Clean colourful Cadillac Crossover!

 Photos by Barry Wallace

I'm not sure this 2015 or 2016 Cadillac Crossover SUV, emerging from the Shell car

wash at King's Ridge Marletplace, has been painted fuchsia or magenta.   I've read that both are actually one and the same colour, although there are many, many shades of the combo red/purple/pink colour.   The colour was derived from the colour of the Fuchsia plant (see photo at right).   2016 'Caddies' do come in 'Crystal Red' and 'Red Passion' paint jobs, but this fuchsia colour just has to be a custom paint job. I'm not sure these photos do the vehicle justice, but seeing the real thing, in the light of day, is really eye-popping.

   

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Barry Wallace

King City dog-cycling

Photo by Barry Wallace

Cycling canines on Banner Lane

This trio of large, highly organized dogs and their walker (or is that cyclist?) were making their way along Banner Lane in King City on Thursday.   A German Sheppard is pictured on the left, A Doberman in the middle at the rear, and what appears be a Cane Corso (Italian Mastiff) or a Presa Canario (Canary Mastiff) on the right.   All concerned certainly appeared to be fit, well-behaved and quiet.

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Barry Wallace

Tree branch grows around hydro wire

 Photos by Barry Wallace

An Ontario Hydro maintenance crew was busy on Wednesday trimming branches away from hydro lines on Jane Street, north of the King Road.   One of the tree branches had grown  around and completely absorbed a non-live wire.   The linemen had to cut the offending branch on each side of the trapped wire and leave the remaining 7"-wide chunk of branch hanging in the wires (see photos above and below).

The linemen doing this work said tree removal and pruning, especially after the many violent windstorms and snow and ice storms over the past year, was a huge time-consuming task.   The men on this King Township job were working out of Ontario Hydro in Orangeville, although they normally worked west of Hamilton.

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Barry Wallace

Everything old is made new again

 Photos and haiku by Barry Wallace

King City's not the same town

they're knocking the old homes down

old one$ a million

new one$ a zillion

each one fit for a king's crown

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Barry Wallace

Oak Ridges Moraine Trail - east of Jane Street

                                                                                                               Photos by Barry Wallace

Well-worn trail for intrepid hikers

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) 

Nature's sculpture

Embedded fence wire

Ghostly grey and green 

After a lightning strike

Dog-toothed Violet

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Barry Wallace

Boulder with a job

 Photos by Barry Wallace

This brute of a boulder, with the eye-catching red halo, sits on the east side of Jane Street, between the 15th and 16th Sideroads.   It must weigh two or three tons.   It was moved to this spot, between two broken-down gateposts, and very effectively blocks access to the farmlands that lay beyond.   The farmlands are part of the huge property on which the Marylake monastery is situated; access to which is located elsewhere.

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Barry Wallace

11th ASK Studio Tour King

                                                                                                            Photos by Barry Wallace
Biggest art studio tour ever

The 11th annual ASK Studio Tour King was the biggest one yet, this past Saturday and Sunday throughout the township.   38 artists participated showcasing their work at 19 locations throughout King.

One of the featured artists was locally and internationally acclaimed sculptor Brett Davis.   His works were on display at the King Heritage & Culture Centre, on the King Road at Kinghorn.   The sculptor is shown here with one of his pieces, entitled 'Roman'. 

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Barry Wallace   

Didn't I get rid of all these in the fall?

Photo and hapless haiku by Barry Wallace

each fall I have to rake leaves
it's one of my life's pet peeves
then again in spring
yes, raking's my thing
once more I'm up to my knees

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Barry Wallace

Turtle time in warm spring sun

Photo by Barry Wallace

Dufferin Street Pond ~ near Glenville

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Barry Wallace

Abandoned house on old Bathurst Street

                                                                                                                 Photo by Barry Wallace

Former glory reduced to just plain spooky

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Barry Wallace

Wild Things Petting Farm

 Photos by Barry Wallace

These photos have nothing to do with King Township.   They were taken on the east side of York Region, on the Markham/Pickering townline.   But the baby goats were so cute, I had to include them in this space.   Linda and I took two of our young grandsons to the Wild Things Petting Farm for a couple of hours this past Sunday afternoon and had a very interesting time at this eccentric and odoriferous, but charming place.   Hundreds of farm creatures all run free here.   There were approximately 15 baby goats in the rustic menagerie, including a set of black and white triplets pictured here.   With three babies to feed and two teats, the mother goat was hard-pressed to make sure all three got enough nourishment.   In the picture below, the gentleman who operates 'Wild Things' hand-feeds one of the triplets, via a syringe, with formula he has prepared to supplement the mother goat's milk.   It was fascinating.   It costs the four of us $20 for the experience.   I told the farmer that it was the best $20 I had spent in a long time...and I meant it.

