looking for love!

Photo pilfered from Toronto Star.

They are nocturnal amphibians, grey or brown sometimes with blue flecks on the side, and a long tail making up half of their length. Surprisingly they can live for up to 30 years!

The road closures have allowed more than 150 Jefferson Salamanders to cross safely. In 2011 the salamander's status went from threatened to endangered. The population is assumed to be declining, so we have to do what we can to keep our lovely little Jefferson Salamanders happy and healthy.

More information about the Jefferson Salamander.

Mama Turtle

I was out for an evening walk around the neighbourhood pond, and I noticed a dark green shape in the grass.  Turtle! She didn't really appreciate me staring at her while she was going through the delicate process of egg laying, so she pulled her head in and peeped at me from the safety of her shell.

She's a Painted Turtle - Chrysemys Picta - one of the eight species of turtle that are native to Ontario. Turtles are ectothermic – or ‘cold-blooded’, which means that they cannot generate their own body heat, and rely on the environmental temperature for this; they warm themselves by basking in the sun. 

These eggs will probably hatch in late summer or early fall. Less than one in a hundred turtle eggs laid will hatch and grow into an adult turtle. Unlike birds, turtles do not tend their nests once laid, nor care for their young once they hatch. Once the female has finished laying her eggs she never sees them again. The babies are on their own!

Painted Turtles have recently been reclassified from Not at Risk, to Species of Special Concern. Extensive road mortality has been the main reason for the change of classification for this species.

Such a pretty face!

Forest Ramble

The York Regional Forest trails are coming to life after a long winter. We walked part of Holledge Tract.... mostly flat, just a couple of small slopes. The woodland flowers are blooming.

Sessile Bellwort uvularia sessifolia also known as Merrybells or Wild Oats

Wood Anemone  anemone memorosa

Bulbous Buttercup ranunculous bulbosus  also known as St Anthony's Turnip!

Trout Lily erythronium americanum  also known as Adder's Tongue or Dogtooth Violet.

Out and About

The spring weather has finally warmed up which means that I can go for longer walks without wishing I hadn't made such a foolish decision to leave the comfort of my fireplace! I strolled along the newest portion of the Rouge Urban Trail, from Reesor Road to Durham 30 and back. The trail is easy walking, and suitable for strollers and wheelchairs too, and of course bicycles. Lots of families out with their bikes enjoying the sun.

Teasel - Dipsacus fullonum - this is a dried flower head from last year, still spiky and sharp. Teasels are actually part of the honeysuckle family. The spiky heads were formerly widely used in textile processing, cleaning, aligning and raising the nap on fabrics.

Coltsfoot - Tussilago farfara - one of the first splashes of colour to appear along the trails after the snow melts. The leaves, which appear much later than the flowers, are supposed to resemble the shape of a colt's foot. Not a native plant, and was probably introduced from Europe with the first settlers.

Rows of a crop that may be Winter Wheat, but I'm not certain. I just liked the uniformity of the rows, and the first real green I have seen since winter left.

Seaton Trail

The Seaton Trail is located along the West Duffins Creek in Pickering, Ontario. It runs for 12.9 km (around 9 miles) from 3rd Concession Road near Brock Road northwest to Highway 7 at Green River. 

The trail follows historic hunting and fishing routes on the creek, used for centuries by aboriginal people. In pioneer times, the creek and valley became the site of several water powered mills. 

This last weekend was sunny and warm.... not typical November weather at all, and of course, lots of people were out walking, and many of them chose to walk the Seaton Trail. 

We parked at the village of Whitevale. From there, the trail heads both south and north. We decided to go southbound. I walked with my friend and her little dog on Saturday afternoon. Great opportunity for exercise, but no hope of seeing or hearing any wildlife due to the many weekend warriors out in full force. But we managed to log over 8200 steps, and I'd love to go again on a weekday when there aren't so many people out on the trail. Perhaps we'll try the northbound trail next.

The Ironwood Tree

Along one of the main trails at Drysdale Woods is a large Ironwood tree, (ostrya virginiana), and according to this plaque, it's believed to be the largest Ironwood tree in the Province of Ontario.

I had never heard of an Ironwood tree, but they have the hardest and densest wood of any native tree species in Canada, hence the reference to iron. In the past the wood was used for tool handles, sled runners, mallets, ladder rungs and firewood, but owing to the rarity of these trees, they are no longer harvested and should be protected.

Another common name for this tree is hophornbeam.....  "hop" refers to the similarity of the fruit clusters to hops, an ingredient in beer-making; "horn" refers to the hardness of the wood; and "beam" comes from an archaic English word for tree. 

The tree is growing on a slippery slope, so I didn't climb up to measure the trunk, but it's wider than my outstretched arms. There are a few baby hophornbeams growing around it too. It's a slow growing tree, so I think this tree is over 100 years old.

