Up on the King Ridge...

Photo by Barry Wallace

WESTON ROAD

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Barry Wallace

Bless the volunteers and staff at Dog Tales...

                                                                                                          Photo by Barry Wallace

This brief encounter at Dog Tales Sanctuary last Sunday afternoon reminded me of the devotion rescued animals at Dog Tales receive.   This charming dog was being taken for a walk with the help of a handler who was holding up a harness attached to the pooch's rear-end.  Its back legs couldn't support the dog but with a little help from a friend, going for a walk is still possible.  Inspiring.

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Barry Wallace

Here's a sign worth noting...

Photo by Barry Wallace

The trails at Thornton Bales Conservation Area, on King Township's 19th Sideroad, have been closed due to winter hazards, notably icy surfaces.   I'm wary of the 100 steep steps down the side of the King Ridge, in the summertime, let alone in February.

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Barry Wallace

Steel rises for new King City library...

Photos by Barry Wallace

After a few months of not seeing much of the groundwork and foundation for the new King City library, steel girders started to rise up this week, giving some fresh perspective of what is to come throughout the year.   The picture below shows the King City Public School behind the new emerging library structure, which will also be the new home of the King City Seniors Centre.

The photo above shows the elevator shaft for the new building.

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Barry Wallace

Princess Margaret Home Lottery Open House...

Photos by Barry Wallace

The first open house of the 'Princess Margaret Home Lottery to Conquer Cancer' Grand Prize took place last weekend, at 81 Cairns Gate, on the southwest corner of Keele Street and the 15th Sideroad, in King City.  The grand prize for the winning ticket, to be drawn in May, is valued at $6.4 million and includes the house pictured here, plus a Muskoka waterfront cottage and $1/2 million in cash.   You can visit the home Tuesdays to Fridays, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on weekends from noon to 5 p.m.



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Barry Wallace

Kettleby Road and Keele Street

                                                                                                              Photo: Barry Wallace

KETTLEBY

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Barry Wallace

Strange shapes on 'Marsh' greenhouses...

Photos by Barry Wallace

At first glance it looks like broken glass or tattered plastic in these Holland Marsh greenhouses, but a second glance reveals it is slowly melting snow from the night before, sliding down the curved glass to the ground.

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Barry Wallace

Intriguing message in Nobleton...

                                                                                            Photo by Barry Wallace

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Barry Wallace

Finally, an icicle worth being called an icicle...

                                                                                                       Photo by Barry Wallace

It's past the halfway mark in February, but there's finally what I call an icicle hanging in the backyard. This beauty is over a metre long (45 inches) and as thick as my arm.  Now, this is an icicle ... and it's only 29 days 'til spring.  Yeeaaah!

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Barry Wallace

Reading 50 of Pierre Berton's books...

         

     

My old high school buddy, Ted Bird (longtime Schomberg resident and businessman), told me last Christmas he was embarking on an odyssey to read 50 of Canadian author Pierre Berton's books.  Berton is pictured at right.

I quickly realized that I had never read a book by Pierre Berton, so decided to read at least one.   Ted (pictured at left) and I have now read about 13 of Berton's books, all non-fiction, and we have both come to know how very little we knew of Canadian history and how incredibly researched and well written are the man's works.

Will we continue to read another 37 of Berton's books? Maybe. I've known Ted for almost 65 years and he has  always been as stubborn as a mule.....and I like a challenge.  We should know how close we get to 50 by next Christmas.  I'll update this blog entry sometime this summer.

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Barry Wallace
   

Let's go back to Friday's blog...

 Photos by Barry Wallace

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have noticed this past Friday, that the names of the two burros (donkeys) pictured above, were missing.   I scheduled the blog but missed getting the burros' names in time.   For the record, their names are Gibor and Juan.   Don't ask me which is which because they are virtually identical.   I'm sure the folks at Dog Tales Sanctuary, up on the 19th Sideroad, know who is who, but I don't.   I do know that Gibor and Juan were rescued from Israel.

Above, GIBOR & JUAN ~ or JUAN & GIBOR

Pictured above is a brand new stablemate for  Gibor and Juan.   It's another rescue donkey, just arrived, whose name I don't know, as of yet.

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Barry Wallace

Woodchoppers Lane ~ Holland Marsh

Photos by Barry Wallace

Secured bicycles await Holland Marsh migrant workers, most likely from Mexico, who will show up in spring and work in the marsh fields until the fall, before heading back south.

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Barry Wallace

Outside the kitchen window...

                                                                                                         Photo by Barry Wallace

Icicles being made

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Barry Wallace

Dog Tales Sanctuary...19th Sideroad

Photo by Barry Wallace

White look-alike burros and matching blankets

They are snowy-looking identical twins, named _______ and _________, but don't ask me which is which.   You can visit and see them any Sunday afternoon at the sanctuary.

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Barry Wallace

Make yourself feel good...maybe save a life

Photo by Barry Wallace

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Barry Wallace

Keele Street North ~ King City

                                                                                                     Photo by Barry Wallace

Tiny tree ~ big balls

This little fir tree continues to bear up, with bent boughs, and loaded down with christmas decorations and lights, even though it's well into February.   The tree's nickname should be 'Intrepid'.

