Earl Bales Park

Earl Bales Park is one of 1,600 parks within the Toronto area.

Named after Robert Earl Bales a former mayor of North York, the park is located on the former farmland of his great-grandfather, John Bales.

One of the nicer features of this park is the amphitheatre, where last summer I enjoyed a one-man show with a unique performance on a unicycle.

There are two fire pits, dog off leash area, two playgrounds, five parking lots, nine bike trails and a senior recreation centre with washrooms. In the winter for ski enthusiasts there are ski runs, a ski chalet and a chair lift.



Research: Toronto.ca/parks

Photo Credit: bemartin © 2014

Asian Carp Invasion

The Ontario Angling Federation has set up a series of information sessions in several Ontario locations on how the Asian Carp invasion would jeopardize the Great Lakes. Each session will include speakers from the federal and provincial governments.

“An Asian carps invasion would jeopardize the Great Lakes’ $5-billion fishery and decimate native fish populations,” reads an OFAH press release. “While Asian carps are not yet established in the Great Lakes, their DNA has been detected near Chicago just a few miles upstream of Lake Michigan, prompting both the Canadian and Ontario governments to commit major resources to the threat.”

There is concern over the risks imposed by the Asian Carp creating ecological disruption that would alter the habitat by being carriers for disease and prey upon native fish populations. As well, the socio-economic impact upon the Aboriginal communities fisheries could result in the loss of their livelihood. Legislation in Canada is needed to ensure “that all Bighead, Black, Grass, and Silver carps entering the country to be “dead and eviscerated” prior to entry as Asian Carp have the ability to appear dead on ice for two days”.

Preventing the invasion is cheaper than trying to eradicate them once they have become established in the lake system.

It is now illegal in Ontario to possess live Bighead, Black, Grass or Silver Carp as well as other invasive fish species. Asiancarp.ca has information on how to report a sighting.


Sources: OutdoorCanada.ca, AsianCarp.ca


Photo Credit: Lake Superior, Ontario - Orchid Calpso CC=nc-nd-flickr.
I apologize for no carp photo, but blogger would not allow Wikimedia photo to load for some strange reason. Is it Twilight Zone time?

[Lighthouse at Port Dover, Ontario by cseeman's photostream CC=nc-sa-flickr]


My holidays over Christmas were spent with friends at Port Dover on the north shore of Lake Erie located about two hours west of Toronto. Although no snow had graced the area at that time there was a chill in the air and a brisk breeze coming across the lake from the south-west. Despite gloves my fingers grew chilled when trying to take photos with my phone, thus these from flickr suit my purpose.

[Port Dover Lighthouse and pier by cseeman's photostream CC=nc-sa-flickr.]

The waves coming into shore were a gray-green in colour, completely different from the water I've watched in Lake Ontario.

But the best thing I noticed was the lack of smog present. Being able to breathe in the quiet atmosphere was a blessing.

[Port Dover, ON, pier and benches by cseeman's photostream CC=nc-sa-flickr]

There were no other people present on the day I visited the pier, probably due to the cold wind and their preparations for Christmas.

This photo is of the Niagara Escarpment of the Bruce Peninsula.




The weather in Toronto has been scorching and humid with little respite except for thunder and hail storms to the west. I'll be happy when the weather returns to cooler temperatures.  The above photo makes me yearn to stick bare feet into the cold water which laps against the rocky shoreline, an activity that would be certain to cool my poor overheated body.

My eyes are seeimg to get a little better with sparse use of the computer, TV and cell phone. I'm to get new lenses shortly which may alleviate the condition a little. I'm finding that drinking more fluid and using saline eye drops are producing an improvement. And I'm planning a vacation for later this summer to get away while looking for a new apartment as the one I've been in for the last couple of years has increased its pest population to an unbearable level.

This leads me to wonder if this is a underlying problem with my eyesight as I'm very drug sensative and any of the toxic chemicals used so far in battling the pests has proven to make me nauseated, wheeze or send me to the hospital emergency with exposure to boric acid (used for roaches, and yet the flysheet says it will kill rats and rabitts). Why is the boric acid used in a building with children I'll never know but am writing a letter to government officials to inquire about the validity of such substances. Any comments on the use of Boric Acid or other such chemicals is appreciated.


Photo Credit: Screen Door Slams CC=nc-nd-flickr. CLICK TO ENLARGE.

This photo is of an island in Whitefish Lake near Thunder Bay, Ontario. I imagine if the temperatures have been sub-zero in the -18C/0F range or colder then it would be quite the trek across the ice to the island to see what was there. Though a boat or canoe would do nicely in the summer.

Although February is often cold, snowy and definitely winter in Toronto, we have been having a mixture of freezing cold with blowing snow followed by milder temperatures just above the freezing mark. I have never known a winter quite like this. I expect there are varying temperature fluctuations all around the globe.

Photo Credit: bobcatnorth CC=nc-nd-flickr.

Neighbourhood Fauna

Nearby to where I live there is a creek catering to wild ducks and other creatures. Summer or winter there are various groups of wild ducks, mostly mallards, though there have been some unusually coloured ones: various shades of black and white, and brown and white with or without white breasts and white underneath.


[1 –Male Pintail - brown or black body with long black tail feathers]

The only species I could find in my bird book were the Northern Pintail, whom fly south for the winter.




[2 –Female Pintail - has a slightly shorter tail and grayish bill]

There was a late group of young ducks hatched in the summer and I wonder how they are faring the winter. Perhaps they will return this spring so I can get a photo or two of them. There was one in particular that caught my attention whenever I crossed the bridge to do errands.



[3 -Mallard on ice - click to enlarge]




The mallards are braver to withstand the cold and have lingered so far, sometimes the only indication of their being present are the webbed shaped footprints left in the snow on the creek. It was strange to see them paddling in melted water atop ice waiting for the next donation of bread crumbs or slices.





















[4 -Mallard drake and hen - click to enlarge]

Source: A Field Guide to the Birds of North America (2006) by Michael Vanner, p.54-55.

Photo Credits: [1]-Brendan Btally CC=flickr, [2]-Alan_Vernon CC=flickr, [3]-Grant MacDonald CC=nc-flickr, [4]-wolfpix CC=nd-flickr.

Bench of the Week (38)

This bench is located on the Windsor, Ontario side of the Detroit River with an interesting view of the ships and the skyline of Detroit, Michigan.

RuneE of Visual Norway often posts benches on Fridays. Please join in on this informal meme.

Photo Credits: nowak CC=nc-nd-flickr. Click to enlarge.

One last fishing day at an Ontario lake before the season is over.

Photo Credit: Dentax CC=nc-flickr. Click to enlarge.

My Town Monday - Samuel B. Steele

[1 - Samuel Benfield Steele]


Samuel Benfield Steele (5 January 1849 to 30 January 1919) was a famous member of the North-West Mounted Police and in later years a distinguished soldier. (This post and the next cover only his early life in the military and the NWMP as it relates to Canada.) He was the fourth son born to Elmes and Anne Steele (2nd marriage) in Medonte Township in Upper Canada. His family had military connections and in 1866 he joined the militia at the time of the Fenian Raids.


[2-The Red River Expedition below Kakabeka Falls by Frances Anne Hopkins circa 1877]

In 1870 he participated in the Red River Expedition that had been authorized by Sir John A. MacDonald to confront Louis Riel and the Métis at the Red River Settlement (near current Winnipeg, Manitoba). The expedition was headed by Colonel Garnet Wolseley (later Field Marshall Viscount) when he joined them at the Sault. The military crossed through a Canadian route as the U.S. government refused them access over U.S. soil.

