Sunday, September 5, 2010

Toronto trip - Part 1

On August 27th I ventured off to the big city of Toronto. The main reason was to attend a family wedding but I also hoped to visit areas where wildlife could be found. On the very first night I found the Mount Pleasant Cemetery which turned out to be as much of a treasure trove as the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal (and even more so as will be seen further on). This map shows the location of my hotel at the corner of Eglinton and Mount Pleasant and two of the major places I visited (outlined in red). Unfortunately it will not enlarge for some reason.

The next post will be devoted to the Ernest Thompson Seton Park. For now we'll see some of the sites of the Mount Pleasant Cemetery.




The beauty of the area.




One of a small flock of migrating Red-Breasted Nuthatches.


A Monarch Butterfly. These gorgeous creatures were flitting about everywhere.



I have tried to get a good close-up of the berries of the Bittersweet Nightshade for a long, long time. I finally got it!



I found these bees on one of the most colourful flowers in the cemetery!



Aside from the Gray and Black Squirrels, several Red Squirrels were out and about and this one seems ablaze in the late afternoon light.


But here is the sight that I have never seen at the Mount Royal Cemetery!! I was astonished to see a deer come running close to me. It was stressed by a loud grass mower hence the open mouth but afterwards it ran to another area and then just calmly walked.



And lastly, here I am. My reflection is caught in the polished granite of a tombstone. I thought it gave a dreamy image of the foliage and sunshine. Contrary to what people may think, I believe cemeteries are for the living and are poignant reminders to live life as fully as possible.


6 comments:

  1. You do know how to find the spots. I was wondering if you were into the Don Valley area, and for the next post, I guess you will be. How deer got into the middle of TO in this series, however, is beyond me. Thanks for the BDay note btw. I just remembered that I forgot to reply.

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  2. BTW, did you know that red squirrels are grey down east? At least I saw greys that looked and behaved like reds.

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  3. Hi Anvilcloud: Thanks for being such a faithful commenter. I really appreciate it.
    I just Googled "deer in Toronto" and found that many are sighted in the ravines which link up with the cemetery. I found a connecting gate at one end of the cemetery to a ravine pathway called "Discovery Walk" so I imagine that is how it travelled. The ravines also host coyotes, foxes, raccoons and opossums (I would be SO excited to see an opossum!!).
    I didn't know about red squirrels being grey! How odd.
    And lastly, you're welcome for the BDay wishes. :-)

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  4. Hello Doris, the images you have here are just wonderful! I love them! I often see deer running across the road in front of me on a country back road I use. It's a road between the Fells and there are wild ponies there and I often have to stop for a few crossing pheasants... they also seem to amble. :o)
    I love the hazy dream-like pic too!

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  5. As Daffy says wonderful images, and I especially like the butterfly one.
    There are some deer in a major city cemetery over here which is puzzling as it is surrounded by buildings and roads with no 'green corridors' for them to use to and from it!
    Thanks for a lovely post. xx

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  6. Hi Daffy and Flighty - thanks to you both for your comments. It sounds like you are blessed with lots of wildlife too. I am amazed that deer are existing in major city cemeteries!

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