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Barry Wallace

Beautiful day ~ beautiful sunset

 Photo by Barry Wallace

RedCrest Cardinal Golf Club

Keele Street ~ north of Hwy. 9

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Barry Wallace

New homes to replace old wrecking yard

 Photos by Barry Wallace

Nobleton Truck Wreckers ceased to exist on the north side of the King Road, in Nobleton, west of Chinook Drive, more than two years ago.   The acres of old wrecks disappeared and the site was remedially cleared to make way for a housing subdivision.   Just recently, the sign pictured below, appeared at the entrance to the site, announcing the upcoming construction of single homes and townhomes.   Many oldtimers in King thought this would never come to pass, but all's well the ends well.  

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Barry Wallace

Holland Marsh canal tree-trimming

Photos by Barry Wallace

Holland Marsh Drainage System workers were on the job on Wednesday, felling dead trees along the edge of the canals.   They are pictured above donning their working gear before starting to cut tall trees that could eventually fall across the canal.  In the two photos below, one can see the large adjustable decks on the front of the watercraft, which provide for a stable, in-close working platform.

In the left photo below, one of the workers makes calculated cuts into a dead tree trunk that will make the tall tree trunk fall onto, and parallel to, the canal bank. In the photo on the right, the worker turns and distances himself from the the falling tree trunk.

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Barry Wallace

Welcoming warmer weather

Photos by Barry Wallace

Hanging out at Jane St. & Hwy. 9

Love that mane

Tails touch the ground

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Barry Wallace

Swans not moving on yet...

 Photos by Barry Wallace

The small group of nine Trumpeter Swans which is sharing a large, shallow, snow-melt pond, with a thousand or so Canada Geese, on the south side of the 15th Sideroad between Dufferin and Bathurst, doesn't seem in any hurry to move further north.   They've been on this site for almost three weeks now.   With the April weather we've had so far, who can blame them?   Back in the 1980s, a movement began to re-introduce nesting Trumpeter Swans to southern Ontario.   One of the original leaders of the movement was Aurora's Harry Lumsden.   The program and the swans have thrived with over 800 of the huge creatures now overwintering in places like the harbour areas of Oakville and Burlington, the Wye Marsh in Midland and the fields of open areas in places like King Township, during the the spring migration.  

   

The photo of a very young Trumpeter Swan, shown at right, is courtesy of the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre in Midland.

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Barry Wallace

Wet spring in the Holland Marsh

 Photos by Barry Wallace

Farmers in the Holland Marsh are facing a wet start to the growing season as water covers hundreds of acres in certain parts of Ontario's salad bowl.   The melt-water, followed by rain, is not that deep, but getting onto the land is going to be later than growers would like.   The photo above looks north from Weston Road across a portion of the marsh, on the west side of Hwy. 400.   The three photos below were taken from the intersection of Hanemaayer Lane and Concession Rd. 2, looking southward.   The high ground on the horizon is the King Ridge, part of the Oak Ridges Moraine.   There was still a thin layer of ice on the water, at 10 a.m., Wednesday,  when the photos were taken. 

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Barry Wallace

Christ Church restoration in Kettleby

 Photos by Barry Wallace

Anglican Church bell tower under repair

Kettleby's Anglican Church, Christ Church, was built 125 years ago, in 1891, on the east side of the village, and has remained virtually unchanged since that time.   The church recently received a new roof and now the bell tower is being restored.   The parish hall, just to the north and west of the church, was built in 1934.

Christ Church, Kettleby was built of local fieldstone in the Norman style, with a square bell tower.

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Barry Wallace