Silent Sunday – June 28, 2020
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Category Archives: Toronto
Wordless Wednesday – June 24, 2020
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Lens Artists Photo Challenge – A Quiet Moment
…thanks to Patti for hosting this week’s Lens Artists Photo Challenge
Quiet moments are much easier to find these days but as things start to open up I’ve noticed that parts of the park are becoming hives of noisy activity with groups of families and friends who are gathering for the first time in months. That said there are still lots of quiet moments to share with you.
Morning Coffee
Deserted Beach
Quiet Highways
Breakfast on the Deck
Overlooking the neighbouring city from the top of the ski hill (man-made)
Neighbouring streets
In the Park
Chilling by the Lake
Dusk over Lake Ontario from the Park in New Toronto
Wordless Wednesday – June 17, 2020
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Life Around the Pond
The ducks were congregating on the shoreline of the pond as if to discuss playdates or babysitting for the ducklings that have yet to appear.
A New Visitor to the Yard
…unusual to see during the day
This little guy was sunning himself on the fence yesterday. At first I wasn’t sure if he was even alive. It is unusual for racoons to come out during the day. There is clearly a family living in my neighbours garage. This one is still a baby.
Friendly Friday Photo Challenge – In Transit
….thanks to Sandy for hosting this week’s Friendly Friday Photo Challenge
During COVID-19 we’re back to basics when it comes to travelling. More people are walking or riding their bikes and when necessary to get further away people are using their cars. I for one have saved a lot of money on gas in the last three months. I’ve only filled up once.
The Beauty and Fun of Trash Collecting
…how can collecting trash be fun or beautiful?
On on our 30 Day Clean-up Challenge people have often commented that they couldn’t do what we were doing. I think one of the reasons why we were so successful and persistent on completing this project was because we could see that it was making a difference. The parks were definitely cleaner and ‘some’ people were making an effort to help keep it that way.
We also had fun while we were doing this. Sometimes it was like looking for buried treasure between the rocks and often we’d be amazed at the things we found. The lost wallet was returned to its owner and Trish also found a cell phone and was able to locate the owner.
After each haul we’d take a minute or two for photo ops. Trish loved posing in unusual stances, sometimes doing cartwheels and hand stands. I on the other hand was a little more conservative with my poses.
The beauty of trash collecting in the parks comes from discovering the nooks and crannies of the park that I would never have ventured to before. I had never walked onto the rocks before and there were areas around the pond that I discovered for the first time. We also met a lot of wonderful people and we really came to appreciate the beauty of our environment.
The Hazards of Trash Collecting – Part 4
….on our 30 Day Challenge Trish and I had a few mishaps
Collecting trash in the parks, along the beaches and in the rocks has its misfortunes. Luckily for us none of them were too serious.
Trash collecting can wreak havoc with your clothes:
Burrs were a constant problem.
Climbing over wire fences can cause tears in your tights.
The insects can also be problem. The midges were particularly bad. Thanks goodness for face masks.
Wearing proper shoes and gloves is very important. I learned both the hard way. On the rocks I pulled out a broken beer bottle and promptly cut my finger. Luckily I brought water with me and Trish had hand sanitizer. I put pressure on the cut and cleaned it out as best
I could. Once the bleeding stopped I put on my gardening gloves and continued to work.
On another trip I was wearing my sandals. It was towards the end of the challenge and a lot of vegetation had grown in on the pathways. Everything seemed fine until I felt a burning sting under my foot. I quickly looked down and saw a wasp fly out from under my toes. Upon closer inspection we didn’t see a stinger but I did notice red ants in the area and I suspect it was an ant that bit me and not the wasp.
Towards the middle of May as the weather warmed up it was important to wear sunglasses, hats and sunscreen. There were days when I felt I had been in the sun a little too long.
The final hazard of course is falling. There were days that I wasn’t comfortable on the rocks and I soon figured out it was due to my low blood pressure. If I didn’t have my morning coffee before we left I felt dizzy on the rocks and I would stay on the pathways while Trish did her thing diving between the rocks to retrieve treasures deep in the crevices. Even on the beaches the rocks were slippery and on the paths rocks jutted up and were tripping hazards. There were a few times that I slipped or tripped but luckily I always caught myself before going down.
Trish was more adventurous and one day she tried to jump to a large rock for a photo op but she slipped and ended up in the water (only her shoes got wet).
In the next segment I will talk about the fun and beauty of trash collecting.
The Ugly Side of Cleaning the Parks: Part 3
…now that I’ve completed my 30 days I can share the highs and lows of trash collecting
In yesterday’s post I shared with you some of the fun and more interesting things that we’ve collected on our 30 Clean-up Challenge. Back in early May, my neighbour Trish gave herself a 30 Day Challenge to clean our neighbourhood parks. I joined her on Day 3 and we pretty much went out every day for about 1 1/2 to two hours with our empty plastic grocery bags (for awhile we weren’t allowed to used our reusable bags in the grocery stores because of COVID 19) and on average we filled about eight of those bags during each trip. After a couple of weeks had to put out a call for more bags because we ran out. Several of our friends and neighbours happily gave us their extra ones.
You might wonder where all this trash was coming from. Here’s the ugly truth. Most of the garbage in the parks and on the beaches and between the rocks was deliberately left behind. It wasn’t washed ashore by the waves. It was there because people were too lazy or inconsiderate, or both to walk 20 steps to a garbage bin. The garbage consisted of coffee cups, pop cans, beer cans and bottles, fast food wrappers and pizza boxes and empty cigarette boxes. Don’t even get me started on the cigarette butts that are littered around park benches and tossed to the curb from people’s cars.
Most people are picking up after their dogs but then some of them toss the full poop bag to the side of the pathways instead of using the park bins. Some of the other things that we’ve found are used condoms, a few syringes (luckily no needles), plastic baggies, fireworks canisters and golf and tennis balls.
A lot of the coffee cups and fast food containers come from the food chains in the neighbourhood. The biggest offenders are Tim Horton’s, McDonalds, Popeyes, Burger King and StarBucks. We’re trying to figure out a way to work with them to reduce the amount of waste from their products and ways to encourage their customers to be more responsible.
In the next instalment of our 30 Day Clean-up Challenge I will talk about the hazards of picking up trash.
Mama Cormier 