I have come much closer to the damage done to rotting tree stumps by pileated woodpeckers, the unmistakable mark beavers leave on the woodlands, the high and unreachable nests of bald eagles and occasionally the sad and lonely passings of the beasts of the forest.
These things were all new to me but, at the same time, I was not surprised---it's not like I had no inkling of some of the marvels of nature.
What did surprise me, however, were all the times I ran across the remnants of human life and habitation, half-buried and almost un-noticeable in the woodlands. Pretty well every time this happened, for some reason I felt compelled to to stop and visually document my findings. Many of those pics ended up on these pages, quite a few didn't. The following is a bit of a photo-dump, each with its own description, of some of the ruins I ran into.
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| I came across these abandoned pipes at the eastern end of Komoka Provincial Park. I'm gonna guess they're still there... |
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| This was by the trail in Kains Woods and I ran past it a couple of times before I realized it was actually there. Bunch of stones and mortar and also pretty far away from habitation. |
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| Not really a "ruin" but definitely a sign that a human had been messing with things. |
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| Not even sure what this is, part of a sewer system? Seemed pretty old and it was in the middle of the Sifton Bog. |
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| Ran past this makeshift grave in Kilally Meadows. Hope it was a pet... |
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| After my run in the Sifton Bog, I was exploring the old section of Hyde Park Road. I noticed an open field which looked as though it had some kind of a laneway running through so I went exploring. I soon discovered I was in the middle of where someone's farm used to be. This and the next two pictures were taken there. |
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| Bits of concrete and a pipe sticking up out of the ground. |
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| Not sure if this was the remnants of some kind of well or something. |
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| I came across these concrete steps while running through the Westminster Ponds. Not the usual kind of steps London uses in their environmentally significant areas. Pretty sure they were built so that the war vets could access the Ponds from Westminster Hospital, back when it was in service |
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| One of the abandoned buildings that formed part of the Westminster Veterans Hospital. In a slow state of decay... |
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| Got off on an unmarked trail at the western end of Komoka Park. Guessing it used to be for cattle. |
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| At this point was totally lost in Komoka Park and was hacking my way through underbrush and came across the remnants of an old fence, |
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| Another bushwacking adventure had me coming across a ladder into a tree. This was on the outskirts of Meadowlily Woodsa. Think it might have been a deer blind at one time. |
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| Probably my favourite thing I've run across. This was about the size of a large matchbox and contained the remains of "Nathan", who I assume was likely a goldfish. Found this at the base of a tree in Warbler Woods. |
So there you have my photo dump! I hurt my knee about a week and a half ago, otherwise this would have been a bunch of (likely) boring pics from my latest trail run. Instead, you got these awesome ones!! Hopefully, back to the boring ones soon!
