New signs for Kettleby...finally

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Barry Wallace

King City Memorial Park ~ skateboard facility

Photo by Barry Wallace

Warm sunshine ~ T-shirts ~ ready to rock and roll

This past Friday afternoon in King City got up to about 12C and these two young men from the King area got in some time at the skateboard park, next to the arena.

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Barry Wallace

Some days you should've stayed in bed...

Photos by Barry Wallace

Trucker loses load at Temperanceville intersection

Thursday's late afternoon rush-hour traffic at the King Road -Bathurst Street intersection was slowed even more than normal when this tractor trailer started loosing its load in front of the bus shelter.

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Barry Wallace

A knob...

Photo by BarrytheBirder

Here's a perfect image of a knob, photographed on the east side of Jane Street, just north of Mount Mellick Drive.   The origin of the word knob is Late Middle English, from Middle Low German and stands for knot, knob or bud.   Other definitions?   Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

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Barry Wallace

Barred Owl sightings around King City...

                                                                                                     Photos by Barry Wallace

A few people have contacted me about Barred Owl sightings around the King City area after I posted a photo of one, which I photographed near the Pine Farms Orchard, north of King City.   Barred Owls hunt a night but are sometimes seen during the day perched in trees in fairly open areas.   Normally, they rest quietly in dark, thick groves of trees in lowland forests during the day, but more and more people are reporting them, to the exclusion of other owls in this area.   'Barreds' are large owls, with black eyes and cross-barring on the neck and breast and streaks on the belly, and make for an impressive sighting.   My brother Bob, up Parry Sound way, had one near his house throughout this past winter.   The photos in this blog were taken by me at Pine Farms Orchard a couple of weeks ago.   There are three species of owls in Canada that have black eyes: the Barn Owl, Northern Spotted Owl and the Barred Owl. 

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Barry Wallace

Arts Society King~ Studio Tour ~ Preview

Artist: Alexandra K Conrad

Arts Society King presents the Studio Tour King Preview Exhibit at the King Heritage and Cultural Centre, on the King Road, just east of Jane Street, from now until April 24, Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.   Admission to the preview is free.   After the preview, the Arts Society King presents the 2019 STUDIO TOUR KING, throughout King Township, on Saturday and Sunday, April 27 and 28.   The tour is a self-guided art experience throughout the rolling hills of King.   The tour is also free admission and will features fine art, sculpture, jewellery, textiles, metal, wood, leather and more. 

Artist: Jacqueline England

Artist: Melina Lisi

Artist: Louise Garin

                                                                                                 Photographer: Tom Wray

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Barry Wallace

Whether historical values vs. owner's rights...

Photo by Barry Wallace

Being null in the beholder's eye?

This is the home on the main street in Kettleby that has been approved for demolition.   It is located on the Kettleby Road, directly opposite the historic building that now houses Dorio's Kettleby Italian Bakery.  The owners have stated It would be replaced by a new house that would reflect the architectural heritage of the historic main street of the village.  Already, it has drawn criticism from history buffs who assail the demolition.

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Barry Wallace

Library to open in late 2019 ~ early 2020

 Photos by Barry Wallace

Structural steel almost complete

The new library in King City should be operational sometime late this year or early 2020.   The new library, plus seniors centre, will grow from just under 8,000 to just over 20,000 sq. ft.   Total estimated cost is $10.8 million.   The new library is being built on the site of the old library, which is located very conveniently between the King City Secondary School and the King City Public School.   

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Barry Wallace

Update on reading Pierre Berton's 50 books...

My longtime Schomberg friend Ted Bird  and I are reading all 50 of Canadian author Pierre Berton's books.   I mentioned back in this blog space, on February 19, that I had read 13 of the books since late December of last year.   I'm now up to 23.   27 to go.   So much Canadian history - so much of it  new to me.
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Barry Wallace

Red-winged Blackbird...

                                                                 Photo: Migration Productions

blackbirds on cattails

all dangle at an angle

one leg up one down

                                                                                     - haiku by Barry Wallace

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Barry Wallace

Keele Street and the 16th Sideroad

Photos by Barry Wallace

Spring  arrived at 5.58 p.m. on Thursday, March 20 

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Barry Wallace

SPRING HAS ARRIVED ... greetings from B.C.

 Photos by Dave Kemp

My friend Dave Kemp, from the lower mainland in British Columbia, sent me these photos early this week, by way of declaring that spring has already arrived on the west coast.   Dave has beautifully captured a Great Blue Heron, a Gilded Flicker, a Goldfinch and a pussy willow.

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if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Happiness is three well-behaved Rottweilers...

Photo by Barry Wallace

I spotted Sho Papazian, owner and founder of 'My Obedient Dog', with her three Rottweilers in the parking lot at the four corners in King City on Saturday and I just had to get a photo of these amazingly well-behaved dogs.   They were unleashed and walked purposefully under control across the busy Keele St. / King Road intersection with Sho.   Sho is seen often around and about King City with dogs she trains and sometimes she is riding her bicycle with the tethered trainees.   This woman's dog sense seems both highly intuitive and knowledgeable.

