My Photo Journal: October Lake at Twilight

O night, O sweetest time, though black of hue,
with peace you force all the restless work to end;
those who exalt you see and understand,
and he is sound of mind who honours you.
You cut the thread of tired thoughts, for so
you offer calm in your moist shade; you send
to this low sphere the dreams where we ascend
up to the highest, where I long to go.
Shadow of death that brings to quiet close
all miseries that plague the heart and soul,
for those in pain the last and best of cures;
you heal the flesh of its infirmities,
dry and our tears and shut away our toil,
and free the good from wrath and fretting cares.
― Michelangelo Buonarroti, Complete Poems and Selected Letters

The hours I spend with you I look upon as sort of a perfumed garden,
a dim twilight, and a fountain singing to it.
You and you alone make me feel that I am alive.
Other men it is said have seen angels, but I have seen thee and thou art enough.
― George Edward Moore

Soft, dusky twilight by the shores of Lake Ontario in October.
© FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: To Live (1)

To live is the rarest thing in the world.
Most people exist, that is all.
― Oscar Wilde

I may not have gone where I intended to go,
but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.
― Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

Finish each day and be done with it.
You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in;
forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day.
You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit
to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Warm and sunny day down by the waterfront at Kiwanis Heydenshore Park in Whitby, Ontario. Heydenshore Pavilion (with the lighthouse a stone's throw away) is located within 15 acres of scenic parkland in Heydenshore Kiwanis Park. The park is on the shore of Lake Ontario adjacent to Whitby Shores Waterfront Trail, with a spectacular view of the lake from its open patio.

Starting in 2023, the historic Pump House on Whitby’s waterfront got a new lease on life when Town Brewery was awarded a five-year food and beverage pop-up licence to open the Waterfront Beer Garden. The restaurant is now closed for the season (re-opening May 2025) but the park remains busy with families that want to savour the still-mild October days.

© FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Just a Little Early Autumn Stroll

Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness.
― Pearl S. Buck

I am content; that is a blessing greater than riches;
and he to whom that is given need ask no more.
― Henry Fielding

Two contented-looking ducks taking an early autumn stroll at the Ed Broadbent Waterfront Park in Oshawa, Ontario.

Photo © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.


Public domain poem is from my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

My Photo Journal: Two Habitats (A Juxtaposition)

We forget, in a world completely transformed by man,
that what we’re looking at is not necessarily the environment wildlife prefer,
but the depleted remnant that wildlife is having to cope with:
what it has is not necessarily what it wants.
― Isabella Tree, Wilding

We will spend billions making inhospitable distant planets habitable.
And yet we spend trillions destroying the abundant ingredients for life on our home planet.
― Freequill

A photo taken many years ago showing two different types of dwellings that we stumbled upon as we were wandering in the area around the Music Gardens in downtown Toronto, a small park fronting on its ineer harbour. I am not sure if the magnificent bird house is still there but it would be lovely if it was!

Photos © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Red-winged Blackbird in a Wildflower Meadow

FLOWERS AND WEEDS
by GEORGE COOPER
(originally published March 8, 1887)

HAVE you ever heard what the fairies say,
Little girl, little boy? Oh, hear and heed!
For each smile you wear on your face today
There's a flower grows; for each frown a weed.

So to make this world like a garden bright,
Little girl, little boy, keep frowns away.
Oh, the loving lips that can say tonight,
We have scattered flowers o'er the earth today!

The image above shows a red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) perched on top of a wildflower stalk (it looks like a goldenrod not yet in bloom).

These throwback photos were taken in 2012 on a walk through the DuPont Gordon Richards Park located near the waterfront in Whitby, Ontario. The park is a great place to spot many diffent types of birds and wildflowers, such as the strikingly pretty but incredibly invasive broad-leaved everlasting-pea or Lathyrus latifolius (below).

I hope you are enjoying beautiful weather where you are and wish you many hours of walking along happy trails filled with birdsong every step of your way.

Photos © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.


Public domain poem is from my personal collection of ephemera. These images are to be incorporated into your creative endeavors and not for resale or re-distribution "as-is". Please credit FieldandGarden.com as your source when sharing or publishing.

My Photo Journal: Morning Light at Stone Street Park

These are the magic moments that you will remember on your deathbed.
The things that made life worth living. Your first love, the birth of your child,
achieving that lifelong dream, sharing great food and sights with friends and loved ones.
— Richard Heart

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people
when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers,
and when they realize at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit,
and that its center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.
― Black Elk
Throwback photo of a bare willow tree in morning light at Stone Street Park in Oshawa. Stone Street Park is a large park along the Oshawa segment of the 1400-km Great Lakes Waterfront Trail. The Oshawa portion of the Waterfront Trail runs along Lake Ontario for 15.5 km from the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve to Whitby Harbour. The ever-changing views along the water at Stone Street Park make it one of our favourite destinations to walk the dog.

© FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Morning Light at Lakeview Park

If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy.
If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem.
But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world
and a desire to enjoy the world.
This makes it hard to plan the day.
— E.B. White

A crisp and brilliant morning at Lakeview Park in Oshawa. This is one of our favourite parks to walk in with the dog; it has lots of paved paths from which you can see and hear the water of Lake Ontario. Easily one of the most popular and accessible parks in the city.

All photos © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Trees at Orono Crown Lands

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Perfect weather for a nature walk through the Orono Crown Lands; the day was bright and sunny with just enough wind to keep the walk from getting unpleasantly hot. We took the Purple and Pink Loops today which meant we didn't get to walk beside Wilmot Creek. If possible, we aim to try the Red or Orange Loops next weekend as the path along the water can be very pretty.

All photos © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Signs of Spring at the Oshawa Valley Botanical Garden

In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.
― Mark Twain
Well, yesterday was a wild one, weather wise. Rain, slush, a smattering of snow that I thought was going to turn into hail... Yet somehow, I felt more cheerful than I would have even if I had encountered the same conditions a month and a half ago (when I thought winter would never end).

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.
― Doug Larson
No kidding, Doug! Isn't spring wonderful? Here are a couple of shots of emerging peony shoots at the Oshawa Valley Botanical Garden that I took last year. I haven't been back there yet to take pictures of them this year because it's been so wet and windy but I think I might just try today. The sun is out and I feel like whistling as I meander down some peony paths...

© FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Erythronium americanum (Trout Lily or Adder's Tongue)

Dancing faces you towards Heaven, whichever direction you turn.
― Terri Guillemets
I took the picture above while on a family walk at Toronto's G. Lord Ross Park, located in the West Don River valley north of Finch Avenue. This is a great park for a long walk with the dog as it has an extensive nature trail. We especially love it in the spring when you can see the vegetation coming back to life and in the fall for the amazing colours on the trees!

Also called adder's tongue, the yellow trout-lily (Erythronium americanum) is one of the earliest wildflowers you will see in spring, sometimes appearing even while there is still snow on the ground. This particular picture is somewhat unusual because it shows the flower with its head tossed confidently back, unlike its usual tendency of nodding shyly on its thin, gangly stalk, its face hidden away from you. Since the blooms are diminutive and shrink timidly into the embrace of deep layers of dead leaves, you really have to look closely to detect this ephemeral wildflower. You will have better luck locating it by looking for its green and brown spotted leaves that makes the plant look like it has tied an army jacket around its waist!

Here is a wonderful article on this little flower's name origins and how to propagate trout lilies in your backyard garden from the Canadian Wildlife Federation. Have you ever spotted this plant? Leave a comment and let us know!

© 2020 FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved. (Originally published in 2016.)

My Photo Journal: As Maples Bloom

The maple trees are in full flower in Toronto, lighting up the surroundings with their sunny blooms. Individually, these flowers are small, barely even covering the palm of my 3 year-old daughter's hand. Collectively, they shroud each maple tree in a cloud of golden yellow and can be extremely striking from a distance. These flowers mature into maple "keys" which soar easily when the winds blow them helter-skelter, and are great fun for kids as they fling these "helicopters" and watch them spin through the air. Probably not as much fun for an ardent gardener as these keys take root very easily wherever they land!

I really liked the Rainer Maria Rilke quote that I used in the second picture, and tried to find the poem where it was supposed to have been taken. After scouring the Internet, I discovered that he never actually wrote those exact lines! The closest version I could find was a translation by Robert Temple of the following stanza from "The Sonnets to Orpheus":
Spring has come again.
The Earth is like a child that has learned to recite a poem;
No, - many, many.
And for the difficulty
Of learning them now, the prize is bestowed.
It was quite disconcerting, in a way, and I wondered if I should use the more accurate translation. In the end, I decided to leave the quote as-is since it appears quite frequently in popular quotation databases, and I felt that the sentiment suited the image nicely! Let's just chalk it up to poetic licence! :)

© 2019 FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved. (Originally published 2012.)

My Photo Journal: American Dagger Moth Caterpillar at Black Creek Pioneer Village

Remember what I said after we escaped unscathed from the encounter with a White-Marked Tussock Moth (Orgyia leucostigma) caterpillar at Rouge Park? Never again, I lectured my family, will we pick up unknown creepy-crawlies, and let them roam unchecked over bare skin where they could cause bumps, rashes, welts or worse. I went on along this line of reasoning for at least ten minutes, ad nauseam, and I saw two heads bob in agreement that of course, I was absolutely right.

Well, guess what?

The two "kids" - my husband, the gleefully bug-obsessed, and my daughter, the intrepidly curious - almost stepped on this fuzzy, bright yellow caterpillar with black, spiky "hair" as we were walking through the grass in front of Burwick House at Black Creek Pioneer Village. Since there was a pretty big horde of pre-schoolers and summer campers running around (we had seen two big school buses pull up with them when we arrived), the caterpillar naturally had to be "rescued" so it wouldn't get trampled if a stampede should ensue! Whether it was dumb luck, tough skin, mutant genes or a combination of all three, the audacious duo once more escaped unharmed from handling the furry critter.

According to a Google search, the hairs or setae of the American Dagger Moth (Acronicta americana) caterpillar can trigger mild to severe reactions in people. It seems to affect children more (I guess they are less tolerant of the toxin contained in the black "spikes") so I wouldn't advise letting your child touch it unless you're prepared to risk a possible trip to the doctor. Here is a somewhat old but really good link to a post and comments about the caterpillar's behavior and lifecycle, and here is a post from Kelly, a Cincinnati mom whose son did experience a reaction. You can also find a link to "stinging" caterpillars in Kelly's post.

I probably won't be able to stop my husband and daughter from touching or handling any more creatures they find in the wild - both are extremely inquisitive - so I guess the next best thing is to stay informed and educated about the different species we might come across. Come to think of it, investing in a few pairs of fine latex gloves might not be a bad idea either! :)

(This post was originally published in August 2012.) © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Day Trip to Rouge Park

Having been so busy with work, school and camp these last few weeks, we haven't had much time to go for long family walks like we usually do. Last Sunday being the one day in a long while since we had nothing pressing on the agenda, we decided to head to Rouge Park for some hiking. Rouge Park is considered one of Toronto's best-kept secrets; located just twenty minutes (on a good day) from the downtown core, this green space provides kids and grown-ups with plenty of opportunities to enjoy myriad outdoor activities in its more than 40 square kilometres. This area was recently declared a national urban park, the first of its kind in Canada. This means that it will receive funding from the federal government, thus helping to ensure the longevity and sustainability of a much-needed bastion against urban sprawl.

We're the most familiar with the Glen Rouge Trailhead entrance, which is also the site of the Glen Rouge Campground, located at 7450 Kingston Road in the GTA's extreme east end, near the Scarborough-Pickering border. You can find some trail maps here. The park also offers guided nature hikes, which is great if you're a new visitor, and unsure of where to explore first.

Once we were parked, my daughter was raring to go despite the sweltering heat (oh, to be three again). We managed to slow her down long enough to slather on the requisite sunscreen and insect repellent. It was during this process that we noticed a "cute" caterpillar, looking pathetically lost (and hot) on top of a metal recycling receptacle. Being a veteran animal rescuer (too many Dora and Diego DVDs; if you're a parent, you'll know what I mean), my daughter immediately wanted to help it find its way back home to a nice tree.

We didn't realize until later that this was the caterpillar of the white-marked tussock moth, and that the hairs/bristles could cause an allergic reaction in some people. My husband and daughter didn't experience any adverse effects from handling it but I don't think we'll be taking any more chances on "rescuing" wildlife that we don't recognize!

This portion of Rouge Park seems particularly popular with pole trekkers so you'll see large groups of them moving at a brisk pace with their hiking poles, awash in gregarious camaraderie. They are very friendly and never fail to shower you with cheerful "Hellos" and "Good mornings" as you pass; their joy is slightly surreal but highly infectious, and leaves us with smiles on our faces.

The terrain gets quite hilly in a couple of places but most of the time, the slopes are gentle enough for a three year-old and a forty-something with creaky knees to handle. Here and there, you can see the results of erosion - trees with twisted and gnarled roots perch precariously atop ground that has washed away.

Once you've climbed past the hilly parts, the forest does offer up long stretches of even, meandering paths where three year-olds can run, hop, jump and skip to their heart's content while her parents enjoy relatively uninterrupted moments of civilized conversation. The day we were there, sudden but brief summer cloudbursts had amplified the smell of rotting vegetation, and the aroma of wild mushrooms punctuate the air with pithy pungency. There are lots of fallen logs for my daughter to clamber over, to use as balance beams, and irresistibly, as pirate gangplanks (there are also stumps of varying heights that make for great lookout points). We always stay on the path; I've had one run-in with poison ivy when I got a little carried away with trying to take a picture of a chipmunk and have no intention of repeating that painful episode!

