walking taxi: Oooo Nature!!!!!

#1 THE HUMBER RIVER VALLEY

Wooded parklands, natural wetlands, and excellent sportfisshing make this attractive, urban escape popular with nature buffs.

DATE: May 31, 2009

TIME: 1:13 pm – 2:33 pm (one way that is)

13:13 – 14:33

So another mission begins! Excited? Apprehensive? I think Alma doubts we’ll finish it this summer- but I remain optimistic!

That’s funny that you say that because when you said that we’re going to finish all the walks before the summer ends…I kinda thought you were joking. although we did plan to do one walk per day for a week… that still doesn’t add up though. oh man mon… the libraries!!

1. James Gardens

"These hillside gardens feature spring-fed pools, rare trees, and seasonal flowers"….

So the first attraction on this walk is James Gardens. I’ve been here before with my family when I was younger but it’s been ages. The Gardens are beautiful and a great place for a leisurely walk or a picnic. Eager to start our mission, we save further examination of this park for the end of the day.

I’m probably looking from an item that I misplaced minutes ago…. nothing new. On a side note, to avoid some sort of catastrophe, I gave my credit card and driver’s liscence to Alma for safe keeping… Too safe though. We both forgot about it, and I had to drive over to her place in rush hour traffic to get them the next day.

Just to let you know this is NOT one of Monica’s "freak-out" moments…

Our trail leads us out of the park and along a "gentle riverside path". We pass wooded areas with trails to be ventured later and I soon discover that my walking companion, is new to nature (hence the title of this blog). I start to have doubts that Alma has ever been outside before.

Okay…so there’s a difference between someone being "new" to nature and someone that needs to take pictures of everything for the blog, Monica! It’s a pretty path though and maybe my reactions were due to it being a new adventure and having a gorgeous day to explore! And Mon… you’ve been here before!

A mallard duck!

I dunno why I like this picture but i do. It’s a bench with some plant life growing out of it.

This is Mon on a bridge that has a sign telling cyclists to walk their bikes across… i think Mon and I are the only ones that sees this because no cyclist complies to this. Some still complained about the small speed bumps… if people would only read.

This is a really bad picture of me… Thanks Mon… the few pictures that you take…

Your welcome. FYI: Alma’s afraid of heights.

Monica’s tree.

I just like that it was growing out there all by itself on it’s own island.

Duck tails…Duck tales woo hoo! remember that theme song? remember that cartoon show?

This bridge is Dundas Street West.

According to the all-knowing card, we are supposed to pass 3 river-dams and then look up to the left to see a hilltop which was the location of TEIAIAGON which was a large Indian fur-trading settlement in the 1660s. By the mid-1700s the French had established a permament trading fort there. I don’t recall seeing those river dams but think the hilltop they speak of is where next picture is taken. There is a questionably creepy house here with official looking plaques on the lawn. Alma was hesitant to get close to the signs – there may have been a no tresspassing sign – and i didn’t end up standing there long enough to get an explanation.

Okay, so Mon took a picture of the sign but since my old camera sucks it went into movie mode and so Mon filmed the sign for 2 secs…

2. Etienne Brule Park.

"Named after the first European to pass through the water shed, the park contains a small but informative display illustrating the valley’s human history"

We search but do not find this display.

Mon sits on some jagged rocks.

A quick note about these running shoes… These trail shoes got me through some muddy x-country meets in high school but now… my feet didn’t appreciate the feel of them at all. probably should’ve wore something different…

You were on the cross country team? Did I know that?

This is a picture of the "wonky" trail that we came across. Just after I took this picture, a little boy on a wooden bike rode into the trail. His dad was cute…

Oh yeah. I don’t remember discussing his attractiveness, but I do remember thinking he was.

This is where Mon does all her thinking…

How embaressing! This older couple over took us!!!!

The bridge is the Old Mill Bridge and the other entrance to the park.

Yeah seriously… how’d those two get passed us? I remember hearing them coming from behind… but i didn’t think they would surpass us.

There was also a guy with his wife that were eating ice cream. He said something really random to Mon and I and then started laughing. I don’t know what compelled us to also laugh along… but neither one of us understood what he said. All we know is that it had something to do with "fish".

According to Alma, I almost got hit by a car crossin this road.

So when Mon was crossing back from checking out a sign, there was a pick-up truck that was zooming down the road, giving now indication of slowing down when seeing Mon. Mon was really close to getting hit! Mon was completely unaware of this until i told her. Really got me worried when she was leisurely crossing!

3. Old Mill Inn and Spa

The Old Mill.

"A mill has stood on this site since 1793, and a tearoom opened here in 1914."

Old Mill Subway Station.

The walk officially ends here but have to retrace our steps and go back to James Gardens and my car. The rest of the pictures of our adventures on the walk back including straying of the path and taking some of the wooded paths in Lamton Woods just south of James Gardens.

Took this pic because it looked like a lunging stick person

I think Mon took this pic because she thought it looked like the tree was floating… then she mentioned some Harry Potter reference that she would only know.

Oh yeah…. well, in the Harry Potter series, specifically in "…The Chamber of Secrets", Harry visits the Weasley home "The Burrow". He describes it saying that it looks like there were several additional floors added to the house and that it looked like it had to be supported by magic. And well, that’s kind of like this tree. With its center of gravity… looks like it has to be held up by magic. You just have to think like me.

Mon doesn’t look impressed taking this shot… She actually took a picture of me going down the steps, but once again, the camera went into movie mode.

Me looking extremely awkward…what’s new?

If this picture is a bit blurry its because it was hurried. There was a couple approaching the bridge and they stopped and waited for me to take the picture before proceeding. (My intention was to set up the shot while they walked across.) Too much added pressure. But when I caught up to Alma and we crossed, she mae a reference to the awkardness not knowing that they were sitting not too far away from us and possibly heard her comments. Oh that Alma! Can’t take her anywhere!

Yeah, seriously… me and my big mouth. I felt so bad afterwards that i started whispering…but they prolly could still hear everything I was saying.

Monica’s roots! I really like this picture… There was no rushing here… the couple had already passed and was sitting just a couple of feet away…

You didn’t honestly think we wouldn’t take pictures of all the fungi?!

I tried looking this baby up in the audubon that some crazy lady gave me as a gift for my bday… but couldn’t find it. there are plenty of more mushrooms to look up for another day…

… like this one. for sure this is a shelf mushroom… that looks like is toothed on its underside. i have to look up these mushrooms more properly. jean marc would be disappointed… wait.. i’ve already disappointed jean marc once! oh man…