Boyle McCauley News

Since 1979 • April-May 2024 • Circulation 5000

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Random Ramblings

My husband and I spend most of our free time, in the nice weather, outdoors. Our favourite form of recreation is exploring. We’ve been in all directions of the compass within this city. We’ve discovered many hidden gems and had some memorable moments.

We have a special affinity with birds. One early summer day, we took a brief jaunt into Riverdale. It was a partly cloudy day with a comfortable amount of warmth. We were passing a yard with a birdbath and stopped to observe a solitary sparrow bathing himself. He had the whole bath to himself and bathed with great relish, chirping heartily and shaking his feathers with vigour. He didn’t seem at all to mind that he had an audience. In fact, I think he enjoyed sharing his pleasure. We watched for a few minutes then continued our walk, smiling.

Our meanderings can sometimes bring us into interesting neighbourhoods. We found Forrest Heights a couple of years ago because Reinhardt rides the bus through the area on his way to work. We took a Saturday and walked its streets. The houses are older and well-maintained. Some of the streets slope down giving opportunity for creative yards. Tall, happy trees line the streets. It’s on the south bank of the valley and the view of a summer sunset is spectacular.

We’ve had many summer days in McKinnon Ravine. It’s lovely walk with a gentle downward grade that leads to the river. We were walking along enjoying the sunlight one day when we decided to take a path up. Looking behind us we obtained a good perspective of all the dragonflies flying about, swirling, chasing insects with bits of light reflecting off of their wings. It was quite mesmerizing. The intricate patterns they flew around each other and the precise maneuverability that they could execute kept us in our place observing them for a while. We were enchanted.

We’ve been enchanted by many such chance moments. It’s what brings us on our ramblings again and again. We do have a beautiful city, especially in the summer, and I want to see every bit of it.

Keri lives and rambles in Boyle Street..

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