Hi! Well, it's Christmas Eve already! All greetings and such later, but...
In my last post (gee, way back in October!), I mentioned that I had a pretty unusual summer; the main reason is that I spent a lot of it off work. This is why:
In late June and early July, I began to experience bad coughing fits; they were always "productive," as they say, but constantly interrupted my work, my evenings, and eventually, my nights. So, after a few days with not enough sleep, I finally set up an appointment with my doctor.
Sure enough, it was a lung infection, and the doctor prescribed an antibiotic, which I was supposed to take for the next four or five days, along with a cough syrup. "Don't want it to turn into pneumonia," said the doc with a chuckle. I didn't chuckle along - it would bring on a coughing fit, for one thing.
I also see a respirologist for my asthma, and happened to have an appointment around that time. I take the inhaler Symbicort for the asthma (it's not terribly serious), but after looking me over, the doctor said I should increase my dosage fourfold.
But the fun wasn't over yet.
I next developed laryngitis, and could only speak hoarsely, and for a limited amount of time, before my throat got so sore that I had to stop. You may know that I talk for a living, so despite various attempts to go back to work, I could only work sometimes for half an hour before it got too difficult. So there went steady work.
It was pretty frustrating, because otherwise, there was nothing wrong. I was perfectly healthy, and could get out and about as I wished. I just couldn't do my job. To make ends meet, as with my experience with shingles in the past (https://aproposno.blogspot.ca/2015/12/my-fortnight-with-shingles.html), I had to draw on my savings (I've often thought, out of all the decisions I've made in my life, setting aside a fixed amount each month - whatever the circumstances may be - was one of the smart ones).
Well, as with most things, I try to find an upside to a circumstance, and this was no exception.
It occurred to me that, since I was perfectly mobile, and the weather was mostly nice, it would give me a great opportunity to get out and explore "previously uncharted territory" around this city. This certainly had the desired effect of cheering me up, as good long walks always do.
One area I was always curious about was the trail that I knew ran along the Humber River. I had passed this trilingual plaque on the bridge near Old Mill subway station many times, and here was my opportunity to find out where the trail went.
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| The plaque features thee languages. English and French as you'd expect, but despite an extensive online search, I could find no indication what the native language is! |
There's a long stairway down to the floor of the valley, and I struck off south. The trail kind of twists and turns at first, and I wasn't sure I was heading south the whole time, but it turned out to be right.
There's a paved trail for most of the first part, but there are also several footpaths running parallel to it. As I walked along one of them, it occurred to me this may well have been the view of the river an indigenous person would have taken in many thousands of years ago:
As I mentioned, the trail is a little tricky to follow, actually going through an urban park, and a neighbourhood of houses and low-rise apartment buildings, before descending back into a paved path with tall trees and natural growth on both sides.
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| Yes, this quiet bucolic scene is right in the middle of Toronto's west end. |
One thing that took me by surprise was this well-known sight, formally the South Humber Pavilion, better known as "The Oculus." I had heard several things about it in local news reports, and never knew just where it was. Now I know!
It was built as a public pavilion in 1959, with kind of a "UFO" design, and included public washrooms, which you can see as the stone structure in behind:
Here's why it's called "The Oculus," or eye.
They've painted over some graffiti that was on there a few years ago, but that's really the only sign of maintenance. Otherwise, it looks sadly neglected overall.
The original design had a sculpture in the centre, with a base, and three rising bird figures, which at the right time of day, would be lit by sunlight coming through the opening, but that apparently was stolen some time ago.
There are ongoing efforts to restore the site, including reinforcing the metal posts, and demolishing the washroom building entirely, but conservation types would like to leave the stone building alone, and restore the whole site to its former glory. After just this short visit, I must say I'm inclined to agree with the conservationists; this place is far too charming to leave in its present state.
Moving on, I walked for some time more directly south, finally approaching the mouth of the Humber, where the QEW crosses over it.
Equivocal as I am about massive amounts of car traffic, I am always impressed by the engineering feats it takes to accommodate it. This is really a massive structure of concrete and steel under the QEW that many people don't see or appreciate (until it needs repair, that is).
Further along this path, I was struck by these incredible pieces of art on the concrete pillars. As you can see, they're quite beautiful, even moving, and not only did I wonder how on earth they were done, but who thought of such an incongruous place to put them!
I've taken pictures of this beautiful bridge over the mouth of the Humber before, but it's always worth a look from another angle:
From south of the bridge, here's the great view of the Toronto skyline:
And finally, at the mouth of the Humber River, as it empties into Lake Ontario, is another plaque commemorating the history of all the people who have lived on and around it:
I kept walking that afternoon, heading east, as far as King and Roncesvalles, to catch the streetcar back home. That was nearly the longest part of the whole walk, and it really brought home - as only walking can do - the sheer size of this city.
I was to take several more walks throughout the summer - including one along the same trail, from Dundas St. W. down to Old Mill station - but this was the one I got good pictures for.
Eventually, my voice returned, but it was into September before I could return to work full-time again (and thankfully, was j-u-u-ust strong enough to participate with the TWMVC in our very well-received performance at the North American Welsh Festival in Rochester, NY on Labour Day weekend - would have hated to miss that!) And I'm back to my regular once-daily dose of Symbicort.
Anyway, that was my summer.
As I look out my window now, I see snow, and temperatures that are only going to get lower, and I'm glad I was able to post this reminder of a rather pleasant, if definitely unusual, summer.
So, I hope everyone has a great Christmas, and a happy and prosperous new year in 2018. See you soon, I hope!