The troops were required to transport all their provisions, weapons including cannons over hundreds of miles of wilderness. In each of the boats the loads weighed about 4,000 pounds made up of: barrels of biscuits, flour, pork, sugar; tea chests, sacks of beans. cases of potatoes, ammunition boxes, arm chests, ball pouches, tents, soap cases, candles, boat nails, and one bottle of mosquito oil. At numerous portages special roads were required to be built with logs over muskeg (swampy areas). The one place they did not portage was the Winnipeg River, where the rapids and cataracts had to be navigated. This trip was undertaken during two months in summer heat combined with swarms of blackflies and mosquitoes.


[3- Voyageur Canoe Passing Waterfall by Frances Anne Hopkins 1869]

Steele made note in his biography of a voyageur carrying two barrels of pork and 1,000 rounds of ammunition with a combined weight of 528 pounds without showing any distress.

When the troops arrived at Fort Garry, they found Riel had abandoned it.


[4-Upper Fort Garry - early 1870s]

At that time, Winnipeg, was located half a mile north of Fort Garry with about forty houses, lining the Stone Fort trail (now the main street of Winnipeg). There were: nine stores, three chemist shops, one saddlery, one hardware store, several saloons named “Hell’s Gates”, “The Red Saloon”, etc.


[5-Three Piegan Chiefs by Edward Curtis 1900]

Shortly before Steele had arrived with the military contingent at Fort Garry, smallpox had been spreading in the far west from the Missouri River to the North Saskatchewan River. The disease had been brought into Montana by a merchant who had left a blanket on a Missouri steamboat from St. Louis, the blanket in turn being stolen by an Indian. He caught the disease and spread it through his tribe which killed them. A war party of Bloods who had gone to steal horses, found no one alive, took the horses and as many buffalo robes as they could, not realizing their mistake. The disease spread throughout all the Indian tribes: Peigans, Blackfeet, Crees and Stonies, and then to the plains hunters, the employees of the Hudson’s Bay Company and missionary families. The chiefs of the Blackfeet nation were gone, leaving few capable of leading their people. One tribe whose lodges had numbered 2,000 in their main camp, with each lodge containing eight persons, was reduced to one-tenth of its number.

For the whisky trader who had brought in the contagion to the North West Territory (as the Canadian prairies were then known), a member of the military, Lieutenant Butler, undertook the duty to prevail upon him “that British law was supreme”. Butler travelled there and back on horseback and by dog train over 2,700 miles to perform his task. [What Butler did to the whisky trader is not revealed in Steele’s narrative, though a book The Great Lone Land is mentioned.]

TO BE CONTINUED

Sources:
Wikipedia -
Forty Years In Canada by Col. Samuel B. Steele, 1915, Herbert Jenkins Limited

Photo Credits: [1][2][3][4][5]-wikipedia.

Travis Erwin from Amarillo, Texas is the founder of My Town Monday. For other locations to visit please go to Travis' site here.

Bench of the Week (8)

This bench is in Niagara, Ontario on a perfect sunny summer's day.

RuneE from Visual Norway originated Bench of the Week as an informal meme. His bench in a magnificent garden setting is up.

Other participants are:

Phoenix C. from Sylvan Muse, PERBS from The Love of Benches , Malyss, Ackworth born, gone West, Dina from Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo.

Photo Credit: Marcin Wichary CC=flickr.

Fishing Tuesday - Lake St. Clair

CLICK TO ENLARGE


This photo was taken on the Ontario side of Lake St. Clair, as the water separates the province from the American state of Michigan. Lake St. Clair lies between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. The fish most often caught in these waters are walleye, muskie and bass.

Photo Credit: linesight CC=nc-nd-flickr.

Bench of the Week (7)

This waiting bench was taken in Troy, Ontario. A perfect place to wait for someone with a book in hand. Click on photo to enlarge it.

RuneE from Visual Norway was the originator of Bench of the Week on Friday. Today he has an interesting collection of photos to show the set off.

PERBS from The Love of Benches has an interesting set.

