Travels of Bob & Sharon: Celebrating my "birth-day"

I chose to celebrate my 67th birthday by spending time on nature trails in Toronto and along the paths and boardwalks by Lake Ontario. It was a fantastic day, the sun shone and the grass and leaves were my favourite shade of green. We entered the ravine at mid-town (St. Clair and Mount Pleasant). This ravine, called Mud Creek, was new to us and we walked to The Evergreen Brickworks at Bayview and Pottery Road. This is a favourite eco-site and one that we visit from time to time and have never walked there via the ravines. Evergreen Brickworks was originally a brick-making business in Toronto's youthful days and was abandoned many years ago. The property was purchased a few years ago as an ecological site. The tributaries of the Don River flow through this valley on their journey to Lake Ontario and the environmentalists created settling ponds to purify the water before it enters the lake. The place is rocking with all species of birds and at times, we felt almost bombarded by them as they nose-dived into the grasses and trees around the ponds. A beautiful place!

We then travelled to the waterfront, taking in the new Donlands eco build at Queen and Bayview. This is where some of the activities and residences will be for the Pan Am Games in 2015. We learned that the streets in this area will be patterned after the Norwegian approach, which is for pedestrians, cars and cyclists, to share the same space. We heard about this when we travelled in Oz in 2007 and were fascinated. Apparently it works very well and there are few accidents because everyone has to be aware of and respect each other. We are happy to discover that Toronto is adopting this great idea from Europe!

On to the boardwalk that runs along The Beach area of Toronto. Hundreds of people were enjoying the day by the water, we saw several boats cruising along the shore and there was even a beach volleyball game going on. Leaving the boardwalk, we strolled along the paths to the west of The Beach, by Ashbridges Bay. So many paths and parks to explore in this city and we plan to do just that when we have the time.

Thank you for all your wonderful birthday wishes, cards, flowers, lunches and dinners. It was perfect!

Entering Mud Creek Ravine

So fortunate to catch two bluejays together

Train tracks high above

Huge mushrooms so early in the season

Evergreen Brickworks paths and settling ponds. See
that hill on the other side of the pond?

This is the view of the city from the top of the hill

Hard to believe we are in the middle of the city

The buildings house an organic farmers market on weekends,
a terrific top rated restaurant, shops and a garden market
that specializes in native plants, grasses and trees