Thanksgiving Day drive around the township

Photos by Barry Wallace

Gregloch Lake ~ Weston Road (east side) ~ between the 15th and 16th Sideroads

Formerly known as Crawford's Lake

Opposite Hackett Lake on the west side of Weston Road

Kelley Lake ~ 7th Concession and 16th Sideroad

Starcliff Nature Reserve ~ 17th Sideroad (between Hwy. 27 & Concession 8)
Small lake deeply snuggled between surrounding hills

Pretty pond ~ north side of 15th Sideroad (between Hwy. 27 & Concession 8

Some Great Blue Herons linger until ice forms 

Another pond of the 15th ~ between Hwy. 27 and the 8th
This pond's dam has a small wooden bridge to cross over

The pond at Deerfield ~ 7th Concession - north of King Road

Pond and water feature at Kingbridge Centre

West side of Jane Street below King Road ~ south of Kinghorn

Pond on South Summit Farms Road
East side of Jane Street ~ north of King-Vaughan Townline
Canada Geese, a Hooded Merganser and a Double-crested Cormorant on pond

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Dentist's office starts to take shape

Photos by Barry Wallace

The former Gordon home on the King Road in King City, opposite Shoppers Drug Mart, is starting to take on an expanded form as it is transformed into the new dental office of Dr. Bruce Robinson, who presently works nearby, on the north side of the King Road.   A more recent vestibule has been removed the front entrance of the 120-year-old house, but everything else remains intact.   Additions to the structure can be seen on the west and south sides of the old structure.   Many passersby are keen to see how the additions will visually integrate with the design of the original house and the overall streetscape.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

If horses have blankets...

Photo by Barry Wallace

...do colts have comforters?

7th Concession ~ King Township

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Trumpeter Swan ~ Schomberg

Canada Geese can usually be seen on the large pond at the Schomberg sewage treatment plant, but on this past Sunday they were joined by a Trumpeter Swan.   The geese slowly moved away from me but the swan headed for the shore on which I was standing and floated offshore for several minutes as if waiting for me to throw food to it.   This was the first time I have been approached by a Trumpeter Swan like this.   In the past they have always been wary and never approached.   The re-introduction of these huge birds in south-central Canada has been so successful in the last two decades, that I can't help but think the swans have lost a lot of their natural reserve about humans.   May it remain so.   They are great to see up close.

Please comment if you wish.
Barry Wallace

How a hamlet got its name

Photo by Barry Wallace

PURPLEVILLE

Reader of this blogsite and Arts Society King member, Zoreh Zandvakili, wrote to ask how Purpleville got its name.   I mentioned the Vaughan hamlet in a recent blog.   Elmore Reaman, in his 1971 book A History of Vaughan Township, says that Purpleville  got its name, in 1866, from an early Township of Vaughan farmer, John Morrow, who was a staunch Orangeman.   The purple star of the Williamite Army (late 1600s) is part of the flag of the Orange Order, which is a protestant fraternal organization based primarily in northern Ireland. Very few vestiges of old Purpleville remain to this day.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace

Autumn tree colours seem reluctant

Photo by Barry Wallace

8th Concession roadside

King Township autumn tree colours seem to be a bit behind schedule this fall.   A check of the Ontario Parks online leaf report shows about 20% colour change and 30% leaf fall, in our part of south-central Ontario, after the first week of October.   In a perfect world, of course, we would like a 100% colour change and the leaf fall would hold off until December.   But we must take what we can get and enjoy it while we can.   The photo above is on the 8th Concession of King, looking north, near the 16th Sideroad.

Please comment if you wish.

Barry Wallace 

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