Gerald England of Ackworth Born, Gone West has a delightful bench up at his blog. Set in the shade it sits in welcome.

Phoenix C. from Sylvan Muse has a bench in a stunning garden.

Photo Credit: frank-click! CC=nc-nd-flickr.

Fishing Tuesday

This photo was taken at a lake somewhere between North Bay and Kirkland Lake in northern Ontario. For those who take a week off every year to relax, kick back and drop the line into the water...



Photo Credit: 1BigVillage CC=nc-sa-flickr.

Alexandra Bridge in Ottawa, Ontario - click to enlarge.



Photo Credit: Jose P Isern Comas CC=nc-nd-flickr.

My Town Monday - Long Branch (Toronto)

[1– Family card game taken 1893 at summer cottage in Long Branch]

The area Marie Curtis Park (from last week’s post) is located in an area commonly known as Long Branch. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Long Branch was a popular summer resort for Torontonians. The area was served by steamers that sailed from the foot of Bay Street.

Adjacent to the Marie Curtis park is a closed site which was formerly the Long Branch munitions factory during the 1940s. Huge quantities of weapons were manufactured there during the Second World War, such as the Bren, Sten and Lee Enfield. As of 2005 there are plans to incorporate the former munitions factory site into the Marie Curtis Park.


[2 – Mark Bren LMG machine gun]










[3 – Sten factory worker]






[4 – Lee Enfield Rifle]



The Lee Enfield Rifle is the longest-serving military bolt-action rifle still in official service.

For further historical information including newspaper clippings about the Long Branch Munitions Factory during WWII go here.


Sources: Wikipedia, Etobicoke Historical
Photo Credits: Wikipedia

Travis Erwin from Amarillo, Texas is the founder of My Town Monday. For other locations to visit please go to Travis' site here.

My Town Monday - Dufferin County Court House (Orangeville)

The Dufferin County Court House is located in Orangeville, north-west of Toronto.

According to the Ontario Heritage Foundation construction of this imposing brick court house was begun in the spring of 1880. Designed by C.J. Soule, a Guelph architect, it was built by the contracting firm of Dobbie and Grierson. Although the first provisional county council meeting was held here on November 24, 1880, the two-storey rectangular building was constructed to house the judicial and administrative offices of the newly created county of Dufferin was not completed until early 1881. Its impressive exterior is distinguished by a prominent central tower, projecting gable ends, irregular roof treatment and decorative white brick. Except for the additional of a new wing in 1973, the building remains largely unaltered, and still serves as the centre for the administration of justice in the county.


Photo Credit: Lone Primate CC=nc-sa-flickr.

My Town Monday is the brainchild of Travis Erwin who lives in Texas. In early January he lost his home and household possessions in a fire. If you would like to offer support for Travis' family, go to Habitat For Travis. For the interim to see other members of the group to learn about their area of the planet go to see Chris here or Junosmom here.

Tiffany Falls

[1-click to enlarge]


Tiffany Creek tumbles 6.5 metres over the escarpment into a v-shaped ravine. A short side trail from the Tiffany Falls Trail leads you to the waterfall. It's a rough walk, crossing a talus slope with steep, narrow sections.

The Tiffany Falls Trail is part of the Bruce Trail system in the Golden Horseshoe near Ancaster, Ontario.



Photo Credit: [1] Bonny Shulman CC=nc-flickr.

My Town Monday - Trafalgar Castle

[1- In 1874]

Trafalgar Castle is in Whitby, Ontario.

Trafaglar Castle was built for Nelson Gilbert Reynolds (1814-1881), Sheriff of Ontario County from 1852 to 1881. Trafalgar Castle was designed by Toronto architect, Joseph Sheard and built between 1859 and 1862. The mock-Elizabethan castle has a hidden chamber and secret tunnel. The castle cost Reynolds $70,000, an exorbitant sum at the time, and was the largest private dwelling in Canada until Casa Loma was built. The Sheriff lived in Trafalgar Castle from 1862 until 1874 when his gambling debts grew too large and he sold the building to the Methodist Church of Canada for use as a ladies college for the sum of $30,000.





