My favourite season, spring is finally here in Strathroy, Ontario.
Walking along the trails at Strathroy Conservation Area, Trilliums are finally starting to bloom and everything is turning green.
At home the signs of spring are just as beautiful.
Be certain to add this State Park to your “Places to See”.
What a deal. Only $13.50 for adults for the day at Weeki Wachee State Park. Included in your entrance fee are 4 amazing attractions:
Week 7 of the Real Music Real Masters Series at Busch Gardens was one of my favorites. Leonard, Coleman and Blunt: former lead vocalists of the Temptations, Platters and Drifters really know how to entertain. Timeless songs performed by amazing singers. Growing up in the same neighborhood and working together for so many years, their performance is like fine wine, getting better with time.
Today was 87F in Tampa so the animals were mostly laying around.
Week Number 3 of the 2018, Busch Gardens: Real Music Real Masters Series was The Diamonds.
The Diamonds are an amazing live performance to attend. Be certain to take advantage of anytime you have an opportunity to see The Diamonds live.
This week’s walk with the animals at Busch Gardens included the Bird Cage and Kangaroos.
Our annual trip home to see family and friends during the Christmas season has been extended due to snow squalls and extreme temperatures in Strathroy Ontario. I wrapped up in my winter clothes and went for a walk around town.
Highway 402 was closed from 401 to Nauvoo Rd, so much of the traffic ventured through Strathroy.
Reading the Tampa Times under Garden Events the Best bet was to go on a Florida Forest Hike at Brooker Creek Preserve. So I looked up the link on line and registered for this FREE EVENT. They are really well organized and use eventbrite to book their events.
What a wonderful surprise. No charge for parking, no entrance fee (donations accepted). When I arrived the staff was very welcoming. The displays are amazing in the education centre.
Guided tours are an amazing way to see Florida Forests in a safe educational group format. I recommend this for anyone. Brooker Creek Preserve is an amazing place you should add to your list of things to do and see in Florida.
Be certain to visit the Friends of Brooker Creek Store. Reasonable prices and great selection. They had native plants for sale for only $5 each.
I’m looking forward to attending future events at Brooker Creek Preserve.
One of my favorite free places to go for an early morning walk.
The water levels are still very high in Zephyr Lake from Hurricane Irma, but the multi-use trail is currently accessible around the entire route.
The squirrels are as friendly as ever.
The ducks are enjoying the high water levels. I even saw 4 babies with their mother.
The Woodstorks are still here and as unafraid as ever. I counted 6 Woodstorks around Zephyr Lake.
Ibis, an immature Heron and a Paragon Falcon were also seen this morning.
I was a little disappointed that the name is being changed on the 40th anniversary of our Turkey Festival.
I arrived shortly after 7 PM for the car show, held in Strathroy Downtown core. Although there were 250 cars registered, angle parking fit it into a much smaller area than previous years. The block on Front Street west of Hwy 81 wasn’t used at all.
The number of motorcycles present were much less than I’ve ever seen. This was disappointing because we have a new Motorcycle shop in town.
As usual there was no entry fee to the mid-way. It was busy and filled with lots of foot traffic. One of the most popular areas was the free swings that are there year round.
There was a $10 cover charge after 8PM for the beer garden/local bands, so I didn’t enter to get photos of the bands, especially when the free band was still playing downtown.
Learning to Kayak has taken me to Pinery Provincial Park to the calm, clear waters of the Old Ausable Channel. It takes me about 3 hours to go from the boat docking area to the far bridge and return. I’ve managed to see huge snapping turtles swimming and painted turtles sunning themselves on the logs. Unfortunately I’m not brave enough to take my camera kayaking with me yet.
Flowers blooming in June:
Hungry Muskrat swimming in the Ausable Channel:
Fish, dragon flies and birds abound.
May 31st, 2017 was a great day to go hiking. Temperatures were a very comfortable 20C, the sun was shining and there was very little wind. The only drawback for the day was the abundance of ticks. It seems that ticks are everywhere this season, so be certain to check yourself, your friends and your pets for these dangerous pests. Next time I will be trying insect repellent, but probably the only effective ones are the ones with 30% deet is available at the Store. Cover up with lots of light weight fabric. Woolly socks aren’t a good idea as ticks seemed to love the texture and actually burrowed through the knee high socks.
On our hike through the Sassaftas trail at Pinery Provincial Park, we took a foot path off to the right. This added lots of steps and was great hiking with rolling hills.
Wild columbine were in full bloom and we saw wild lupine.
The lookout at the furthest point on the trail was quite a climb and interesting as we stood almost at tree top level, but the view was very limited.
As we continued our tour around the park, we stopped at my favorite bridge just before the Hickory Trail, and were rewarded by seeing many turtles sitting sunning themselves.
