Canada blog

Bridal veils, cascades, double plunge – what an abundance of waterfalls Grey County has!  A largely sunny Easter weekend provided the perfect opportunity to enjoy them in full flow.

The steep climb up through the woods to Indian Falls gifted us not only with stunning views of the falls themselves, but also a glorious meadow, cut through by the sinuous stillness of the river. A bat, flying across the blue of a daylight sky, transfixed us (I hope that this was not an aberration caused by the fungus that is attacking bats in Ontario) – and a butterfly echoed the blue of the sky. A scramble down rocks to the foot of the falls increased our sense of their size and power – I had a momentary awareness of what it must have been like to arrive, all unsuspecting, at Niagara in its natural state. If you look at the photo to the right above, you will just see Paul, photographing under the falls, which helps give a sense of the size of them.

Sitting at the foot of Jones Falls, I marveled at the strands of diamonds behind the white shrouds as the cascading Spring water roared.

Ingliss Falls, in the past harnessed to various human purposes (flour, bran, wool), pound their way down an impressive drop – a lovely spot for an Easter Monday picnic.

Walters Falls impressed us least, though almost made up for this with a serenely still millpond above a weir.

 Our Easter break had started with Kayaking; the Beaver River, as a novice, I left to Paul as it included scary-sounding class 1 rapids;  Lake Eugenia was a great spot for my first paddle of 2012 -  disconcerting in the pull of wind and current as we paddled out to the island, blissfully still and peaceful in the lee, then exhilarating using the edge of the wave to power my stroke on the way back (though I rightly guessed that my arms would tell me about it later!).

There was still more water at the Scandinave Spa – hot pools (with man-made waterfalls), steam and sauna punctuated with frigid plunges and quiet time in rooms with panoramic windows looking out into the trees.

Having spent a couple of nights with old friends, we spent three nights just south of Wiarton making new ones at the wonderful Evergreen Forest Resort B&B in the heart of the forest – thank you, Doug and Carolyn, for being such warmly welcoming hosts!

The only thing wrong with our Easter break was that it went much too fast!

For more photos, see Grey County in our Ontario Photo Gallery

Tags: activity, Georgian Bay, Grey County, kayaking, waterfalls
Posted in Nature | No Comments »

A few photos from a wondrous winter hike (5 –6 miles) through the ravines and Don Valley  last weekend; cold but invigorating, with delightful ‘grazing’ to be had at the Brickworks (organic hot-dogs and hot cider, gourmet hot chocolate, fish tacos and the most amazing savoury spiced  Indian cake made from fermented chickpeas) before the short walk up the hill to the car.

(More photos in our Winter in Toronto Album)

So far, this has been a winter of freeze and thaw, not my favourite conditions. But last weekend was stunning; fine snow-dust glittering in glorious sunshine, and blue-black shadows.

Then there’s the sound of winter; a muffled quietness that soothes my soul, punctuated by a scrunchy squeak . . .

Tags: activity, Don Valley, ravines, snow, winter
Posted in Nature, Toronto | No Comments »

I love winter!

It seems to amuse people no end that I go in to work on a day like today exclaiming at what a beautiful day it is; -18, with wind-chill taking it to more like –25, but gloriously bright and sunny. What’s the problem, as long as you dress for it? There is something extraordinarily comforting and, in a strange way, sensual about downy coats and soft-furred hats.

I love the brightness of snow-light – Paul looked out of the window as he shut the blinds the other night and commented that, with the street and Christmas lights reflecting off the snow, it was almost as bright as a dark English day. In sunshine, it is dazzling.

I love the sharpness of the air against my face, a dry cold that invigorates and makes me feel very alive. When the temperature rises to near freezing I am reminded of the damp, English cold that I so disliked and wish for the mercury to fall again!

I love snow, in all its forms; diamond dust-devils that dance, dipping and diving and swirling; the powdered ice that skin-scours my face as the fast train speeds through the station; the feathers, floating freely, unhurriedly wafting; mesmeric mosquito motes that float on seemingly still air; crystalline glitter, dusting the days with magic.

Whether it swirls or hangs on the air, there is a meditative quality about falling snow that combines with the other-worldliness of the light and the deadening of sound to create something mystical – if you stop long enough to notice it.

Snow has its own special sounds, too; I knew it could crunch, perhaps even that it might creak as it slid from a roof, but I didn’t know that sometimes it squeaks scrunchily underfoot. And then there’s the inimitable sound of  skates shearing ice . . .

As we enter February, I am anticipating with some sense of loss the closure of the outdoor rinks at the end of the month. My evening walk from the station has already shifted from darkness to light. There is a part of me that wants to hold onto winter (better keep that to myself!), whilst another part of me awaits the new excitement of spring planting, the langourous beach-days of high summer, the richly painted landscapes of fall . . .

And then it will be winter again.

(For more photos of Toronto in winter, see our Winter gallery – the best way to view these is to click into an image and then find the arrow at the right-hand side that allows you to proceed through the collection. Currently we are having problems re-setting the thumbnails!)

Tags: snow, winter
Posted in Nature, Why Canada? | 3 Comments »

Keppel Croft is an amazing, inspirational garden between Owen Sound and Wiarton on the shores of Georgian Bay, Ontario. It is filled with wonderful planting, art installations and, most of all, spirit.( Below is a slide show created from our photos.)

(more…)

Tags: art, Gardens, Georgian Bay, spirit, summer, Zen
Posted in Bruce Peninsular, Nature, Sightseeing | No Comments »

Something quite magical about Toronto is that it is cut through with ravines, carved when the glaciers melted.  It is amazing to wander or cycle along a creek, steep banks to either side, almost without awareness of human habitation; just cool greenness.

Cycling home through Taylor Creek last week, I reached a marshy, open section of the ravine, cattails rimed with the gold of evening. I was stopped in my tracks by the choral konk-a-ree calls and scarlet flashes of the Red-winged Blackbirds. Definitely a foreign language!

Photograph of Red-winged Blackbird by Alan And Elaine Wilson

Tags: activity, Red-winged Blackbird, Taylor-Massey Creek, Toronto, wildlife
Posted in Nature, wild things | No Comments »