After an hour or so on the trail, we decide to turn around. Although it has been fairly cool under the trees, the humidity is getting to us, and we're ready for refreshments. About a fifteen minute drive away from the Glen Rouge Campground is MacMillan Orchards, located at 733 Kingston Road East in the neighboring municipality of Ajax, Ontario (not to be confused with another MacMillan Orchards in Acton, Ontario). We're in the mood for some frozen yogurt, which MacMillan makes in-house. They are quite generous with the frozen fruit that you can add to your icy treat and the result is a rich, creamy, not-too-sweet thirst-quencher that is supremely satisfying!

MacMillan also sells a variety of frozen pies, vegetables and meat. We pick up a sugar-free cherry pie for my husband while my daughter selects a rhubarb and Saskatoon berry pie, and some baby-sized red velvet cupcakes (I let her get away with it since she did have quite the workout). We leave the country store happy and satisfied with the morning outing, knowing we still have goodies to look forward to that night as well as a couple of days to come! Don't you just love long, drawn-out happiness? :)

(This post was originally published in July 2012.) © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: To Sail Away (or An Imaginary Foray in Pursuit of Happiness)

Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves.
― Carol Lynn Pearson

Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it.
― Alexandre Dumas
The first image was taken at Ward's Island Beach in the summer of 2011. The Toronto Islands beaches are among the cleanest in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) despite their proximity to the downtown core. We took a tent with us that day, a good thing since we experienced one of the biggest thunderstorms of the season that afternoon! Despite strong wind gusts and lashing rain, our tent held firm and we stayed dry and cozy for the hour or so that the weather raged over us. My daughter was pretty unfazed during the whole episode, and thought it was a pretty cool to have snacks and work on jigsaw puzzles with rain drumming on the roof of the tent. The dog, however, was not that impressed! :) I took the shot of the lake about half an hour after the storm had passed and the cruise ship was making its rounds again. I waded out to the water until I was about thigh-deep to try and get a nearer shot of the boat (I only had my 35mm camera lens with me that day) but that was about the best close-up shot I could get.

The second picture was post-processed in Photoshop CS4, using textures from Shadowhouse, Flypaper, and Florabella. I "stamped" the dragon onto the composition using a Photoshop brush I had made of a vintage illustration in a 1906 book entitled "Fictitious and Symbolic Creatures in Art". If you would like to download the brush for personal use only, you can click on this link.

(This post was originally published in July 2011.) © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Giselle or A Swan at the Toronto Zoo

"Giselle" straight out of camera (SOOC)
Swans have a long history in many world cultures, usually known to represent beauty, purity, perfection and grace. In Greek mythology, the swan is associated with Aphrodite and is a symbol of chastity. The Celts believed swans were benevolent deities and would forge their images into silver medallions that could be worn around the neck for protection. Swans are also revered in Hinduism, and compared to saintly persons who have attained great spiritual capabilities.

These elegant birds can pair for years, and are often a symbol of love or fidelity because of their long-lasting, apparently monogamous relationships. I took a picture of this swan at our last family outing to the Toronto Zoo on Saturday, April 9. It seemed quite lonely and sad, and reminded me of the heroine in the ballet Giselle (who wasn't a swan but rather a peasant girl who had met an untimely death). It's fairly uncommon to see a lone swan here in Ontario - we've mostly seen them in twos, threes or a whole flock and we were hoping to perhaps glimpse its companion but none appeared in the half hour or so that we were meandering around the stream. As we headed towards the parking lot, I saw it drift into a clump of bushes with plaintive cries. It was quite heartbreaking! I like to imagine it finding a mate, and living happily ever after. Foolishly sentimental, perhaps but as Voltaire said, "Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and embroidered by imagination."

The SOOC (straight-out-of-camera) shot was post-processed in Photoshop CS4 with the following recipe:
(1) Assign Profile to Adobe RGB 1998
(2) Florabella Textures III --> Seaside (Flip vertical, Multiply @ 50%).
(3) Flypaper Textures, Spring Painterly pack --> Ovid Banished (Flip horizontal, Lighten @ 75%)
(4) Flypaper Textures, Spring Painterly pack --> Ovid Banished (Multiply @ 25%)
(5) Flypaper Textures, Spring Painterly pack --> Apple Moss (Multiply @ 75%)
(6) Photoshop -> Levels and Curves adjustment
(7) Added back Apple Moss @ Multiply 30% at this point because the image looked a bit too light and faded, and just re-boosted the colors/contrast with some tweaking in Levels

© 2019 FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved. (Originally published 2014.)

