Country Cousins Come Calling

Now that we are pretty familiar with most of the regular trails in the park, Duncan is starting to explore off the beaten path. A new favourite is the hay storage shelter, just across from the cow field. We don't stay long, because he's not allowed to pee on those interestingly-scented rolls – after all, someone's going to eat that hay! – but he likes to wander over just to see if anything has changed.

Immediately behind the pen where Duncan's Turkeys™ live, there's a short trail through the woods, the Trillium Trail. It's been closed since spring due to fallen trees, but he still checks often to see if it's open yet. 

This morning, as we peered down the still-forbidden trail, we saw a wild turkey hopping over one of the fallen trees. And when we stopped off for our daily visit with our turkey friends, we found we weren't their only visitors:

Pigs and Sheep

On this morning's jaunt to the farm, we checked off what I think are the last farm animals on the to-see list - pigs and sheep. Duncan found the pig moderately interesting (but nowhere near turkey level), while Darcy was unimpressed.

We didn't get too close to the sheep, partly because we saw a raccoon scurry past their pen as we walked down the road, and didn't want to risk meeting him unexpectedly.

Stuck in a Rut

This lane is one of Duncan and Darcy's favourite walks at the moment. It runs along the side of the cows' field, and they always enjoy spying on them. But the grass is getting pretty long, so they ended up sharing the narrow wheel track the other day - at least until Duncan hopped over to the other track and pulled ahead to his rightful position in the lead again!

Bronte Creek has just posted on Facebook that 3 sheep have arrived for the summer, so we're looking forward to checking them out this week. We've already met the baby turkeys; Duncan is still fascinated by the turkeys so we visit them often!

Oops, She Did It Again!

Darcy has trouble with screen doors...

2017

2018

Down on the Farm

 

We've been spending a lot of time lately prowling around the farm at Bronte Creek - it's a good way to have a short, shady walk on a hot day, but still packing in lots of smells. The latest arrivals are Willow the pony (by the fence) and Delilah the donkey (hiding in the shade near the gate).

Then there are the cows. Both dogs find them fascinating, and we nearly always stop and peer through the fence at them. They are seldom this close to the fence, but they seemed completely unfazed by these small creatures who stared so rudely at them. In fact, while we were watching this one, another left her patch of shade to wander over and stare back at them:

Our first stop every morning, though, is the turkey run. Duncan enjoys them so much he sometimes even insists on visiting them again at the end of our walk:

 

Gnome Road

We've seen a lot of animals during our walks at Bronte Creek - squirrels, chipmunks, cows - but lately we've been on the lookout for gnomes. Apparently, one of Duncan's preferred walking routes runs right through their natural habitat.

We've seen several of their houses:
  And even a tiny little gnome outhouse:

But we haven't actually spotted any of the gnomes yet. Except, of course, on Facebook:

Bronte Creek

We've been walking at Bronte Creek Provincial Park several times a week lately, and Duncan and Darcy love it! There is so much for them to explore - that road in the photo above loops around the whole park, has excellent Ditches with Smells, and nobody except park staff (and us) seems to use it, plus there are trails, woods, a farm (with animals!), a play area (with more animals!), and lots of big grassy open areas.

On hot days, we take their collapsible water dishes, and stop for a drink:

 

Darcy always checks to see if Duncan has left anything in his bowl that might be worth stealing:

It took Duncan a few visits to get the geography down, but now he likes to be the one who chooses our daily route. The farm is one of his favourites. The sheep haven't moved into their pens for the summer yet:

 

But the cows are already in the fields: 

 

... and of course, there is the barnyard. SO. MANY. SMELLS!

The wooded trails have lots of potential, too, but we're going to hold off on exploring them until after mosquito season.

Catching Up with Duncan & Darcy

It's been a long time since we last checked in with our Dynamic Duo. They had a quiet winter - it was so cold even Darcy liked to stay in where it was warm! But spring has finally arrived, and to celebrate, we treated ourselves to an Ontario Provincial Parks annual pass. That means we can go walking at Bronte Creek Park anytime we want!

Our first visit was this morning. We stopped for a group photo near the children's play barn, then spent almost an hour exploring the park - and didn't even make it onto the trails. There are enough trails to keep us busy exploring for a long time, and there seem to be many interesting smells everywhere, so this will be a popular place.