Kingcrafts ~ Christmas Sale

                              Yellow and blue summer flowers

        Evangeline Munns                       

Kingcrafts held the final day of its Christmas crafts show and sale, at its studio on Keele Street in King City, on Sunday, November 29.   Pictured here are a few of the paintings that were on sale.   Paintings are perennial favourites, as are jewellery and pottery. 

 Great Waters

Shirley Binns

A. J. Miller

Sapphire Lake

Mui Ching Davey

 Perce Rock

Shirley Binns

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

King Road ~ west side of Nobleton

                                                                                                                               Photo by Barry Wallace

Here's a novel twist on a common theme.   Many homemade structures exist at the end of driveways throughout the township, in which children await the school bus each morning, especially in inclement weather.   They are usually simple and straight-forward huts made of wood.   Most are rudimentary, while some are a little fancy.   The one pictured above, on the south side of the King Road, near the west end of Nobleton, bears a colourful resemblance to a school bus.   I think this bit of homework gets an A+ for effort and creativity.

Please comment if you wish.   

Barry Wallace

Tyrwhitt Park ~ Kettleby ~ late November

Photos by Barry Wallace

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Barry Wallace

Slowly but surely...

Photos by Barry Wallace

Sodding and paving at cultural centre

This week should see the completion of paving, walkways, curbs and sodding at the King Heritage & Cultural Centre/Museum.   The long-overdue site improvements are eagerly anticipated by staff and visitors.   Paving and landscaping costs are being picked up by the developer (Genview Homes) of the housing subdivision immediately to the east, which had provided an addition to the museum in return for using the addition as a temporary sales office for the subdivision.
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Barry Wallace

Last winter ~ Canal Road ~ Holland Marsh

Photo by Barry Wallace

Thought of the day ..... decision made:

"Winter no longer fits 

into my long-range planning".

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Barry Wallace

Tom Wray ~ Photographer

Photo by Barry Wallace

South Carolina?   Loire Valley?   New Zealand?

How about Bells Lake, Hwy. 27, between Schomberg and Nobleton?   This photograph by well-known Schomberg photograper Tom Wray is currently hanging in the King Cultural Centre and Museum, on the King Road, just east of Jane Street.   It caught my eye and I immediately wondered what exotic locale of the world it portrayed.   I've seen several photos of Bells Lake over the years and I've taken several photos myself, but at no time have I viewed a photo-capture of the small lake as exotic as this one.   This lake portrait is available for $150.   More of Mr. Wray's wonderful work can be seen by going online and Googling Tom Wray Photography.
Please comment if you wish.  
Barry Wallace   

15 Trumpeter Swans on McKenzie Marsh

 Photos by Barry Wallace

Monday morning of this week was cold and most of the McKenzie Marsh in Aurora, just east of Yonge Street, had a thin layer of ice on it.   The marsh is located on both the north and south sides of the St. John's Sideroad and is well used by dozens of species of birds.   On Monday morning, there were about 100 Canada Geese and 15 Trumpeter Swans (11 adults and four, almost full-size youngsters).   This is the largest number of Trumpeters I have seen at one time.   West of Aurora, beyond Bathurst Street, five at one time is the most I have seen in King Township.   The 15 big Trumpeters on McKenzie Marsh made the Canada Geese look like pipsqueaks.   The Trumpeter Swan Society of America states the wingspan of a Trumpeter can be between 7 and 8' wide!   The weather is to get a little warmer this week, so the very thin ice may disappear and swans might hang around for a few more days.   They are an impressive sight.

Thin ice and a dusting of snow were on the McKenzie Marsh on Monday morning.   The boardwalk on the north side of the St. John's Sideroad has a large excellent identification chart (see below) of the many birds and waterfowl that inhabit the wetland, although most are now in warmer southern climes.

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Barry Wallace

King's Ridge Marketplace

                                                                                                                        Photo by Barry Wallace

Slowly but surely, more of the artistic design features of King City's new King's Ridge Marketplace appear.   Above is a new pedestrian entrance to the plaza, on the King Road frontage.   It features the design element of a stylized horse that is present in many visual presentations of the project.   The huge Coppa's food market, currently under construction, can be seen in the background, between the large stone pillars.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Goldie Feldman Nature Reserve is a great hike

                                                                                                              Photos by Barry Wallace

Massive maple marks head of trail

The dark monumental Sugar Maple pictured above is situated quite close to the entrance of the Goldie Feldman Nature Reserve, on the south side of the 17th Sideroad, just west of Weston Road.   While the entrance to the reserve and its excellent hiking trail is on the sideroad, I prefer to regard the nearby maple as the trailhead marker.   On the day I took these pictures, I ran into the peripatetic Mary Asselstine, until recently, King Township's Environmental Stewardship Coordinator.   Mary had just   finished a hike and we chatted briefly about the size of the mighty maple.   I thought it was at least 3' in diameter and Mary thought 3 1/2'.   She then told me about another maple further back in the reserve that was at least 5' in diameter!   I'll be keeping an eye out for that one.   The signage at the reserve now includes a large sign (bottom photo) that includes an excellent trail map, showing routes, interpretive signs, boardwalks, etc.

