tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25420823382208016092024-02-19T01:49:45.743-08:00Ontario's Outdoor Activitiesoutdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-77330434932037848992012-08-19T11:53:00.000-07:002012-08-19T11:55:02.066-07:00Warsaw CavesAlthough it has been a while since I have blogged anything, it is not because I haven't done anything. On the contrary it seems like this past year has just flown by. In the last couple of weeks though, the boys and I have made a couple of trips up to <a href="http://www.warsawcaves.com/index.htm">Warsaw Caves</a>. Warsaw is just the other side of Peterborough, about a 45 minute drive from our house depending on traffic. It is part of the Otanabee Region Conservation Authority's
lands and I have to say it is a gem.
The highlight or should I say the "lowlight" are the caves.
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Although they are nowhere near the magnitude of Mammoth Caves, nor will you find stalactites or stalagmites you can easily spend an afternoon wriggling around twenty or thirty feet underground. I would say the ideal age for this is about twelve. There is a fair amount of scrambling and I am sure most adults would consider it a good workout if they wriggled their way through all of the cave passages. My boys are seven and three and they thought they were great fun even though I didn't allow them to enter the trickier parts as the three year old is not quite up to the climbing parts yet! Headlamps and clothes that can get grubby are strongly recommended!
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Above ground there is some interesting things as well. Follow the trail to the potholes to see where an ancient river carved potholes in the bedrock by swirling a stone around and around. On the trail not far from the parking lot you will cross over the Indian river, where it flows underground. You can easily hear it gurgling through the bedrock under your feet as it flows underground for a few hundred feet.
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This screenshot from Google Earth shows the Indian River as it comes south, disappears underground and reappears downstream.
The hike to the potholes is about a kilometre and this is the best one with Isaiah looking down into it.
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There is a small swimming area off the main cave parking area and there is a campground in the park as well. If that isn't enough for you, bring a canoe or rent one at the park gate and you can paddle down the Indian River to the town of Warsaw and back.
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All in all this little park has lots to offer a family looking for some adventure without driving hours and hours!
<p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-14171820941651690842011-10-13T13:16:00.000-07:002011-10-13T13:27:25.389-07:00Fall coloursWhile making a couple of trips to the Home Depot for a simple job (they always seem to require more than 1 trip!) I noticed that the fall colours were really nice on this rainy morning. As a result I stopped and took a couple of photos of the Bowmanville creek valley. These pics were taken from the bridge on Longworth between 57 and Scugog St. in Bowmanville, ON. Enjoy!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-U6hRH_75Z_24rZX-ZYICkIdNa7S5VByZr8164fX2wx0PnRL4w-itJwP4mllO-Lli8IiZOnorDhn8bCmxXx_6G6HQgr4MBmGKQfBpVTqlcXIxoNphyphenhyphenN7pENXAeufljqHFVpC3ZBq3F6c/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-U6hRH_75Z_24rZX-ZYICkIdNa7S5VByZr8164fX2wx0PnRL4w-itJwP4mllO-Lli8IiZOnorDhn8bCmxXx_6G6HQgr4MBmGKQfBpVTqlcXIxoNphyphenhyphenN7pENXAeufljqHFVpC3ZBq3F6c/s400/004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663075606697598034" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSb74fYmRroU4Y3G822SaUBpIjwMeehB9ENRqBGSNxTGXzKnKpRfyEexbbVySmNIkrRQXb21MVCaLcqfPcBXrEHhd4gOeVzx1L90Z9ecxBNj9nnqW602ShQfkWBQh_p1me2dBn5UBEEo/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 342px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSb74fYmRroU4Y3G822SaUBpIjwMeehB9ENRqBGSNxTGXzKnKpRfyEexbbVySmNIkrRQXb21MVCaLcqfPcBXrEHhd4gOeVzx1L90Z9ecxBNj9nnqW602ShQfkWBQh_p1me2dBn5UBEEo/s400/012.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663075578828068002" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNAlAcKWVYpa_eKOAbaJwldFQsct9ZjyESzkLzFlIwLbqg1pPMthG_VQlX29FKj8shUhNTSGdX5olFcl0QZ0Z7cOF_ivseLo-ALCM-4jFhGA4vJKDXTqicT9qNQByOBDVwBVvG94b0Cc/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNAlAcKWVYpa_eKOAbaJwldFQsct9ZjyESzkLzFlIwLbqg1pPMthG_VQlX29FKj8shUhNTSGdX5olFcl0QZ0Z7cOF_ivseLo-ALCM-4jFhGA4vJKDXTqicT9qNQByOBDVwBVvG94b0Cc/s400/008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663075568849469842" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIai_wWfshX6Wgd52tV3kQpobey3ldbZItcdKNX07wZeHjVjxq5_IjegZKkV6nioybST1KBacecs1evGfQIcZRBimf_IsXXdsyidG1Crv2SZpZpuJEn-rcOyOKa_F_955S83tIK6VPfcM/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIai_wWfshX6Wgd52tV3kQpobey3ldbZItcdKNX07wZeHjVjxq5_IjegZKkV6nioybST1KBacecs1evGfQIcZRBimf_IsXXdsyidG1Crv2SZpZpuJEn-rcOyOKa_F_955S83tIK6VPfcM/s400/003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5663075557887138194" /></a><br /><br /><br /> <p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-75897063462166936592011-09-25T10:58:00.000-07:002011-09-25T13:01:22.743-07:00Adventure Racing 101Over the years I have done quite a few 5K runs, a few 10K's, a couple of Half-marathons and half a dozen mountain bike events. I have canoed, hiked, biked across Canada and climbed Kilimanjaro. However, I have never done an adventure race! This summer, one of my neighbours asked if I was interested in doing the STORM THE TEN race Sept 17th. A group of his friends were putting a team together and were looking for warm bodies they thought might not perish during the day. I said yes!!<br />Well it turns out there were 8 of us who thought we could handle it, and that meant that we split our group into two teams of 4.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi24DSt2AMcKZIdZ78xQxcpwhJfOuWlVrsuWxYF2-N8rG3iqKE_nTVjdLoYZ6KmRwWWiuDR4NfgCvxIDVlWNQZ2UcCRnllDcQat0e4m60JKPQ80kb1bJd5s6YYvT0UkpIx7I7HnUN8_b_I/s1600/036.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656360495103630290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi24DSt2AMcKZIdZ78xQxcpwhJfOuWlVrsuWxYF2-N8rG3iqKE_nTVjdLoYZ6KmRwWWiuDR4NfgCvxIDVlWNQZ2UcCRnllDcQat0e4m60JKPQ80kb1bJd5s6YYvT0UkpIx7I7HnUN8_b_I/s400/036.jpg" /></a><br /><br />The two teams, 404,"Livestrong" and 405, "Is it over yet?"<br /><br />I was the oldest by quite a few years,and also the slowest, the one in the photo above wearing the helmet.<br />We started the morning wearing just about everything we had as it was chilly!!!.<br />The event involved running, cycling, more running and more cycling, and then canoeing! Then you got to rest while the your teammates did their turn at it all. If you were in a team of four, as we were, you went in pairs, and did every second lap. Teams of six did every third lap.<br />The first lap, which my neighbour Murray and I did, also involved an extra 2K run to thin out the field, so that 200 people weren't all "bumper to bumper" coming out of the bike transition area, and climbing the first singletrack hill. It worked like a charm! We got on the bikes with just about everyone else ahead, so that we wouldn't get lost! Murray and I are both working full time with wives and children and our training was spotty. Not ever having done this type of race, we really weren't sure what to expect. The first run took a lot out of me, and the first part of the ride involves climbing the Niagara escarpment, in a series of switchbacks. By the time we got to the top, I was truly huffing and puffing. The rest of the lap is really not that outlandish, if you could start at the top of the escarpment. A few photos from the day follow. Some are from Murray, and others are from the rest of the team, as I didn't carry a camera with me!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintmcuKMWBt2PNWR9JjRhD-Q8Y5oUxygFHebWn9bMrtqi9y5CVUGwPGKfekaGe1kE9otfjH8gc-5WDkRnfcU0aFDGzDxf437jiEYvuF9yLyW7yAZuDqU_jSWT6Ok-w8U_PVdyEQtemI_I/s1600/043.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656368762089938130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintmcuKMWBt2PNWR9JjRhD-Q8Y5oUxygFHebWn9bMrtqi9y5CVUGwPGKfekaGe1kE9otfjH8gc-5WDkRnfcU0aFDGzDxf437jiEYvuF9yLyW7yAZuDqU_jSWT6Ok-w8U_PVdyEQtemI_I/s400/043.jpg" /></a><br />Murray and I in the Canoe<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyr_W2pnqavNL1rUZQ9coABsH98h2-rBQxkeC-IhYVqNRVRkCFaXU66bdb8wA2_h9ySdWPznjiOLpSEVboWiDj9epjV1EKlpvKsaE4x0Jbn_wQ8WmR0VY6sqgTT_x-fONP_MaFsXkQf0/s1600/029.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656368745573179362" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyr_W2pnqavNL1rUZQ9coABsH98h2-rBQxkeC-IhYVqNRVRkCFaXU66bdb8wA2_h9ySdWPznjiOLpSEVboWiDj9epjV1EKlpvKsaE4x0Jbn_wQ8WmR0VY6sqgTT_x-fONP_MaFsXkQf0/s400/029.JPG" /></a><br />Jen and Fiona being helped up the hill for the last lap by their kids!<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmhQhEr-8SYsD-RxZ6C3GC-BCkbNBnjix0_ifu9u1WgL04Xr051xUn36vfXDV-4_4qIIXtvX4dpyiW8oOJyZ0tsPfV9RpUux7XypIWLjSsTemrIejifKha5bqWpoX97TqopyRihz0nX0/s1600/016.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656368744397827874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmhQhEr-8SYsD-RxZ6C3GC-BCkbNBnjix0_ifu9u1WgL04Xr051xUn36vfXDV-4_4qIIXtvX4dpyiW8oOJyZ0tsPfV9RpUux7XypIWLjSsTemrIejifKha5bqWpoX97TqopyRihz0nX0/s400/016.JPG" /></a><br />Murray running from the bikes to the canoes.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nnrf0dx6a4BKS3uYniX0BhP5vM4r1TrmJvySZ83Tuq2pjEvGKrkJqJaunNyELPbVAQZqiny46Wn1-jZDDdK6h-20BhpFFtBw_p-n87QnKVpw4knCgtvKZIh83JKXeqI9zyc9Ij0Uaqo/s1600/021.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656372025071950978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nnrf0dx6a4BKS3uYniX0BhP5vM4r1TrmJvySZ83Tuq2pjEvGKrkJqJaunNyELPbVAQZqiny46Wn1-jZDDdK6h-20BhpFFtBw_p-n87QnKVpw4knCgtvKZIh83JKXeqI9zyc9Ij0Uaqo/s400/021.JPG" /></a><br />Myself running past the finish line to the the canoes and dropping my pack on the way! <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAolxA9e0Ci4XjKkUC32exoo0PUaRY1Bk3CKparM_wIGQ6tgnBkWCLg0eI6Ch8sCT0G7XQnAatyli7Ki6KnIj2oagmXq-86xuCoB-b-xZEXx902Lv-MfvQ_Jw5v6uz9FpEF15w0KIWWo/s1600/001.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656368736689793826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirAolxA9e0Ci4XjKkUC32exoo0PUaRY1Bk3CKparM_wIGQ6tgnBkWCLg0eI6Ch8sCT0G7XQnAatyli7Ki6KnIj2oagmXq-86xuCoB-b-xZEXx902Lv-MfvQ_Jw5v6uz9FpEF15w0KIWWo/s400/001.JPG" /></a><br />Relaxing at our site between laps<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyP9ygk_wgzuvf2MSkttzroEOWEGKnnm3fBDsDlxz6KOjJhTETeydWEyoHitQZtR6Mpyk6Lf1D3Gvqsc2YFVZlIZfq_F52ku2i2bOiwLtE2lefLy89wakrgldpcR6kh2-KrEaVUyDiXkA/s1600/038.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 225px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656372035570979234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyP9ygk_wgzuvf2MSkttzroEOWEGKnnm3fBDsDlxz6KOjJhTETeydWEyoHitQZtR6Mpyk6Lf1D3Gvqsc2YFVZlIZfq_F52ku2i2bOiwLtE2lefLy89wakrgldpcR6kh2-KrEaVUyDiXkA/s400/038.jpg" /></a><br />Pat, who organized our group of 8, coming through the finish line!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfwUieDcHnAwTBTkVQHpY5Nq_XzhLKDxz9GAu5Hx_kEmIZoKxGR1LiTy-Z5UElqZkPO8Ms_HUlg-gIic80gUkpXhoJH2rmfaTcMk8G91sUiaHIarMoE6aoe_Z7wsbHq5W44YYAKUVUV8/s1600/024.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656372033623771842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDfwUieDcHnAwTBTkVQHpY5Nq_XzhLKDxz9GAu5Hx_kEmIZoKxGR1LiTy-Z5UElqZkPO8Ms_HUlg-gIic80gUkpXhoJH2rmfaTcMk8G91sUiaHIarMoE6aoe_Z7wsbHq5W44YYAKUVUV8/s400/024.JPG" /></a><br />Murray and I, after the race!<br /><br /><br /><br />Next year(OK, there is a big "IF" associated with that) we will train differently, with a lot more running, and a lot more hill climbing, on our bikes.<br />I have to say, also, that many of the participants chose to do this solo, doing every lap, one after another. Two of them, one female and one male, completed ten laps each. I am amazed at the fitness level of these athletes! As for ourselves, Team Livestrong finish fifth in the Coed Four division, while Team Is It Over Yet was proud to finish eighth, in the same division, completing six laps, or three laps for each pair! Oh yeah, there were 8 teams in our division!<br />It was a great day and if you want to learn more about it go to their website <a href="http://stormevents.ca/stormthe10.htm">Storm the Ten</a><br /><br /><p align="right"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2542082338220801609#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-76325112676928003872011-08-21T09:38:00.000-07:002011-08-29T20:13:06.398-07:00Jake goes Camping<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqMpwrDKgIPIZ_nbpQJ4jhsQHAwPqKgHb6EiCNMWLlcuAxTG0U2SkpRFMqk5JMywxwR9FN2M4HE69GBOICa42fBX45v9yIzDAxG9Glx8qHS6zEUmykPTrxk0GtzLrX4gpchj_iWYv-iA/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqMpwrDKgIPIZ_nbpQJ4jhsQHAwPqKgHb6EiCNMWLlcuAxTG0U2SkpRFMqk5JMywxwR9FN2M4HE69GBOICa42fBX45v9yIzDAxG9Glx8qHS6zEUmykPTrxk0GtzLrX4gpchj_iWYv-iA/s400/004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646480048573805938" /></a>
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<br />We just returned from three days camping in Arrowhead Provincial Park. This was Jakes first camping trip! There is nothing really spectacular about Arrowhead, it is just a really nice little Provincial Park just north of Huntsville,ON. There is a couple of smallish lakes, a few nice beach areas, a waterfall, some nice walking and cycling trails and an overlook over the Big East River. To a two and a half year old it was heaven. He saw some wildlife (deer, chipmunk, loon, raven etc), liked the waterfall and thought the beach was great.
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPHvp8QFHsdd9YQ09db0Ef7BIAI8q_sH7aqk1vKK2ZSEiVBJEr_j2z8uL_uM2yK1ymGMNkzhVYKS1BGAbDtZ3QJRAfT5UhC7ylgiREdeozhrp9DRUfKUrxpk_BHRkb_HP4wCjkr1EcFnk/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPHvp8QFHsdd9YQ09db0Ef7BIAI8q_sH7aqk1vKK2ZSEiVBJEr_j2z8uL_uM2yK1ymGMNkzhVYKS1BGAbDtZ3QJRAfT5UhC7ylgiREdeozhrp9DRUfKUrxpk_BHRkb_HP4wCjkr1EcFnk/s400/012.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646480069682557730" /></a>
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<br />It is so great to watch young ones fall in love with the outdoors. Between the two boys there wasn't a dull moment between the beach, canoeing, bicycling, watching the fire at night or Isaiah seeing the Milky Way for the first time. Not once was TV or video game mentioned.
<br />Isaiah, at six is getting to be such a good paddler that I think next year I am sitting in the middle and letting him do the work! Jake is learning to sit in the canoe and got a real kick out of seeing a loon and a raven from the canoe.
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOq0HbBdh8ANZl9T2gEgs-xcNX0jehFAVY8a6RV4-68MADgRC4ndKgjEeIEUShyphenhyphend2-xWj5MzeQL-pvB4Ca3hy2331BY5XQf9Kiq5WPvxey3uVo9mXl_GxSyF533LJrZTIXRIxpslbPLnw/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOq0HbBdh8ANZl9T2gEgs-xcNX0jehFAVY8a6RV4-68MADgRC4ndKgjEeIEUShyphenhyphend2-xWj5MzeQL-pvB4Ca3hy2331BY5XQf9Kiq5WPvxey3uVo9mXl_GxSyF533LJrZTIXRIxpslbPLnw/s400/011.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646480063857659298" /></a>
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<br />Overall it was a great little getaway, and made us all look forward to our next trip !
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAp_Ge2pBLhcDcSwJBztwUe_mz3ii2bobPUT8kd6g6pC-a7uo83X1JZTMhGdrNY6RNjfNsUtD3PBzb_Wi1BcMICkdsNV9y72bkn_DIKmVX9ofL-afXek-nQ-1xeZi_hZdwoWYcO0gP3g0/s1600/039.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAp_Ge2pBLhcDcSwJBztwUe_mz3ii2bobPUT8kd6g6pC-a7uo83X1JZTMhGdrNY6RNjfNsUtD3PBzb_Wi1BcMICkdsNV9y72bkn_DIKmVX9ofL-afXek-nQ-1xeZi_hZdwoWYcO0gP3g0/s400/039.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646480060136765346" /></a>
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<br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-18753637375158740492010-09-28T07:23:00.000-07:002010-09-28T08:43:49.599-07:00Bottle Lake Part 2<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiA_n-zXHZtQTPUgkCqU0t9o_hJHLOolwAdTQIigPp1vug19waAbB_ar7AqWZf3ZqwPkjYM5J3bgyA_iezoR0JcRuRJlH1jP5_qr7uuFi0PVsyhVQEi5Ma9HhiLNuTvUGB90E_fAgOflk/s1600/048.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521981612188731922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiA_n-zXHZtQTPUgkCqU0t9o_hJHLOolwAdTQIigPp1vug19waAbB_ar7AqWZf3ZqwPkjYM5J3bgyA_iezoR0JcRuRJlH1jP5_qr7uuFi0PVsyhVQEi5Ma9HhiLNuTvUGB90E_fAgOflk/s400/048.JPG" /></a><br /><p align="center">Bottle Lake scenery</p> <br />For the second time in his young life Jake got to go for a paddle in a canoe! When he was just 8 months old I took him for a short ride in the kayak, which he did not like at all. I think it was the life jacket, more than the ride, that he objected to! Earlier this summer I took him for a short paddle out at the Garden Hill pond and he seemed quite happy with that. Isaiah, at the ripe old age of 5 is a seasoned veteran in the canoe and contributes mightily with his own paddle! Sunday, we decided to load up the family and return to Bottle Lake for a day trip. We packed a lunch, our life jackets, paddles, extra clothes, camera, first aid kit, etc. We needed the big canoe for this expedition!! After last week I had no problem finding the place, and the scenery of the drive during daylight was nice.<br />The big canoe weighs about three times as much as the little one, which meant the carry down to the water was a little rougher. I realize I am getting older when I start dreaming of a canoe that is lighter than the 85 lbs. of this one. I cannot complain, as it is 35 years old and is stable and seaworthy, both good qualities when you have young kids aboard. Today's materials, however make for much lighter boats.<br />As we pushed off from the beach it was overcast but the rain held off for us all day. We paddled down the lake, and Jake sat quite still on his own little bench for the first while as he took in the sights of the lake. Eventually he decided that he wanted to sit beside his big brother.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUeGBKQrgZnCc6x5aRufRwOiWcPPM_22vRKJ7HHeRzuSyJBzRNmiKhk2H7X-iLbFvlSFhzG85mUpWm48hiGAJjU1xNfvx4uvkwtYhel0q6WA63EomN-SAjIqoDgm_1ppTaW9e8cjbvV3Q/s1600/boys.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 299px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521981601716715154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUeGBKQrgZnCc6x5aRufRwOiWcPPM_22vRKJ7HHeRzuSyJBzRNmiKhk2H7X-iLbFvlSFhzG85mUpWm48hiGAJjU1xNfvx4uvkwtYhel0q6WA63EomN-SAjIqoDgm_1ppTaW9e8cjbvV3Q/s400/boys.jpg" /></a><br /><p align="center">The boys!</p> <br />After shifting things around a bit he was content on the big boys seat. We carried on down to the Sucker lake portage and stretched the boys legs with the short walk across. Had the weather looked more promising we may have carried the canoe over and done some exploring of this lake. As it was it looked as if it could rain on us at any moment so we decided to save that bit of the world to explore the next time. The boys had a great time climbing on the rock at the Sucker Lake end and had fun throwing acorns into the lake.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-T2yHHtSdAREsk6frU3yZrP2LLpnnATC3caVUQaZ8Ts14_gCq5il8TMDfF9SdkwoVvULccAgfzEOkaeKG0vXDY6fUenGZOvyjbXhMG-_n-uew-RbD_IkEyIGi_UqQ8DR4ql_HYaaXB_A/s1600/021.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521981595235574338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-T2yHHtSdAREsk6frU3yZrP2LLpnnATC3caVUQaZ8Ts14_gCq5il8TMDfF9SdkwoVvULccAgfzEOkaeKG0vXDY6fUenGZOvyjbXhMG-_n-uew-RbD_IkEyIGi_UqQ8DR4ql_HYaaXB_A/s400/021.JPG" /></a><br /><p align="center">The intrepid explorers!</p> <br />Kids just love getting out into nature and these two were having a ball! Eventually however we got hungry and headed back to the canoe. We paddled over to one of the campsites and broke out our picnic lunch. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctt3vcLfaUMmNEiXHeDypNH6w_XIs0cOTPujE7xz3CElL65bcVe6rwl1V4KOAJXyOZHb6-SpkYHuGfpEyrLeMMvS5jiZzJvQWotENFKmqYHC9JzV_BIsLS_zF9iA09UGM0r6PgZ2mifE/s1600/044.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521981607073951906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctt3vcLfaUMmNEiXHeDypNH6w_XIs0cOTPujE7xz3CElL65bcVe6rwl1V4KOAJXyOZHb6-SpkYHuGfpEyrLeMMvS5jiZzJvQWotENFKmqYHC9JzV_BIsLS_zF9iA09UGM0r6PgZ2mifE/s400/044.JPG" /></a><br /><p align="center">Lunch!</p> <br />The campsite was on a rocky point of land, and quite large, and although there was no real areas to put a large tent you could easily set up half a dozen small ones. It did have a fire pit and a picnic table and the fresh air had given us all a good appetite so we dug in to our lunch! After eating the boys did what boys like to do! Climb on rocks! I can't fault them as it is still one of my fave activities too!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukBnbtgF5IOFfUAUgoINfJ_87RjGdIBYIXUC_lMB5TwtdrfqdFWNbM2oRg72FDa-2T9LHF16te7YN0-CUBybpdA2e5QpV777U-MtjrK1e8X06QvNBMdqM9Zp3xPc4_oTGMIQFRYA5Ixg/s1600/rocks.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 372px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiukBnbtgF5IOFfUAUgoINfJ_87RjGdIBYIXUC_lMB5TwtdrfqdFWNbM2oRg72FDa-2T9LHF16te7YN0-CUBybpdA2e5QpV777U-MtjrK1e8X06QvNBMdqM9Zp3xPc4_oTGMIQFRYA5Ixg/s400/rocks.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521988618862666066" /></a><br /><p align="center">Fun!</p> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1uSrPpMDcXO4BcqmHjUvJS3NcuVk4xttk0e5pOklpIogSyvuWqEcH9Jhl3R7j03SSMGkG67VjuCwAtkeGppw2QAXGw5X4dyEPxhU7A3yVN2HEHDgok4A0pMAr37tvWRvOLyS2DFBqgM/s1600/047.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1uSrPpMDcXO4BcqmHjUvJS3NcuVk4xttk0e5pOklpIogSyvuWqEcH9Jhl3R7j03SSMGkG67VjuCwAtkeGppw2QAXGw5X4dyEPxhU7A3yVN2HEHDgok4A0pMAr37tvWRvOLyS2DFBqgM/s400/047.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521984268608511186" /></a><br /><p align="center">The canoe in the bay!</p> <br />After lunch back in the canoe and a bit more exploring, checking out some of the sandy beaches, and looking at the colours of the trees we decided to head back to the landing before the rain came! On the way we were discussing future plans of returning in swimming weather, coming back for some overnight camping, bringing the kayaks, etc! That is one problem with visiting the wild areas anywhere in Ontario. It always leaves you wanting! Wanting to come back for <strong>more</strong>, that is! And we will be back! The boys both had a great time and so did Lianna and I!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROrLAPyc15fuNprWa8OaJBK6p8WrtWnH2fowdCdKiKz-kFDuQC5akslTmv5BEuOXslyfbYDtuF0Kt_MnozsNE3op-OvXIlrBDZ1kE7zWqlkCQkLh48I-aHF6Ov3AJOZTnviY5QnEao2w/s1600/025.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521981624913017986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhROrLAPyc15fuNprWa8OaJBK6p8WrtWnH2fowdCdKiKz-kFDuQC5akslTmv5BEuOXslyfbYDtuF0Kt_MnozsNE3op-OvXIlrBDZ1kE7zWqlkCQkLh48I-aHF6Ov3AJOZTnviY5QnEao2w/s400/025.JPG" /></a><br /><p align="center">Fall colours!</p> <br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-89012794950844171982010-09-19T12:38:00.000-07:002010-09-24T09:33:30.456-07:00Bottle Lake<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC-Rz16i4mh_qCgbu4i_UgBGCPCFrj2mYuQz-g2xIGEf9Qqv-maSquS4nggSK08vso08Rcsw5krg1Fa6DkD-FEIdr37DTGv0kBDF6SGJIqxgzbczyDnBO1VrAAzi1cA-E3RxZ7gfOKB6k/s1600/003.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518714660924048962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC-Rz16i4mh_qCgbu4i_UgBGCPCFrj2mYuQz-g2xIGEf9Qqv-maSquS4nggSK08vso08Rcsw5krg1Fa6DkD-FEIdr37DTGv0kBDF6SGJIqxgzbczyDnBO1VrAAzi1cA-E3RxZ7gfOKB6k/s400/003.JPG" /></a><br />I have had the itch to go for a paddle lately! Not that that is unusual! Since moving up to the Bowmanville region, I have been interested in the Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park. It is, approximately, a two hour drive from my house. This park is not operational yet. There are no services and the only camping is in the interior sites, first come, first served. Next spring they will be reserving and charging for, these sites, just like the other parks such as Algonquin and Killarney. I have to admit I am of mixed minds on that. On the one hand with reservations will come some level of maintenance from the MNR. On the other it means planning your trips five months in advance.<br />Anyways, for a variety of reasons I hadn't made it up to this park yet! Today, I left the house at 5 AM and headed north. There are a variety of access points, but I chose Bottle Lake. Never having been, I didn't find the correct spot until almost 730 AM. When I did it was beautiful!! The weather gods smiled on me today!! I will be back with the entire family!!!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXFvQWxL5DKGfakv6040n9X-KTsO5GBfrb09Wlog8Jbt-oHpG__Xy18s6ImM3mcEXunk4pC0vtnSuwoque2VRW4VVo9saBB3aU4deexHmFlgDRlnVbChb38SEyYe7L936uCX5Wk978wfM/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 334px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518714673806154658" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXFvQWxL5DKGfakv6040n9X-KTsO5GBfrb09Wlog8Jbt-oHpG__Xy18s6ImM3mcEXunk4pC0vtnSuwoque2VRW4VVo9saBB3aU4deexHmFlgDRlnVbChb38SEyYe7L936uCX5Wk978wfM/s400/004.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtk3szEwSx2wx8E-4Ed0HzxiUQAAkI7g9zPCPnWh-WT9RbmgttNb6y0fnK-Nu2V2PAaAx5JFaPsdvskeesWuLNiYLes5a4JLUVhSHai_N2vov2f4tSsNnXWr-KC-0eiKjKX82JtqH-Ke8/s1600/island.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518714670747342498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtk3szEwSx2wx8E-4Ed0HzxiUQAAkI7g9zPCPnWh-WT9RbmgttNb6y0fnK-Nu2V2PAaAx5JFaPsdvskeesWuLNiYLes5a4JLUVhSHai_N2vov2f4tSsNnXWr-KC-0eiKjKX82JtqH-Ke8/s400/island.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5c594DrDsAAN93_mV4pFqfVWieK7XwH41FWyAOGs0S_iQ3XQaHoJdF3ub2r39NOGX_41scXGwcHuhoQUXvCwDETcjz86MJu_P1zXQ9hvNK548_L0ZGmgHwFUhDinJOrY9Y33agrcwstI/s1600/075.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5c594DrDsAAN93_mV4pFqfVWieK7XwH41FWyAOGs0S_iQ3XQaHoJdF3ub2r39NOGX_41scXGwcHuhoQUXvCwDETcjz86MJu_P1zXQ9hvNK548_L0ZGmgHwFUhDinJOrY9Y33agrcwstI/s400/075.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518716727449455810" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzOCj1irdI3vlM4c_zFzPxnQQZ2mbH7mgDySge333vtgbwOAAFXOthtu4LtdeMn7AcZYEx1pl_JzOrzq2sBH-0DiJbvC7sJvxAg37luiKRBbQPnl-0ofiflMVRpudE547PqdUqh7NOcM/s1600/067.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzOCj1irdI3vlM4c_zFzPxnQQZ2mbH7mgDySge333vtgbwOAAFXOthtu4LtdeMn7AcZYEx1pl_JzOrzq2sBH-0DiJbvC7sJvxAg37luiKRBbQPnl-0ofiflMVRpudE547PqdUqh7NOcM/s400/067.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518716719497397106" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdlWVih9cd5Rym9_X-qy5jsl_EeBRdTj0tyZ7mET3zaYCu1DWjeMwjM5u499lwP-_F8lC-0yK5SlHwcfpPdsdAXn9EamZ4C_JVJAMuisSemOcpgHrEOHyncJqPCifAEavxmYXeqt2VN0/s1600/045.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 130px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdlWVih9cd5Rym9_X-qy5jsl_EeBRdTj0tyZ7mET3zaYCu1DWjeMwjM5u499lwP-_F8lC-0yK5SlHwcfpPdsdAXn9EamZ4C_JVJAMuisSemOcpgHrEOHyncJqPCifAEavxmYXeqt2VN0/s400/045.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518716714307743106" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGHeg3mokhTajUdMNR9XgLjwXGt_pR6DPdVukv1dIy8oZpvEyyI7TfENMPt8cTBZPKTX3NT2RGBJ3xlPTxk8MHRi-GYdk1T2TFUtUPfyvr866O2vnVPpoStefDf3jdBqq_ijW73DkdUI/s1600/040.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuGHeg3mokhTajUdMNR9XgLjwXGt_pR6DPdVukv1dIy8oZpvEyyI7TfENMPt8cTBZPKTX3NT2RGBJ3xlPTxk8MHRi-GYdk1T2TFUtUPfyvr866O2vnVPpoStefDf3jdBqq_ijW73DkdUI/s400/040.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518716703674503186" /></a><br /><br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-36396451481631693692010-09-11T11:24:00.000-07:002010-09-12T05:47:45.054-07:00Migration Time!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKXwzcZiACWWrUg-DOGad209TKTxJdazuAdRQgI2Wq9yz6Y6lB0WzxJTvT1Hwt4Zi7u1ZwmIWrXbMge90qJC5MugCM3OvCJslnxUSyESSNYRY4R7NiLLrgd7WJQLPtmG5I_CFzVMNCIk/s1600/002.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKXwzcZiACWWrUg-DOGad209TKTxJdazuAdRQgI2Wq9yz6Y6lB0WzxJTvT1Hwt4Zi7u1ZwmIWrXbMge90qJC5MugCM3OvCJslnxUSyESSNYRY4R7NiLLrgd7WJQLPtmG5I_CFzVMNCIk/s400/002.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515742248440885170" /></a><br /><br /><p align="center"> Male Monarch Butterfly, <em>Danaus plexippus</em>. The dots on the hindwing indicate the male.</p><br /><br />Last night at around 5 PM I was in the yard and happened to look up. The sky was dark, and the clouds were low, looking like imminent rain. Against the clouds were, what I estimate conservatively to be, 200 Broad-Winged Hawks. They were circling and soaring and moving west along the north shore of Lake Ontario. Hawks will not fly over large bodies of open water if they have a choice so here in Ontario the hawks migrate south until they reach Lake Ontario and then fly west. Once past the west end they will turn south again until they reach Lake Erie where they will again turn west. This tends to create concentrations of raptors along the northern shores of the lakes. In a few places such as Cranberry Marsh in Whitby, Rosetta Maclain park in Scarborough, and Hawk Cliff south of St. Thomas, birdwatchers have organized fall hawk counts. If you are interested they will welcome you and point out some of the hawks as they fly overhead. For more info check this <a href="http://www.ofo.ca/reportsandarticles/hawkwatching.php" target="_blank">document.