Three Forests photos at King Museum

King Township's acclaimed nature photographer, Gary Conway, has mounted a beautiful exhibition of past and recent work entitled "Three Forests Exhibition" at the King Township Museum.   Photographs taken over several years highlight the differences and similarities between Ontario's inland temperate forests, Nova Scotia's Atlantic coastal forests, and Costa Rica's Pacific tropical rainforests. The photo above was taken in King Township's Happy Valley Forest, on the Oak Ridges Moraine. The 78-day exhibition of the works take place until Saturday, April 18.   Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays.   The museum is located in the hamlet of Kinghorn, on the King Road, just east of Jane Street.



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Barry Wallace

Five Snowy Owls in the Holland Marsh

Photo by Barry Wallace

Pictured above is a female Snowy Owl sitting atop a post in the Holland Marsh on Thursday of this week.   My King City neighbour, Jerry Binsfeld, and I spotted five of these wonderful birds in the Marsh, on both sides of Highway 400.   There were four females and one male.   We also spotted a number of Red-tailed Hawks, a Rough-legged Hawk, and a couple of Coopers Hawks.   We also saw several Common Redpolls along the banks of the canal feeding on weed seeds.   There may have been a Hoary Redpoll among them but neither of us was prepared to say for sure.   The weather was cold but the birding was hot.

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Barry Wallace 

Langdon's Coach Lines bus

Photo - Toronto Public Library

Did you ride on this Langdon's bus?

By pure coincidence, I came across this online photo of an old Langdon's Coach Lines bus that served King City between 1948 and 1954, just two weeks after Alan O'Brien, of King City, a former partner in Langdon's Coach Lines, passed away at the age of 85.   B. J. Langdon started his bus business and his two sons, John and Jim joined him in the company when they finished high school.   Jim Langdon was a friend and schoolmate of mine in the late 1950s and his older brother, John, was our school bus driver.   However, being Jim's buddy didn't keep me from being kicked off the bus by John Langdon, for rowdy behaviour.   The bus above (No. 11) is seen at the end of its days, at Dixie Auto Wreakers in Mississauga, in 1955.   Langdon's Coach Lines was eventually sold and today is part of First Student, the largest school bus company in North America.
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Barry Wallace    

Yesteryear house ~ 18th Srd. near Schomberg

Photo by Barry Wallace

A gable roof, a single dormer, a rusted stovepipe chimney in a back kitchen perhaps...and how old? In summer, this scene is somewhat mollified by the green embrace of trees and grass, but in winter the bleakness is disconcerting.   No doubt though, it is still likely a home, year-around, to small, wild creatures and birds.

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Barry Wallace 

Dirty drifts

Photo by Barry Wallace

There haven't been many snowdrifts to speak of so far this winter.   A few, like these on the King Road near Hwy.400, have lost their pristine whiteness, because of dark soil being picked up by strong winds, from wide-open fields to the north.   More snow, though, will soon enough alter this view.

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Barry Wallace

  

Hay barn not needed

Photo by Barry Wallace

18th Sideroad near Pottageville

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Barry Wallace

Not all old barns get torn down

Photo by Barry Wallace

Recently I've been going on about the loss of old King Township wooden barns.   I've run photos of some of the doomed vestiges of older times, but I've also included shots of some completely new barn structures.   There is another category of course: old barns renewed.   Such is the case of the barn above.   It is located on the 15th Sideroad of King, just west of Weston Road.   Size-wise, it is an impressive structure.   It also now impresses with its new board cladding.   The low, late January sun, on the new wooden boards, gives the barn a golden glow.   Some new windows add a somewhat understated but stylish touch.   When I first moved to King City 60 years ago, this farm belonged to Aubrey Marshall.   More recently the farm was home to the 'Forget-me-knots', a 3-generation extended family that lived together and became well-known in this area as a Von Trapp-style family (of Sound of Music fame) musical group.   The farm was up for sale in 2014.   I am assuming the property now has a new owner who has restored the massive barn.

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Barry Wallace