Ranney Gorge Suspension Bridge

Location: Campbellford, Ontario
Address:  Ferris Provincial Park
Date: Aug 2019
Website: www.visittrenthills.ca

    On the August long weekend we took a road trip to Bancroft, Ontario.   We went up in search of precious gems.  The Rockhound Gemboree was being held in Bancroft that weekend and we hoped to find something special.  We didn't find exactly what we were looking for but also didn't leave empty-handed.  We managed to get a few gifts from the show.

     The Gemboree is the biggest gem and minerals show in Canada and Bancroft is often called the "Mineral Capital of Canada".   The Bancroft community centre, curling rink and hockey rink were filled with vendors.  A lot of the sparkling rocks had come from nearby areas. 

  After attending the show we headed across the York River and stopped at The Granite for lunch.  We both had wraps and shared some truffle root fries which were delicious covered in parmesan cheese.  In a town known for minerals the restaurant was aptly named.

  Our journey continued south west towards Ferris Provincial Park.  Ranney Gorge suspension bridge is located on the western side of Ferris Provincial Park and offers some great views over the Trent River.

 

  To the south you can see the river cutting through the gorge.  To the north is a small waterfall.

  The metal bridge hangs 30 feet over the river and is 300 feet long.  As people walk on the bridge you can feel it moving beneath you.

 After making it safely across the bridge we noticed several large birds circling above.  Closer inspection revealed the markings of an osprey.  The brown face mark that goes across their eyes and then curves up onto the back of their necks is the most obvious identifier. Osprey love to fish so the nearby river passing through the gorge is a great place to spot one.

  We crossed back over the bridge once more to continue our trip home.  We had tried our luck hunting for precious minerals, enjoyed a nice meal and swung over a gorge.  All in all it was a beautiful day.

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Map of Our World
Rockhound Gemboree
Ranney Gorge Suspension Bridge
The Granite

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Post # 259

Washed Ashore

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  2000 Meadowvale Road
Date: May 2019
Website: washedashore.org

  Each year thousands of pounds of plastic wash ashore on one Oregon beach.  A group of volunteers have been cleaning this debris from the beach.  This plastic has been made into artwork that reminds us that we need to stop our plastic consumption.  We visited the Toronto Zoo to see the giant animal ambassadors created by Washed Ashore.  The exhibit runs until November 2019.

  On the day we visited, Angela Haseltine Pozzi was there to talk about the organization.  She founded Washed Ashore in 2010 and is one of the main artists.  Since 2010 she has worked with volunteers to put in countless hours, collected over 40,000 pounds of plastic from the ocean and turned it into over 70 works of art.  There are eleven sculptures on display at the zoo.  Angela is standing beside Sebastian James the puffin.

  This sculpture by the zoo entrance is Flash the marlin.  Marlin are one of the fastest swimming fish in the ocean and travel many miles through the water.  They need the water to be clean and free of plastic that gets in their way.

  Sebastian James the puffin stands outside of the zoo's main gift shop.  Just inside the doors to the gift shops hangs a jellyfish made out of water bottles.

  Outside of the Australasia pavilion is another jellyfish.  This jellyfish is also made from plastic water bottles.  We should try to drink from reusable containers and at home drink Brita filtered water from glasses.  The large packs of bottled water are a huge plastic waste, not to mention breaking your back by lugging them home.  Sea turtles like to eat jellyfish and sadly cannot tell the difference between floating plastic and a swimming jelly.  They end up filling their bellies with plastic instead of food.

  Just around the bend from the Australasia jellyfish is Grace the humpback whale.  Humans almost hunted humpback whales to extinction but today they can be found in all of the world's oceans.

  A closer look at Grace shows some of the plastic from toys, umbrellas and other items.  Sadly, the real humpbacks are forced to swim through this garbage every day.

  Poly the polar bear was made with the help of staff from the Toronto Zoo.  Poly's name comes from polyethylene, polystyrene and other names for plastic.  Poly is supporting the idea that we all try to reduce, reuse, recycle and refuse when dealing with plastics.  The best option is to refuse single use plastics.

  Poly is also made from plastic trays, containers and more garbage which came from the Rouge Valley surrounding the zoo.

    Nora the salmon is found near the Kid's Zoo.  Salmon travel up streams to mate and spawn.  The new salmon swim back to the ocean.  Unfortunately, millions of pounds of plastic polution also head downstream into the ocean each year.

  Octavia the octopus was sitting outside the Americas pavilion.  One of her arms was around the neck of a plastic Canada goose, but it should be trying to shake some sense into people who don't realize the consequences of their actions.

  In the African savannah you can find Sylvia the silvertip shark.  Sharks eat other small fish who eat plastic and this means the sharks end up eating the plastic too.

  Rufus the triggerfish is near the Indian rhino house.  He is made up of children's beach toys, flip flops and even parts of chairs.

  Triggerfish have sharp teeth and strong jaws that let them eat urchins and mollusks.  Plastic has been found with their bite marks, which means they are also eating this harmful human product.

   Oil pollution is the main threat to penguin populations.  Next to the black-footed penguin exhibit is Gertrude the penguin.

  Gertrude looked down on us as if to say "You can do better!".  We all need to think about how we can help the animals.  Washed Ashore vows to keep on spreading their message as long as there is debris floating up on their beach.  They dream that they will one day run out of supplies for their art.
 

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Click here to take a virtual tour and see our collection of Toronto Zoo animal photos.

Map of Our World
Toronto Zoo

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Post # 256

Toronto Humane Society

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  11 River Street
Date: May 2019
Website: www.torontohumanesociety.com

  The Toronto Humane Society always has its doors open for stray animals.  During Doors Open Toronto it welcomed people to tour behind the scenes.  The Humane Society is always a place of great sadness when a lost or injured animal is brought into the shelter.  It can also be a place of great joy when these animals find a new home.

  The Humane Society building is hard to miss thanks to a bright mural by artist Uber 5000.  The mural fills the entire wall of the building which is located where King Street East meets Queen Street East.  As always in any Uber 5000 artwork there are little yellow birds hiding in the background.

  As we entered the building we noticed a dedication to thank Canadian pianist Glenn Gould for his contributions.  Glenn was alway known for his love of animals as well as his piano playing.

  The first animals we visited were the dogs.  As our group gathered, a volunteer brought out a small black dog and worked his way through the crowd.  Behind him followed an older man who said "He's going to be my dog".  A huge smile stretched across his face.  This was not the only dog to be successfully adopted.  As the dogs yipped and barked for our attention we could see from the signage that most would be on their way to new homes soon.

  After the dogs we visited the special species section.  A bunny door stop held the door open for us.

  Just inside the doors was Carmel the bunny.  Carmel was doing her best to look cute and adoptable.  Getting a pet on impulse is a bad idea without understading the long term cost and comittment.

  There were lots of information packages on caring for different animals.  We know a family who recently took in an African pygmy hedgehog so we picked up a booklet for them.

  Several pools at the back of the room held red-eared slider turtles.  Red-eared sliders are the most invasive turtle species in Ontario ponds.  Don't release your unwanted turtle into the wild.  Again think before you buy one as a pet.  Wild red-eared sliders are causing our local turtle species to head towards extinction.

  At the exit was a bearded dragon who was wearing a cone so he didn't touch or scratch where he shouldn't.  A note next to him stated that he was headed to a sanctuary.

  A lot of feral or street animals come into the shelter.  The only way to stop more and more of them from coming is to have them spayed or neutered.  This way they can no longer reproduce.

  A sign in the operating area shows how they clip the ears of spayed or neutered cats so they can easily be recognized.  This prevents cats being rounded up for repeat surgery that they don't need.

  The shelter is also home to many cats.  Cats like yarn and thread which can be a problem.

  We were shown some animal x-rays that showed broken bones and some that showed needles stuck inside a cat.  Cats love the thread but dont realize a needle is tied to the end.  Any metal in an x-ray shows up bright white like bones do.

  The Toronto Humane Society does a good job looking out for animals in our city.  They also do a good job for people who get the gift of a pet in their life.

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Map of Our World
Toronto Humane Society

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Post # 252

Capybara (The World's Biggest Rodent)

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  2000 Meadowvale Road
Date: May 2019
Website: www.torontozoo.com

  Some people may be surprised to learn that the world's biggest rodent is not a rat found in the New York subway system.  The title belongs to South America's capybara which weighs up to 65 kg, stands almost 2 feet tall and can grow up to 4 feet long.  We have come across capybara at several zoos, but had a real close encounter at the Toronto Zoo.

  Diego the capybara lives at the Toronto Zoo.  The zoo just recently started some Wild Encounter programs.  We were able to learn more about him as well as feed him a treat of some fresh lettuce.  Capybara are herbivores and eat only plants.  In fact the name capybara translates roughly to "master of the grasses".  All rodents have teeth that constantly grow and must gnaw on things to wear the teeth down.  As we fed the lettuce we had to make sure not to get near those teeth.

  Capybara are semi-aquatic and spend most of their time in the water.  They have webbed feet which helps make them great swimmers.  Their nostrils and eyes are high on their face so they can breathe and see above the water, but if they have to, a capybara can stay under water for up to 5 minutes.

  Capybara have a high rounded back.  Diego looks kind of like a coconut with legs in the photo above.

  The other capybara at the Toronto Zoo can be found near the waterfall in the Americas section.  Diego prefers to keep by himself and lives in the Kid's Zoo not that far from his relative the guinea pig.

  The keepers said that Diego was about 6 years old.   We think that the photo above may have been taken while Diego, his brother and parents enjoyed a family dinner together.

  In Toronto there are also capybara at the High Park Zoo.  Two of the High Park capybara are famous for escaping.  One of them wasn't found for almost a month before being returned to the zoo.  In the photos and video above you can see the runaways with their babies.  Baby capybara are called pups.

  Feeding the capybara was fun and Diego was friends with whoever had a piece of lettuce.  Once all the lettuce was gone he went off to the other side of his enclosure to be by himself again.  It was great to see and learn about this amazing rodent up close.   Next time we are in New York City though, we would still like the rats to keep to themselves.

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Click here to take a virtual tour and see our collection of Toronto Zoo animal photos.

Map of Our World
Toronto Zoo (Kids Zoo) , High Park Zoo

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Post # 251