Category: Photography
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Impressions of Toogood Pond, Scarborough Civic Centre, and David Balfour Trail
Toogood Pond, Unionville Ontario Toogood Pond, Unionville Ontario Toogood Pond, Unionville Ontario Scarborough Civic Centre Scarborough Civic Centre David Balfour Trail David Balfour Trail, Train Bridge David Balfour Trail, Train Bridge David Balfour Trail, Train Bridge David Balfour Trail, Train Bridge -
Anonymous Penny Exchange
Although pennies are no longer in general circulation in Canada, the forest economy is different. While taking a hike last May, I found a 1978 Canadian penny on the forest floor of Serena Gundy Park. Then I shifted it to a curved patch of moss for a photo and left it there.
Penny Found on the Forest Floor, Serena Gundy Park Two months later, I followed the same trail, and to my surprise I saw a penny in almost the same spot! However, it wasn’t the same one, for it had been minted 29 years after the penny I’d previously discovered. The 2007 coin rested just beside the moss patch, possibly nudged from it by a curious animal.
Serena Gundy Park Thank you, mysterious hiker, for creating an anonymous penny exchange! If I had had a penny with me, I would have extended the game. As it was, I took a picture and let the coin remain there for the next pair of wondering eyes.
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Photography Moments: Late Winter to Spring 2017
Serena Gundy Park 
Sunnybrook Park 
Highland Creek 
Highland Creek 
Chain Fence Reflected in a Puddle by Farlinger Ravine 
Fire Illusion 1 (Streetlight and Plastic Bag in Tree) 
Fire Illusion 2 
Iris in the Rain, William Jewell College 
Reflection of the Footbridge Over the Creek, Liberty Missouri 
Taylor Massey Creek 
Serena Gundy Park 
Near Scarborough Golf Club, Markham Road 
Gatineau Trail 
Peonies in the Garden, Scarborough 
Peonies in the Garden 
Cherry Stack Hollow, Wexford Woods 
Kildeer on Her Nest, Milne Dam Conservation Park 
Milne Dam Conservation Park -
Photostudies for Winter 2016-2017
Frozen Puddle, Scarborough 2016 
St. Louis, Missouri Tree 
Taylor Massey Creek, Scarborough 
Serena Gundy Park, Toronto 
Serena Gundy Park 
Morningside Park 
Morningside Park 
Morningside Park 
Taylor Massey Creek 
Birkdale Ravine 
Taylor Massey Creek 
E. T. Seton Park 
E. T. Seton Park 
Taylor Massey Creek 
E. T. Seton Park 
Birchdale Ravine 
Taylor Massey Creek 
Clayton Missouri 
Taylor Massey Creek 
Wilket Creek -
Gesture Studies with Windsock Model
Sky Star Pose Near the beginning of an extended walk last November, I became transfixed by a tall flapping windsock outside a bakery. I ended up taking over seventy pictures of the wind-animated figure, and each one had a different pose. It was like receiving a free art class on the topic of gesture studies!
Smiling with Abandon into the Beyond 
Drop Me in the River It’s astonishing how expressive fabric can be when it composes a long tube for the body, two hollow arms, and a head with strips of black cloth for hair. The different angles of the head and arms as well as various bends in the body’s “spine” gave strong impressions of joy, fatigue, despair, sass, embarrassment, playfulness, surrender, overwhelm, triumph, and humor.
Bliss Float 
The Stretch Just After Waking I managed to reduce the number of pictures by more than half, but I still need to ask viewers’ indulgence for the quantity of images posted here. (Sending a big thank you to Veronica Paloma for her thoughtful comments on these photos when I first posted them on Facebook last fall and for providing ideas for the titles “Bliss Float,” “Cheerleader,” and “Responding to the Latin Beat.”)
Freedom to Be a Willow 
Salute to Freedom 
Taken Way Aback 
Shy Greeting 
Overcome by the Giggles 
Marching Just Because I Want to March in the Wind 
Don’t Underestimate My Biceps Just Because I Am a Windsock. I Will Flex at You Until You Are Convinced! 
You Rang? 
Fetch Me My Fainting Couch! 
Horizontal Rocket Launch 
Temporary Lack of Insight 
Be Still My Hollow Heart! 
Windsock Means Business 
My Apologies 
Cheerleader 
Responding to the Call of the Salsa Beat 
Fill the Frame with Joy 
Awkward Conversation 
I Wish I Could Complete This Cartwheel 
Defiantly Awkward 
Gracious Welcome 
This Trampoline Is Awesome! 
Blown Back by a Temporary Obstacle 
Victory -
Photographic Meditations, Fall 2016
Woodbine Park, Toronto 
Woodbine Park 
Lee Lifeson Art Park, Toronto 
Little Rouge River 
Liberty, Missouri 
Liberty, Missouri 
Liberty, Missouri 
Highland Creek, Toronto 
Highland Creek, Toronto 
Taylor Massey Creek 
Wilket Creek 
Comstock Road, Scarborough -
Images of North York and East York
Aga Khan Museum, North York 
West Don River, E. T. Seton Park 
E. T. Seton Park 
Taylor Massey Creek 
Wilket Creek Park 
Wilket Creek Park 
Wilket Creek Park 
Wilket Creek Park 
Neighborhood near Sunnybrook Park 
Willow on Don Mills Road 
Merrill Bridge Road Park 
Merrill Bridge Road Park 
Merrill Bridge Road Park -
Photos of Scarborough, Spring and Summer 2016
Gatineau Trail 
Gatineau Trail 
Gatineau Trail 
Highland Creek 
Highland Creek 
Near Kennedy and Lawrence 
My front garden, Scarborough 
My front garden, Scarborough 
My front garden, Scarborough 
Centennial College Library, Ashtonbee Campus 
Centennial College Library, Ashtonbee Campus 
Gatineau Trail 
Alley near Kennedy and Eglinton 
Footbridge next to Lord Roberts Woods 
Gatineau Trail 
Scarborough neighborhood 
Gatineau Trail 
Sidewalk on Lebovich Road 
Creek near Arsandco Park 
Lake Ontario at the base of the Doris McCarthy Trail -
Burks Falls and Grass Lake, Ontario
Circling Hawks Garden, Burks Falls 
Circling Hawks Garden, Burks Falls 
Circling Hawks Garden, Burks Falls 
Circling Hawks Gardens, Burks Falls 
Grass Lake 
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Elliot Lake, Ontario
Sheriff Creek Wildlife Sanctuary 
Sheriff Creek Wildlife Sanctuary 
Horne Lake Forest Trail 
Horne Lake Forest Trail 
Horne Lake Forest Trail 
Morning at Horne Lake -
Found Sculpture Gallery at Humber Bay Park
After lunch with a friend last Monday, I enjoyed a windy walk on the shore of Lake Ontario at Humber Bay Park. Much to my delight, I discovered a spontaneous outdoor gallery on top of a boulder.
Anonymous artists had curated a gathering of small Inuksuit sculptures, and I loved how the waves had become co-artists, knocking some sculptures over and leaving others intact.
Before I left the boulder gallery, I assembled an Inukshuk of my own to say thank you.
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Celebrating Lake Ontario!
Etobicoke 
Etobicoke 
Scarborough near Kingston and Birchmount 
Scarborough near Kingston and Birchmount 
Scarborough near Kingston and Birchmount -
Images of Scarborough
Mystic Skittle, Centennial College Library 
Scarborough Moon 
Near Warden Avenue 
Jack Goodlad Park 
Hydro Corridor near Gatineau Trail 
Spring Under Ice, Gatineau Trail -
Scotland 2015
Pollok Park, Glasgow 2015 
Burrell Collection, Glagow 2015 
Burrell Collection, Glasgow 2015 
Burrell Collection, Glasgow 2015 
Merchant City, Glasgow 2015 
The Kelpies, Falkirk 2015 
Garden Water Bowl, 2015 
Garden Water Bowl, 2015 
New Lanark, 2015 
Rouken Glen Park, 2015 
Rouken Glen Park, 2015 
Rouken Glen Park, 2015 -
Creek to River Adventure in Toronto
When I descended the steps at the beginning of a three-hour trek from Taylor Massey Park to the Don River Valley, a multitude of surprises awaited me.