</a><br />Birds aren't the only migrants right now. This morning I took the boys for a little walk to Samuel Wilmot Nature Area in Newcastle. The place was alive with Monarch butterflies. In the hour that we were there I would guesstimate seeing 200 of them. They didn't seem to be actively migrating at the moment, more feeding up, but I imagine as soon as the winds are favourable they will be on there way south to Mexico.<br />What made it more interesting was the nummber of other butterflies that were about this morning. In one spot I saw Monarchs, Mourning Cloak, Red Admiral, Question Mark, and Viceroy as well as Cabbage and Sulphur butterflies. There were also a few Pearl(?) Crescents around to represent the smaller butterflies.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlP5q5gg_mp4wYk95ZlHSQ60S1EaQWTZE-PHyqaSqFHeClQdBW_5U9lcDtkFxI4rcgBY09LVxVcL_o9GZktMdv8CCqJEK-fixLUVARHeUZ7EJTaEqL9ab2NNJiyytS9nYoTrLRLIXmoQ/s1600/010.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlP5q5gg_mp4wYk95ZlHSQ60S1EaQWTZE-PHyqaSqFHeClQdBW_5U9lcDtkFxI4rcgBY09LVxVcL_o9GZktMdv8CCqJEK-fixLUVARHeUZ7EJTaEqL9ab2NNJiyytS9nYoTrLRLIXmoQ/s400/010.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515738843253601266" /></a><br /><p align="center">Question Mark, <em>Pologonia interrogationis</em></p><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNeyKBKvfbxDaSVdKRsMz3cJgZjCVYC3iOY7q-Glr2gDpulj4VZJ7ig5s_MJlwCOC_LFNdeeN844ppikvjTEAez72ROhH1Nrq9INiODot58j9QgmgIolUbIBYCMRE-X0tjo9KvLOOPaE/s1600/015.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNeyKBKvfbxDaSVdKRsMz3cJgZjCVYC3iOY7q-Glr2gDpulj4VZJ7ig5s_MJlwCOC_LFNdeeN844ppikvjTEAez72ROhH1Nrq9INiODot58j9QgmgIolUbIBYCMRE-X0tjo9KvLOOPaE/s400/015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515738851556859890" /></a><br /><p align="center">Red Admiral, <em>Vanessa atalanta</em></p><br />As well as all the butterflies there was a tremendous number of large dragonflies flying about. I am afraid I cannot ID the dragonflies but there were blue and green darners as well as a few others such as the one pictured below! There were also 7 or 8 hummingbirds going thru which made for some interesting dragonfly vs hummingbird encounters.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeEF0XeEUWG7k6AaBxChgGlFnpS2kdqWVSKW_fYW8at_Z44uvd6_S7R8cF-6MngpLy6mklF57riAkXzQLVXfeZ8gwi62lSZNHTyK5uNoucvi6FbGkqq8eEJtmx5AzlykPcQkimUp2b1A/s1600/022.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeEF0XeEUWG7k6AaBxChgGlFnpS2kdqWVSKW_fYW8at_Z44uvd6_S7R8cF-6MngpLy6mklF57riAkXzQLVXfeZ8gwi62lSZNHTyK5uNoucvi6FbGkqq8eEJtmx5AzlykPcQkimUp2b1A/s400/022.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515738864579642066" /></a><br /><p align="center">Unidentified Dragonfly</p><br />PS did some 'net research' and think the above dragonfly is a 12 Spotted Skimmer.<br />So this gist of migration time is to keep your eyes up and down and to the side. Heck, just keep them open!!!<br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p><em></em>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-72298607820969004752010-09-04T15:12:00.000-07:002010-09-06T09:45:18.595-07:00Trail Running and.... er... Bears!!!!!When I turned 40 I took up running again, after not running since my late teens. In the 13 years since then I have run a number of 5K races, a few 10Ks a Ten Miler and a couple of Half Marathons. However I must admit that I haven't been a consistent runner by any means. For many of those years I had a dog, a Weimaraner, which kept me running at least semi-regularily. Our run of choice was the trails along the Twelve Mile Creek in St. Catharines, where I lived at the time. Since then I have been partial to trail running. As much as I enjoy it I still don't run exclusively on trails for a number of reasons. The number one reason is that I don't have to drive anywhere to go for a run on the roads/sidewalks in my neighbourhood. If I lived at the trailhead I might never run on the roads again or even if I lived a klik away. However the nearest nice trail run to my house is about 6 km away. So when things are right and I have the time I will jump in the car and go for a run in the forest. If you are a runner and have done any trail running you really don't need me to explain why you should try it. If however you haven't here are some reasons:<br /><br />1. The Scenery<br /><br />This is the scenery on my regular out the front door road run!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS3_MgHDvcciCWyFQps-DTzeJxqyM6W-IBYmb-xdhdIJxVBtOL2jEWzVfYelxJaNpuxLUkOK0PI6c6XDBKotGcZPakA3HSIlJcYF21ZCYjXGrLR2QDLLLEvoeQEhe8ewkFeRsfHOJWvJA/s1600/007.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS3_MgHDvcciCWyFQps-DTzeJxqyM6W-IBYmb-xdhdIJxVBtOL2jEWzVfYelxJaNpuxLUkOK0PI6c6XDBKotGcZPakA3HSIlJcYF21ZCYjXGrLR2QDLLLEvoeQEhe8ewkFeRsfHOJWvJA/s400/007.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513213523098277186" /></a><br /><br />Here is some of the scenery on the trail I ran this morning! Much nicer!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjee40jYnjMm7mDB3dVW-izLTbRDnN3YRJ-aitqyeOYsTEuuvO3wXJip3GPP5LPAtLHVV7jnTtcNtX7wJFT3NZqrpT1prTvj_IB-SuttZqisrK-urPrYrkbI23hyphenhyphenKFTOiuIzWUG0-4Ne_c/s1600/023.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 302px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjee40jYnjMm7mDB3dVW-izLTbRDnN3YRJ-aitqyeOYsTEuuvO3wXJip3GPP5LPAtLHVV7jnTtcNtX7wJFT3NZqrpT1prTvj_IB-SuttZqisrK-urPrYrkbI23hyphenhyphenKFTOiuIzWUG0-4Ne_c/s400/023.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513838987181975570" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfFqqtu4lYtLWOW0WupYgv7mRcCGfE57-UYcDPvieYqFDqW_Qt2YFij8_4UiDgqGHydBYp2ySl3oi1zdoqcNxGDjgINMvBbPJCgszXh4lemKdNbXG9tp_lWJCEIjDGGqDIq8cvghY-Iw/s1600/019.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfFqqtu4lYtLWOW0WupYgv7mRcCGfE57-UYcDPvieYqFDqW_Qt2YFij8_4UiDgqGHydBYp2ySl3oi1zdoqcNxGDjgINMvBbPJCgszXh4lemKdNbXG9tp_lWJCEIjDGGqDIq8cvghY-Iw/s400/019.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513838980192303378" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBg3rWi-W6_mKwGeIMrxDnAndyQAxTPmnRE2v8YTQjXZ0IYgg4Tf7jo8JGL6YRqOEyVF8HM58mHMjwPJHMIaWq_5Qg9KEM9llmhQbsPK6JETI75maBVzHUwD7ZRN-PTTci0rFOTt-R94/s1600/059.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguBg3rWi-W6_mKwGeIMrxDnAndyQAxTPmnRE2v8YTQjXZ0IYgg4Tf7jo8JGL6YRqOEyVF8HM58mHMjwPJHMIaWq_5Qg9KEM9llmhQbsPK6JETI75maBVzHUwD7ZRN-PTTci0rFOTt-R94/s400/059.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513840896840287154" /></a><br /><p align="center">Solomon's Seal berries</p><br /><br />2. The Lack of Cars: enough said!!!<br /><br />3. The Surface: It is well documented that running on trails is better for your knees and ankles than pounding concrete. Furthermore the topography of most trails are such that there is far more up and down. Roads and sidewalks by definition are as flat as possible!<br /><br />4. The Psyche: Maybe it is me, I really don't know but running in the woods or meadows, rejuvenates me in a way that beats a road run any day. Sure you feel good after any run but a run in the forest is better! Also, I don't seem to get tired on a trail run. Maybe it is the concentration on your footing, or the scenery, or the surface but 5K in the woods seems easier than 5K on the road any day.<br /><br />Anyways to make a long story...um ..less long, my running magazine came in the mail yesterday and there were a bunch of articles on trail running. It inspired me to make my run today a trail run. <a href="http://www.cloca.com/con_areas/CAstephensgulch.php" target="_blank">Stephen's Gulch Conservation Area </a>is not far from our house in Bowmanville, about 5.8 km according to Google. The trail here is not long, about 3 and a half K. but it has a fair amount of vertical and it isn't totally gnarly like some trails. You have a good chance of finishing it without breaking an ankle, unlike a few of the trails that I have run. I left the house with the sky threatening rain, and the wind blowing like mad but I thought I would try to get in a run between the raindrops. What's a little rain anyways?? I got to the trailhead and it wasn't raining so off I went. Fifty yards up the trail I passed a man out walking his dog, a Weimaraner! I told him how I had had a Weimaraner as a running companion for 11 years, and he thought I might have another one for a while as his dog followed along with me for a few yards. A little bit of nostalgia for me!<br /> The trail climbs out of the Soper Creek valley and follows the valley south before dropping back down toward the creek and heading north back to the parking area. Along the way it winds up and down and around as all good trails do, with a few wooden footbridges over some small creeks. It's route goes through sandy areas dominated by sumac, deep forest with a deciduous canopy, and, as we near the end, the dark cedar forests typical of the stream valleys in this area. It was a real satisfying run! If you are a runner you know what I mean! Trail runs are like that more often than not.<br />As I walked from the trailhead to the parking area I noticed a new sign attached to one of the posts!!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wMQ8CkjN6YMrFJ33Is5dZnDvHIrIzywBMiv9uvf6Q17dHYFfukWdyjIFKII2PRUu5EQ3qxL2ZdfoppCWYRQsVih32LvXIg5vD1esqEIrriceYR-CeBOK6tjFwwYjUgmuLA6ZGamkBoM/s1600/013.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wMQ8CkjN6YMrFJ33Is5dZnDvHIrIzywBMiv9uvf6Q17dHYFfukWdyjIFKII2PRUu5EQ3qxL2ZdfoppCWYRQsVih32LvXIg5vD1esqEIrriceYR-CeBOK6tjFwwYjUgmuLA6ZGamkBoM/s400/013.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513837700909343186" /></a><br /><br />Bears!!!Yikes!! 5.8 km from my house!!<br />Seriously, I was not all that surprised. There was one in Courtice, the next town over, just last month, and there have been all kinds of other sightings in southern Ontario in the last few years. There was even one in London, ON, this summer. Apparently there have been two unconfirmed sightings recently, one in Stephen's Gulch CA, and one in Long Sault CA, a few kilometers north, near Mosport. For info about bears and bear safety check out the MNRs webpage <a href="http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Bearwise/" target="_blank">BEARWISE</a><br /><br />Oh Yeah! As I drove out of the parking area it started to rain!!<br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-39293557266864123072010-08-31T07:22:00.000-07:002010-09-06T18:45:01.083-07:00Nature in the Yard<p align="left">Got up this morning to another hot summer morning. Looking out the back window I saw something on the cedar hedge next door and checked it out. Real nice dragonfly. The three boys thought that it was pretty cool to be able to see it up close and to look at the massive eyes.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2ztn4QgYQVAbjBNxAQhLNuLyBLToVHiyjLxyTxATb2iP0IHgwCrPF5uAiUfrTMGXbrkDvEHWtFaDOxDTMBrIknel409roAjtgRfj064ou-gM-YHdOUh6gXlTyXxpMxd4-jnAJ9zlx1w/s1600/004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2ztn4QgYQVAbjBNxAQhLNuLyBLToVHiyjLxyTxATb2iP0IHgwCrPF5uAiUfrTMGXbrkDvEHWtFaDOxDTMBrIknel409roAjtgRfj064ou-gM-YHdOUh6gXlTyXxpMxd4-jnAJ9zlx1w/s400/004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511580537856094242" /></a><br /><br />Well we went out the front door an hour later and had a real look at nature in the raw. This is the first snake I have seen in the yard in the two and a half years we have been here! In fact I was thinking just last week that I had seen very few snakes this summer period!! Have seen a few toads, though there is now one less in the yard. This got the boys excited seeing the snake swallow the toad. I apologize for the quality of the last photo as the snake was moving and Jake was trying to catch it as I snapped the photo!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-cbH7luouD46MRQx5qW2R_skRysnYMfQ3XHz8xaArxF9VIHtSYgdkO2wA3OhwpEnGiT21fxm5phfLoBkTaIy_H0TeJXzjOf_hniKk_b-caxyxWT0I8Z2AFk-uQbj0NF6wgVaYCXFOyG0/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-cbH7luouD46MRQx5qW2R_skRysnYMfQ3XHz8xaArxF9VIHtSYgdkO2wA3OhwpEnGiT21fxm5phfLoBkTaIy_H0TeJXzjOf_hniKk_b-caxyxWT0I8Z2AFk-uQbj0NF6wgVaYCXFOyG0/s400/012.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511584810097352114" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6MMV-XkJss5ZhRxnqbuT9Mg87VuvsayTMw4Og96EjIvSYXA-ODUSx2cWXgr81IrO4EABKc55GQU1cq1pDylRJuHI5vY5oVvXtEIRX7Vhqd9UoMJ0naTzlPJV9TBH1NdEdNPIX_i4UsQ/s1600/014.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6MMV-XkJss5ZhRxnqbuT9Mg87VuvsayTMw4Og96EjIvSYXA-ODUSx2cWXgr81IrO4EABKc55GQU1cq1pDylRJuHI5vY5oVvXtEIRX7Vhqd9UoMJ0naTzlPJV9TBH1NdEdNPIX_i4UsQ/s400/014.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511583033371993826" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxvdlr_TjZdHQQdHJbKsZeGaYLTKL2awOmunlY5TPQPqbG_yQRIOQQ_rNxoH8_zfOR-GHNf-zw00p7PtO278TzVg-MUP9OGoacwxa4U2f-hEAmLm5BAbhRuA1cdQBYrXrTDMEYbLGNVs/s1600/015.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxvdlr_TjZdHQQdHJbKsZeGaYLTKL2awOmunlY5TPQPqbG_yQRIOQQ_rNxoH8_zfOR-GHNf-zw00p7PtO278TzVg-MUP9OGoacwxa4U2f-hEAmLm5BAbhRuA1cdQBYrXrTDMEYbLGNVs/s400/015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511583046255541490" /></a>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-32976676355041340592010-08-27T18:22:00.000-07:002010-09-08T05:51:00.118-07:00Poison Ivy<div align="left"><br />I was out to dinner with friends the other day and the topic turned to Poison Ivy. It turned out that neither of the other guys at the table, both of whom spend a fair amount of time in the bush whether hiking or cottaging, were confident in identifying Poison Ivy. It got me thinking that my upbringing with a father who was a botanist gave me an advantage over many who venture out into the woods. Since the whole purpose of this blog is to encourage others to get out there, I guess it is my duty to attempt to educate a few about poison ivy. Besides, it was a kick in the proverbial "behind" to do some posting.<br />Poison Ivy can be just about anywhere in Ontario, so if you are out there it is wise to know what it looks like and to avoid it. Having said that it can take on a variety of forms. I have seen it as a vine covering tree trunks 30 ft high, as a low shrubby plant and its most common variant as a ground cover. The following photos were all taken Aug 27 at the Orono Crown Lands, some along an abandoned railway line and others in a old white pine plantation.<br />The old adage about 'three shiny leaves, let me be' is a start. However there are literally hundreds of three leaved plants out there so it really doesn't narrow it down much. These photos are in dry habitat so the plants and leaves are rather small. It can be much larger than these examples. Having said that, it is the small inconspicuous ones that will get you in trouble.</div><div align="center"><br /></div><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWTJgU8GPAsrODe8eh4scH7LZnKRPQLEbfo1WyvethsRWDAOAIY-ROGuc83YrBiyRAz-jljs7bF9iKB2Fjysp2nQZT-nWTuPLTCa9aczt254Plk9PdlXuFMBYzrDtoJmK86DeYBYqjgk/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510273819674846642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWTJgU8GPAsrODe8eh4scH7LZnKRPQLEbfo1WyvethsRWDAOAIY-ROGuc83YrBiyRAz-jljs7bF9iKB2Fjysp2nQZT-nWTuPLTCa9aczt254Plk9PdlXuFMBYzrDtoJmK86DeYBYqjgk/s400/012.JPG" /></a><br />Typical dry area Poison Ivy.</p><p align="center"><br /></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkDftHn5G6nYhbpTTBU7-05rpE40pzGoLgGVPs0oMp8aaDTh-mZapBOOREQMb3JUKuW_ptqThjq7FIb633tSLw0JEWP6ome0mA273cyK11bwlFzwCOA-nY6cHWv_rFR24zRKzdmThQTU/s1600/006.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 270px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510272942152602722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkDftHn5G6nYhbpTTBU7-05rpE40pzGoLgGVPs0oMp8aaDTh-mZapBOOREQMb3JUKuW_ptqThjq7FIb633tSLw0JEWP6ome0mA273cyK11bwlFzwCOA-nY6cHWv_rFR24zRKzdmThQTU/s400/006.JPG" /></a><br />Fall is coming and the leaves of this Poison Ivy are starting to turn red.</p><p align="center"><br /></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQx3agHx8tXKywQF27JOhLYj7RKK7SOeoVXzETR4U0UsyewcxU-By1UtCuLzzolwMsvd7b5fcJh4VzqaB_jmVjdNDrFnghLPItDGfQ1rx1PE00Sy-lV9K1XURDTG_OiMelt4NHaBwVvzU/s1600/015.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510274226073557266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQx3agHx8tXKywQF27JOhLYj7RKK7SOeoVXzETR4U0UsyewcxU-By1UtCuLzzolwMsvd7b5fcJh4VzqaB_jmVjdNDrFnghLPItDGfQ1rx1PE00Sy-lV9K1XURDTG_OiMelt4NHaBwVvzU/s400/015.JPG" /></a><br />Leaves and berries.</p><p align="center"><br /></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aSmEleR4LNYMJl1XYc_sQKUNnkR2WAY-aZtc8yKWOGae3W8UMor0OCVNN5My51sYESmuPLZjVEzWAakF2rBKGITRXzyMsuWjknnmWhiXYNLD9vYBS1cglAwb4QUsHOUenxirHzzseBo/s1600/016.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510274651723111746" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aSmEleR4LNYMJl1XYc_sQKUNnkR2WAY-aZtc8yKWOGae3W8UMor0OCVNN5My51sYESmuPLZjVEzWAakF2rBKGITRXzyMsuWjknnmWhiXYNLD9vYBS1cglAwb4QUsHOUenxirHzzseBo/s400/016.JPG" /></a><br />A closer look at the berries.</p><p align="center"><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWS86uBJEjbMFkPwPYfp4JTrFQSsdKTk0l73WWCR7natNA3NMeXfq1Z5WV4h8OZ3UjYXFnmB-Qz90Xt6ySQ-su009B0FvcjXGAutxlurVWZgFc0U2-AdCc8cozNAVnRoXj9D_8706_wk/s1600/020.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510275046973251074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWS86uBJEjbMFkPwPYfp4JTrFQSsdKTk0l73WWCR7natNA3NMeXfq1Z5WV4h8OZ3UjYXFnmB-Qz90Xt6ySQ-su009B0FvcjXGAutxlurVWZgFc0U2-AdCc8cozNAVnRoXj9D_8706_wk/s400/020.JPG" /></a><br />My boot for scale. Only the two largest sets of three leaves in this photo are poison ivy<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvYuXnbtG5XGUjGQ77ozTuEkIyXR0305s1C8spCLhxUzJ0dCeXA8wOnnzgc7alQB0k9JlO15Ctdrs6FNhd2Ga473bhzLH7e5sRvAqiuWul_F5lXaD4fla88RuXGwoY6EJRDO7Gl1IYbS4/s1600/017.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510274835439924818" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvYuXnbtG5XGUjGQ77ozTuEkIyXR0305s1C8spCLhxUzJ0dCeXA8wOnnzgc7alQB0k9JlO15Ctdrs6FNhd2Ga473bhzLH7e5sRvAqiuWul_F5lXaD4fla88RuXGwoY6EJRDO7Gl1IYbS4/s400/017.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH0z1PLPB3YVqfi7mcUZn1iCBLAN3cN8Em3QWj1EuGH0dSF1fpdPv-2JZY-WF39jlIeN5c_-TWfkzb5Wdw_28OdAUPevY4aoTOZgIroGOU9LaRuHxq66jg8hdbrJs6cQeQB4td6fz7GtU/s1600/013.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 301px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510274020962547058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH0z1PLPB3YVqfi7mcUZn1iCBLAN3cN8Em3QWj1EuGH0dSF1fpdPv-2JZY-WF39jlIeN5c_-TWfkzb5Wdw_28OdAUPevY4aoTOZgIroGOU9LaRuHxq66jg8hdbrJs6cQeQB4td6fz7GtU/s400/013.JPG" /> <p align="center"></a>A couple of more examples.<br /></p><p align="left">I hope this will get you started with ID ing this plant before it gets you. Take a look at some field guides or do more research on the web. It is worth knowing how to spot it and avoid it, especially if you are likely to take your kids into the woods with you. I hope I was of help.<br /><br /><br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-71056227135308338282010-08-13T19:19:00.000-07:002010-08-31T13:25:38.963-07:00Adventures in OronoA friend of ours, Raj had to go back to India a little while ago as his Father and Uncle both passed away in the last few months and he had to go home ot settle estates etc. He has a son, Neel, a couple of years older than our boy Isaiah. Seeing as I am laid off at the moment I volunteered to watch him with my two, while he is in India, and his wife is working . So with three rambunctious boys around I am often looking for something to get the three boys out of the house. This last little bit the "go to" place for them to explore has been the Orono Crown Lands. What is ideal about this place is a) it is close to home, b) it is free (see above employment status) and c) the two oldest can hike or, ride bikes and I can still push the youngest in the jogging stroller as there is a fair amount of what you might call doubletrack along with the singletrack.<br /><br />On one of our first visits with the three boys we ventured along the old railway bed to the bridge over Wilmot creek. There is quite a drop to the river, so it involved leaving the stroller and carrying the youngest down the slope to look at the creek. There is a little pedestrian bridge just by the old train bridge. It is made of cedar logs nailed together and it is quite the work of art. It isn't new by any means and I wouldn't recommend more than two adults at one time. When the boys got out in the middle and started bouncing I had visions of the whole thing collapsing. The water isn't very deep but I wouldn't want to be on a bridge of that type when it gave out. Luckily for us a large salmon or brown trout chose that moment to make its presence known. I say large meaning at least two feet long. That was enough of a distraction to get the boys off the bridge and chasing this "monster" fish upstream. Just by the train bridge there is a large rock on the edge of the water and we could look down on this fish from a distance of about three feet. Even Jake was excited saying FSHHH! FSHHH! over and over again. On further observing we realized that under the rail bridge itself there were probably twenty of these fish and the one we were looking at was the runt of the litter. The boys, myself included, got quite a kick out of those fish!<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlC3mEWTsUWWLLOdGhnSGTqbzSdoitW07bTTisEJsr40NvaskeHUPmPkJdUO6kOt0Sg2MtyyD5Jgr60pZUsn7_92VIdOUV8_nMhHdNeAvQCIRmLLRmXgeaYqTFiS7YKm0O22HLvUd0TwI/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 287px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511391558913383522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlC3mEWTsUWWLLOdGhnSGTqbzSdoitW07bTTisEJsr40NvaskeHUPmPkJdUO6kOt0Sg2MtyyD5Jgr60pZUsn7_92VIdOUV8_nMhHdNeAvQCIRmLLRmXgeaYqTFiS7YKm0O22HLvUd0TwI/s400/011.JPG" /></a><br /><p align="center">A small group of large trout or salmon(?)</p><br /><br />After saying goodbye to the fish, we climbed the slope and as I was putting Jake back in the stroller I realized that he had lost a shoe!!! Oops! I ran back down the hill and did a quick, cursory search but couldn't find it. I wasn't even sure where we had lost it but as it was nearing lunch time and getting hotter we headed home. When Lianna got home from work I took the two oldest and went back with our bicycles. We returned to the same area and did a more thorough search. Still no shoe! Thinking back to the bouncing bridge I wondered if it had fallen in the creek. I carefully picked my way along the deadfalls etc for a hundred feet or more on the off chance that it had floated along and been caught up by one of the snags. No such luck! Instead I ran into a little stinging nettle, just on the side of my hand. I immediately grabbed a chunk of orange jewelweed and crushed that and rubbed the spot. It seemed to do the trick, just as I had been taught it would relieve bug bites. Anyways I made my way carefully back to the trail and was rewarded with finding a nice cluster of Great Lobelia in bloom. And then as I gave up on the shoe and made my way back to boys, at the base of the hill tucked deep in the vegetation I spied the errant shoe! Success!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOc3FTYq7YshODYaY2obskgipYXZ6YekoVfJgOCurLUPrXUo7Rw1VSBRReVEyC_JFIeoxtcZ1TDrSZ2BI6LiRrW_ATpImqkrfEKJ1jHc1l9oCc7VhjcW5XRMT6-2jFGF2JAYVlRRnbBRc/s1600/001.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511391549171716690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOc3FTYq7YshODYaY2obskgipYXZ6YekoVfJgOCurLUPrXUo7Rw1VSBRReVEyC_JFIeoxtcZ1TDrSZ2BI6LiRrW_ATpImqkrfEKJ1jHc1l9oCc7VhjcW5XRMT6-2jFGF2JAYVlRRnbBRc/s400/001.JPG" /></a><br /><p align="center">Great Lobelia</p><br /><p></p><p>Since that hadn't taken all that long we then proceeded to go mountain biking through some of the rest of the crown lands. For a five year old it is just gentle enough to be manageable and rugged enough to qualify as "mountain biking". </p><p></p><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqVC8kLNDrsZHTQydXYWd85IuNEhyphenhyphenuVixZ5o2-g2ni9VPvcfiypWfFLx-nHwjlIowsX7UOpUDaXr4nSQQ5SkCir8SdrKo9j6tLA6qHd9tCe2O6eB3kvXzbYYEOJ2ylOKCj7r1ATfpc6RE/s1600/019.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511393933900914386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqVC8kLNDrsZHTQydXYWd85IuNEhyphenhyphenuVixZ5o2-g2ni9VPvcfiypWfFLx-nHwjlIowsX7UOpUDaXr4nSQQ5SkCir8SdrKo9j6tLA6qHd9tCe2O6eB3kvXzbYYEOJ2ylOKCj7r1ATfpc6RE/s400/019.JPG" /></a> <p align="center">The explorers: Jake in stroller, Isaiah and Neel</p><br /><br />Since that day we have been back a couple of times with various agendas. I tried to introduce them to the idea of map and compass work. They thought it was fun for a while but it was a bit beyond them.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTpNBBX0uIllk95yrXohTI0mcNQbxpB1sFR4F6NBzu040yaKiIpguQLqU1zEsNSAzockdie2EabggcIkwxKd4WR8hg2r800IdaJ4LBbOGJZES6RvmQAssWdPvFpzyT9GfTm8ig37LxQU/s1600/010.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511393926306398466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTpNBBX0uIllk95yrXohTI0mcNQbxpB1sFR4F6NBzu040yaKiIpguQLqU1zEsNSAzockdie2EabggcIkwxKd4WR8hg2r800IdaJ4LBbOGJZES6RvmQAssWdPvFpzyT9GfTm8ig37LxQU/s400/010.JPG" /></a> <p align="center">Compass work!</p><br /><br /><br /><br />I have tried teaching a little botany, mostly the identification and avoidance of poison ivy. They were quite interested in the wild cucumber that was very common near the entrance. Mostly they just like the act of exploration and hopefully seeing some wildlife, although more along the lines of a butterfly, than a bear, that they seem to think is behind every tree.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLS0q1ffDYii_HhZ2Y0vpC9CYgsDyMmwIHM0MnXaB-Rhb8VN4m40VfhZ3eOcmkWnzgORLA4vpfYEU_7yqcT5pAY9mN9rO-fEhyZjPBbj4yqn8QY8kyxczd94eL7ZmegFNcdLO4wFU9gvE/s1600/012.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 394px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511393944681061138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLS0q1ffDYii_HhZ2Y0vpC9CYgsDyMmwIHM0MnXaB-Rhb8VN4m40VfhZ3eOcmkWnzgORLA4vpfYEU_7yqcT5pAY9mN9rO-fEhyZjPBbj4yqn8QY8kyxczd94eL7ZmegFNcdLO4wFU9gvE/s400/012.JPG" /></a><br /><p align="center">White Admiral butterfly</p><br /><br /><br />In the dog days of summer a trip to somewhere similar with your kids will always produce some good memories!!! <p></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-37313099902485438812010-07-11T06:03:00.000-07:002010-07-11T14:03:55.407-07:00An Evening Paddle<p align="left">After a day spent putting together a slide/swing set for the kids in the backyard I decided to take a short paddle after supper. The kayak was on the roof so it took 5 minutes to grab the lifejacket, paddle etc and I was on the road. I launched at the little beach on the east side of Bowmanville harbour, a five minute drive from my house. I did not bring my camera with me. I don't like chancing geting it wet and sometimes having a camera distracts you from what is going on around you. Sorry, no photos to go with this post!</p><p align="left">The lake was quite calm with a slight swell, except when the fishermen were returning to the harbour for the night. Then for a few minutes there was a bit of a rollercoaster ride. I paddled west into the setting sun and then returned back to my vehicle just before sundown. Just a quiet evening paddle but with a few little bird sightings of interest. The first was a young Trumpeter swan, with a wing tag. I first paddled past it at a distance of about twenty five feet. I assumed it was a Mute Swan as there are numerous pairs of the non native bird nesting in the West Side marshes of south Bowmanville. As I got closer I realized it wasn't and also noticed that it had been wing tagged. I could see the yellow tag but all the numbers were hidden. Later as I returned to the vehicle I saw the swan up on the shore being hand fed by some residents. Obviously the bird is fairly tame. I would be interested to know where the bird came from. I know they are nesting in various areas in Ontario such as Wye Marsh, but am not sure where the nearest area to Bowmanville is. If I could read the tag I would have reported it and found out the provenance of this bird.</p><p align="left">The second interesting sighting was a male Oldsquaw or Long-tailed Duck. These are birds that nest on the Arctic tundra and seeing one here on the great lakes in mid July seems out of place. It may have been an injured bird incapable of flying north to the breeding grounds. It was close by to another non breeding bird, a common Loon, probably a yearling or a non mated bird as there isn't suitable nesting habitat at this end of Lake Ontario.</p><p align="left">As I returned to the launch spot I was just about to shore and was going around a low cement structure ten feet from shore and realized that I was being watched by a Spotted Sandpiper.It was staying on the far side of the cement but was only five feet from me and never did fly. An excellent opportunity for a close up look at this little bird.</p><p align="left">As I loaded the kayak on the roof the sun was a giant ball of red in the sky and by the time I got back to my house it had slipped below the horizon. A nice relaxing evening paddle!</p><p align="left"></p><br /><br /><p align="right"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2542082338220801609#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-61536838976054122392010-06-19T19:16:00.000-07:002010-06-21T19:44:33.552-07:00Kayaking in the rain!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXoref_mUlc_zQOJWZ3i3wdHKzYcUJxRdLv6ws5svyfiEjDPlwx6iFw4PBxy_z1yQke9MBKkh_nAwuCxVup1k0dpmKat26yCFmLUOz379VEPuJCCJHdRsNec-fJNl23Chn8RaUSLXMsrI/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484679699537969218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXoref_mUlc_zQOJWZ3i3wdHKzYcUJxRdLv6ws5svyfiEjDPlwx6iFw4PBxy_z1yQke9MBKkh_nAwuCxVup1k0dpmKat26yCFmLUOz379VEPuJCCJHdRsNec-fJNl23Chn8RaUSLXMsrI/s320/011.