[2-Art class at Ontario Ladies' College taking place on the college lawn, 1893]





[3-North side of the original Trafalgar Castle with students standing on the lawn. The bearded man standing at far right, is probably Rev. J.J. Hare, the school's principal. May 20, 1893]



In 1979 the Ontario Ladies’ College changed its name to Trafalgar Castle School which is recognized as one of the finest private girls schools, offering “a rigorous university preparatory curriculum from Grades 6 through 12.”


Trafalgar Castle also has its own resident ghosts, as reported by students past and present, of phantom footsteps to doors that opened and closed on their own volition.


Sources:
Wikipedia
Toronto Ghosts

Photo Credits: [1][2][3]-Whitby Archives CC=nc-sa-flickr.

My Town Monday is the brainchild of Travis Erwin who lives in Texas. In early January he lost his home and household possessions in a fire. If you would like to donate money in support for Travis' family, go to Habitat For Travis. For the interim to see other members of the group to learn about their area of the planet go to see Chris here or Junosmom here.

Kolapore Uplands Wilderness Ski Trails

[1 – cross-country ski trail best viewed Large. A side trail of the Bruce Trail also runs through this area: notice the Blue Blaze on the tree on the extreme right of the photo.]


The Kolapore Uplands Trails belong to the Bruce Grey Trail Network located just south of Ravenna, Ontario on Grey Road 2 (10-15 minute drive from Thornbury). The length of these trails are 60km loops. Difficulty is moderate to challenging.




[2- Creek]















Trail maps are recommended as well as planning your ski trip or hike (summer only), and the locations they can be purchased from on are on a weblink to the Kolapore Uplands Wilderness Ski Trails that has been added to the HIKING and SKIING TRAILS on the sidebar toward the bottom of the page.




[3 – Skiers and hikers bridge – There is a long descent down to this stream and a steep, challenging ascent up a long hill in loose deep snow. Notice the blue blaze on the left side of the bridge marks a side trail of the Bruce Trail when there is no snow.]




There are entrances to the Trail Network at Ravenna and near Collingwood. It is recommended not to use the trails during deer hunting season (one week in early November), and to check trail conditions before venturing out.



[4 – A mid winter’s day skiing in freshly fallen snow]






The County Forest Area is for beginner or novice skiers, with the other trails being for more advanced skiers. The maps provide detailed information about the different intersections on the trails and it is important to check that you are on the correct trail to avoid unpleasant surprises.



[5 – Northern entrance sign says it all]







[6–Jack Rabbit Trail in Kolapore Uplands]





[7–Trail through pines]













These photos were taken on the Northwest Passage Trail.

Photo Credits: Bobcatnorth CC=nc-sa-flickr, captions are his.

I have been in the Kolapore Uplands Trails in the summer near Metcalfe Rock. A post about this area will be done in the future.

Snowshoeing - A Winter Sport for Everyone

[1-Snowshoe Trail at Sundog Lake, Parry Sound, Ontario]








[2-Snowshoeing at Sundog Lake near Parry Sound, Ontario]








I decided to add to this post several videos on HOW TO SNOWSHOE for those visitors thinking they might like to try this. It's a good winter activity for just about everyone who like to go for long walks, or participate with other members of their family or friends. I have done some snowshoeing and am planning a weekend away in February.


Who Can Snowshoe?



What to Wear to Snowshoe



How to Snowshoe video



How to use poles in Snowshoeing



How to run in Snowshoes video



How to Fall in Snowshoes video



How to break a trail in snowshoes



What to bring with you when snowshoeing



How to walk backwards in snowshoes



Safety Tips for snowshoeing



If there is something not covered in these videos, please go to YouTube where Crazy Cheryl has other videos up for information on snowshoeing.


Photo Credits: Bobcatnorth CC=nc-nd-flickr.