The bark is composed of shaggy peeling narrow strips that look a bit like strips of fried bacon! These trees rarely grow taller than 12 m (40') but I don't know how tall this one is, it looks pretty big to me.

I'll go back to visit this Ironwood tree again, and I'm keen to see it in the spring with its male and female catkins.

First Day of Autmn

Autumn Solstice happens today 22 September, unless of course, you're located on the Southern Hemisphere where you'll be welcoming Spring.  The weather here in Ontario has a touch of chill in the evenings and the maple leaves are starting to show patches of red and gold. But it's still a beautiful sunny day, definitely shirtsleeve weather, and winter's a very distant threat!

Time to get the harvest in from the fields.

There's still a long way to go to get this cornfield done.

But it will all be complete by the end of the day with the use of the harvester farm equipment. Time to get onto the next field tomorrow.

Bear in Area

The newest trail through the Rouge Urban Park goes from 19th Road Day Use Area, 5.1 km to the south, ending at Elgin Mills Road. There are parking spaces, an information board, and toilet facilities at the start of the trail. Eventually there will be a system of connected walking/biking trails all the way south to Lake Ontario. 

And no... I didn't come face to face with the bear, thank goodness. He (or she?) was sighted back in May or June so I think he's long gone from the area.

In the distance the skyline of Toronto. You can just about see the CN Tower. 

The trail doesn't loop back to the start, the only way back is to retrace your steps. And it's slightly uphill on the northbound return journey.  

Last weekend it was sunny but cool and breezy, perfect for walking. I walked both ways... that's 10km!

The trail is wide enough to comply with the "physical distancing" Covid rules. And the surface is good for walking and for bikes or strollers, and accessible for wheelchairs too. Lots of families out enjoying the beautiful day.

The trail meanders through wooded areas and also fields of both corn and soybeans, and there are log benches and patio chairs along the route if you need a rest. The trees are starting to show some autumn colours now. 

I noticed these unusual seed pods along the route... I'm trying to identify what they are. Any ideas?

Seed Pod Update: I met a Parks Canada Ranger on the trail today and he told me this is Velvetleaf, or otherwise known as abutilon theophrasti, Butter-print, Elephant ear, Indian-mallow, Pir-marker, abutilon feuille de velours. It was introduced to North America from Asia in the 1700s as a potential fibre crop and now it's considered a nasty weed. It's an annual plant reproducing by seed and one plant can produce up to 44,000 seeds that are able to lay dormant and viable in the soil for up to 60 years! Crikey!

Sunny Sunflowers

A field near my house is covered with sunny sunflowers.... not the spectacular giant 10 foot high variety, but smaller with more blooms.  I was told that the farmer went to the local Costco and bought bird seed grade sunflower seed, and this field is the result.  That's an awful lot of bird seed.

Our Mosaic

The Canada Mosaic Mural project was launched in 2015 to celebrate our 150th birthday, beginning the journey to complete 150 murals illustrating Canada’s cultural and geographical diversity.

The purpose of the project is to create a national mural including all provinces and territories, 100,000’s of paintings and 150 individual murals that when united will form one gigantic mural mosaic. The mural, if ever connected would be over 365 meters wide (4 football fields) x 2.5 meters high (8 feet).

The mural will represent a cultural mosaic, a time capsule, a visual portrayal of history, an art masterpiece from the soul of the nation. An art piece that fifty years from now, may inspire another generation, who will in turn be able to celebrate through the mural, and maybe take it upon themselves to add to this memory.

OK..... I admit that information above was copied from the Canada Mosaic web page. The final mosaic representing our town is finally installed in the local Leisure Centre, in the hall linking the library, the pool and the fitness centre.

The public were invited to paint 4"x4" tiles with whatever topic they thought would represent the town. Of course, there were some guidelines to follow, both in shapes and colours.  The basement of the museum was set up with tables and chairs, paint and brushes, and boxes of tiles. I painted quite a few but I can't really remember which ones now!

The mosaic is half finished on display outside the log house in the museum grounds.

And the finished mosaic. I think I painted the "fried egg" in the middle of the wheel on the left, and some of the blue tiles too. And one with corn on it, but I can't find that one now. Perhaps the one in the second row from the top?

The Musical Ride

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride were at our local Fall Fair at the beginning of October. They performed in a much smaller area than they are used to and had to cut some pretty sharp corners with their horses when executing some of the more complicated maneuvers.

I spoke to one of the riders while we both waited for lunch to be ready at the hamburger stand. She said she had been a rider for 3 years, and had almost finished her time with the Musical Ride and was going on to other duties in December.  I was surprised to learn that many of the riders had no knowledge of horses in their previous civilian lives, and when they apply to be part of the Ride they go through a year of training, and then are able to complete all the complicated patterns. I enjoyed watching the Ride so much, I watched it twice!