My Photo Journal: Winter Play at Earl Bales

All walking is discovery.
On foot we take the time to see things whole.
― Hal Borland
Taken on the last snow day we had in Toronto. The colored tubes and the purple moose sculpture are part of the Sarah and Morris Feldman Sensory Garden and children's playground at Earl Bales Park in the North York neighborhood. Apart from the children's area, there is an off-leash area for dogs, and the park is also home to the Earl Bales Ski & Snowboard Centre (also called the North York Ski Centre), one of the only two ski hills in the GTA (the other one is in Etobicoke). You can get some really good exercise around here since the park is quite hilly. There are paved paths as well as wooded trails although I wouldn't go on the paths if they're icy since some of the slopes are pretty steep. The sensory garden and playground easily keep my 3 year-old daughter occupied for a couple of hours, and there are also a few good spots where we can play hide-and-seek. :) We definitely find Earl Bales to be one of the best parks in Toronto for a kid who has energy to spare!

(This post was originally published in March 2012.) © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Winter Foliage at Alexander Muir

What fire could ever equal the sunshine of a winter's day?
― Henry David Thoreau

With the amazingly good weather over the past few days (double-digits and sunny), it's felt more like summer than winter in Toronto. It's somewhat disconcerting, therefore, to look around and still see monochromatic foliage when bursts of brightly-colored annuals might seem more appropriate for the unseasonally warm temperatures.

Not having shot a lot of photos in the Alexander Muir Memorial Gardens during the winter months, I thought I'd take the opportunity to get in a couple of late winter foliage shots before the city crew spruces up the park, and all the spring bulbs and early perennials start pushing their heads through the dark earth. If you've never been to this beautiful green space in the Yonge and Lawrence neighborhood, be sure to check it out for its easy walkability (especially with a 3 year-old), friendly dog owners, and the architecturally interesting buildings that can be glimpsed all around the park as you meander down the adequately maintained paths.

If you take the subway, just get off at the Lawrence stop, then walk south on Yonge, past Lawrence until you see the Locke Public Library. You can wander down to the playground in the little valley behind Locke and continue heading south from here. When driving, we tend to park on Lympstone Avenue, just right off Yonge. From here, we generally trot down into the mini ravine that runs parallel to St. Edmunds Drive, then uphill again where St. Edmunds turns in a loop back to Yonge. Cross from the north side of St. Edmunds to the south side (watch out for crazy drivers barrelling around the bend in their BMWs, Audis and assorted luxury cars), and you will be able to enter the Gardens through a series of little stone steps to the left of the park sign. We usually walk across the Gardens towards Mount Pleasant Road and Blythwood Road, and turn around once we reach the bridge that marks the entrance into Blythwood Ravine Park. I think that when my wee one is a little older and feeling more ambitious, we may continue onto Blythwood and tackle the Sherwood Park Reach. To get walking directions for this latter stretch and other walks as well as a guide to historic houses and points of interest along the mapped routes, be sure to browse through the Lost River Walks website. It's such a wonderful resource for urban walkers!

(This post was originally published in February 2012.) © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.

My Photo Journal: Hardly Winter!

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me
there lay an invincible summer.
― Albert Camus
We've been extremely lucky this winter - it has hardly snowed at all and even when it has, warm temperatures quickly follow so no accumulation remains on the ground. We've had enough snow to make snowgirls - Snow Mattie, Snow Daisy and Snow Alice (the last two being my daughter's invisible companions; yes, I know, we need to find her some real friends) - but we haven't had to endure drawn-out stretches of bitterly biting gales, treacherously slippery sidewalks or dreary-drabby gray days. Best of all, we've been able to get outside for more walks than we normally would during this curmudgeonly season. It's made it easier to stay more upbeat; I generally find the winter months quite oppressive and it can be a challenge to search for thoughts and images that remind me of happier, balmier times.

These photos were taken at Rotary Park in Ajax, Ontario on one of the warmest winter days on record. The sun shining on our heads and the stinging purity of the lung-cleansing cold air combined to fill us with giddy exhilaration. Monochromes startled with unseasonal vibrancy, and wildlife partied it up with hisses, honks, flaps and swishes. The light was incredible and winter played dress-up in the guise of its torrid, sultry cousin. Feeling indomitable, I marched along the parkways and learned that indeed, I did have within me, an invincible summer.

(This post was originally published in January 2011.) © FieldandGarden.com. All rights reserved.