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center"><div align="left">This has been a very busy spring spent mostly, chasing around a very active 18 month old son. That is not to say that I have not gotten out to the outdoors, I have and actually a fair amount. My wife says that I am one of those people who need the stimulus of being out in nature. Being the best wife in the whole world and understanding me the way she does she makes sure I get the chance to indulge in some outdoor activity on a very regular basis. So this spring I have been busy with the kids but I have also done a fair bit of hiking, cycling, birdwatching and even the odd bit of running, with the emphasis being on the odd bit!</div><br /><div align="left"><br /></div><br /><div align="left">Having said all that, what I have not done is spent a whole lot of time writing on this blog about it,....er....ok, I have spent zero time on it! So I hereby promise not to let that happen again! OK! OK! maybe I won't make promises that I won't necessarily keep. Hows this: I'll try not to let that happen again!</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484679687822305218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho039oAeoh7_i2LkAtysmk1Udgk-3FQxDSDzSiNTaO73p1mBK3r5UyA6ld8Ykv10pN0H1b21SkSwPG1H2al6tuJSFUFpylN2zkeIiwkJsJX52q2M76TvrSSk9qGtpazZjLd23CnbhyphenhyphenjlE/s320/007.JPG" />My daughter Heather kayaking on Lake Ontario<br /><br /><br /><div align="left">Anyways a fellow blogger who is much more prolific than I at writing suggested that everyone reading his <a href="http://awholebunchofings.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blog </a>tell their friends, etc, and we all go for a paddle <a href="http://awholebunchofings.blogspot.com/2010/06/saturday-sunset-co-op-results.html" target="_blank">Saturday night </a>and take a photo at sunset while living in the moment. Well that sounded intriguing and I really don't require much convincing to get into a canoe or kayak. So Saturday comes and the forecast is for thunderstorms. Well the kayaks were on the roof! Heather, one of my daughters was visiting for the weekend and it looks clear for a while just after noon. So we jump in the van and head down to the lake. Just east of Bowmanville marina there is a little sandy area where I will sometimes launch. As we pulled up to park there was a Great Blue Heron wading at the waters edge 15 feet from the van. When we opened the doors it flew but it was there again a couple of hours later when we came back. Must be good eats!</div><br /><div align="left">The lake was remarkably calm as you can see from the photos and due to the forecasts there were no motorboats to be seen and heard. We saw the usual Mallards and Canada Geese, Ring Billed Gulls. We also saw a few Caspian terns and surprisingly three Common loons calling back and forth to each other as we got down towards Wilmot Creek. The lake was just so peaceful and quiet that living in the moment was very easy, although we didn't quite make the sunset part of it! When we got some warm gentle rain it didn't even register with either of us that we should turn back.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijgUaQ_OExgv_bBpfhynA5Pkhd7Q6lUlThetWEeWSJ-2vd7hK6WPt0kd2F1ZBj0tF63ZePF5xBeM4piCevIbseewHCbo0xmaWD_2jtgcNW2qJR-YlY6HPkS5J5x6FeWMNRTcSSE2Tn1M/s1600/Swallow+nests.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 614px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 243px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485419620201251410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijgUaQ_OExgv_bBpfhynA5Pkhd7Q6lUlThetWEeWSJ-2vd7hK6WPt0kd2F1ZBj0tF63ZePF5xBeM4piCevIbseewHCbo0xmaWD_2jtgcNW2qJR-YlY6HPkS5J5x6FeWMNRTcSSE2Tn1M/s400/Swallow+nests.jpg" /></a> Swallow nest cavities in the bluffs<br /><br /><br /><div align="left">Along the bluffs between Bowmanville and Wilmot Creek we saw at least seven colonies of Bank swallow nests. These swallows numbers are declining and just last week I had an email looking for input on swallow nesting colonies. I will have to go back prepared for doing a census in the next few weeks. As I said I don't need much persuasion to grab a paddle!</div><div align="left">All things considered an afternoon that might have been a write off if we paid attention to the forecast turned into a great afternoon paddle! Get out there and enjoy the nature of Ontario!</div><br /><br /><br /></div>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-54938836179024522592010-02-09T19:17:00.000-08:002010-02-10T07:22:04.578-08:00The IceMan!It has been well over a month since I last wrote anything here. When last I wrote I was speaking of Hiking trails in Ontario. Don't get me wrong I love to hike. However I like the seasons that we get in Ontario and even as I wrote that post I was looking forward to some of what Washington just got! Yes, snow! Snow, glorious snow. You can ski on it, snowshoe in it and it just seems to make the winter worthwhile. Well if you live in southern Ontario, I don't need to tell you, but the snowblowers have had an easy winter of it. I have had my shovel out once, before Christmas and we got about 4 inches of wet slush that promptly froze solid. Hardly a speck since then and most of what we had did melt. I say most because what is still here is now ice, and any trails that you attempt to hike are more along the lines of skating rinks. I took my boys out for a short jaunt to Stephen's Gulch Conservation Area today. It was nice to be out in the woods and it wasn't as bitter as it has been some days. However the trail conditions made me leary of the older one slipping and falling hard, on the trail, and the sled we got the litle one was sliding all over, as well. Jake seemed to think it was great fun, especially when his older brother was doing the pulling!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAK8uW7MbySdXkQHJr1weuXZiD49SHJp0AJ7PW5-CjscNNShh_u7WLVK6YG2RjGEw5NnBJdJ1C8CraPPd3jgtJ7sVaSBn2K04c6OcsMyu_ooD_IRnDDktE3aNKJ-SzS_T4_Oj1SBONA6c/s1600-h/002.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAK8uW7MbySdXkQHJr1weuXZiD49SHJp0AJ7PW5-CjscNNShh_u7WLVK6YG2RjGEw5NnBJdJ1C8CraPPd3jgtJ7sVaSBn2K04c6OcsMyu_ooD_IRnDDktE3aNKJ-SzS_T4_Oj1SBONA6c/s320/002.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436452961355030274" /></a><br />The trail was truly icy as the next photo of Isaiah shows. Something like YakTraks are a definite suggestion if you are out on the trails in this area at the moment.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhguIhtMAWv2fq1VnjoGJ-1XCDSiCs4zx1yRxsVv0GlTPuK0LuLCOOLDDz1mNgX4Cqg8a8dLM-WhvWw3frzXBoXMJEkf-2oln9GUwL8w9txg2Rv54j24S2S6Dw_63XP7rDYdF942kpUvX4/s1600-h/005.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhguIhtMAWv2fq1VnjoGJ-1XCDSiCs4zx1yRxsVv0GlTPuK0LuLCOOLDDz1mNgX4Cqg8a8dLM-WhvWw3frzXBoXMJEkf-2oln9GUwL8w9txg2Rv54j24S2S6Dw_63XP7rDYdF942kpUvX4/s320/005.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436452975482625970" /></a><br /><br /><br />On another outing earlier in the week we took a walk down the Bowmanville Creek valley and found a different sort of ice! At some point in the last few weeks the Bowmanville Creek has jammed up somewhere, perhaps under the 401 bridge, and flooded its banks. In doing so it deposited some huge ice chunks all over the forests beside the creek. The paved trail that follows the creek was quite impassable due to large areas of ice chunks jumbled together to make footing treacherous. It was however neat to look at and Isaiah liked playing at being a Polar Explorer. A few photos of the Bowmanville valley this week!!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4r615CV5o1ME0lljcWGsLhkQJ7s3Gp2-shnrgG0cdvBy_1RK_eq1nQVNVYBRN9UIy_ko8luzgWbdnsQXstStGLSJOH8ZycukZxv_4B2aPW3pKd6UD4nq7lC56Xxo0lnOEcyD2C-0o4U/s1600-h/04-07_013.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN4r615CV5o1ME0lljcWGsLhkQJ7s3Gp2-shnrgG0cdvBy_1RK_eq1nQVNVYBRN9UIy_ko8luzgWbdnsQXstStGLSJOH8ZycukZxv_4B2aPW3pKd6UD4nq7lC56Xxo0lnOEcyD2C-0o4U/s320/04-07_013.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436456241145900258" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNp4psMvddSFYyPKhesOhp9C8nXDKiB709ZItodEcdm13bFVLXgGEynlG0CP3MKOb9pa6bPFW7LEzLB00s4FfM6yn8HetFNQ4I-7AqYOWrbWEzEyhjL7WUYYI2B2e1GBg_nQdhJDTEwUg/s1600-h/04-07_006.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNp4psMvddSFYyPKhesOhp9C8nXDKiB709ZItodEcdm13bFVLXgGEynlG0CP3MKOb9pa6bPFW7LEzLB00s4FfM6yn8HetFNQ4I-7AqYOWrbWEzEyhjL7WUYYI2B2e1GBg_nQdhJDTEwUg/s320/04-07_006.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436456232256096466" /></a><br />Although the photos don't really show them some of these blocks are two feet thick and ten feet long. I wouldn't have wanted to be walking down this trail in the midst of the flood!<br />AND FINALLY here we have my own little version of support for all the athletes competing in the Olympics out in Vancouver this month. I know the Inuit wouldn't think much of my effort, but hey, the kids got a kick out of it, and that is what counts. Go Canada Go!!!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstfaDDZm4R7bUEgPMsUpO-mth7uv7RzgDz4vWp2fWX0_g0WadHzFerYUykMQiajPXSKlMjHZFtmhc_oT1v6IXgg4V8Kl54zUlM9S8AzOtlTfoa8mD14oQYko0Iaee7OamouaOgNjwxDI/s1600-h/04-07_008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstfaDDZm4R7bUEgPMsUpO-mth7uv7RzgDz4vWp2fWX0_g0WadHzFerYUykMQiajPXSKlMjHZFtmhc_oT1v6IXgg4V8Kl54zUlM9S8AzOtlTfoa8mD14oQYko0Iaee7OamouaOgNjwxDI/s320/04-07_008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436456236872215234" /></a><br /><br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-59187996771390429272009-12-03T18:23:00.000-08:002009-12-03T19:51:03.659-08:00Ontario's Hiking TrailsAs you have read in my last post I am proposing a hiking trail along Wilmot Creek in the town of Clarington, On. For those of you who still like the old names, Clarington consists of Newcastle, Bowmanville, Courtice, Orono and numerous other small hamlets. In doing some research on trail development I was somewhat impressed by the number of hiking trails currently present, or in development in Ontario. It made me proud of those countless individuals who have given of their time and energy to build, and maintain these trails so that all of us can use them. I also felt thankful to all of those private landowners who were receptive to the vision of hiking trails and allow them to cross their lands.<br />This post is basically a rundown on some of the trails that are available to us Ontario hikers.<br />I will start with the best known, and the first, lengthy hiking trail developed in Ontario, the Bruce Trail. As I stated in the last post I was a child when the Bruce Trail was under development, as a Centennial project, and my father was one of the people recruited to bring the trail to fruition. The Bruce Trail was the brainchild of a man by the name of Ray Lowes, a metallurgist by trade, for Dofasco in Hamilton. On his free time he wandered the Niagara escarpment, hiking the trails that were present. He envisioned a trail stretching the length of the escarpment in Ontario, from Queenston Heights on the Niagara River, to Tobermory, at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula. In the beginning most of it was private land. With the trail project the escarpment was spotlighted and its signifigance became became recognized. The escarpment is now a <strong>UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve</strong> and there have been many land acquisitions by various bodies so that much of it is permanently protected. The <a href="http://brucetrail.org/" target="_blank">website</a> for the Bruce Trail has all kinds of info for you to peruse.<br />The next trail I will talk about is the <a href="http://www.ganaraska-hiking-trail.ca/" target="_blank">Ganaraska Trail</a>. This trail runs from Port Hope on Lake Ontario, to north of Lake Simcoe and then west to Georgian Bay. A side trail links with the Bruce trail near Collingwood.<br />Sticking in the same geographic area a relatively new trail is the <a href="http://www.oakridgestrail.org/" target="_blank">Oak Ridges Trail</a>, which, surprisingly, follows the Oak Ridges Moraine from Rice Lake to Newmarket, just north of Toronto.<br />In Eastern Ontario the <a href="http://www.rideautrail.org/" target="_blank">Rideau Trail</a> runs from Kingston to Ottawa through Smith Falls and Perth.<br />In the Lake Superior region the <a href="http://www.voyageurtrail.ca/" target="_blank">Voyageur Trail </a>runs Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay along some of the ruggedest terrain in Canada. Some of this trail is still undeveloped but there is over 500 km of hiking available!<br />In south central Ontario the <a href="http://www.gvta.on.ca/index.php" target="_blank">Grand Valley Trail Asociation </a>has developed a trail that runs along the Grand River from Rock Point, on Lake Erie, to the town of Alton, near Orangeville.<br /><br />These are just the larger hiking trails in Ontario. There are numerous smaller trails that may take a few minutes to a few hours or even a few days to complete. for info on some of them check out <a href="http://www.hikeontario.com/" target="_blank">Hike Ontario </a>and the <a href="http://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/" target="_blank">Ontario Trails Council</a>.<br />For those of of us who love the outdoors, the beauty of these trails is that they are always open, in all seasons, in all weather and in most cases they are free to use. If you are into hiking at all you may want to buy a membership in the local association for the trail near you, and a guidebook is never a bad investment. <br />When you are out hiking on these trails take a moment to think about the men and women who have, and continue, to work hard to provide these trails for all of us. Respect the land and the users code. Say thanks to the many private landowners who unselfishly allow the trails to cross their properties. <br /><br />Hiking is one activity that almost everyone can enjoy at some level. So take your sons and daughters for a hike. Maybe not today but someday they will thank you in some way for introducing them to the joy of the outdoors. If you have the chance, take someone who has never hiked before on a trail nearby. Once, someone probably did that for you.<br /><br />To end his post, <strong>TAKE A HIKE, EH!</strong> <br /><br /><p align="right"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2542082338220801609#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-75349156586470602932009-11-20T19:42:00.000-08:002009-11-22T13:00:35.629-08:00Outdoor Skating Marathon?OK, I know the water is still good for paddling, and I have been walking around in shirts, with running shoes on my feet. I am getting ahead of myself with this post but there is a method to my madness! Bear with me!<br /><br /><br />Last January I wrote a <a href="http://ontariosoutdooractivities.blogspot.com/2009/01/outdoor-skating-marathon.html">post </a>about a skating Marathon that the town of Portland ON, hosted. Basically what they did was drive a Zamboni out onto the ice of the lake next to their town to create a skating track, and for the past six years, have had marathon races on the ice. Skaters of all levels could enter and try their hands(legs?) at skating races of various distances. This might be the nearest to the canals of Holland that most of us Canadians ever get. I should tell you right now that I have not participated in this event. Life gets in the way sometimes!<br /><br />I grew up in the days of outdoor rinks and pond hockey. There were occasions when the streams flooded and froze and we could skate for miles on what were, normally, foot wide creeks, in what is now suburbs of Niagara Falls, ON. OK, I am showing my age. The point is that there isn't anything more 'Canadian' than skating outdoors on the frozen ponds and lakes. These days most of the kids in Southern Ontario have not seen the winters consistently cold enough to merit a backyard rink let alone to make the ice on the local lake, or pond safe enough. What the people of Portland did was put a bit of fun back into the Canadian winter.<br /><br />One of the points that I made in last January's post was that other towns should copy the idea of Portland. I still think that if every town with the resources and a nearby suitable, safe body of ice were to do this we might soon see a whole circuit of skating races. For sure we would see a lot of simple outdoor family fun. If I lived in Toronto, and took the kids to a lake like Scugog, for example, for a day of outdoor skating, chances are I would take them to lunch and visit a few of the shops in the town as well. That was the gist of my post last winter.<br /><br />Well this week I looked up the <a href="http://www.portlandoutdoors.com/speedskating/pressreleaseoct82009.htm">website</a> for the Portland skating marathon and was sad to read that the volunteers that ran this event have decided to take this year off. I have to say I understand their point of view as volunteers. Six years is a long time and Portland is not a big town with a vast pool of volunteers to draw from. <br />However this leaves the same challenge out there for the small lakeside towns in southern Ontario looking for a way to draw in some tourist dollars in the coldest months of the winter.<br />I live in Bowmanville and we don't have a suitable lake next to us. Lake Ontario doesn't count! The nearest lake that would fit the bill is Lake Scugog and that is why I picked on Port Perry last year. I still think Port Perry should really look into this idea, but there are other towns with a lake beside them that could also do this.<br />And now here is the method to my madness. Now is the time for organizing. Get your town council moving and warm up the Zambonis. String the lights around the ice surface and lets get some outdoor skating going in southern Ontario again. As to the races, they would be the icing on the cake. Or might that be the icing on the ice!!<br /><br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-5877144933613753602009-11-13T17:38:00.000-08:002009-11-16T18:30:52.964-08:00Proposing a Hiking Trail<a></a><br /><a></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNiYwpbeRjucdfW8s19y4EbS9fnsPtFhImXt-AuoPxBdBi__D79U1rfES23zqW_Tg9cmD1mhALP6TYBT0u3YnwuzczOTk_uUN5sKzAvjzCsy9T8jTa3QvI0OvhScJ3JVoxojkXm0wMQF0/s1600-h/hiking2.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 319px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404338701872448450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNiYwpbeRjucdfW8s19y4EbS9fnsPtFhImXt-AuoPxBdBi__D79U1rfES23zqW_Tg9cmD1mhALP6TYBT0u3YnwuzczOTk_uUN5sKzAvjzCsy9T8jTa3QvI0OvhScJ3JVoxojkXm0wMQF0/s320/hiking2.bmp" /></a><br /><br />In the last few months I have spent a bit of time in the Wilmot Creek area, from the Nature Area at the south end, to the Orono Crown Lands in the north, and this has me thinking. In this post I am proposing a hiking trail along the creek, from the Lake Ontario shore, north to link up with the Oak Ridges Trail in the Leskard area.<br /><br />First I am going to give you a little ancient history. When I was a small child my father, Gus Yaki, was involved in the creation of the <a href="http://brucetrail.org/"target="_blank">Bruce Trail</a>. He was the first president of the Niagara section of the trail. What this meant to me was that as a kid I spent many an hour building trail, (or at least accompanying the adults who built the trail) along the Niagara escarpment from Queenston Heights to Grimsby. This involved painting blazes on the trees, building bridges where needed, cutting back limbs,etc. The real work, however went on in the kitchens of landowners, and involved the negotiation of the permissions to route the trail through private properties. The work done by the early Bruce Trail association has given us, 40 years later not only the 885 kilometre Bruce Trail, but paved the way for the <a href="http://www.ganaraska-hiking-trail.ca/"target="_blank">Ganaraska Trail </a>and the <a href="http://www.oakridgestrail.org/"target="_blank">Oak Ridges Trail.</a> Untold numbers of children and adults have been awakened to the beauty of the outdoors and nature through a walk along the Bruce Trail.<br /><br />In the Clarington area the Waterfront Trail follows Lake Ontario's shoreline, and the Oak Ridges Trail follows, well, the Oak Ridges Moraine. At Port Hope, the Ganaraska Trail runs from the lake north, crossing the Oak Ridges Trail and carrying on for another 400 kilometres ending at Georgian Bay. I am proposing a much more modest venture, a trail running along Wilmot Creek, from the mouth at Lake Ontario to at least as far north as to meet with the Oak Ridges Trail. We would have an advantage in that a fair percentage of the land along the Wilmot Creek is already in the public domain.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-swpVOh_ZoKwCJB-ylPYfexVyCcNVHoKmy2ZmQJjhTYc0BI52DaPkp-wjW1cgOfzfcY2FzjaVdyRL7yWsE4i0QOF2US6k6oCc9x_eBjlIin0-3tsT-HzOpwGyVcaFQFZZ_Kz_xXY_04/s1600-h/ocl+trial.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-swpVOh_ZoKwCJB-ylPYfexVyCcNVHoKmy2ZmQJjhTYc0BI52DaPkp-wjW1cgOfzfcY2FzjaVdyRL7yWsE4i0QOF2US6k6oCc9x_eBjlIin0-3tsT-HzOpwGyVcaFQFZZ_Kz_xXY_04/s320/ocl+trial.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404367429739495346" /></a><br /><p align="center">Existing trail in the Orono Crown lands.</p><br /><br /> Also, at the municipal government levels there is much more acceptance of the idea of trails as a plus for communities than there was 40 years ago.<br />What I am suggesting is a simple walking trail, not a multi-use trail as much of it will be on private land. Also the environmental impact of a hiking trail will be much less than a trail with mountain bikes, horses, etc. It will follow as close as is possible to the main branch of the Wilmot Creek with potential branch trails into Newcastle and Orono. For example in Orono one branch could follow the fork of the creek that goes into town and the other could follow into the Orono Crown lands with both branches joining up again north of Orono.<br />Since the area is rich in history a number of plaques could be erected at notable spots along the trail. The local historical society would be ideal participants in that aspect. <br />Similarily the local natural history clubs should be recruited to help with display boards explaining signifigant natural features such as are already present in the Samuel Wilmot Nature Area.<br />As the trail will pass through agricultural lands, and many of the trail users may be urbanites with little farm knowledge an opportunity for education exists there as well.<br /><br /><br />Below is a first draft, proposed route of<br /><br /><p align="center">THE WILMOT TRAIL.</p><br /><br /><iframe width="400" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://www.google.ca/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114061765987788672026.0004784a56a00ff248924&ll=43.961685,-78.625031&spn=0.172988,0.291824&z=11&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small>View <a href="http://www.google.ca/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114061765987788672026.0004784a56a00ff248924&ll=43.961685,-78.625031&spn=0.172988,0.291824&z=11&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">Wilmot Creek Trail</a> in a larger map</small><br /><br />The red line is existing trails on public lands while the purple is on private land and does not yet exist. Obviously the exact route is subject to change and anyone who has done a map on Google will know that drawing lines that don't follow roads is inexact at best. However, that is the gist of my proposal. If you have any input on this idea or would like to help out in any way <a href="mailto:jimyaki@hotmail.com">email me</a> putting Wilmot Trail in the subject line, or comment using the option below this post. Future posts will update progress on this project. Stay tuned!!<br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-54626928766516323782009-11-11T18:09:00.000-08:002009-11-16T11:56:16.666-08:00Fall's Splendour!<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; CLEAR: both" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTGjzxyZetgySOugsI5QH1UE8h0d8D5JgtH6ADlFSYDi15b3WrU4yPLwryc71ToCZbBugEncrZmF1rwkedKV6FrOdZcDyIFwd2LH5BzCOzh-P_w6JbIKVeq3dQ0BipWqKIeALEWSzsAzY/s1600-h/005.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTGjzxyZetgySOugsI5QH1UE8h0d8D5JgtH6ADlFSYDi15b3WrU4yPLwryc71ToCZbBugEncrZmF1rwkedKV6FrOdZcDyIFwd2LH5BzCOzh-P_w6JbIKVeq3dQ0BipWqKIeALEWSzsAzY/s320/005.jpg" sr="true" /></a><br /></div><br />It seems that in any given year we get the same amount of great weather. We might have a lousy spring and a great summer or a lousy winter and a good fall. Rarely can we say that all four seasons have been great in a given year. Besides someone who skis might like a snowy winter while those that don't would prefer one day of snow on December 25th and green the rest of the year. I enjoy the outdoors and generally accept whatever weather we have. Having said that I like the spring and fall the most and if pressed will tell you that fall is my favourite season. I like that the air is cooler without being cold, and the lack of bugs, and the sound of the fallen leaves beneath my feet.<br />With that as my preamble I have to tell you that this past week has provided us with some glorious weather. I almost regretted hanging the canoe for the winter! However since the canoe was put away we have had the chance to do some biking and some hiking. I have been exploring the Wilmot Creek area this past while and have spent a few hours hiking at Samuel Wilmot Nature Area. This is a nice little area that is bordered by the Wilmot Creek retirement subdivision on the west and the Port of Newcastle subdivision on the east. I imagine in the spring that the migrants coming over the lake will flock down into this pocket of nature. As the years go by much of the area that is now open field will regenerate providing a larger target for those migrants and it may become a birding hotspot similar to Thickson's Woods.<br />Just to the north of the Nature area is an MNR Fishing Area. This protects the both sides of the creek from development pretty much from Lake Ontario to the 115 Highway.<br />The fishing area has limited trails as most of the fishermen are walking in the river with waders seeking out the Rainbows and Salmon that use Wilmot creek for spawning. A few miles north the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority's Thurne Park is a little used area along the Wilmot. The forest here is dominated by cedar but again the main attraction is the fish in the creek. In the fall the salmon are everywhere and with the creek being only ten feet or so wide the viewing is great. At this time of year the creeks are crystal clear unless there has been recent heavy rains. Just a mile or so north of Thurne Park is the Orono Crown Lands. This is the largest chunk of public land in the Wilmot creek watershed. I visited this area twice in the last week and enjoyed it immensely both times. On the first ocassion I was alone and followed the trail off the Station St parking area straight in to creek itself and then followed the creekside trail south to the fifth concession and back. The parking lot was full when I left and I saw a few groups in the first fifteen minutes but once I got onto the creek trail I saw only one other couple. Along the creek the forest is dominated by Cedars again and some of them are quite large by Southern Ontario standards. There were a few signs of Pileated woodpeckers with the rectangular holes in the side of the trees. Along the stream I would occasionally see the skeletal remains of a dead salmon. I am always amazed that wild animals aren't scavenging these fish more often. As I returned up to the parking area I watched a trout hiding under the edge of the old railway bridge structure. It looked like a rainbow to me and it was about 10 inches in length!<br />On sunday Lianna and I and the boys returned to Orono and hiked north through the pine plantings. The ground was covered with pine needles and the air was scented with that north woods piney smell. We were pushing Jake in his jogging stroller and he was loving the sights of the forest. Isaiah was making "walking sticks" with any dead branches that fit his specifications, and practicing his pole vaulting. The trail to the north is quite wide and makes me look forward to the x-country ski season as it would be a great little loop for skis or snowshoes.<br />Tuesday afternoon the weather was still holding and I went for a ride in Stephen's Gulch. Here the forest is more deciduous and the ground was thick with leaves. There is something about the crunch of fallen leaves underfoot or under your wheels that makes you wish it was autumn all year long!<br />I guess the whole point of this post is that you really don't need to travel far to find that outdoor activity. Chances are there is a conservation area or park nearby. Get out there and kick up some leaves!<br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-38171440781856987102009-11-03T05:30:00.000-08:002009-11-16T11:55:02.927-08:00Last Paddle of the Year!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNPrdLNDUqxqC1hEuy8_q5zAD7DN4C4nKhY9D_haRZ7AhwO8PBpceu9gG4yAPgOZy2ADEQdIO3rW6fDM6c4uyg-XtpBExxy7AIEFGMAF9v_PcpH4L8M-MC6EUIWEuCKFEZulQYPNNzkE/s1600-h/081.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400071651365506546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNPrdLNDUqxqC1hEuy8_q5zAD7DN4C4nKhY9D_haRZ7AhwO8PBpceu9gG4yAPgOZy2ADEQdIO3rW6fDM6c4uyg-XtpBExxy7AIEFGMAF9v_PcpH4L8M-MC6EUIWEuCKFEZulQYPNNzkE/s320/081.JPG" /></a> <br /><p align="center">The Pigeon river</p><br /><br />Ok so I haven't posted much this summer. In fact I haven't posted at all. I have been busy with a variety of projects and haven't done a lot of my usual summer outdoor activities to the level that my wife and I enjoy. No camping at all! A few reasons for that but mostly because Jake, our youngest has been getting us up every couple of hours at night. The burden for this has fallen mostly on my wife and I marvel at her ability to function on the broken sleep she gets. However it is one thing to have a baby awake in a multilevel house and quite another to deal with one in a tent or trailer. Next summer will be different.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbeME-372bceuD4Leq12T3jqHrffkmcei0iP3FqlV6gC2CFDSxFHXRN7qKYBvVPSeJzEszX05il0hc3aOuI3krlHSSo_CEEx1n5Wx61jt82WLtnfCKMXmmPOiMlNRJnt4pA2dQ72qyDOM/s1600-h/Jakes+first+paddle.