An Oasis in High Park

It took me all of ten seconds early Saturday morning to convince R to drop the garden tools for a few hours and enjoy a mini-break.  We have been driving past High Park in Toronto for years and each time we pledge to stop by one day.  The sun has been blazing and the humidity is already making the air thick so we brought Deacon along to enjoy the cool paths.  Finding a car park in the bustling city and crossing four lanes of traffic we entered in on a dirt path amongst a grove of trees and within minutes the sound of the cars was replaced by birdsong.

Colburne Lodge is a Regency-style cottage built in 1836 by John George Howard.  The idea behind the design is for the structure to be as spare and plain as possible so the focus remains on the garden and surrounding nature.  John and his wife, Jemima, had no children and bequeathed the house to the City in return of a small pension.  Most of the articles in the home are just as they were when the couple lived there.

Peeking through a window in the kitchen it looks as though someone will be back any minute to fetch a basin. 

There were areas of High Park that reminded me of Waterlow Park in Highgate, London and it didn't take me long to have a quick daydream about being back there.  We were naughty and clicked Deacon off of his leash so he could jump into a filtered pool to cool off.  It was all fun and games until we realized it was at least a three foot jump down and a wet dog Deacon's size couldn't shoot back out without a set of steps.  R had to reach down and grab hold of a soaking wet coat and heave ho.

And what sort of oasis would be complete without a baby Llama?  High Park has a zoo that is just the right size to excite an elementary class without taxing them.  This little one was making little repetitive groaning sounds which I'm sure meant he wanted his harness off, poor thing.  But oh couldn't you just give him/her a big cuddle?

The rest of the weekend was spent clearing weeds and patching with grass seed, mowing the lawn and R is still clearing an island of tree roots and feels like he is digging his way to China.  He wasn't all that cheered up by my attempt to reduce the situation by mentioning Victorians clearing massive fields of trees and stone.  Oh well, I would be the first to admit that not all of my ideas are good ones.