Horse of a different colour

Photo by Barry Wallace

Pottageville panache

Most horse blankets are dull and drab, but there is an exception to every rule, right?   This horse  is definitely making a fashion statement on a farm on the 18th Sideroad of King, between the 7th and 8th Concessions, just south of Pottageville.   Shocking pink is definitely not a typical fall colour.
Please comment if you wish.
Barry Wallace

Hunting in King...necessary?

A reader of this blog wrote to me yesterday to tell me that someone, on a neighbouring property, had built a hunting tower.   The reader was dismayed that deer are likely to be killed almost in their backyard.   The reader's house is located in a part of King that many people consider an unofficial natural heritage and environmentally-sensitive area.   The reader thinks that the killing of deer near to one's back door is brutal and totally insensitive to the feelings of nearby folks who object to hunting.   Hunting may be legal in King but that does not mean it is appropriate in situations with mitigating circumstances.   Deer stands can be found in a number places on private property in King Township.   The one in the picture on the right is located on the edge of King City.   I am not a hunter.   I can understand subsistence hunting by native people in remote areas of this country, but beyond that I see no need for sport hunting, especially near inhabited areas, in King Township.   I cannot think of any good reason for this type of hunting adjacent to one's next-door neighbour.   Hopefully these instances will be few and far between and that the killing of animals around us in King will soon become a thing of the past.
Please comment if you wish.
BtheB

South Barn

                                                                                                                               Photo by Barry Wallace

Marylake ~ King City

Please comment if you wish.

BtheB

No Frills in Nobleton north

Photo by Barry Wallace

Grocery shoppers in and around Nobleton will soon have a very large store to patronize when John's No Frills opens its doors, on the east side of Highway 27 in the north end of the village.   It will be the largest grocery store in King Township when it opens.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Commuters block sidewalks

Photo by Barry Wallace

The parking situation at the King City GOTrain station is abominable, with dozens of drivers each day doing whatever they have to do, to park their vehicles and make their commutes.   The situation is a long-standing problem and begs a solution.   The car pictured above completely blocked the sidewalk on Station Road on Thursday and received a ticket for his or her inconsiderateness.   Parking in inappropriate or illegal spots is rampant now.   God only knows how the situation will play out this winter when ploughed snow exacerbates a situation that seems to get worse every day. 

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Seal of St. Augustine at Marylake

Photos by Barry Wallace

I've probably driven or walked by the impressive main gates at Marylake Augustinian Monastery, on the northern edge of the village of King City, a couple of thousand times during the 55 years I've lived in King.   I've taken photographs of the gates many times over the years also.   But I have to admit I'd never noticed the plaque at the top of the gateway until this week.   As I prepared to take a picture of it, I assumed it had something to do with Sir Henry Pellatt, the creator of the buildings at Marylake which remain to this day and remind us of his Toronto home (castle) Casa Loma.   I was therefore surprised to see the plaque was festooned with catholic religious symbols, such as a bishop's mitre, a bleeding heart and arrow, a staff, a cross, a book, etc.   Obviously, this installation followed Sir Henry's time at Marylake and had to be the work of the monks of the Order of St. Augustine.   The priest at Marylake confirmed that what I was looking at was a replica of the old Seal of St. Augustine.    

So then, while the gates at Marylake date from some time after 1911, the Seal of St. Augustine plaque dates from some time after 1942.

The gates at Marylake are quite impressive from a distance, but they show the toll time has taken on the beautiful masonry work, when viewed up close.   Maintenance and repairs are no doubt continuous and costly.

Gateway detail

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Barry Wallace

Nasturtiums in November

Photos by Barry Wallace

There before me
Trailing joyfully
Nasturtiums of every colour
Did I see
Purple and bronze
Orange and pink
Exploding in delicious hues
Prompting me to blink.
                                                                                   -- from Nancy Ellen Crossland's 'Nasturtiums'

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace