24th April
Good turnout for Cleanup Day despite weather
The weather gods did not smile on our Cleanup Day, held on Saturday 20th April. It was cold and windy, and although there were sunny periods, these alternated with periods of rain, hail and even snow pellets at times! Despite the weather, we had a reasonable turnout (I estimate 30-40 people, including some families over a 2 hour period) and cleared away enough garbage to fill a large pile of black plastic bags. Here are Ivor and Valentina in front of our table:
And here are three of the intrepid volunteers. Paul is holding a shovel he found:
Ivor and I in front of the table:
A volunteer who brought her own grabber:
This was the pile of miscellaneous objects found by volunteers at the Glen Cedar footbridge:
I arranged next day for the City to come and collect the pile on Tuesday. Postscript: it was still there today 24th April. All in all we accomplished our objective: to keep the park clear of litter.
During the event, we were visited by our member of provincial parliament, Jill Andrew, seen below at our table with Ivor
and looking out across the park. You can see how cold it was by my “White Pine” hat and gloves:
Two of our nature walk leaders also came out to help: Bob Kortright and Marilyn MacKellar. Our City Councillor, Josh Matlow, provided the gloves and bags for the event. Unfortunately, we packed up early because of the weather and had left by the time he arrived.
Trout lilies appear
I had been waiting for the trout lilies to show themselves. On 19th April, I was able to photograph them in all their glory:
Here is a closeup of an isolated plant:
However, by 21st April cold and windy weather had returned and the plants had mostly closed themselves up:
They were still visible, but had all folded themselves in on themselves:
Japanese cherry trees
Meanwhile, our sakuras (Japanese cherry trees) were somewhat later to appear than those in other, more popular spots, and were pinkish coloured at first:
A few days later, they were in full bloom:
This is looking out towards the playing field:
and these are the ones along the main path:
The original gift from the Japanese government consisted of 16 trees. The City has subsequently added some additional, smaller, ones along beside the tennis courts. On one of the days, a wedding group was using the location for photos:
Our sakuras remain much less known than those at the more popular locations, although apparently this year they were mentioned on CBC radio.
Other spring signs
Other plants and trees are now showing signs of spring. I hope Bob and Rachel will identify all 3 of the plants below on their walk this Saturday 27th:
This tree is just coming into bud beside the cricket pitch. I am told it is probably a tulip tree:
This tree is beside the path in the ravine section. I am told it is a poplar:
Red-winged blackbird seen in cat-tail wetland
On 21st April, I managed to get a not-bad shot of a red-winged blackbird (I think female. I was wrong, it is a male):
Toronto Seniors’ Hiking Club visits park
Back on 11th April, I shot this photo of a large group from the Toronto Seniors’ Hiking Group beside the dog park.
Lake Cedarvale at record size
During the “rainy season” we have just had, “Lake Cedarvale” became about as large as I can remember it:
I hope to see some of you on the guided nature walk led by Bob and Rachel this coming Saturday 27th April!
John Cummings
Friends of Cedarvale 