Cold Creek Conservation Area...

Photo by Barry Wallace

Hoary horsepower

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Church St., Schomberg ~ a step back in time...

Photos by Barry Wallace

Please comment if you wish.
Barry Wallace

Mother Nature storing snowballs?

                                                                                                 Photo by Allison Bailey

Mother Nature appears to be storing snowballs on fungi brackets on an old birch tree, at the King Township Centennial Park on Jane Street, between King Summit Road and Kingswood Drive.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

King Heritage and Cultural Centre changes...

                                                                                                         Photos by Barry Wallace

More parking spaces and walkways

Work was underway at Kinghorn during the mild weather this week, in advance of additional parking and more walkways being installed in the spring.   Additional parking is much needed and hard-scaping of new walkways will be much appreciated by visitors.   The site is becoming more like a tiny hamlet all the time.  

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Shades of cool blues...

 Photos by Barry Wallace

...time to go and sit in front of the fireplace

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Not much snow...very little ice...

Photo by Barry Wallace

What better time to get a jump on spring?

8th Concession ~ near Schomberg

Please comment if you wish.
Barry Wallace

North of King City

Photo ~ Toronto Archives

Hunt Meet at Lady Eaton's Villa Fiori ~ 1930

This Toronto Archives photo shows a Hunt Meet near to Lady Eaton's Villa Fiori.

Humber River open in spots all winter?

                                                                                               Photo by Barry Wallace

King-Vaughan townline over the Humber

between Mill Road and Highway 27

I've mentioned this previously, and I can't be 100% sure, but It seems to me that the East Humber River, between the east and west sides of the township, has had open water in different spots every day this winter, despite some mighty cold temperatures now and then, and especially at night.   I cross the Humber in several spots, either in my car or on foot, several times each week, and I'm almost positive I've seen open water each time.   Not that it really matters, I suppose, but then again there is that thing called global warming.   Just saying...

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace 

Transit shelters popping up like mushrooms...

Photo by Barry Wallace

A blessing for wintertime transit riders

It seems that new transit shelters have been showing up regularly throughout King Township this winter.   The one pictured above was erected this past Wednesday on the King Road in King City, in front of the Bank of Montreal.   No doubt public transit users love them in snow and rain.

Please comment if you wish.  

Barry Wallace

7th Concession dead-ends at Humber River...

                                                                                               Photos by Barry Wallace

King's 7th Concession does not cross the Humber

Here's a spot I'd never seen in all my years in King Township.   It is south of the King Road, on the 7th Concession which ends abruptly at the East Humber River.  Across the river, the interrupted 7th heads south again but only goes a short distance before meeting the city of Vaughan, and becoming Pine Valley Drive.   The river valley here is rather deep and heavily treed.   Many trees have fallen beside and into the river over the years and access here is very difficult, especially at this time of year.   A photo at the bottom of this blog shows a notice about the location of a gas pipeline at this spot.   Its placement and construction must have been quite a challenge.  

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Hawk Owl still drawing big crowds...

Photos by Barry Wallace

The rare Hawk Owl that has been visiting Schomberg's Dufferin Marsh for the past three months continues to attract birders from all over southern Ontario, even from a couple of northern American states.   The ladies with the big camera lenses, pictured below, were from Milton and Scarborough and they were enjoying themselves greatly on a beautiful day.   They were emphatic that the drive to Schomberg was worth it.  

Northern Hawk Owl       

(Surnia ulula)

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Bats in the belfry at All Saints?

                                                                                                     Photos by Barry Wallace

Pictured above is the round window just below the belfry tower of the old All Saints Anglican Church, facing Keele Street in the centre of King City.   Other older pictures I have taken do not show what appears to be the loss of the small, lower-left, window quadrant.   One cannot help but wonder just how long it will be before bats discover this entrance to what just might be an ordained religious roost.
Please comment if you wish.
Barry Wallace 

    

Opposums help prevent Lyme Disease

                                                                                                         Photos by Barry Wallace

Ticks spread Lyme Disease.   Opossums eat as many as 4,000

ticks a day.   They are harmless in just about all other respects.  They will run away or play dead instead of fighting.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Along the Kettleby Road...

                                                                                               Photo by Barry Wallace

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

White horses can wear any colour...

Photo by Barry Wallace

Equine winter fashion in King

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Kettleby winterscape...

Photo and haiku by Barry Wallace

see winter's colours

that are often coldly hued

keep your mittens on

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Near the East Humber river...

 Photos by Barry Wallace

King City Trails

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Just north of King City...

                                                                                              Photo by Barry Wallace

Winter and a busy beaver

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Kingsbridge Centre ~ south of Kinghorn

Photo by Barry Wallace

RIVERINE CEDARS

East Humber River

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Frozen in the backyard...

                                                                                            Photo by Barry Wallace

Icy stalagmite

I've cheated a bit here, folks.   Actually the photo above is of an icicle hanging down from my garden shed, but I inverted the image, on the computer, before I put it in this space.  But you were probably suspicious anyway, right?

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

King Road and 7th Concession...

                                                                                                  Photo by Barry Wallace

One of the East Humber River's tiny tributaries

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Which came first ... the shed or the tree?

                                                                                                      Photo by Barry Wallace

7th Concession ~ north of the King-Vaughan Townline

The shed looks old...

but the tree looks older...right?

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

King 16th Sideroad and 7th Concession...

                                                                                                 Photo by Barry Wallace

West of Kelly Lake

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

18th Sideroad ~ near Pottageville...

Located just west of Pottageville on the 18th Sideroad is the onetime Second King Baptist Church.   The church dates back 172 years to 1848, and celebrated its 125th anniversary in 1973.

Today, the structure has been designated under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Please comment if you wish. 

Barry Wallace

Bond Lake ~ hiking trail disruption

Photo by Barry Wallace

Public access prohibited on Bond Lake Trail

I was surprised recently to see signs (pictured above) on the western side of Bond Lake, just off Yonge Street in north Richmond Hill, saying that "Public Access is Prohibited" and that the area is now patrolled and that the area is  an "Environmentally Sensitive Area".   Although boot-prints in the snow would indicate that the signs are being ignored by some, the fact of the matter is that it must be a frustrating disappointment for hikers that truly appreciate this nature trail.   The lake and the shoreline trail are getting more and more visitors, like me, from the King City area and many other parts of York Region, and prohibiting access is a major blow to walkers, hikers and bird-watchers.   What a shame.

An ancient Toronto and York Railway building on the Bond Lake shore has become a recent latter-day target for graffiti artists.

Toronto Region Conservation Authority workers visit the site to do forest management maintenance.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace