In late April, we were able to pay a visit to the Sakura cherry trees in High Park that were blooming early due to the unseasonably warm weather we were experiencing. It was a beautiful day and several members of the walking group joined in the outing.
We took the subway to High Park station, as no cars were allowed in the park and parking on the nearby streets would have been impossible.
Special signs in the subway made sure visitors didn’t get lost.
Guardians of the law made sure no errant motorists tried to drive into the park.
Walking toward the famous hillside that is covered in cherry trees, we passed several wild cherry trees that were blooming too.
There was also evidence of the recent burn of the underbrush which is performed to protect the famous oak savannah in the park.
Just past the Grenadier Restaurant, we found the main concentration of blooming cherry trees.
They were, indeed, glorious. A close-up shows the delicacy of the blossoms:
Among the cherry trees was a display highlighting the migration of baby turtles at that time. Apparently, the nests are on the hillside and the baby turtles have to make their way down to Grenadier Pond. Paved paths with concrete curbs present an obstacle to their progress, so the curbs have been modified in order to expedite the transit of the turtles.
If you like forsythia’s bright yellow spring flowers, you would have loved this display:
We continued the walk south to The Queensway and walked over to the other side of the park where there were a few more cherry trees. To take us back to Bloor Street, we took the path designated as “off leash”. There we saw dozens of dogs running and loving it. None of them was threatening and it was a delight to see them enjoying being off leash.
The path is paved but there was some mud beside it and, of course, that’s where most dogs headed!
When we arrived back at the Bloor St. entrance to the park, we got back on the subway and headed home. I think it is safe to say that we all thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of these special trees.
Probus Club of Kingsway-Islington 