Fall in Ottawa

It's fall or autumn. Can you answer these questions about fall?


1.  When is the first day of fall?


2.  What month do you think I took these photos?


3.  Last fall, I was in Ottawa for a Canadian holiday. Do you know what holiday?


4.  Do you know any good places to visit in Ontario during the fall season? Where?


5.  Can you think of any areas in Toronto that will be pretty in the fall? Where?


6.  What is the name of the leaf on the Canadian flag?


7.   Do you know the name of 2 kinds of popular trees?


8.   Do you know the name of a tree that doesn't change colours?


9.   Do you like the fall? Why or why not?


10. What does "autumn years" mean? What do you want to do in the autumn years of your life?

Where in the World?

Last May, I left Canada for another continent. Perhaps you will recognize where these videos were taken.

1. The first video was taken at night. This city has a huge population, so it has streets full of high rises on busy streets. In Toronto, I live in a house and beside me are other houses. There are no high rises on my street. There are no buildings over two or three stories high.

It was very different for me to stay on the 37th floor and walk down a street with tall apartment buildings beside each other. Also, at night, this city is full of lights. In Toronto, my street only has street lights beside the sidewalks and some neighbours leave on their front door light.

2. This is further south in the same country. Again, this city has a large population. This is Saturday night in an area full of restaurants and a bizarre. Look at all the lights! It must be expensive to pay for all this electricity. Bright signs and people are everywhere.

3. This video is in a smaller city in the south. At night, many people joined activities in the parks and other open spaces. Here, couples are dancing outside. I also saw people participating in exercise classes. One exercise class met under a bridge and there were hundreds of people exercising together.

So, did you decide what country I visited? China? The first place is Shanghai, then Hong Kong and finally, Meizhou.

When you think of your native country, is it different than Canada? How is it different than Canada? How do the people live? What do they do?

Winter in Toronto, 2011

Last week, Toronto had some storms. A walk at Lake Ontario shows the trees and bushes covered in ice. The last two weeks of January and the first two weeks of February are usually the coldest part of the winter. This is early February and it was cold! My camera got so cold, it stopped working.

I look at these winter photos, but I know the February thaw will follow. The ice will begin to melt by the end of February. March is always unpredictable. We could get some snow storms in March. We have had a lot of snow this winter and it looks like it will be here for some time.

Check out the weather in Toronto here.

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Toronto in December, 2010

Where are we? Downtown TO

Well, this is Ashbridges Bay. It's quiet in December, but the parks along Lake Ontario are still open.

Do you notice Toronto's landmarks?

The CN Tower can be seen from many directions including the lake.

Check out the CN Tower here.

Spring in Toronto 3

It's time to see the baby animals at Toronto Zoo. Also, do you know about the two free parks where you can enjoy a stroll and see some animals too? These are my favourite places to be near nature. All three of these places feel like you have left the city. All that green space relaxes you especially on a spring day.


1. Riverdale Farm


Riverdale Sheep by Glossy Eye

Riverdale farm was the first Toronto Zoo. The old zoo had small buildings with caged openings to see the exotic animals. In fact, the old monkey cage is still there near the stone bridge and the pond. Look for the turtles in that pond. There's several.

So what's at the farm?

There is a restored farm house with a front porch surrounded by colourful flowers and bushes. In the front of the porch is the start of a park. Here you can listen to free music concerts in the summer. Nearby, there is wading pool for the younger children and some picnic tables near the tall mature trees.

Beside the farm house is the entrance to the farm. To the left is the barn for the horses and a donkey. There are sheep and also pigs. Because it's spring, there may be some lambs. Other fenced areas hold animals for us city people to watch. I remember the cool waterfall in the forest area beside one of the walking paths.

Behind the farm house is modern building. It is used for community activities and there is a play centre for young children. As you can see, young children and families enjoy the Riverdale Farm.

Where is it?

In Cabbagetown. It's on Sumach Street which is near Parliament and Gerrard. You can get there by TTC. On the weekend, you can park there, but sometimes you have to park on the next street.


2. High Park

An Emu in High Park by Neil Aiston

Trees and more trees. This park is huge! It's got a restaurant, a public swimming pool, long bike trails, a children's playground, Grenadier Pond and don't forget the free zoo. The animals are outside enclosed by high wire fences. There are maybe a dozen different kinds of animals.

Where is it?

The west end of the city. You can take the Bloor subway line to High Park stop. My family has taken bikes on the subway, so we could bike in the park. By car, it's near Bloor and Keele.


3. The Toronto Zoo

www.day-trips.ca/content/toronto-zoo



This modern zoo opened in the seventies. It's huge! Be sure to wear your walking shoes and a hat. There are several large buildings where animals and sea creatures from different countries or areas can be viewed. Also, many of the exotic animals roam around in the large open spaces.

Also, there is a water park for kids. Bring a picnic lunch or visit one of the several restaurants. Special visiting animal exhibitions are popular. The stingray exhibition started this May. Press here for more information.

Where is it?

In the east end of Toronto. It's on Meadowvale Road in Scarbourough. It's off the Highway 401 by car or take the TTC. There are buses that go out to the zoo.


Today it is raining, so I am writing this post. But hopefully it will be better weather soon. The trees look so good with new leaves and the spring flowers do wonders for us all:)



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Netherlands' Gift of Spring Flowers

It was the love for the Dutch's royal mother that started the annual gift of tulips to Ottawa. During World War 2, Princess Juliana and her two children fled the violence in the Netherlands and took refuge in Canada. Then came the birth of the royal family's third child, Margriet which means daisy. There was one problem. How could the royal child be an official citizen of the Netherlands? The baby was born in Canada, but a room at the Ottawa Civic Hospital was declared 'Dutch soil'. Margriet was born January 19,1943, and the royal mother and her children continued life in Canada.

In 1945 the government became more stable, so the princess and her children were able to return to the Netherlands. In thanks, the Dutch people sent a gift of 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa, the capital of Canada. The following year, Princess Juliana sent 10,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa.

Each year, the Netherlands continued to give thousands of tulips to the capital of Canada. About five years ago, Queen Juliana died at the age of 94, but the Dutch Royal family decided to continue the tradition in memory of the late queen.

The Ottawa Tulip Festival begins every May in Ottawa. It is Canada's biggest tulip festival. For more information about the Tulip Festival and the gift of the tulips, visit the Ottawa tourism site. Ottawa is a fun place to visit in the spring or summer. Be sure to rent a bike and enjoy the many parks and gardens along the canal.



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Wanna be Wednesday 3/18

Mature trees are in the many parks along the Rideau Canal.

I want to be back in Ottawa. I just got back from a visit to Ottawa which is the capital of Canada. I am very familiar with Ottawa as I graduated from University of Ottawa. It is a much smaller city than Toronto. In fact, Statistics Canada 2007 recorded Ottawa's population at 1,168,788 while Toronto is well over 5 million.

Ottawa has a different flavour than Toronto. Because it has a smaller population, you notice the students more. There are two universities and a community college. Downtown is the University of Ottawa which has English, French and French Immersion students. It's natural for the French language to be in the capital of Canada.

Why does the French language thrive in Ottawa? One reason is Ottawa is near the border of Quebec. A bridge over the Ottawa River joins the two provinces, Ontario and Quebec. The first language in Quebec is French. Also, Ottawa is full of federal government workers. The two official languages in Canada are French and English, so many of the government employees in Ottawa are bilingual. There first language can be French or English.

In Toronto, English is the dominant language and there are seldom opportunities to speak French. When I moved to Toronto, it became difficult for me to practice my French. You know what happens if you don't practice a language. Now I can't use my French language very well.

Another noticeable characteristic of Ottawa is its attention to art and culture. It has many different kinds of museums from planes and rockets in the Aviation Museum to some of the best Canadian art in the National Gallery of Canada. Always a favourite is the famous paintings of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven. I especially like the small paintings these painters did up north in the wilderness. They would use these to later paint the final bigger canvass paintings. The small ones sometimes have a spirit or feeling the larger ones can't capture.

Having lived five years in Ottawa, I always feel comfortable returning to Ottawa. I like the French culture there and enjoy visiting old friends who use both their French and English. To live in Ottawa, it's best to be bilingual and be prepared for a long cold winter as it is further north than Toronto.


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• Places Along Lake Ontario

Places Along Lake Ontario

Ready for a walk? Sure you are if your dressed like this.



Maybe, a bit early for the beach? You will still need your sunglasses.


East of Toronto, there are many little towns and a few small cities along Lake Ontario. They were originally started when ports were important. The first mode of transportation was ships, and then the national railroad and the highway followed. Depending on the success of the commerce in the area, some towns have grown a lot and are full of modern subdivisions. In some of the smaller towns, less has changed and older houses surrounded by native trees create a charming view for both residents and visitors.

There is always an older area in most towns where people first started to settle usually with a church to complete the town setting. Canada has rural beginnings and many towns are still surrounded by farms that are many generations old. Unfortunately, most of the farms are gone that were in the Toronto area. The city has pushed the farming out and some of our homes and buildings sit on very fertile soil.

The homes close to the lake sit on sandy soil. Some of the homes closest to Lake Ontario started as cottages. An area in Toronto, the Beaches, started as an area for summer homes. People vacationed in this area and other areas along Lake Ontario. Middle class families enjoyed summer weeks and weekends near the sandy beach. Now people visit the parks in all the seasons.

The winter pictures were taken near Picton. Here's a map of Lake Ontario. How long do you think it takes to get from Toronto to Picton? About 2 1/2 hours.

For more history about the Beaches, check out these short stories



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Wanna be Wednesday 3/18