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Barry Wallace

New art in King City...

Now showing at the Roost Cafe ~ Keele Street

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Barry Wallace

1st Starling last week ~ 1st Grackle this week

Photo by Barry Wallace

Starling and Grackle are back... 

... what about Red-winged Blackbird?

Our first Starling of the year arrived on March 5th, followed by a Grackle on the 14th.   That leaves the Red-winged Blackbird to complete the blackbird trio.   Based on the warmer weather forecasts, I'm predicting one day next week for the 'Red-wing's' arrival.

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Barry Wallace

The 'Annie Rooney'...

Photo " Early Settlements of King Township"

The photo above appears on Page 123, of the late King Township historian, Elizabeth McClure Gillham's book, 'Early Settlements of King Township Ontario'   The engine is part of the Aurora and Schomberg Railway, which operated from 1902 to 1927.   The railway was a spur of the Yonge Street Radial line and operated between Schomberg and Oak Ridges.   For a quarter of the century, the train marked a period of prosperity and change.   Mrs Gillham states in her book that "the arrival of the 'Annie Rooney' was named for the comic strip of the same name, in which a trolley car was used which encountered some difficulties similar to those on the Aurora-Schomberg line - such as cattle on the track, and similar hazards".   Transportation, business and livelihoods where transformed for more than two decades.   In 1927 however, the railway ceased to operate because it too had outlived its usefulness.   Cars and trucks were more convenient and cost-effective.   A hundred year later, the old railway bed can be spotted in a number of places across the township.

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Barry Wallace

First Great Blue of the season...

                                                                                                        Photo by Barry Wallace

I saw my first Great Blue Heron of the season flying over my home in King City yesterday.   Some ponds and streams have lost their ice cover, but the heron will be hard-pressed I think to find many fish in the middle of March.  It was heading south however, so perhaps it was returning to open water which it had visited on its way north.   It was nevertheless a most welcome sight. 

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Barry Wallace

Kirby and Betty - dogs on my street

Photos by Barry Wallace

The photo above appeared in this blog space back on January 28, about a month and a half ago.   It shows my neighbour's (Lee-Ann) dog Kirby, in his winter weather gear.   The picture below shows Kirby, on the right, and his female friend, Betty, on the left, in the same spiffy outfit, walking around Forde Crescent.   It turns out that the two dogs know each other well.   LeeAnn owns Kirby, and LeeAnn's mum owns Betty, who happens to be an official service dog.   Betty helps her owner, who has a seeing problem, get around.   If you think Betty's got pink poodle ears, you're correct.   I didn't ask how that came about, But LeeAnn told me the pink has just about disappeared.   It goes without saying that these two turn a few heads as they pass by.

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Barry Wallace

Thawing - freezing - thawing - freezing...

Photo: Barry Wallace

This photo was taken on Tuesday morning on Keele Street, near to Dog Tales Sanctuary.   There are a few other spots like this around the township this week.   A couple of warm days are to happen this week and then temperatures slip back around the freezing mark.   My dear wife slipped on some ice last Sunday and broke a wrist.   Major MacKenzie Hospital Emergency Department was filled on Sunday with   folks who had falls.   I mentioned to one of the 'emerg' receptionists, around 9 a.m. that it was so slippery outside the hospital that there might be people coming in, who had actually fallen between the parking lot and emergency department.   She replied "We've already had two this morning".   At least they were close to help.

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Barry Wallace

      

Winter's last amaryllis...

                                                                                                             Photo by Barry Wallace

We've had four different and beautiful amaryllises bloom over the winter.  The last one is pictured above and it almost waited until spring to show its colours.  The splendid Amaryllis belladona is a native of South Africa.   The four we had this winter, going back to January, certainly helped to make the winter shorter and more bearable.  Many thanks to my dear green-thumbed wife.
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Barry Wallace

Sun halo ~ James Bay, Quebec

Photo by April Dawn Gull

My neice, April Dawn Gull took this photo of a sun halo on a trip from her Cree village of Wemindji, on James Bay in Quebec, to the airport at Val D'Or for a charter flight to a conference in Toronto, last week.

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Barry Wallace

They're baaaack...

Photo by Barry Wallace

SPRING IN 2 WEEKS

Starlings disappeared from our backyard feeders back around Christmas, but returned on Wednesday of this week, just two weeks before the 1st day of spring.   What a welcome sight.   I love their breeding plumage colours at this time of year.   Now for some spring weather.

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Barry Wallace

Visiting Dog Tales Sanctuary ~ Sundays 12 to 4

Main reception area

Pig in a blanket

Where there's a will, there's a way

Friends

Yes, this big boy has a real mustache!

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Barry Wallace

Along the sideroads ~ Part 2

Photos by Barry Wallace

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Barry Wallace