We’ve been having bits of rain today. It is a sweet relief for a parched land with cracking earth, wilting trees and low rivers. The mudflats stretch on and on like a low tide.
I rarely insert myself into the landscape but today I felt part of it.
Ottawa River
All images © Karen McRae
I was beside the river a couple of days ago and glimpsed dark slipping movements out of the corner of my eye. The observer was being observed. A few moments later I was almost face to face with this little mink. Just an arm’s length away. We are, apparently, mutually curious creatures.
The mink slipped away into a crevice. “Come”, I said gently. And briefly, it returned.
I am always a little awed by these fleeting brushes with nature.
Of course some wild things are easily coaxed to your hand…
Ground squirrels in the British Columbia mountains. Someone has been ignoring the “Do not feed the wildlife” signs; they were very comfortable posing in front of the camera.
Our backyard chipmunk. Simultaneously bold and skittish.
And the birds. It’s hard to describe the feeling of an almost weightless chickadee perched so gently on your fingertips. A bit blissful.
All images © Karen McRae
All images © Karen McRae
The Ottawa River’s edge in full-on summer.
All images © Karen McRae
A wonderfully creative and sustainable use of retired industrial land in the city, the Evergreen Brick Works is an extraordinary community environmental centre located on the site of the former Don Valley Brick Works (1889-1980’s) which produced many of the bricks that built Toronto. Old and new is beautifully integrated, creating an eclectic and vibrant space that makes full use of its central location on a swath of green space along the Don Valley ravine that runs through Toronto.
If you arrive on a Saturday you will find a bustling farmers market, selling local seasonal food, and buzzing with the energy of creative and interesting people. We brought home some fresh fish, garlic scapes, new potatoes, swiss chard and multicoloured heirloom carrots, which were all put to good use.
An interesting little shelter where you can wait for a bus or a free shuttle to take you to the subway system for a convenient commute. Note the industrial pieces on the ceiling re-purposed as integrated art.
A central garden space showing both new and old buildings.
Above: A small section of the children’s garden. There are children’s day camps that run out of some of the buildings.
The open rafter area inside this building above, marks the Koerner Gardens, which are planted with native species. There is also a garden shop where you can learn about, and purchase, native plantings and many other products.
The large artwork on this wall is called Watershed Consciousness and was created by artist Ferruccio Sardella. It represents a map of the rivers that flow through the city and gently flows with water itself to sustain the plants tucked into the crevices that mark the waterways. The structural metalwork acts as a support for the both the building and the artwork.
Much of the old graffiti has been left on the surfaces and somehow it adds to the dynamic community feel of the site.
The interior space of Koerner Gardens. In the winter this area is transformed into a skating rink where you can wind your way around the raised beds under the open rafters. The skating rink is equipped with a refrigeration system and the waste heat produced from this system is directed to heat the adjoining cafe.
An image of what the clay and shale quarry used to look like before it was filled with water and turned into a vital habitat for native flora and fauna.
Below: A cross-section representation of the rock layers found in the quarry.
You just have to turn away from the buildings to see what is, essentially, the back garden to the Brick Works. A green space so vast that it’s hard to image you are in a huge city. There are winding walking trails within the 40 acre site that take you to lovely ponds, boardwalks and sitting areas. And beyond that the continuation of the ravine system and its huge network of paths.
There are many interesting businesses, events and features within the Evergreen Brick Works that I haven’t even touched on here. If you are interested in more information you can visit their website here: www.ebw.evergreen.ca
All images © Karen McRae
All images © Karen McRae
All images © Karen McRae, 2012
I’m working on a little art and photography project related to children and it got me thinking about things that I would have been interested in, and looking for, when I was a child. Not so different from what I’m always absorbed in now!
The bird above is a good example; I picked this up when I was child, out of the same river I am often beside (or in) these days. I was at a cottage with my family and this driftwood bird was lying at the water’s edge waiting for me to come along. It is, as I found it, and has flown with me from home to home ever since.
These smaller driftwood pieces have been arranging themselves into little works of art. They are pieces infused with salt air and salt water. Wood that has traveled the sea.
listen…
All images © Karen McRae, 2012
The heady fragrance of rain is filtering in through the windows. A rain that has been holding off for so long it is welcomed. A smell that feels like a luxury, much like putting your head on a pillowcase that has spent the day outside tracing shadows on the ground. Sun drenched. Rain drenched. It is the balance that is perfection.
A West Coast garden
All images © Karen McRae
draw and shoot 