Victoria Park Avenue entrance to the park 
Along the trail, I discovered green palaces reflected in the creek, a memorial bench wreathed in wildflowers, animal sculptures carved from a fallen tree, and the sight of a chipmunk speeding to its burrow.
“In memory of Joseph Crawford (1956-1995). Never forgotten. Always in our hearts.” 
Flowers and chains framed the beauty of the stream, and wavy reflections of tree trunks served as pillars for a temple of nature.
The first trail marker for the Lower Don appeared after an hour and fifteen minutes of walking. This was exciting because I had never witnessed the transition from Taylor Massey Creek to the Don River before.
The Don River and Canoe Conversation Piece Much as I love the sheltered flow of a woodland creek, the impact of seeing the waterway widen and deepen in capacity astonished me. My chest expanded, my breath deepened, and I felt freer, bigger, and more open.
Ten minutes into the Lower Don section of the walk, I noticed a short dirt trail leading to a lookout on an elevated bank. With the camera looped around my wrist, I fell into a reverie while looking at the opaque water and began to daydream about the Missouri River (my home river). Suddenly, a very large pink and white fish jumped high above the surface and splashed with panache back into the river.I was so startled that I almost dropped my camera. However, I was not upset in the least, for it was a privilege to have been shaken up by that feisty fish. Its breathtaking leap made me feel alive and gave me hope for the health of the river.
Tired but refreshed by so much beauty, I continued the journey, noticing a family of geese, graffiti murals at the base of a soaring bridge, and an artist painting a shimmering river portrait in olive green, brown, and ocher.
Near the end of the hike, I encountered historic Todmorden Mills at the foot of a steep incline up Pottery Road. I had almost reached the top of the hill, panting from exertion and the extreme heat, when the final surprise of the day greeted me: a Dairy Queen right at the summit!In my personal history of ice-cream consumption, never has a plain vanilla cone tasted as good as the magical one purchased on Pottery Road that afternoon. It was the perfect ending to an adventure made possible by Toronto’s generous creeks, powerful rivers, and unpredictable wildlife.
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Haliburton Wolf Sanctuary
A visit to Haliburton Wolf Sanctuary was one of the highlights of a recent family vacation to central Ontario. We were fortunate to see so many wolves from the observatory last Wednesday because the pack could have decided to hang out elsewhere within their 15-acre enclosure.
My camera passed from hand to hand with new wolf sightings, so this photo and the ones below represent a collaborative effort. 
The following photos were taken on a return visit in 2018.
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The Broken Tree of Deer Lick Creek
Beside Deer Lick Creek, I saw a hare bound across an iron footbridge and a giant tree that had snapped in two when it fell in the water. Pausing my walk, I stood on the bank to study the tree.
The distance between severed stump and trunk was not great, but the liquid space between the two jagged ends took my breath away with its beauty. How could the fallen, the broken be so beautiful?
I loved how the brook filled the void of disconnection and death, blessing an abyss with a measure of peace. The slow movement of water, the round stones on the creek bed, and the reflections that animated the skin of the creek, they all witnessed loss and grief with grace. They comforted me.
That tree died, but beauty didn’t die. It just changed. A whole tree, intact, thriving, with glossy leaves is beautiful. But a broken tree with only half of its body still rooted in a muddy bank is gorgeous too.
The shocking break is an opening for time, change, and water to move — not to take the pain away but to lovingly acknowledge its impact. The broken edges can breathe into that forgiving emptiness, exposing their ache to the kindness of night.
