Inspired by Sunshine, Urban Exploring and New Growth

So today, the sun was shining and the temperatures were such that I could leave my winter coat in the closet! It is "art day" for me but instead of spending it in my studio, I had to get out and enjoy this weather especially since the afternoon forecast is rain....again.

I love to be out in nature and living in Toronto, I always thought I had to travel out of the city to find pristine, quiet areas to enjoy wildlife and trees. Not so. I have found areas within the city where I can get my kayak into the water and paddle to my heart's content. Today, my daughter and grandson and I headed to High Park in downtown Toronto. It is prime Cherry Blossom time and we decided to spend this beautiful morning there.

When we were young, my parents often took my siblings and I to High Park to see the small zoo there. It was and still is a free excursion and we also took our children there to see the animals and play on the playground. This is the only section of High Park I had ever been to but today, I saw a whole other side of the park.

We parked on a side street near the park in a beautiful neighbourhood and walked across into the woods. Once in the woods, we didn't even feel like we were downtown in a huge city. We walked the trails until we reached the cherry blossom area. It was a great day to go because it wasn't really busy with lots of people. We wandered among the trees and eventually found ourselves on the shores of Grenadier Pond where we saw swans, Canada Geese, Wood ducks, chipmunks, squirrels, Mallards, Beaver, and turtles.

I had my camera with me and I took lots of photos. Here is a sampling and perhaps some among them will inspire some new art.