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbeME-372bceuD4Leq12T3jqHrffkmcei0iP3FqlV6gC2CFDSxFHXRN7qKYBvVPSeJzEszX05il0hc3aOuI3krlHSSo_CEEx1n5Wx61jt82WLtnfCKMXmmPOiMlNRJnt4pA2dQ72qyDOM/s320/Jakes+first+paddle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400668674205558786" /></a><br /><p align="center">Jake's first paddle!</p><br /><br /><br />Anyways to make a long story short we did day things when we could and did get Jake out for a kayak ride. He isn't impressed with wearing a life jacket! He'll learn to love it!<br />Yesterday the weather looked good and who knows how many more days we will get like that so I threw the canoe on the roof of the car and drove up to the Pigeon River. I had heard from a coworker that the section near Golf Course Rd. east of Highway 35 was a wild stretch of river. His words were that it felt like you were "way up north!"<br />I had never been to this place so I went to Google Maps and found the intersection of Golf Course Rd. and St. Mary's Rd. On Google Maps it shows a place called Mt. Horeb. Here the Pigeon River shows up on the map as it flows northeast toward Omemee. This is about a half hour drive from my place in Bowmanville, and when I got to the place there wasn't a single house, nor any mountains so I don't know what the Mt. Horeb refers to! There was a small wooden bridge over the Pigeon River and on the southeast side of this bridge was a place to launch a canoe. There is not much in the way of parking though. The road has deep ditches on either side and no real pulloff, so you have to be careful parking. On the plus side there is not much traffic in downtown Mt. Horeb.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitB7OGnWayewsXOx_PNSyt_mcuwI6_00h8kXjJgl24aszpNcq0DxKpk5PPxXoEToXq-3Kz5YSWywcxPUbAZj6gWOOIcMoazhQwpU0J7u5P3A1HjbvvuEJrNbTA2fv0Dr_vOp8vzm8jmfY/s1600-h/086.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400071660406112594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitB7OGnWayewsXOx_PNSyt_mcuwI6_00h8kXjJgl24aszpNcq0DxKpk5PPxXoEToXq-3Kz5YSWywcxPUbAZj6gWOOIcMoazhQwpU0J7u5P3A1HjbvvuEJrNbTA2fv0Dr_vOp8vzm8jmfY/s320/086.JPG" /></a><br /><p align="center">The bridge on St. Mary's Rd.</p> <br /><br />The river is about twenty feet wide at the bridge and widens as you go downstream. As you can see on Google map or satellite it is a meandering stream with lots of curves. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEFabwR7sJRZxt4E14S7K69l1ox4Sd1ua4Na7PkUlbH3cLYt8znCOg8UglHm44mQ4RiWptYj1mrZtbvsohEf9nM7RU36KjUAHlk29EomcjWJDs-B-h9JiPqTW09XPKDjd3wdpvMJaot4/s1600-h/Mt+Horeb.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEFabwR7sJRZxt4E14S7K69l1ox4Sd1ua4Na7PkUlbH3cLYt8znCOg8UglHm44mQ4RiWptYj1mrZtbvsohEf9nM7RU36KjUAHlk29EomcjWJDs-B-h9JiPqTW09XPKDjd3wdpvMJaot4/s320/Mt+Horeb.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400664261704296242" /></a><br /><p align="center">The Pigeon River southwest of Omemee</p><br />The river runs through a swampy forest and there is no sign of humanity to be seen. As I rounded one of the myriad of bends I flushed a group of about ten or so Wood Ducks. Other than that though there was very little in the way of life to be seen. There were lots of small fish to be seen in the river, species unknown. It would be very different in the spring time though as swamps are generally very full of birdlife and wildlife in general. I did see a single frog(Leopard?) that was so cold he could barely move. He should have been in hibernation already, I think. After about a half hour of paddling downstream I decided that I didn't want to go to far and have to fight the current on the way back so I headed back toward the bridge. As I got nearer I was followed by a Great Blue Heron that passed over my head at about 20 feet and settled on the side of the river about forty feet ahead of me.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR05blb_YRpuKiJvuvdvw3j2cvCRcCTEAde8CYBEilYx0IYh89biKjIEK49JPuzw8TM0hiDbYtQ2eakQSCzfonuwh5iBVvQFCLO_OwJ1PunNqgFFEDxs0_eZxggwExIP5z2WgFYDVV3Ak/s1600-h/GBH.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400071649799260866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR05blb_YRpuKiJvuvdvw3j2cvCRcCTEAde8CYBEilYx0IYh89biKjIEK49JPuzw8TM0hiDbYtQ2eakQSCzfonuwh5iBVvQFCLO_OwJ1PunNqgFFEDxs0_eZxggwExIP5z2WgFYDVV3Ak/s320/GBH.jpg" /></a><br /><p align="center">Great Blue Heron in flight</p><br />I think he was looking for that frog! Upstream from the bridge the river is smaller but still plenty navigable by canoe. I continued upstream for about twenty more minutes and the river is still twenty feet wide at least. The terrain is very similar and the only sign of man is the bridge on St. Mary's Rd. I will definitely be back to explore this area more in the coming year, but I will probably put in at one of the crossings farther downstream on Mt. Horeb Rd. and paddle back upstream until I get tired and then float back down to the put in with the current. Hopefully the parking may be better as well. <br />When I got home I hung the canoe back up in the rafters of the garage until next year. For now, the water is cold and there is lots to do on land and snow! I might even post a little more regularly!!<br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-79460287915281492822009-06-25T19:45:00.000-07:002009-06-26T08:38:49.879-07:00Summers Botanical Jewels<div align="left">One of the great things about being out and about in the outdoors of Ontario is the beauty that you tend to happen upon on a regular basis. In fact if you are outdoors and have your eyes open you run into beauty everywhere. It can be fireflies along a stretch of swampy road, a doe and spotted fawn in the forest near the trail, or a beautiful bird in the bush or tree in front of you. This post is about the wildflowers that adorn this provinces' woods and meadows. Obviously, Ontario has thousands of species of plants, the majority of them flowering, so to narrow this down I am selecting a few "spectacular" species. Who decided what is spectacular? Hey, I am writing this, so I get to choose! The choice is purely arbitrary and really the list could go on and on! In fact I have chosen only a few for this post but may revisit this subject down the road.<br /><br /><p align="center">Butterfly Milkweed, <em>Asclepias tuberosa</em></p><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_N2lXK6fVUunEiY6WshRZP0KQm1zAaetySZvthdbBTGy7PiVLUvahiLexGDqRSyL9dWmy3mk3YjxAxYOlfeXmStUbK6r4u73eiOj2q9O5zAGlsGR3qzCe-m4OzkWAZnX_BKnYVpqMYPg/s1600-h/004.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351477820932505330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_N2lXK6fVUunEiY6WshRZP0KQm1zAaetySZvthdbBTGy7PiVLUvahiLexGDqRSyL9dWmy3mk3YjxAxYOlfeXmStUbK6r4u73eiOj2q9O5zAGlsGR3qzCe-m4OzkWAZnX_BKnYVpqMYPg/s320/004.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />The number of truly orange flowers in Ontario is surprisingly low and this speccies of Milkweed is the showiest of the oranges. It is found across Ontario in areas that have dry sandy soil and can be seen from the 401 in places. The Pinery is a good spot, the area around Camp Borden, the Oak Ridges moraine in various spots. It will grow to about 2 ft tall but is usually shorter and can be in open woodlands or open fields. I will admit this is a sentimental favorite of mine and therefore it goes first!<br /><br /><p align="center">Swamp Milkweed, <em>Asclepias incarnata</em></p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZToFolMfylVghRaLDXwc1Lwn6If7rV3IoBSi9hLKFIk3_ozDITZUnOX66kJlnyI4TvZY_BOvnvaoMA5G85XNguztpvaLBQKakzhMLAiLQj52l88mKbxrstX6eU8phjGfVdlNQOvBiblQ/s1600-h/monarch1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351481043902874658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 242px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZToFolMfylVghRaLDXwc1Lwn6If7rV3IoBSi9hLKFIk3_ozDITZUnOX66kJlnyI4TvZY_BOvnvaoMA5G85XNguztpvaLBQKakzhMLAiLQj52l88mKbxrstX6eU8phjGfVdlNQOvBiblQ/s320/monarch1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />As a canoeist I love seeing this close relative of the butterfly milkweed growing along the shorelines of lakes and streams as well as in wet spots and some ditches. This species gets up to four feet tall. This photo was taken along the Nonquon River in Seagrave, ON. This particular specimen was occcupied by a Monarch. Monarch caterpillers feed almost exclusively on the milkweed family.<br /><br /><p align="center">Fragrant Water-Lily, <em>Nymphaea odorata</em></p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwP2oCp3TYyGnpVV8PdyZubXMCo66hokrYbmYmzNX1UR05yK3B8aqCSC7y8N5MaFpf0bzQdGP1UnSH7phATyMzHO5Fnr7Pr1ySuTkbm7CXaVxgNdOMIghmD07WzH89-oKw6i2MpnOhDjI/s1600-h/Pinery+1+009.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351482374339665266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 253px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwP2oCp3TYyGnpVV8PdyZubXMCo66hokrYbmYmzNX1UR05yK3B8aqCSC7y8N5MaFpf0bzQdGP1UnSH7phATyMzHO5Fnr7Pr1ySuTkbm7CXaVxgNdOMIghmD07WzH89-oKw6i2MpnOhDjI/s320/Pinery+1+009.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Who doesn't love this one seen in all our quiet rivers and lakes. The water lily, white or yellow is a spectacular flower and a delight to paddle among!<br /><br /><p align="center">Black Eyed Susan, <em>Rudbeckia hirta</em></p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDOaSFgxWlW1Q_M5UO8VCKKOINARb1JqL2XCzauq81s_nT-vGX9AEqqXSKx5nofffNSetTjurdRicBRPDOb7OVvZxztRMk0WReF4qPi1_uQjv33jrsZHJJk84xyc9GrvvTgHJxpThQaY/s1600-h/DSCF0241.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351482367143171954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDOaSFgxWlW1Q_M5UO8VCKKOINARb1JqL2XCzauq81s_nT-vGX9AEqqXSKx5nofffNSetTjurdRicBRPDOb7OVvZxztRMk0WReF4qPi1_uQjv33jrsZHJJk84xyc9GrvvTgHJxpThQaY/s320/DSCF0241.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Ok this is a common roadside flower over much of the province. I still think it is one of the nicest roadside flowers going. It is a ray of sunshine as you drive along!<br /><br /><p align="center">Cardinal Lobelia, <em>Lobelia cardinalis</em></p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_A3Br-TimLTEd_SwCDtqxRg9Z_VChYEVYyxhejpKKbXAqFvVtRhDeI1GoD9cY4uxDhqGOx1lx38DKbbfr_rvYs-ondLw08-dWgN3puzr0Jw-b2HzftRorU2HFhVL5ZXTd1_3Fs-WIK7k/s1600-h/066+-+Copy.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351482366451204466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_A3Br-TimLTEd_SwCDtqxRg9Z_VChYEVYyxhejpKKbXAqFvVtRhDeI1GoD9cY4uxDhqGOx1lx38DKbbfr_rvYs-ondLw08-dWgN3puzr0Jw-b2HzftRorU2HFhVL5ZXTd1_3Fs-WIK7k/s320/066+-+Copy.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />This one is definitely not your average roadside flower. This beauty is found along wooded streams. I have seen it in the Niagara region, along the Nonquon and in Bon Echo park. This photo was taken at Bon Echo, along the road to Joe Perry Lake. Can be 1 to 4 feet tall. One of my all time favorite wildflowers!<br /><br /><p align="center">Harebell, <em>Campanula rotundifolia</em></p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnqX0oDm7VRZZVHcqytLL9jg4Sd_2Ew88K_o_HGoOfmWld9HXF92F0tS_q-c-SznUTbngYwYPkzX7VBoo7aV_EngUwGEFra8q1I9Z1lWMw7nn-gAUNH3oVYuNc66CJ5hO_MfLMCKNmKE/s1600-h/campanula2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351482357647166930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 237px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnqX0oDm7VRZZVHcqytLL9jg4Sd_2Ew88K_o_HGoOfmWld9HXF92F0tS_q-c-SznUTbngYwYPkzX7VBoo7aV_EngUwGEFra8q1I9Z1lWMw7nn-gAUNH3oVYuNc66CJ5hO_MfLMCKNmKE/s320/campanula2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />This is one of those delicate little beauties that often go unnoticed in the sunny forest floor. I like it because of its delicate blue color and because it seems to be to delicate to survive, and yet it does in some way survive in heavily used campgrounds such as the Pinery where this one was taken<br /><br /><p align="center">Showy Ladies Slipper, <em>Cypripedium reginae</em></p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTx5-9QHTAzZsHXGBNL3cR70gqXwR7tXicTlhBsJFigqhgHbgOGF9CPS1hBZJf_b01ZyQ_hY_gJYPRIUGG8WhhriIkFvTL0ubavH5xgsYIL-f9mXgsHj8KLSR1cemsKaQ35zWkkV0Tw2c/s1600-h/Showy+Ladies+slipper.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351482378807119138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTx5-9QHTAzZsHXGBNL3cR70gqXwR7tXicTlhBsJFigqhgHbgOGF9CPS1hBZJf_b01ZyQ_hY_gJYPRIUGG8WhhriIkFvTL0ubavH5xgsYIL-f9mXgsHj8KLSR1cemsKaQ35zWkkV0Tw2c/s320/Showy+Ladies+slipper.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is our largest, showiest, native orchid, found in swampy areas and wet woods. It is not a common sight but there are places to see it. <a href="http://www.mvc.on.ca/index.php/conservation-areas/purdon" target="_blank">Purdon bog </a>is one area that is famous for the massive show of these beauties. They are found in other parts of the province including the Bruce and Manitoulin. This is one of those plants that prove it pays to keep your eyes open when driving the backroads. I took this photo today just outside of Port Hope, ON, at one of two colonies that I found within five miles of country road.<br /><br /><br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p><br /><br /><p></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-841125655175984572009-05-19T19:53:00.000-07:002009-06-25T21:48:31.232-07:00Nonquon Visit<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6gK_Xyr2Jc_VEk4Gy81FVM_Cdoe63pSP1H5rUbf_t5cuT4SUhjIyn-Zv9XRgSvp06tEKR08tHyWBgQ6Br_21XIjf63tvyEx6KQRnsL5tRs0u9jyZA4_5efZ0xdWu2vO7UwDZTwbycvQ/s1600-h/037.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337741645380052562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha6gK_Xyr2Jc_VEk4Gy81FVM_Cdoe63pSP1H5rUbf_t5cuT4SUhjIyn-Zv9XRgSvp06tEKR08tHyWBgQ6Br_21XIjf63tvyEx6KQRnsL5tRs0u9jyZA4_5efZ0xdWu2vO7UwDZTwbycvQ/s320/037.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />Friday was a nice day in the morning so I threw the little canoe on the roof and drove up to Port Perry with Isaiah. We launched our canoe in the Nonquon River on Old Simcoe Rd. just south of Scugog Line 10. The Nonquon goes under Old Simcoe at this point and there is a little area where you can safely launch with out fear of your vehicle being a traffic hazard. Isaiah is just four years old and has his own paddle so I put him to work paddling us downstream! His paddle blade spent a great deal of time in the water, and some times it even was moving us forward. He has an idea of what he is doing and at this stage that is all I care about. Amazingly, the entire hour and a half that we were out he never dropped his paddle once. The Nonquon is about fifteen feet across for most of the section we paddled and not far from roads, but for the length of our paddle we didn't see another boat or person or man-made structure. What we did see was beaver lodges, Canada Geese on their nests, Red-winged Blackbirds, Blue Winged Teal, and Great Blue Herons. As we were launching we heard the <em>kidik,kidik</em> call of a Virginia Rail. It sounded to be only a few feet into the marsh grasses. At a point where a beaver had built a dam at some point in the past, there was a small riffle that dropped about three inches. To Isaiah this was whitewater canoeing at its finest. I am sure he felt like an early explorer did crossing America in the eighteen hundreds. To a four year old it was grand adventure, and best of all we shared it together. I like to think he will remember these times together for the rest of his life. If you have kids go exploring together somewhere outdoors with them.