The other day I took grandson Ollie (he turns five in December) to a small trail I discovered earlier this summer just a few blocks from my house.
Ollie has an active imagination - show me a five-year-old who doesn’t - and within minutes he was exploring the natural environment with a magic wand in hand and asking rapid-fire questions.
“What’s this? Where does this trail go? Can I have this stick? What’s that? Can we go there? Are there bears?”
The Coves Trail and Swallowtail Grove (in Greenway Park adjacent to Springbank Dr., one block west of Wharncliffe Rd.) are home to magnificent trees, birdhouses atop tall poles, Swallowtail butterflies, several short side trails and a grove of sumacs that provides shade on a muggy day, but no real bears.
After several adventures along the short trail (connected to the West and East Woods Ponds) Ollie named his favourite section of trail “The shady sumac trail where bears live.”
Lunch time approached and I had to do some skillful persuading to convince Ollie that it was time to head home.
Some time today I’ll take him to another section of the trail (e.g., East Woods Pond on the south side of Springbank Dr.). I’m sure that it too will capture his imagination and mine.
Are there bears there? Ollie and I will let you know.
[Photos by G.Harrison]
***
Please click here for another episode of Ollie and me.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment