Kew Gardens Mystery Door

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  2075 Queen St E
Date: March 2017

  Kew Gardens in Toronto is named after the famous botanical gardens in London, England.  It is much smaller and is a portion of Beaches Park which runs from Queen Street East down to the beach in front of Lake Ontario.   Before we entered the park we enjoyed a nice brunch at the Green Eggplant.  The highlight was their Sky High French Toast which is made with challah bread.

  After brunch we crossed the street to the Beaches Library.  Out front stood a statue of a mother owl with her owlets gathered around her feet.  We took the pathway next to the library and headed into the park.  We walked deeper into the park and then as we passed the baseball diamond we noticed a little tiny door at the base of a tree.

  Facing the third base side of the diamond was a little tiny home like you might see in a fairytale.  We wondered who would live there?

  A squirrel was watching us from the tree next door.  We asked him if this was his house.  He just sat there.  We asked him if he knew who lived there?  He sat very still.  We asked him if he minded if we took a look behind the door.  He ran off behind the tree.  It seems he did not want any part of a B&E on this tiny home.

  We knocked at the door and there was no response.  We decided to gently swing the door open.  We half expected an angry squirrel or chipmunk to lunge at us so we were pleasantly surprised to find that no one was home.  Inside the door were various rocks and twigs that had been placed there perhaps as gifts from other curious visitors like ourselves.  We closed the door behind us and left everything undisturbed.
  Upon further investigation we discovered a Toronto Star article that stated that this door was placed there by the author of a series of children's books.  In the books it was the home of Henley the Hedgehog.  Henley is a real pet hedgehog and does not actually live inside the tree.  Who does actually live there now?  When you visit the park maybe you can solve this mystery.

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Map of Our World
Beaches Library , Henley The Hedgehog's House
Green Eggplant

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Post # 170

Ministry Of Silly Walks

Location: London, England
Address: 49 Charing Cross
Date: Sept 2015
Website: www.rbs.com

 Drummonds Bank has been located across from Trafalgar Square since 1760.  It is located at the top end of Whitehall which is a street in London that contains many government buildings.  Those government buildings house many different departments and ministries.  If an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus is to be believed, there is one ministry that many people have never heard of.

 

   In the skit, John Cleese portrays a minister who is shown walking up Whitehall.  In the background you can clearly see the London icon Big Ben as well as the Old War Office.  The minister has a very unusual walk which is hard to describe.

    In Toronto, Canada there is a Firkin pub on Bloor Street East which has this silly walk painted on the wall beside its staircase.

  John Cleese continues walking his walk along Whitehall towards Trafalgar Square.  When he finally arrives at his destination he will have to apologize that his walk has become rather sillier recently and as a result it takes him longer to get to work.

  We are now only a few silly steps from the offices of a ministry that is supposed to receive the same government spending as Defence, Social Security, Health, Housing and Education.  Last year the British Government spent more money on National Defence than on the ministry in question.

  John continues on past the railing above until the camera zooms in on a sign that reveals the name of the ministry.

  We are now almost back at the entrance to Drummonds Bank and on the fence (above) between the ATM and the window with flowers is a sign which states, "Ministry Of Silly Walks".  This skit has been an all time favourite amongst Monty Python fans.  Monty Python's appeal lies in the fact that they combine both intelligence and silliness.  We suggest that when you visit Trafalgar Square you should also take a walk along Whitehall Road to visit this filming location.  Your walk may not be as silly as a member of this legendary comedy troupe, but like Michael Palin's character we think that with Government backing you could make it very silly.

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Map of Our World
Ministry of Silly Walks
Firkin On Bloor

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Post # 169

Polar Bear Enrichment & Training

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address: 2000 Meadowvale Rd.
Date: March 2017
Website: www.torontozoo.com

  February 25th 2017 was International Polar Bear Day.  We attended the Toronto Zoo that day.  Specifically we attended a talk by the Torono Zoo's polar bear keepers and Dr. Martyn Obbard, a polar bear researcher.  Dr. Martyn Obbard talked about how the increasingly shorter season of sea ice is making life harder for the bears.  The bears rely on the sea ice to go out and hunt for seals.  Without the sea ice, the bears do not get enough to eat. Dr. Obbard worked for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and his research has helped us understand what we can do to help the bears.  Conservation of polar bears requires not only several Canadian provincial and territorial governments working together, but several countries as well.  Polar Bears can be found in Canada, Greenland, Norway, USA and Russia.

  The zoo keepers also talked about their experience working with the polar bears.  The three most recent polar bear babies were all offspring of Inukshuk and Aurora.  Hudson and Humphrey just recently returned to the Toronto Zoo and Juno was leaving the week after International Polar Bear Day.  The keepers talked about enrichment and training of the bears.  One lucky person at the talk would win a chance to see a polar bear training session.  Guess who won?

  We attended the training session a few weeks later.  The training sessions make it easier for the keepers to administer medication, to give the bears a checkup and to move the bears around the exhibit.  Our training session was with Nikita.  The keeper used different hand signals and a whistle to ask the bear to perform a task.  Each success was rewarded with either a handful of meat or fish.  When the keeper made an open hand motion Nikita opened her mouth.  When the keeper tapped a wooden stick against the fence, Nikita would touch it with her closest hand.  When the keeper pointed to a target, Nikita would go over and touch her nose to the target.  The children that attended the training with us were very impressed with how well Nikita performed.  Finally, one big fish and the training was completed for the day.  Good work Nikita and good work to all of the people helping polar bears in the wild.

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

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Map of Our World
Toronto Zoo (Tundra Trek)

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Post # 168