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Barry Wallace    

Snowy Owl in the Holland Marsh...

 Photos by Barry Wallace

SNOWY OWL

(Nyctea scandiaca)

I came across this 1st-year female Snowy Owl on Holancin Road, about 1/2 km. north of Highway 9, in the Holland Marsh on Monday morning.   She was scanning about the snow-covered fields for mice, most likely.   She allowed me to get close enough that we were staring into each other each other's eyes.   Once she had had enough of me, she spread those long, narrow wings, and sailed off to another perch nearby.   Note the size of those talons (below).   I was left breathless as I always am in the presence of big owls or raptors.   It made my day.

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Barry Wallace

Hamlet of Strange ~ Weston Road

 Photos by Barry Wallace

When it's not frozen, a small stream (see below) flows along the northern edge of the Wesleyan Methodist  Cemetery, in the tiny hamlet of Strange on Weston Road, just north of the King Road.  The cemetery was established in 1852 and adjoined the Wesleyan Methodist Church.   The cemetery closed in 1878 and the church closed in 1900.   Methodist adherents moved down the road a short distance and joined the Laskay Methodist Church.   The Ontario Genealogical Society lists 51 interments at the Strange cemetery, including 16 small children, including several shortly after birth.

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Barry Wallace

February doldrums...

Haiku and photo by Barry Wallace

time for a haiku ...

now let me see ... a haiku

... maybe tomorrow

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Barry Wallace

Over 36 years for GO Trains in King City...

                                                                                                             Photos by Barry Wallace

GO Train in King began in 1982

Has it really been that long?   Where does the time go? GO Train service through King City began on September 7th, 1982.

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Barry Wallace

York Regional Police offices in King City...

 Photos by Barry Wallace

The new King City detachment of the York Region Police Department, on the King Road at the west end of the village, is now operational.   These photos show the computers stations that will accommodate six officers per shift.   While operational now, a public reception is expected to be held in May.

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Barry Wallace

 

Imagining summer...

Photos by Barry Wallace

Although snowdrifts can be admirable sculptures (see above) they can also be somewhat dingy (see below).   In either case they are both cold, and at my advanced age, I am no longer a fan of winter.   That is why I have inserted the photo, at bottom, into today's blog.   A summertime foraging female Baltimore Oriole lifts my spirits in a limitless way.

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Barry Wallace

Record cold one day ~ thawing the next

 Photos by Barry Wallace

When I was a teenager, winters seemed frigid and frozen from late November until early March.   Back then, the icy East Humber River, across southern King Township, became a winter road that allowed me and my buddies a unaccustomed view of the snow-covered landscape.   Now 60 years later, the river has changed a lot.  The cold 'Humber' is not as deep now, and it seems to be open and flowing in many spots, on as many days, as when it is frozen over.   Increased caution beckons.  The cattle above descended to a small, thawing, rivulet for a cold sip near Nobleton.
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Barry Wallace    

More Monarchs for backyards this summer...

                                                                                                                    Photo by Barry Wallace  Monarch numbers up 144% in Mexico

The number of monarch butterflies overwintering in central Mexico is up 144% over the previous year, according to new research,  but scientists warn that it does not mean the butterflies that migrate from Canada and United States are out of danger.   2019 is the largest measurement since the 2006-2007 period says Mexico's commissioner for protected natural areas.  A historic low of just 1.66 acres was recorded in 2013-2014.   Butterflies, like other insects, see their populations rise and fall and the monarchs have a declining trend.   This year's numbers are positive, but do not guarantee the future.   The first monarchs crossed into Mexico last year more than a week later than usual on October 20th owing to rain and cold along the Texas-Mexico border.   Once in Mexican territory, hope for the future rises.  Scientists say 15 acres should be seen as a minimum for migrating monarchs.   Loss of habitat, especially the milkweed, where monarchs lay their eggs, pesticide and herbicide use, and climate change will continue to pose threats to the species.   My backyard awaits...

                                                                                                   Photo by Barry Wallace

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Barry Wallace

Cold garden shed window transformed...

Photo by Barry Wallace

-20C

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Barry Wallace

Small silent snowprints...

    Photo and haiku by Barry Wallace

DOVE TRACKS IN THE SNOW

APPEARING FROM NOWHERE

THEN DISAPPEARING

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Barry Wallace

In art as in love, instinct is enough ~ F. Thibault

Photo by Barry Wallace

I spotted this maple leaf folk art near the Lake Wilcox Park in Oak Ridges last Monday.   It's not located in King, but close to it, and I liked its artistic pretension, including the red colour, the use of recycled materials, the mystery of its unrecognizable parts, and the boldness of its wintery Canadian presence.

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Barry Wallace

Does the Mourning Dove get cold feet?

Photos by Barry Wallace

The backyard birds are leaving lots of tracks in the light snow we've had so far this winter.   But do they get cold feet?   The answer is no because there is no soft tissue in their feet and warm circulating blood, in their arteries, enters their feet, becomes cool, but warms up again as it goes back, through veins, into the warm, feathered body.

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Barry Wallace