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheR4RjWelHSef2JbsMO9yOipU5i4kw_RqGpUH4vLuqMK48wE0_VLwyN5uHNhrZbqciH7ZbkQbpiCKIa4ygkuXGTVsfkurza_KgasU5eJITcYsfmRSMO8aFw45beP2Tr6hs2CGL6tq1Mqk/s1600-h/035.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337741645595226546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheR4RjWelHSef2JbsMO9yOipU5i4kw_RqGpUH4vLuqMK48wE0_VLwyN5uHNhrZbqciH7ZbkQbpiCKIa4ygkuXGTVsfkurza_KgasU5eJITcYsfmRSMO8aFw45beP2Tr6hs2CGL6tq1Mqk/s320/035.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />As we neared the end of our paddle and were returning to the launch site a Sora Rail stood on the bank about five feet from us and watched us go by. I was impressed, as you don't <strong><em>see</em></strong> rails very often. Isaiah was just as impressed by the Barn Swallows and their nests, under the bridge at Old Simcoe Rd. It really doesn't matter to a child how rare a site is to the rest of us, he is as happy with the barn swallows up close as a Sora Rail. What really matters is the shared experiences that will turn your child into an outdoors person. So this weekend, grab your kids, and your canoe,pack,bike,whatever and find a patch of nature to share with those you love.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-84484720266288440372009-05-01T19:16:00.000-07:002009-05-01T20:24:47.574-07:00Spring has Sprung<p></p><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-X1yon-JbWbQwvA61ageD0WmE1cdb1jrdT7louYxTGnnoL6r6PSATrXFLbRAUwOzOEVMCOEhpL364uVZ-jBbTBvxEV6LveIOAx9bHAP-7xOPYIsmLXeksERShm8kcA0w0cUGczRHXZU/s1600-h/white+trillium.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-X1yon-JbWbQwvA61ageD0WmE1cdb1jrdT7louYxTGnnoL6r6PSATrXFLbRAUwOzOEVMCOEhpL364uVZ-jBbTBvxEV6LveIOAx9bHAP-7xOPYIsmLXeksERShm8kcA0w0cUGczRHXZU/s320/white+trillium.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331050498165154802" /></a><br /><p align="center">White Trillium, <em>Trillium grandiflorum</em></p><br /><div align="left">It was a beautiful day for walk in the woods and I even took my camera with me. For me the Trillium is one of the highlights of spring in Ontario. There are five or six different species of trilliums in Ontario but only two that are widespread and common. The white trillium is the one we all know and it is is the one that will carpet the hillsides in deciduous forests. I had passed this woodlot a couple of times lately, and saw the splash of white on the hills. I decided it was time to explore the woodlot and these are a few of the photos!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8CE-vXcREr7PSkTTo_Vc879ZKqKaolmXWoX5RJTrAo5Z6oPw_ssemkr0WZNqiHjoFDXT2UAjJDPXBmsAGwjSmw5EU4HMXJMiXsCrJhYILGzl4phxCr8bfRg3CmRmXZQM7RVzItTMfjfo/s1600-h/trillium+patch.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8CE-vXcREr7PSkTTo_Vc879ZKqKaolmXWoX5RJTrAo5Z6oPw_ssemkr0WZNqiHjoFDXT2UAjJDPXBmsAGwjSmw5EU4HMXJMiXsCrJhYILGzl4phxCr8bfRg3CmRmXZQM7RVzItTMfjfo/s320/trillium+patch.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331050491288692738" /></a><br /><p align="center">A hillside of trilliums</p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv8usqujE6XS9Syhr68KwWbHIkbycVGR6xgzXJEWQfNglDeML9QiQatVmxRBqC83t7IvVWEHr3W66YfsPNsIPIgXAsriFPGMSIKu_LRF57ymwFtsv7tRrTK1bL_pziEeF7MwAgV3b42jE/s1600-h/flock+of+trilliums.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv8usqujE6XS9Syhr68KwWbHIkbycVGR6xgzXJEWQfNglDeML9QiQatVmxRBqC83t7IvVWEHr3W66YfsPNsIPIgXAsriFPGMSIKu_LRF57ymwFtsv7tRrTK1bL_pziEeF7MwAgV3b42jE/s320/flock+of+trilliums.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331050486827307138" /></a><br /><p align="center">A "flock" of trilliums!</p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0dF9LfuM_rJygv8xbFXCJRYhb0AIR8hLAA58BrFzHg30xLPpHNNJaVaKx9wyYdCCH_bW5fiK8WS9UlIzVuZHNiV0F5zm12mjcwgNNidfA6oQzSxima9kx5snCQozsU1hbkzSR5JYnVQ/s1600-h/red+and+white.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0dF9LfuM_rJygv8xbFXCJRYhb0AIR8hLAA58BrFzHg30xLPpHNNJaVaKx9wyYdCCH_bW5fiK8WS9UlIzVuZHNiV0F5zm12mjcwgNNidfA6oQzSxima9kx5snCQozsU1hbkzSR5JYnVQ/s320/red+and+white.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331050485465670354" /></a><br /><p align="center">Red trilliums and white trilliums</p><br /></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_VFWvcommkMOPVv4s47fbl2bIbNb0NftFvAW-W2plpNwFff7stjwM2HlAKB8QXHmFKAsgbq2Uw3d-x9UIPvOPyQiGlausyx5X2iXeCe1hwaqcOOEkwvz1cyjpzFnbagVlWfK5qaXu-I/s1600-h/red+trillium2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331047108522782146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 229px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY_VFWvcommkMOPVv4s47fbl2bIbNb0NftFvAW-W2plpNwFff7stjwM2HlAKB8QXHmFKAsgbq2Uw3d-x9UIPvOPyQiGlausyx5X2iXeCe1hwaqcOOEkwvz1cyjpzFnbagVlWfK5qaXu-I/s320/red+trillium2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></p><p><p align="center">Red Trillium, <em>Trillium erectum</em></p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_w-ZuXPwz4hJA1ooc6ybwa7jowEcvyjoEEQTQ3I9jWSQtwgQCIpeHiZ0Qe9YViA08xcJDDoqhHtGn9AYui6LwdmM0A9AVLD0zlT0OIMzhVy05rW9RcP6Ul6kj7jv_AQc8ogXf7bJJfZM/s1600-h/early+mr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331047104228481330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_w-ZuXPwz4hJA1ooc6ybwa7jowEcvyjoEEQTQ3I9jWSQtwgQCIpeHiZ0Qe9YViA08xcJDDoqhHtGn9AYui6LwdmM0A9AVLD0zlT0OIMzhVy05rW9RcP6Ul6kj7jv_AQc8ogXf7bJJfZM/s320/early+mr.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p align="center">Early Meador Rue, <em>Thalictrum dioicum</em></p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13niWgWEr4Vly4u1uIN4Jr53xl2976b9DtxBehWad9n2nSRBY5DyWEmNg0e0l8KT3-1kHSQf0Gqrmj-KwwV6aiAvWXI32ZnklVMoBwUMIQcz8mzePZ5P5enWIjddu8wP_VPnoEliKoMw/s1600-h/bellflower2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331047097396192770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 228px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13niWgWEr4Vly4u1uIN4Jr53xl2976b9DtxBehWad9n2nSRBY5DyWEmNg0e0l8KT3-1kHSQf0Gqrmj-KwwV6aiAvWXI32ZnklVMoBwUMIQcz8mzePZ5P5enWIjddu8wP_VPnoEliKoMw/s320/bellflower2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p align="center">Large Flowered Bellwort, <em>Uvularia grandiflora</em></p><br />The woodlot had a variety of other spring flora with good showings of Wild Ginger, lots of May-Apple, and some Jack in the Pulpit. This lot was right in the city of Oshawa, beside a major road. The next few weeks will bring lots of other spring flora out for your viewing pleasure. There is nothing on TV!! Go for a walk in the woods!<br /></p><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-3774476762022745332009-04-13T13:20:00.000-07:002009-04-13T13:36:59.034-07:00Orono Crown LandsA couple of months ago I visited the Orono Crown Lands and posted here about the visit and about the area. Today I recieved an email from the chair of the Orono Crown Lands Trust advising me of a couple of upcoming events regarding the Crown Lands.<br /><br />On May 7 they are holding their Annual General Meeting, featuring a silent auction and an interactive raptor presentation. There will be owls and hawks from the University of Guelph.<br /><br />On August 29 there will be a corn roast and BBQ at the Ochonski Rd parking lot.<br />For details on either of these events check the <a href="http://www.oronocrownlands.com/events.htm" target="_blank">website</a><br /><br />Feedback is a wonderful thing when blogging! If you have comments or suggestions regarding any of the posts on this blog please <a href="mailto:jimyaki@hotmail.com">email</a> me!!<br /><br /><br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-88631894593388379212009-04-11T19:07:00.000-07:002009-04-13T19:40:42.218-07:00Float your Fanny<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhieiEsItn00HrLODEWX0sEp9Tjt55CHLXzyVvbHALC-6hIoy8sxWC8tvlZS2MaY3XmqOdJwLRYM9rNPlhgbVApaeTg2crc7MDF8oWzVrIveU0LE6swzmLn406vY5p9JrGEvz0Oeo3aLgc/s1600-h/025.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323629399747681938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhieiEsItn00HrLODEWX0sEp9Tjt55CHLXzyVvbHALC-6hIoy8sxWC8tvlZS2MaY3XmqOdJwLRYM9rNPlhgbVApaeTg2crc7MDF8oWzVrIveU0LE6swzmLn406vY5p9JrGEvz0Oeo3aLgc/s400/025.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>April 11, 2009 and thousands of people and hundreds of dogs are enjoying the beautiful spring day along the banks of the Ganaraska River in Port Hope, Ontario. There is entertainment for the kids, and music to enjoy, but the main event is this years' Float Your Fanny down the Ganny. This yearly river race is open to every type of non-motorized craft. Depending on the river levels, there is a lot of whitewater and this years' race was delayed a week due to high water. It was still to quote one participant “whitewater from start to finish”. At the finish line the first to arrive were canoes and kayaks.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjQxx6AMBZWEGVP8hjH9U1KSVO_fQ-V3RCL-IGC-9NdlToHRN-edzOhCnk1gY0rXMKzw4UuTbGOckM7IblAJNDGykmOsQ3jUwtinMZcQnf2bvysBTgLGmQdsUpgfe54icaEC-_tszeCA/s1600-h/028.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323627656353195682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 276px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjQxx6AMBZWEGVP8hjH9U1KSVO_fQ-V3RCL-IGC-9NdlToHRN-edzOhCnk1gY0rXMKzw4UuTbGOckM7IblAJNDGykmOsQ3jUwtinMZcQnf2bvysBTgLGmQdsUpgfe54icaEC-_tszeCA/s320/028.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRb0kIC84Hfq4ynotjccV1pYTZ-01fFZRKhkjgvIdr76MfJMbcUsTkhS0xX4N8jHeABVnb8SwzkvU6Tcr0_0ky4r9T1O6GosPglH4WuZyRNL82kKKQ8IJQ3dYcgzINXfbACe_rnUyzxeg/s1600-h/031.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323627656558427858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRb0kIC84Hfq4ynotjccV1pYTZ-01fFZRKhkjgvIdr76MfJMbcUsTkhS0xX4N8jHeABVnb8SwzkvU6Tcr0_0ky4r9T1O6GosPglH4WuZyRNL82kKKQ8IJQ3dYcgzINXfbACe_rnUyzxeg/s320/031.JPG" border="0" /></a> </p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><br /><p>Some even had people in them. Onlookers held their breath and helped the unlucky but undaunted.<br /></p><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC44sZf509qcrksAppVQNgMkCM2oIyUttFGNWxJpyA9U8LtCDL7YewCqn12gFUsPBoKYE-f-DU6O-FK3l3T4ArdCITMzDvrx9chn8r3fBG5crqM5D3Dh-1lkySNm0eUbnUwskQ5s-GpI4/s1600-h/033.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323627649986230354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC44sZf509qcrksAppVQNgMkCM2oIyUttFGNWxJpyA9U8LtCDL7YewCqn12gFUsPBoKYE-f-DU6O-FK3l3T4ArdCITMzDvrx9chn8r3fBG5crqM5D3Dh-1lkySNm0eUbnUwskQ5s-GpI4/s320/033.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEch4yURUvTuh3uQRpklUN9D20vTl3dLYN6g7Tt-urg1tYB2RPdeGh3CLOPhLG10lbmkaEF3mI0xbbTIlq5kuUEVlrPkfYI1ZOw2LtRJSrP6Gkpu0ogSK5UGdNv7kF74lFgCtIggumR9U/s1600-h/044.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323627645567704130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEch4yURUvTuh3uQRpklUN9D20vTl3dLYN6g7Tt-urg1tYB2RPdeGh3CLOPhLG10lbmkaEF3mI0xbbTIlq5kuUEVlrPkfYI1ZOw2LtRJSrP6Gkpu0ogSK5UGdNv7kF74lFgCtIggumR9U/s320/044.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpJsjdeEf61P7j0oBNurAholKi9dpxFt7m0HsE-qVoypFNrlgQnAXBaqypAaTzYOD3PbmeAOasTlUPFS_ivtrcgxKBGr7EdUYa_o706A-Fp7nPNoWHmPdrwVKTmK55Pa4LJX8zBjLqH0/s1600-h/068.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323627635971308562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 243px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpJsjdeEf61P7j0oBNurAholKi9dpxFt7m0HsE-qVoypFNrlgQnAXBaqypAaTzYOD3PbmeAOasTlUPFS_ivtrcgxKBGr7EdUYa_o706A-Fp7nPNoWHmPdrwVKTmK55Pa4LJX8zBjLqH0/s320/068.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />The crowd cheered every one on as the craft got crazier and crazier. I will post a video of the race in the next couple of days showing some of the other crafts.</p><p>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<p><p>OK, so it is Monday at noon, 2 days after the race, and here is the aforementioned video pared down to meet the 100 mb limit imposed by Blogger. If you see yourself or someone you know in this video and want some video, I may or may not have more of that particular clip that got left on the "cutting room floor". <a href="mailto:jimyaki@hotmail.com">Email</a> me if interested.</p><p></p><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzZCAxPhcGFVUMb_uPMVcgQSqgf9ewIgqhkZjnOUbsyD2nnRg3kx4hcCDZWr0TcegTe4mzvonLGElqf7pkQWQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p></p><p>Port Hope is about an hours drive east of Toronto, it is a fun day for the whole family and today was enjoyed heartily by the participants and the thousands of spectators. This is one of Ontarios outdoor activities that you want to mark on your calendar for next year. This is outdoor dad signing off<br /><br /></p><br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p></div>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2542082338220801609.post-81879631819773563252009-04-05T19:55:00.000-07:002009-04-05T20:26:48.057-07:00Rivers of Rainbows: Part 2Part 1 of this subject left me with a mystery on my hands. I had gone down to see the trout climb the fish ladder at the Goodyear dam a week ago and they had disappeared. Well I still haven't solved it. I was back down with Jake and Isaiah this morning and did see quite a few fish jumping. There was no where near the volume that we had seen ten days before. I did manage to remember my camera and got some video.<br /><br /><p></p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz0ey6Yh3CrCT0_s0sFYeAw4CWqmPBcW1Y6Sf1CUuKFTiCTXthikchNoMYdgP67_rPRaJGAUiWziTBbd13j9A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />As you can see the water level is quite high and in fact is much higher than it was on the thursday of my original post. However the time of day was the same as the friday when I saw nothing. We have had substantial rain in the last few days and that might be a factor. With the high water the only fish visible today were the big ones at least two feet in length. If there is anyone reading this who knows something about what makes them climb the ladders some days and not the others please post a comment or <a href="mailto:jimyaki@hotmail.com">email me</a>.<br />On the fence at the fish ladder is a bunch of poster boards informing the public about the ladder and the dam and how they are in the process of studying improving the fish ladder. Thats all great but it sort of begs the question; Since Goodyear no longer uses the dam for its industrial purpose, why keep it there at all? A stick of dynamite would take care of the dam and eliminate the need for the ladder completely. Just a thought. There are probably good reasons for not doing it. Again comments or emails are welcome.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p align="right"><a href="#top">Top of Page</a></p>outdoor dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15027168353495285022noreply@blogger.com0