Artifacts and pictures from settlement times

 Photos by Barry Wallace

The current artifacts display at the King Museum, in Kinghorn, has brought back several excellent pieces from mid-to-late settler times.   There are still people in King Township who will remember pieces that they or relatives or neighbours donated to the museum many years ago.   One piece that caught my eye was the fine-looking chamber pot with silencer (pictured below).   What is a silencer?   I believe it is a crocheted circular cover for muffling the sound of the pot lid as it rattled on and off the chamber pot, in the middle of the night.   65 years ago, I'm sure I heard my maternal grandfather use the term thunder-mug or thunder-box for his under-the-bed lavatory.   I believe this particular collection of furniture and other household items is on display until the middle of the month.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Oak Ridges Trail ~ the King Ridge

 Photos by Barry Wallace

Between the 7th & 8th Concessions

Twice in the past several days I have included photos from the Love Mountain Nature Reserve on the north side of the Oak Ridges MoraineTrail, between the 6th and 7th Concessions of King Township.   In this blog, I have moved over to the ORTA trail between the 7th and 8th Concessions of King.   This section of the trail, along the King Ridge, is more of a challenge for old legs like mine, with its continuous change of elevations and some trail sections that are rather steep.   I started on the 7th Concession, south of Pottageville, and managed 4 kilometres today, in and back out. The Happy Valley Forest here is just as grand as it is on Love Mountain, east of the 8th and slightly south.   Huge maples and beech prevail, but Red Oak of similar heights are spotted regularly, especially when one is stepping on newly dropped acorns.

On this part of the Oak Ridges Trail, one or two streams are spotted trickling in a northerly direction, headed for the Pottageville Swamp.   Most of the water from the moraine's King Ridge stays underground until it appears a little further down the north slope of the moraine.   There are a couple of spots however that do require footbridges to get across the small streams. 

At about the halfway mark between the 7th and 8th, in a depression in the forest floor between surrounding upland slopes, is a marsh which has as many tall ferns as it has tall cattails. The autumn colours of this wet spot were a lovely contrast to the the still mostly dark green forest, and a surprising feature of this hardwood upland forest. 

Ash trees in the Happy Valley Forest are as susceptible to the Emerald Ash Borer as well as Ash anywhere else.   In the photo at left, is an Ash tree that has been treated to hopefully withstand the insect onslaught.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace  

Plain message from Ann Raney

Photo by Barry Wallace

New Green Party sign ~ Keele Street

I'm not sure exactly what the meaning of this Green Party election sign is.   Does it really mean that only 20% of the Green Party platform is bullshit?   For sure, it catches the eye.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

October 1st Rose

                                                                                                Photo by Barry Wallace

Not usually thought of as a fall colour, this pink Autumn rose bloomed and stands out nonetheless, in our garden on a cool, first day of October.

Do not grieve that rose trees have thorns,

rather rejoice that thorny bushes bear roses.

                                                                   ..... English proverb

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Trees ~ the essence of Love Mountain

 Photos by Barry Wallace

Elephant skin bark

 Entrance to Love Mountain from the Oak Ridges Trail
300 metres east of the 7th Concession ~ south of the 16th Sideroad

White blazes (Love Mountain)  ~  Blue blazes (Oak RidgesTrail)

Love Mountain meadow ~ near the trailhead

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

On the Mill Road at Humber Trails

                                                                                                                Photo by Barry Wallace

Trees become bones before they fall

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Today's colour is purple

Photos by Barry Wallace

From flowers to hummingbird feeders to windcatchers...

Well, this is stretching things a bit.   The Purpleville sign is not in purple and its not located in King.   It's a couple of kilometres south of King, in Vaughan.   But there was a time, when Purpleville was a modest little community that drew customers and visitors and relatives to its crossroads location from King communities like Nobleton, King Creek, Laskay and King City, as well as Vaughan villages like Maple and Woodbridge.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace