Cleanup Day in snow; trout lilies appear; Japanese cherry trees blossom; other spring signs; blackbird sighting; Toronto Seniors’ Hiking Club visits; Lake Cedarvale

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

Bird sightings; tree growing along ground; another sapling planting; trees torn up by snow plow; early flowers blooming; objects people throw into park; new member in Friday litter pickup group

8th April

Bird sightings in the ravine

Recently, I met a quartet of photographers in the ravine, all armed with those large, professional-looking cameras. I guessed they were bird-watchers and asked if they had seen any interesting birds. One of them,  Arthur Gron, later sent me the photos below. The first is of a merlin:

Merlins are small, fierce falcons, broader and stockier than the slightly smaller American kestrel; they use surprise attacks to bring down small songbirds.

The second bird is a hermit thrush:

It is described as a medium-sized thrush, with rather inconspicuous colouring; it takes its name from its tendency to hide away inside forests. You can listen to recordings of its long, interesting song.

And the third is of a red-bellied woodpecker, first from the back:

and then from the side:

This woodpecker is about the same size as the hairy woodpecker. Its name is somewhat of a misnomer. It has a red head, but there is already a species called red-headed woodpecker. The red-bellied woodpecker does have a reddish tinge to its belly. but this is only observable to a trained birder. I am sure Arthur is one of these! Thanks, Arthur, for letting me use these excellent photos!

Tree growing along ground

As you may have gathered, I meet a lot of interesting people in the park. I know another photographer, Karl Vigelius, from previous meetings. He had told me about a tree that grows sideways along the ground. I met him near it recently and he identified it for me. It is in the gully down from the Strathearn Rd side of the park. You can see the houses of that street in the background. Here is where it starts:

It then continues along the ground:

extends further:

and finally rears up into the air to catch the sunlight.  Apparently, it also grows new roots into the ground from the horizontal section.

City both plants and destroys trees

Somewhere back in the blog, I have a photo of a line of trees that a City contractor planted between the outdoor skating rink and Wyndley Ave, with the idea of mitigating the sound from the rink for the houses on that street. More recently, another City contractor, this time moving snow at the back of the arena, knocked down several of these trees over after the recent snowfall:

This is another:

And this is yet another, broken off at the top:

Maybe the City should coordinate the activities of its contractors!

Another oak sapling planted on ravine slope

With the permission of the owners, Ivor Simmons and I recently planted another oak sapling, grown from an acorn taken from the park, on the ravine slope behind another house on Heathdale. It accompanies two others that the owners had already moved to their ravine slope.

Early flowers blooming well

Coltsfoot is one of the earliest flowers to arrive in the ravine. There are now several places where they are blooming well:

Here is another:

This photo was taken on 6th April close to the wooden bridge between the Bathurst St bridge and the Glenayr entrance:

This is scilla, between the path and Glenayr:

More of the same:

What will they throw into the park next?

A favourite spot for people to throw objects into the ravine is the Glen Cedar footbridge. On 6th April, I found this metal lantern with its glass all broken below the bridge. I cleared up the broken glass and carried it and the lantern frame to the garbage container at Glenayr. I took a photo of the lantern before putting it in the garbage:

Watch your head next time you are passing under the Glen Cedar footbridge!

Friday litter pickup group welcomes new member

On Friday 5th April, the litter pickup group expanded to include our new  Steering Committee member and Secretary, Valentina Gastaldo. Below from left to right we are Valentina, Alan Madras, David Raymont and me:

If the Friday group were ever all there, we would now be 6 people. I have to buy some more grabbers, using the funds raised in our fundraising drive.

Postscript 8th April: the solar eclipse was largely obscured by cloud today. However, a large crowd turned out and experienced the sudden dark period at 3.19 pm. More in my next post

John Cummings

Raven on bridge; “konkaree”; more sewer cleaning; spring flowers early; abandoned bicycle; hammock; oak sapling planted on ravine slope

20th March

Raven recorded on Glen Cedar bridge

I met my friend Daniel Hendrickson in the ravine recently and he agreed to send me a video he shot on his phone of a raven perched on the railing of the Glen Cedar footbridge. Here is the link to it on our YouTube channel:

Here is a stock photo of a raven:

“Konkaree”

Talking of birds, the red-winged blackbirds were back in the cat-tail wetland early this year. “Konkaree” is one transliteration of their song. Here is a stock photo of one of them:

More sewer cleaning

On Friday 15th March, our litter-pickup group was surprised to see this sight on the toboggan run down from Heathdale/Humewood:

It is a new method of cleaning the trunk sewer under the park using steam injection.  The steam is created at one location and blown through the sewer pipe to soften and absorb the accumulated stuff in the pipe. Here is the contractor’s equipment on Heathdale:

Here is one of the guys consulting his laptop:

He described what they were doing as “rehabbing” the trunk sewer. And here are all three of them, plus Barbara Sternberg, one of our team:

Spring flowers arrive early

By now we are all aware that last year and this year so far have been exceptionally warm, most likely because of climate change. As a result, the flowers are all appearing early. Here are the crocuses close to the Ava Rd entrance, seen on 12th March:

Closeup of some of them:

Another early arrival is coltsfoot, seen here on 13th March beside the path parallel to Strathearn:

Here is a solitary one next to the small wooden bridge between the Bathurst St bridge and the Glenayr entrance:

These two were in the same location:

as were these three:

They have all now shrivelled up in this cold weather. The next to arrive will likely be the trout lilies.

Abandoned bicycle

On 12th March, I observed this abandoned bicycle beside the path close to the Ava Rd entrance. It was unlocked.

The next day, 13th March, it had moved to another location between the dog park and the Glen Cedar footbridge, again unlocked:

Then it disappeared. I hope its owner found it, but somehow I doubt it.

Pleasant resting place

Someone was preparing for a pleasant rest in their hammock, hung up in one of the willow trees in the cat-tail wetland. You can see their foot above it:

Oak sapling planted on ravine slope

I am pleased to report that on 14th March, at the request of the homeowner, Ivor Simmons and I transplanted an oak sapling from Ivor’s garden to the ravine slope behind 44 Heathdale Rd. With advice from Eric Davies of UofT Forestry, and permission from Urban Forestry, the owner had removed all the non-native trees from the site (mainly Norway maple) and had already planted some of the oak saplings grown on his property. This was an additional oak, going back to Cedarvale Ravine, where its acorn had been taken from. The photo below shows one of the most successful of our oak sapling plantings in front of 40 Heathdale last year:

This is what should be happening on the slopes on both sides of the ravine, with the encouragement and direction of the TRCA and Urban  Forestry.

In my next blog post: a tree that grows along the ground.

John Cummings

Friday litter group hard at it; cardinal sighting; evidence of coyotes; more snow scenes; TTC meets dog walkers?

29th February

Friday Litter Pickup Group photographed

On Friday 23rd February, the Friday litter pickup group welcomed Filip Vukcevic, our unofficial photographer, to record our efforts. Here I am in front of the cricket pitch with new member John Kneller and member Barbara Sternberg:

By some weird coincidence, John, Barbara and Filip are all involved in various aspects of film-making. Barbara is an independent film-maker:

Her web site is:

https://www.barbarasternberg.com

John teaches film at Sheridan College in Oakville:

Filip works as a photographer and video maker. He made nearly all the videos on our web site. He can be found at:

https://www.fvfmedia.com

I merely provide the grabbers for the group:

One thing we particularly dislike is finding doggy-poo bags like this:

If you go to the trouble of putting the poo in bags, why not then put the bags in the appropriate container?

We fill bags with litter and empty them out when we come to a garbage container:

Here we are again with the Heathdale houses up at the top of the ravine:

After the litter pickup, I met up with two Parks officials to discuss possible future invasives removals and replacement plantings, and guided nature walks led by them.

On the next day, Saturday 24th February, John took Barbara and me out for a hike on two sections of the Bruce Trail on the Niagara Peninsula. It was a great day out in below freezing temperatures but bright sunshine!

Cardinal sighting

While on the litter pickup, Filip got a good shot of a cardinal:

Evidence coyotes are around

Also on the same day, Filip took this shot right on the main path proving the coyotes are around:

I have also had several people tell me they have seen and/or heard the coyotes recently.

More winter scenes

On Tuesday 20th February, the sun was low in the sky on my usual patrol through the park. This shot is off the path parallel to Strathearn:

This is the same area:

This is the gully between the Strathearn path and the playing field:

There are several mature trees beside this gully.  They somehow survived the clearance of the ravine for the Spadina Expressway:

There were similar striking low sun effects off the path between the Glen Cedar and Bathurst St bridges:

Looking up from the path towards Heathdale:

The red osier dogwoods are already starting to show their red stems:

Red berries (I think highbush cranberry) show up well against the yellow willow trees in the cat-tail wetland:

TTC meets dog walkers

These TTC people seem to be having a conversation with a passing dog-walker:

Looking forward to meeting some of you as usual in the park!

John Cummings

Tree-cutting in both Cedarvale and Nordheimer ravines; visit to Nordheimer; coyotes reported; no further news on oaks behind Heathdale; thanks to Cait Cuthbert

12th February

Chain-saws at work in both sections of ravine

In early February, crews were at work in both Cedarvale and Nordheimer ravines cutting trees.

On 5th February, at the Glenayr entrance to Cedarvale Ravine, I observed a contractor crew taking down several large trees. This guy was getting ready to scale the tree:

Here he is half-way up it:

After that, I moved away and he lopped the top off the tree. The rest of the crew was busy hauling the lopped tree pieces and branches away

to the chipper:

On the path between the Bathurst St and Glen Cedar bridges, the horizontal willow tree that the children like to climb has been chopped back:

And in the area beside the small green pond, this fallen tree has been lopped:

In the Nordheimer Ravine, City crews have been at work removing three types of invasive non-native trees: Manitoba and Norway maple, and Common Buckthorn. There were piles of slash along both sides of the path between St Clair Ave W and Spadina Rd:

There were also stumps all over the place:

More slash piles on the other side:

More stumps:

In fact there were stumps and slash piles everywhere:

On the day I was there, the explanatory sign misleadingly said they were removing Japanese knotweed:

I reported this to my contacts, and fairly soon the signs were replaced with this sign:

The sign also gave the reason for their removal. The plan is to replace these invasive trees with plantings of native trees and bushes.

Visit to Nordheimer

I decided while there to have a quick tour outside my normal patrol area in Cedarvale. There has been a blockage to the creek that runs under the path just before the Spadina bridge. This has caused water to overflow the path, making it difficult to get through. As a result, no one was around:

I always like to visit this small permanent creek that runs parallel to the path on the north side. It runs into the trunk sewer via this grating:

On the other side is an area where many different native plants have been put in, including skunk cabbage. However, at this time of year, there was still snow on the ground:

I always admire this mural on the TTC entrance below St Clair:

Coyote sightings

Several people have reported coyote sightings in Cedarvale Park to me, including most recently Deborah Ann Harrison (with a recording of them).

Oak trees behind Heathdale

We have no further update on these, but are awaiting a reply from our contacts at City Hall. They are waiting for a response from Urban Forestry.

Thanks to Cait Cuthbert, welcome Valentina Gastaldo

Cait is handing over her duties to Valentina Gastaldo. Cait took over, maintained and improved our web site, set up our MailChimp and YouTube accounts, produced our posters and acted in general as our IT advisor. Many thanks to you, Cait! We will miss you! And welcome to Valentina, who is also joining our Steering Committee!

John Cummings

Oaks behind Heathdale revisited; watery scenes; more sewer cleaning; TTC cuts tree; sign behind Strathearn

2nd February

Oaks behind Heathdale still threatened

On 29th January. I paid another visit, late in the afternoon, to the oaks behind Heathdale Rd that are threatened by construction of a swimming pool in the property next to them.  In the words of an arborist who observed them, they form an “extraordinary” stand of 15 old-growth oak trees, unparalleled by anything else in the ravine. Here are most of them, in late afternoon sunlight:

They are all red oaks, except for one white oak. Two of them are leaning significantly towards the houses. These trees could be more affected by damage to their roots from construction than vertical trees. The one closest to the camera is one of the trees that would be “injured”:

Here are more of them from further back:

Down below in the ravine is an example of what can happen to a tree on the steep ravine slope, for several reasons, including erosion:

One tree has a significant cavity, but is showing new growth all around it; apparently, this will eventually cover over the cavity and the tree will regain its strength:

We continue to try and find out about the status of the application to Urban Forestry to “injure” 8 of these trees. We have alerted Councillor Josh Matlow’s office and they are looking into it. I will keep you posted.

Watery scenes

On Sunday 28th January, I patrolled the park in very wet conditions. “Lake Cedarvale” had expanded considerably:

The small runoff creek beside the path at the north end of the upper playing field looked like a small river

flowing down to a small lake:

Another small river flowed into the wetland area next to the “Cross Roads”:

The path through the ravine was icy and treacherous:

This is it further along:

Down towards the Glenayr entrance, a rivulet had carved its way across the path:

and through the snow on the other side:

There was even a trickle of water flowing down beside the steps into Suydam Park:

More sewer cleaning

The trunk sewer under the ravine always seems to need cleaning. The work is done by various companies. On Wednesday 24th January, I noticed this one working at the Ava Rd entrance. It is CWW or Clean Water Works of Ottawa.

This guy did not want to be photographed and turned away:

You can see the cover of the service hole is off. Here is their truck

and trailer:

Did the TTC need some firewood?

On the same day, I noticed this stump beside the TTC building at the Glenayr entrance:

The TTC seemed to have gone to a lot of trouble to build a fence beside the stump for some reason known only to them:

And they had chopped up the tree for firewood:

Where did this sign come from?

I noticed this sign in the backyard of one of the houses on Strathearn:

I think I know where it came from. But I also believe there are several places with scenic caves.

Tree-cutting in Nordheimer

The City has carried out a considerable amount of tree-cutting in the Nordheimer Ravine between St Clair W and Spadina Rd. I have photos and am investigating. I will report in my next blog post.

John Cummings

Tree down in Suydam Park; tree damaged Glen Cedar bridge; greenery among icy conditions; nature walk dates set

20th January

Large tree falls in Suydam Park

On Saturday 13th January, coming out of Cedarvale Park into Suydam Park on my way to Spadina Rd, I came across the sight of a large tree that had fallen right across the path:

It had also pushed over the fence of the property at the side:

The City was very quick to get in and chop up the fallen tree. This photo was taken on Monday 15th:

Here is a closer view:

By the following day, even these branches had been cleared away.

Earlier damage caused by fallen tree

The Suydam Park tree damage reminded me that a fallen tree branch had damaged the railing of the Glen Cedar footbridge some time ago. I visited the bridge on 15th January and took this picture:

This is the bent rail from another angle:

The branch was big enough that it also damaged the rail on the other side:

Presumably, at some point the City will replace these damaged rails.

Icy conditions contrast with patches of greenery

Back to Saturday 13th August: conditions in the park were a study in contrasts. On the one hand, this was the view of a frozen “Lake Cedarvale”:

It is hard to recollect the summer cricket matches being played in this same place.

On the other hand, in some places it had been so mild that green patches were starting to emerge:

This was another area close to the Bathurst St bridge:

Another view in the same area:

Yet further on along the path I encountered difficult walking conditions where the crampon-like attachments to my shoes came in handy:

In some places, little rivulets were running:

All of this has subsequently been covered over by a fresh layer of snow. Some stretches of the ravine path where water had melted are now pure ice. I am still going through the ravine most days, but there are few people about.

Guided nature walks set up

Three guided nature walks have been set up. Bob Kortright and Rachel Gottesman will lead one on Saturday 27th April. Marilyn MacKellar will lead one on Saturday 11th May. Stephen Smith of Urban Forestry and Ecological Restoration will lead another on Sunday 19th May. All three walks start at 2 pm. They are now up on the web site.

Oak trees behind Heathdale Rd

I do not have an update yet on this topic. I hope to have some news soon.

John Cummings

Garbage container burned; watery scenes; mystery barrels; mystery theodolite; tobogganing and wintry scenes a week apart

9th January 2024

Garbage container burned

On New Year’s Day, I encountered this sight  at Heathdale/Humewood:

It is the remains of the garbage container. I surmise that live fireworks were thrown in the container and set it on fire. Here is another view:The burned container has now been replaced. There was very little mess from fireworks left in the rest of the park.

Watery scenes

“Lake Cedarvale” reappeared on 24th December:

There were other watery scenes that day in the park. This was the runoff creek flowing into the sewer below the Bathurst street bridge:

This was the creek beside the path near the side path to Suydam Park and Spadina Rd:

In case you were wondering about the object at the right side of the photo, this is it on an earlier, brighter day:

Mystery barrels

At the site of previous drilling activity near the dog park, I observed these mystery barrels on 28th December; they are still there. I have no idea if they contain liquid removed by the drilling or liquid to be used in some future activity:

Mystery theodolite

On 30th December, I came upon this mystery theodolite abandoned near the steps up to Suydam Park:

No one was around. It could easily have been stolen. It was gone the next day.

Tobogganing starts

There was very little snow on 1st January at the toboggan run, but enough for a few enthusiasts to test their skill on the run:

Wintry scenes

On the same day, I shot some wintry scenes. This one is looking over the cricket pitch to the dog park:

This was shot in the gully between the path parallel to Strathearn Rd and the playing field:

This is in the same area:

More tobogganing and wintry scenes

On Sunday 7th January, we had another snowfall and  I shot further tobogganing scenes in not very good light. This is Heathdale Rd, looking east:

This is the same view, looking west

Looking along the path down to the arena:

The view across from the dog park:

Temperatures have been well above normal and the snow is turning to slush. Time to get the wellies out!

Oak trees behind Heathdale Rd

I do not have any update on this story yet. The plan is to make the TRCA and Urban Forestry aware of my previous blog post and see whether we get any reaction.

John Cummings

Threatened oaks behind Heathdale; brief snowfall; sewer works; tree hugger; mask mystery; empty dog park

21st December

Do we want this in Cedarvale?

On Monday 18th December, I took a trip to Moore Park Ravine to look at a project that seems relevant to Cedarvale Ravine. I took this photo of the massive retaining wall holding up the side of Moore Park Ravine:

This is the sign that stands on the other side of Mud Creek:

Please note the words “…where ongoing slope instability has created a risk to existing structures”. The  structures referred to are the two houses above the slope on Hudson Drive, where another sign says this:

The cost of the project is $22 million. It is not clear how much of this is the retaining wall.

As noted in my last post, Friends of Cedarvale became involved in an application to the City’s Committee of Adjustment about proposed changes to a property on Heathdale. These included an extended stone deck and swimming pool on the edge of the ravine. I made a submission at the meeting on 29th November, including comments about the effect of construction on a stand of 8 mature oak trees in the ravine behind the property.These are some of the trees:

I noted that, if the roots of the stand are badly damaged by the construction, it is possible that  several of them may not survive. (There could also be ongoing erosion issues because of the construction and the increase of hard surfaces in the backyard). Thus, the stability of the ravine slope could be compromised. In this case, remedial work such as that in Moore Park Ravine might be necessary.

However, the Committee told us that their jurisdiction does not extend beyond the property to the ravine slope behind it. The ravine slope is the responsibility of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and the trees are regulated by the Urban Forestry section of Parks, Forestry and Recreation. Apparently, the TRCA has already approved the project and issued a permit for construction.  They have been asked for more details, but have not yet provided them. An arborist retained by neighbours on Heathdale wrote a report that raised the concern about erosion. The TRCA was sent this report but have not responded. Apparently, the owners of the property commissioned a geotechnical survey which resulted in a “Slope Stability & Erosion Risk Assessment”, but neighbours have not been able to see this report.

The owners will need to make an application to Urban Forestry for a permit to “injure” 8 trees. Urban Forestry apparently say this has not yet been applied for. When the application is made, they will presumably visit the site to make an assessment of the potential erosion issue.

I will keep you posted on this story.

Brief snow fall

On 9th December, there was a short-lived snowfall in the park. This is looking north towards the Bathurst St bridge:

This is the wooden bridge before the Bathurst St bridge:

A scene between Bathurst and Glen Cedar bridges:

A few days later, on 14th December, the scene had changed; I like the low sun effects at this time of year:

Sewer inspection in progress

On 12th December, the Tuesday litter pickup team noticed a survey camera near the subway exit:

It appeared that the trunk sewer under the park was undergoing one of its periodic inspections:

The guys said it was OK for me to photograph them:

Andrews.engineer seems to be the main company involved in this work:

They were also looking down the access hole in the area opposite the side path to Suydam Park, which is where the cable from this truck is leading:

Next to the dog park, more drilling was going on. We believe this has to do with increasing the ventilation to the subway tunnel that runs under the park:

It is hard to see on this truck door, but the company doing the drilling is called Atcost Drilling of Gormley, ON:

Tree hugger may have the right idea

On the same day, we observed a totally different kind of activity. This woman said she was hugging the tree in order to try and find peace:

The thought occurs to me that. in the overall scheme of things, maybe what she is doing is more worthwhile than all the proposed construction, sewer maintenance and drilling activity!

Mask Mystery

Why is someone dropping used masks in the park? On 16th December the Friday litter team (new member John Kneller and myself) found a second lot of discarded masks, this time beside the path between the dog park and Ava Rd:

It is hard to comprehend the mentality of the person who did this:

We cleared up the mess, leaving this:

Empty dog park

On Sunday 17th December, it was raining and few people were about in the park. The dog park is almost never empty, but on that day it was:

This will likely be my last post before the New Year, so all the best to my readers and let us hope the year to come brings some better news than we have had this year!

John  Cummings

Police on horses; police on bikes; skating starts; hole in bridge repaired; a new bridge; camera on coyotes and foxes; glass jars dumped; fundraising going well; my appearance at City Hall

5th December

Horse visit to park confirmed

In my last post, I surmised that police horses had visited the park. Well, on 27th November I got an email from Leora Davidson with this photo of police on horses at the Ava Rd entrance. My spies are everywhere!

Police on bikes

Then on 4th December I observed these officers training on their bicycles at the arena parking lot.They gave permission to be photographed and this guy thanked me for my litter cleaning efforts:

Here is the whole group:

Outdoor skating rink opens

The winter skating season is off to a good start:

These lone figures were recently snapped through the wire fence:

This guy was practising shots at goal:

Broken board in wooden bridge replaced

On 14th November, I had noticed this hole in the small wooden bridge between the Glen Cedar and Bathurst St bridges:

Just recently, I observed that the broken plank had been replaced;

I had intended to call 311 but someone else must have called it in and it was quickly repaired:

New wooden “bridge”

Opposite the junction between the main path  and that off to Suydam Park and Spadina Rd, there has always been an informal “bridge”; leading to an informal path going up to the extension of Londsdale Rd. It had gone missing, but was recently replaced by this much-improved “bridge”:

Camera records coyote and fox movements for UofT project

This camera has been in place for some time. It picks up movements by passing coyotes and foxes (and no doubt other animals and birds as well):

Here is the notice that accompanies it:

Is this a good use for the blue recycling container?

Somebody recently dumped a whole pile of glass jars in the recycling container at the Glenayr exit (which is often missed by the garbage truck crews, as noted in an earlier post):

Several of them had got broken when dropped in the container and had dangerous broken glass edges. This bin has now been emptied.

Fundraising going well

Our fundraising campaign is going well. So far, we have raised almost $1,400 from 19 donors.  Canada Helps was by far the most popular route, with 12 donations;  5 came by e-transfer and 2 by cheque. Keep ’em coming!

My appearance at City Hall

On Wednesday 29th November, I appeared before the Committee of Adjustment at City Hall to plead the case of these magnificent oak trees at the back of Heathdale Rd:

More in my next blog post.

John Cummings