Spring is Coming to Todmorden Mills
Posted: April 8, 2014 Filed under: Animal Life, Inspiration, Ontario, Plant Life, Toronto, Water | Tags: birds, buds, climate change, green, spring, Todmorden Mills, Toronto, trees, urban nature, woods 2 Comments
On Sunday, I went again to Todmorden Mills in Toronto. It was sunny and relatively mild–around 8 or 9 Celsius. I walked on the little wildflower path through trees and by a pond and streams. On the way, I’d seen a cardinal atop a naked tree–pointed out to me by a young couple passing by. In the woods, I heard chickadees and a red winged blackbird. And a woman walking her dogs pointed out a woodpecker–I think it was a downy–on a nearby tree that she was photographing. I searched the ground for tiny green shoots, leaves and moss, looked in the trees and shrubs for buds and came upon a squirrel looking down at me while munching a nut.
I was thinking about the latest climate change report that came out several days earlier warning again about the changes to the climate that are already here and that will be coming. I thought about what we gain and lose when nature is protected or harmed. When I am in a natural setting, urban or more wild, I feel a link to something larger than myself. I am a living being among others in nature. I know my experience is not unique and that the companionship of humans and non is vitally important for my, and others, well-being.
Todmorden Mills in Winter
Posted: February 24, 2014 Filed under: Animal Life, Inspiration, Ontario, Plant Life, Toronto, Water | Tags: birds, Canada, nature photography, Ontario, snow, sunlight, Todmorden Mills, Toronto, trees, urban nature, woods Leave a commentLast week we had some warmer days and on a sunny afternoon, Wednesday the 19th, I walked to Todmorden Mills Heritage Site just off the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto. I knew it was my chance to see the wooded wildflower preserve while the snow was still on the ground, ahead of predicted above-freezing temperatures and rain. As always, my mood improved greatly walking in this beautiful setting. I heard chickadees and, I believe, a cardinal above the traffic. And I loved seeing the late sunlight on the snow, trees and rail fences. Here’s some photos from that day.
A Past Winter–2
Posted: February 17, 2014 Filed under: Ontario, Toronto, Water | Tags: 2008, nature, snow, Todmorden Mills, Toronto, winter Leave a comment
After a snowfall, I took this photo at Todmorden Mills on New Year’s Day 2008. It was a day of extreme beauty.
Fresh snow at Todmorden Mills on Jan 1, 2008, Toronto
Black Locust
Posted: June 12, 2013 Filed under: Ontario, Plant Life, Toronto | Tags: black and white photography, black locust tree, black locust trees, bloom, blossoms, flowers, June, nature, nature photography, Ontario, spring, Todmorden Mills, Toronto, trees Leave a comment
Black locust blossoms, Toronto, June 2013
Last week, black locust trees were in bloom in Toronto. Their sweet perfume filled the air at Todmorden Mills where I’d walked. I love their profuse, cascading blossoms.
Black Locust tree in bloom, Todmorden Mills, June 2013
Ferns in the Wildflower Preserve
Posted: June 10, 2013 Filed under: Ontario, Plant Life, Toronto | Tags: black and white photography, don valley, ferns, fiddlehead, forest, nature, nature photography, Ontario, ostrich ferns, spring, Todmorden Mills, Toronto, wildflower preserve 2 Comments
June 2013
I saw what I believe are ostrich ferns on a recent walk in the Wildflower Preserve at Todmorden Mills. If I’ve misidentified the ferns, do let me know. The day was moderate–around 18 degrees Celsius, with a mixture of sun and cloud. The ferns seem very much at home in this moist forested area in the Don Valley in Toronto. I find their shapes very beautiful.
June 2013
June 2013
Todmorden Mills on a Cool June Evening
Posted: June 6, 2013 Filed under: Animal Life, Ontario, Plant Life, Toronto, Water | Tags: birds, Canada, flowers, irises, June, mood, natural world, nature, Ontario, plants, Todmorden Mills, Toronto, trees, wild phlox, wildflower preserve, woods 2 Comments
At Todmorden Mills, June 5, 2013.
I went to Todmorden Mills in Toronto in the early evening yesterday. It was cool and sunny and my preoccupations of the day left me as I got closer to the trees, freshly mown grass, birds and flowers in this bit of preserved nature. The irony of its being so close to the Don Valley Expressway is never far from consciousness.
Todmorden Mills, June 5, 2013
There’s a wildflower preserve at the site—a short trail through forest by ponds. There I saw yellow and violet irises growing by the water, plus many wild phlox. I came upon a man and his beloved dog having a walk as well as a jogger. Many robins, sparrows, red winged blackbirds and cardinals were with me.
Yellow irises by the pond at Todmorden Mills, June 5, 2013
Iris by a pond at Todmorden Mills, June 5, 2013
In that short hour my mood went from preoccupied and low to extremely peaceful.
Wild phlox in the wildflower preserve at Todmorden Mills, June 5, 2013
Abundance
Posted: May 10, 2013 Filed under: Inspiration, Plant Life, Toronto | Tags: beauty, blossoms, Brick Works, daffodils, Evergreen Brick Works, flowers, gardens, grape hyacinths, May, nature, plants, spring, Todmorden Mills, Toronto, trees, tulips Leave a comment
Spring in Toronto, May 2013
We’ve had a week of sunshine and warm weather in Toronto–like a dream of love. This has given way to rain and cooler temperatures which will make the plants quite happy.
Toronto garden, May 2013
Tulips after rain, Toronto, May 2013
The gardens have been bursting with flowers. Magnolias, redbud trees, flowering plums, tulips, daffodils, grape hyacinths, forget me nots, periwinkles and violets have greeted me throughout the neighbourhood. Two days ago, the yellow green maple flowers began dusting the sidewalks and lawns. And at the Brick Works and Todmorden Mills, the sun and leaves of budding trees have formed canopies of light.
These have been joyful days to be alive amidst birdsong and the return of vibrant colour.
Todmorden Mills, Toronto, May 2013.
Todmorden Mills
Posted: March 15, 2013 Filed under: Ontario, Plant Life, Toronto | Tags: beauty, cars, heritage site, nature, Ontario, snow, Todmorden Mills, Toronto, trees, wildflowers, winter, woods Leave a comment
Yellow House at Todmorden Mills, Toronto, March 2013
Last Friday I went to Todmorden Mills, a heritage site in Toronto adjacent to a wildflower preserve. Todmorden Mills is off Pottery Road, near Bayview Avenue and the Don Valley Parkway, so this visually beautiful place has a backdrop of rushing traffic. Often I cannot shut out the distressing sound of the cars, but was able to accept them this day and focus on the physical scene. Indeed, a disturbing part of living in the city is the necessity of shutting down senses at times as a form of self-preservation.
Wildflower preserve by Todmorden Mills, Toronto, March 2013
Wildflower Preserve adjacent to Todmorden Mills, Toronto, March 2013
However, last week as I walked around the grounds I did enjoy the snow that hadn’t fully melted in the valley, the trees, shrubs, stream and old buildings. I imagined what the land this city sits on might have looked like in the late 1700s when a sawmill and grist mill were built here. The strangeness of roaring cars and trucks adjacent to the remains of this old community brought forth feelings I’ve had before about being in two worlds. And, at the same time, I felt refreshed by spending an hour or so in this bit of preserved nature and history in the midst of the city.
At Todmorden Mills, Toronto, March 2013
Todmorden Mills, March 2013 with the Brick Works Shuttle Bus passing by on Pottery Road
of humans and nature 
Recent Comments