Hello and welcome to my blog! I’m glad you are here. It’s week 23 in 2022 and I’m hosting Weekend Coffee Share linkup #73. Come on in for a coffee or tea, and let’s chat.
Today I have two lovely walks and a few beautiful peonies to share. The walks can be combined to get in more steps and to see distinct landscapes.
1. Corktown Common
Corktown Common park is a versatile place for either an easy walk on flat surfaces or a cardio workout using the stairs. The trails go in sort of a spiral pattern. Beautiful redbud trees and other native flowers bloom in spring.
Lots of birds to watch in this park, especially the red-winged black birds that fly back and forth across the curved boardwalk, and cute duck families in the ponds. Benches are available to rest and enjoy the park.
Click on any image in the gallery to see its bigger version.
It was a blissful walk in glorious sunshine to get in my steps, enjoy nature, and be grateful for the little things that make life better.
2. Don River Trail
The Lower Don River Trail is a beautiful, serene trail that follows the Don River. The trail is perfect for a peaceful walk or bike ride, and offers stunning views of the river and its surroundings. Coming to the trail on a sunny weekday, I had the place almost to myself.
Green trees, green grass, the dappled shade, and the reflections on the river were pleasant to see. Several bridges contribute to the uniqueness of this trail. Birdsong filled the air as I walked. Sunshine and a gentle breeze were ideal conditions to stay out longer. I cycled home feeling light and relaxed.
3. Beautiful Peonies
I was delighted to see peonies in three different colours: yellow, hot pink and red. I look forward to seeing them in a local garden every spring. These blooms are huge, almost the size of a dinner plate. There were many of them so the branches just bent over with the weight. I love their layers of petals and gentle fragrance.
Spring walks are my favourites as the weather is mostly sunny, temperatures are usually cool, the landscape is fresh green, and flowers bloom everywhere. I hope to have more beautiful outings this weekend.
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Natalie the Explorer 
I can see why you enjoy your spring walks. Such beautiful colors everywhere. Is this really #73? Seems like you just started this challenge!
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Yes, it’s really #73. I hosted 50 linkups last year, took two weeks off at Christmas and New Year’s, and have been weekly so far this year. Time flies.
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Hi Natalie – Corktown Common park looks absolutely gorgeous and I’d love to have a stroll through it (although I’d be doing it in short spurts!) You’re so fortunate to be surrounded by so many lovely walks.
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Hi Leanne, There are nice benches at Corktown Common park to take breaks and enjoy the views. Short spurts are fine. No need to rush when there is so much natural beauty around us. I count my blessings to be able to walk or cycle to many lovely parks.
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Absolutely gorgeous weather to walk and amongst such beauty Natalie. I am ever so grateful for your blogging friendship and link up, and my post has a few words about that, as I am about to end my link up after almost 6 years…last one 20 June…I am even more appreciative of yours which has been going for …for 73 occasions..almost matches my age…! Thank you indeed. Denyse
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Denyse, Thank you so much for your kind comments, your blogging friendship, and for linking up. I wanted to join your last two linkups, unfortunately, my schedule doesn’t work out. It’s amazing that you hosted for almost six years. I don’t know if I’d last that long hosting this Weekend Coffee Share linkup. We shall see.
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That is something I never knew either…when to stop the link up. I let things happen as they have and in some ways it showed me that I could give myself permission to stop!! Thank you again for yours! Denyse.
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You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy this week’s coffee share linkup.
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Peonies are exploding out in our neck of the woods as well. Amazing flowers.
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Peonies are indeed amazing flowers. They’re short-lived so I enjoy them while they’re around.
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I love peonies but find them quite difficult to grow.
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Over here, peonies bloom once a year and last a couple of weeks if there is no heavy rain or winds that destroy them.
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You are so lucky to have a collection of walks steps from your house. It is lovely here in Connecticut but I need to get in the car if I want variety in walking trails. This is my first #weekendcoffeeshare I hope my post showed up and it is an appropriate addition to the conversation.
All is good though. The weather is magnificent,
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Thank you, Laura, for linking up with Weekend Coffee Share (WCS). I saw your post in the InLinkz dashboard so it showed up 🙂 Participants join from Friday to Sunday and I’ve seen about thirty participants every week. I hope you get to meet new bloggers and receive new readers to your blog. There are dog lovers and dog owners in our WCS blogging community. They’ll enjoy reading your post. The weather is beautiful here, too. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Thank you Natalie for making this opportunity possible.
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You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy getting to know the WCS blogging community.
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What lovely peonies! And another gorgeous walk.
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The weather is beautiful here this weekend. I went for a walk and saw new peonies in different colours today.
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What a wonderful place to walk, Natalie. Thanks for sharing the lovely photos.
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Thank you Dan for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Your flowers are absolutely beautiful. Although I love flowers I am not into gardening.
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I look forward to seeing those beautiful peonies every spring.
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How beautiful. I adore peonies – they’re not something we can grow in Queensland…Another lovely walk.
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I look forward to seeing peonies here every spring. They’re short-lived and sometimes get battered by rain or wind.
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What a lovely Spring walk! We are chilly but the sun is out – thought the trees and flowers are missing a little
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The sun is a great mood lifter, especially in winter.
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Your city is amazing Natalie. So much beauty. I love the peonies. I’ve tried to grow them with no luck
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Thank you, Jennifer. I love living in Toronto. The peonies usually bloom in June here and they’re short-lived. Sometimes they get destroyed early by rain and wind.
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The trails look nice, and I’m sure it’s great to have them almost to yourself. Hope your weekend is going well and that you have a wonderful week ahead 🙂
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Thanks, Trent. Hope you have a great weekend.
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Peonies are a huge favourite of mine. They should be out soon at Bruckner Gardens.
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Hope you get to see some gorgeous peonies at Bruckner Gardens.
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Such lovely trails to spend some time in nature on! Everything looks abundant and so very peaceful 🙂 Thank you for sharing these spaces with us and for hosting the Coffee Share. Hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend!
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Glad to see you at this week’s linkup. Have a great weekend!
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Thank you, Natalie! It’s nice to be back 🙂
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Hi Natalie, Your walks are always so beautiful. I’m amazed that there are so few people out even during the week. I find people out walking their dogs at whatever hour I go out. You have so much green and you photograph it so well. The Redbuds are gorgeous. They are such a nice contrast to all the green. The steps are a nice contrast as well.
My post for you was published but not as I had thought I scheduled it. I must have made a correction after I scheduled it at 9;00 am. When I simply pressed “schedule” after making the correction, the time reverted to the time it actually was and at 3:00 am you do a lot of things blindly expecting to go back. LOL. I kept hearing pings on my phone at 6:00 am, and I wondered why. When I checked, voila, there was my post. Yikes! Wrong links or no links!
I am trying your idea of link parties using InLinkz, unlike, Denyse who is quitting hers. I admire all those who host challenges and link parties, it is a lot of work but the friendships are the immense payoff. So thanks for hosting.
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Hi Marsha, I just found your comment in my spam folder! I’m glad I was able to retrieve it because you took the time to write detailed and thoughtful comments.
I’m fortunate to be close to many parks and can go to enjoy open space most days. Now that summer has arrived, the trees are full of darker green leaves. They look more intense than spring green leaves.
When I schedule my post and the InLinkz linkup, I double/ triple check the time (AM or PM). It’s so easy to make a mistake on the scheduled date and time in WordPress and InLinkz. I use the free version of InLinkz. Thank you for linking up with me. Have a wonderful week!
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Hi Natalie, I’m glad you found me. I am trying out the free version of InLinkz. Not too many readers are using it, but I’ll give it a chance. It did locate a link that did not show up in my comment section. Have a good end of the week> 🙂
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I hope you find using InLinkz helpful. When I started hosting the WCS linkup, the previous host had been using InLinkz so the participating bloggers were used to it. Another weekend is coming up. Have a great weekend!
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You too, Natalie. See you Saturday! 🙂
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I am so glad you enjoyed these walks in nature. Peonies are beautiful indeed.
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Thank you Astrid. Spring walks are wonderful. Have a great weekend!
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Redbuds AND peonies?? *swoon* And I never knew redwing blackbirds could be aggressive. There were lots of them around the California Delta near where I grew up, but they just went about their business. I’ll be more careful next time I’m around any.
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When the red-winged blackbirds are nesting, watch out.
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It’s been a lovely season for peonies. Thanks for the walk.
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Thank you for stopping by. Have a great weekend!
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Springtime has certainly reached Toronto.
Lovely tour Natalie.
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Thank you Gary. Hope your weekend is going well.
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Look like lovely places to walk.
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Yes these walks are enjoyable. Have a great weekend!
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What beautiful places to walk. Those are so very cool. I always love the places you show. Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
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Thank you Patrick for linking up. I’m glad you enjoyed the places I share on my blog. Have a great weekend!
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Such beautiful walks Natalie! The park and the river trail looks amazing. I’ve been taking walks in my hometown this weekends, showing my daughter around. SHe’s been there before, but only in the winter and things looks very different in summertime. Thank you for the coffee!
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It’s terrific that you could show your daughter your home town in different seasons. Have a great weekend!
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Hi Natalie,
Such beautiful trails and walks. The park and river trails look so pretty and I LOVE all the flowers you have shared. They are so beautiful! I just love being outside and with nature, even if you have to watch out for mama birds protecting their young! Haha, I love the sign you shared. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I finally was able to link up this week. Thank you so much for hosting #weekendcoffeeshare! ~Diana
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Hi Diana, I’m glad you’re able to link up and you enjoyed my post. Spring is beautiful here. Have a great weekend!
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Good morning, Natalie! Corktown Common looks to be overbrimming with the Spring season. Lovely! Have a great weekend! -Pam
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Pam, Spring is beautiful here. Hope you’re enjoying your break. Have a great weekend!
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Toronto never ceases to amaze me with its beautiful parks and vistas, Natalie! Your spring is gorgeous and who doesn’t love all those pink trees? Lovely peonies! Hopping into the coffee share!
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Thank you Terri for joining in with your weekend coffee share. Toronto looks beautiful in Spring. The redbuds and peonies don’t last long so I enjoy them asap. Have a great weekend!
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So pretty Natalie! I love peonies and would love to get a few someday for my yard.
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It would be great to see peonies bloom in your own yard every spring
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Gosh, those redbuds are lacy and pretty. The blooms remind me of the blossoms on the pear trees in front of my brother’s house. Love all the green. We are supposedly in monsoon season so things should be greening up but have only had one rain.
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Hope you get the rain you need. The redbuds last just a few weeks so it’s a treat to see them at their best.
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