    

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

ORTA's Ed Millar Side Trail...

Photos by Barry Wallace

...always a pleasant stroll

Millar Side Trail is on the east side of Keele Street just north of 15th Sideroad

Beaver Dam

Please comment 
if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Endless stream of King City subdivisions...

 Photos by Barry Wallace

Dew Street, between William Street and King Boulevard, has been closed for several days because of utilities installation for the new residential subdivision opposite King City Public School, behind the King City Library.   Access to the area from the King Road is very congested, particularly in the morning and afternoon, when students are arriving and leaving the school.   Two York Region policemen were directing traffic this week at the King Road and King Boulevard intersection, which has no traffic lights. 

York Regional Police are seen on point duty, at the King Road and King Boulevard intersection, where school buses and cars with students where leaving the school and exiting onto the King Road, at the start of heavy afternoon traffic.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)

                                                                                                                   Photo by Barry Wallace

Dufferin Street ~ south of Hwy. 9

This splendid Trumpeter Swan was photographed on one of the smaller, roadside, private ponds in the hamlet of Glenville.   This week's lovely weather makes this photo look like a summertime picture rather than one taken in mid-November.   Bird writer and illustrator, David Allen Sibley, says the Trumpeter Swan's gentle, lower-pitched, slightly hoarse, nasal honking is like the honking of a European taxicab,   whereas Don and Lillian Stokes, in their Field Guide to the Birds of North America, say the Trumpeter's voice is much like short trumpet toots, tootoot tootootoot.

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Barry Wallace

Tamarack time

Photo by Barry Wallace

The Kell farm

16th Sideroad and Keele Street

The Tamarack (Larix laricina) or Eastern Larch, is native to Ontario and it turns a glowing gold in fall before losing its needles.   It is a deciduous evergreen that is often overlooked in green, summertime, mixed coniferous forests by people not familiar with it.   After its yellow needles drop, its cones stand out noticeably on its bare branches.   Some children and adults mistakenly think the Tamarack may be dying when they see its yellow needles.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

   

Nature Canada 2016 calendar/September photo

Photo by Theodore Lo

American Kestrel

(Falco sparverius)

Although I am no longer writing my BarrytheBirder blog, I am still an avid birdwatcher.   The photo above, by Theodore Lo, was taken near Simcoe, Ontario, and was selected by Nature Canada for inclusion in its recently released 2016 calendar, to illustrate the month of September.   Kestrels are one of our smallest raptors and are readily seen sitting of utility wires or wire fences, along country roads in King Township.   They are skittish however and do not make it easy for photographers to get close-up pictures of them, without binoculars, spotting scopes or telephoto camera lenses.   Mr. Lo has captured this bird in a very animated pose with its beak wide open and its feathers definitely ruffled.   Mr. Lo was quoted as saying "... it flew away once I started shooting with my camera ... I was fortunate to be able to get this image."

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Barry Wallace

Dog Tales Rescue & Sanctuary

 Photos by Barry Wallace

  Sundays at Dog Tales ~ visitors welcome

Linda and I were heading up for a walk at the Cawthra Mulock Nature Reserve on Sunday and drove past the Dog Tales Rescue & Sanctuary, on the 19th Sideroad between Dufferin and Bathurst Street. The dozens of beautiful heavy horses caught our eye and we immediately changed our plans.   We parked on the shoulder of the 19th, along with 50 to 60 other vehicles, and headed towards the paddocks and barns.   Sundays are visiting days at Dog Tales and there were over 100 men, women and children viewing the dozens of rescued dogs that are up for adoption.   Pictured above is one of the volunteer handlers holding onto Bullet, who had been adopted and was joining his new family, later that very day.   That's Linda in the background who had quickly decided on any one of about 15 dogs she would like to take home.   There are other critters which reside at Dog Tales, including ponies, pigs, geese, and a big white rabbit, some of which are pictured below.   The weather, the setting, the people and the animals were in perfect harmony on this particular afternoon.   Dog Tales is an amazingly impressive addition to King's country charms.

Monumental 7' high horse head sculpture

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace