This week I was going to write about my visit to Vatican City in March. Then I had a wonderful bike and hike excursion on Sunday that changed my mind. Nature wins! There will be a Vatican City blog post in due course, but it joins a long queue of things to write about.
Spring Hike
I set out for High Park on a beautiful, sunny and mild morning (12C or 54F). I rode my bike on the Waterfront Trail for about 45 minutes. Although I passed many scenic spots and landmarks along the shore of Lake Ontario, I made no stop until I reached the south end of High Park. From here, I started my hike along the lower trail that runs along Grenadier Pond.
I saw two hawks, red cardinals, robins, common grackles and chickadees among the trees, as well as ducks, geese, swans and turtles in Grenadier Pond.
A beaver dam reminded me of my beaver sighting at the end of March when I saw a beaver chewing on a small tree trunk. It is common to see beaver dams in the wetlands around here but to see a beaver foraging on land at daytime is rare.
After reaching the end of the lower trail, I zigzagged my way to the upper trails. I love the magnificent tall trees that line these trails. They look bare in early April and will be green and leafy in the coming weeks. The small trees are already showing small green leaves.
Another section on the upper trails has trees with lighter trunks. I walked for a long time and just came across squirrels and birds along the way. What’s not in my picture is the beautiful bird songs that I heard.
Eventually I made my way down to the Maple Leaf Garden located at the bottom of Cherry Hill. This garden was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth during her visit to Toronto in 1958. In a few weeks and through to Fall, it will turn into an impressive floral display that is in the shape of a giant maple leaf.
I hiked up the hill and was delighted to see a carpet of pretty puschkinia and daffodils. Puschkinia flowers have delicate white petals with blue stripes. They compliment the cheery yellow daffodils.
I hiked down the steep hill towards Grenadier Pond and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings. In a few weeks, the flowering of the Sakura trees (cherry blossoms) will be spectacular here.
One last look at the marsh in Grenadier Pond before I returned to where I left my bike and cycled home.
It was a gorgeous day and a wonderful hike. I did 45 minutes cycling + 2 hours hiking + 45 minutes cycling for a total of 3.5 hours outdoors. This excursion made me a very happy explorer!
Solar Eclipse
On Monday April 8 at 3:19 p.m. I watched the rare total solar eclipse in Toronto. The sun rays were blocked and the surrounding landscape turned dark for a few minutes; dark enough for the street lights to turn on. After the eclipse was over, it was sunny again.
Link-Up
Please note that there will be a link-up on April 19 and no link-up on April 26 and May 3 as I will take a blogging break. I will repeat this announcement next week.
I’d love for you to share your week’s highlights and/ or public art from around the world in the Comments or Weekend Coffee Share link-up #160 below.
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Natalie the Explorer 
“Nature wins.” 🙂 I’m glad it did because you have some lovely photos of it here. We’ve had a hatching of baby ducks in our neighborhood but I’ve yet to spot them, so I need to get outside more this weekend for my own version of allowing nature to win my time. It deserves it.
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Baby ducks grow fast. I hope you get to see them in their fuzzy cute phase this weekend.
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A beautiful day to hike and great post. The Vatican photo can wait.
Here is mine https://wanderingteresa.com/the-rocks/
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Teresa, Thank you for sharing some fantastic public art from Sydney. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Have a great weekend too, Natalie. My pleasure to share my finds.
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Looks like a beautiful day for a hike 🙂 Spotting a beaver must have been special too, trumped only by seeing the eclipse!
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Sarah, Both the beaver sighting and total solar eclipse are rare events. I was delighted to see the beaver in daylight 🙂
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Looks like a lovely place to hike. I was surprised to see you got a picture of a beaver. We often see evidence of the beaver but never the little critter itself.
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Yes, it’s quite rare to see a beaver in daylight. It was a good size, not so little 🙂
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Beautiful pictures
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Thank you.
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You picked a good day for a hike. As you know the weather has been miserable for the last two days but we all know that if we want to see those beautiful spring flowers we have to endure some wet weather. I love High Park and have for the last 7 decades. When we first moved to Toronto from Germany we lived within walking distance from the park and today it’s only a 10 minute drive from my home in south Etobicoke.
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Carol, How wonderful that you lived within walking distance and now not far from High Park. It’s a gem in the city. “April showers bring May flowers”. It should be sunny again on Monday. Thank you for stopping by. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Nice bike ride and walk! I have those little flowers too, though mine are blue. I love them because they scream SPRING!!
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Dawn, Yes, puschkinia flowers (or striped squill) are definitely signs of spring. We also have blue, pink and white glory-of-the snow flowers in early spring. Thank you for stopping by. I hope all’s well with you. Have a great weekend!
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How wonderful to see a beaver! Looks like a gorgeous walk.
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Yes, I was delighted to see a beaver in daylight. Thank you for linking up.
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Hi Natalie, what a lovely park. I love the beaver and the daffodils. Spring is definitely here. We didn’t have vision of the solar eclipse but there is one expected in our neck of the woods in 2028. Have a lovely blogging break, Natalie and thanks for #weekendcoffeeshare
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Hi Sue, 2028 is not that far away. The beaver sighting on land and at daytime is rare as it is a nocturnal mammal that hides well in wetlands. Daffodils are blooming around here. I remember you mentioned that you love daffodils. Thank you for linking up. I’ll be over to your blog shortly.
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That’s a well maintained track and perfect for cycling or walking. Those Daffodils and puschkinia flowers are a cheerful sight and screaming that spring is there for you all.
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Suzanne, I love the trails in High Park. We got some rain showers this week and you know the saying “April showers bring May flowers”. I hope you’re enjoying autumn where you live.
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Yes, I love autumn, not too hot and not too cool. Though the last few days we have had a huge amount of rain.
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It is so awesome that you can ride your bike, hike, see animals and plants all in the same morning, close to home! It really looks like a fantastic day!
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Yes, I am fortunate to have many beautiful places to explore and enjoy so close to home. I hope the weather cooperates for me to do a few more half-day bike-and-hike excursions this spring.
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I’m so glad you let nature win! This is a lovely post to begin my Saturday with.
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Margaret, Thank you for your compliment. I’m pleased that my post was part of your Saturday. Have a wonderful weekend!
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You too – thanks!
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Nature should always win out (no issues with Vatican City (love the museum!), but…). Looks like a nice hike and ride. Great photos of the start to spring. Anyway, have a great weekend!
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Thank you Trent. I’m checking the weather forecast for another bike-and-hike outing. Have a great weekend!
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I’m doing a long hike today – hope you can get out as well!
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The sun is coming out after overnight rain. I’ll get out today but may have to change my route to avoid muddy trails. Have a great hike!
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Had a great hike – I hope you had a great hike/ride! (muddy trails are unavoidable this time of year…)
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I had a great bike and run today. Sunny forecast for the next two days so I look forward to at least one good hike.
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I can imagine hearing the birds as I walk along in your pictures. A perfect beautiful day to enjoy the outdoors.
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Karen, The bird songs were lovely and I had a wonderful time outdoors. Thank you for linking up.
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High Park always does a great show of the cherry blossoms.
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I agree. It’s great that Toronto has several places to watch cherry blossoms as it gets crowded at High Park during peak cherry blossom time.
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I can’t wait for your blooms to come out. You sure had an ambitious day of biking and hiking. I’m out of breath just thinking about doing that all at once! Good exploring!
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The blooms are coming out fast, especially after a sunny day. Yesterday I saw beautiful forsythia bushes, hyacinths, pansies and daffodils. Today I saw some tulips. The half day bike-and-hike excursions seem just right for me as I can get home and still have time for something else.
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We haven’t seen forsythia yet. some daffodils, but none of the rest. When the forsythia come they light up the landscape! 🙂
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Yes, I love the yellow of forsythia.
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Me, too.
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thank you for the images and words that you offer. broadens my world.
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Thank you Lizl for your comment. I greatly appreciate it and your readership. I hope all’s well with you. Have a great weekend!
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Such a beautiful post Natalie with the beginnings of blooms in High Park. The maple leaf area is so pretty too. I do believe nature does win! I can imagine all the song birds too!
My husband and I are up visiting my daughter this weekend. The 13th is my hubby’s b-day and the 14th is my daughter’s! I forgot my laptop so I won’t be sharing a post this weekend but should be able to next weekend. ☺️ Have a wonderful weekend and week ahead! 💖
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Hi Diana, Happy birthday to your husband and your daughter and wishing all of you lovely time together! I look forward to reading your coffee share post next weekend.
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I love that nature won! And what a win. A bike and a hike and a beaver with some green and flowers. I mean what’s not to love! Thanks for sharing. Bernie
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Bernie, My Vatican City post is aging as Nature is winning again this week 🙂 Thank you for stopping by. Have a great weekend!
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Doesn’t spring just feel so GOOD!!
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Yes, spring feels so good. I’m making the most of every spring day. I’m sure you are, too.
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We 97 percent eclipse, but it was a great thing to watch. It was exciting.
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Yes, it was great to watch the solar eclipse.
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What a beautiful hike there. So very lovely. Thanks for sharing that hike with us. Also, thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
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Patrick, I’m pleased you liked the virtual hike. Thank you for linking up. Have a great week ahead!
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What a lovely park. The trails are so nice and open. I love all of the flowers and new growth. We experienced a partial eclipse in our area. It was so rainy and cloudy we really didn’t see anything. Have a wonderful week.
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Lisa, Thank you for your lovely comment and link. To avoid spam on my blog, comments with links are held for moderation so they don’t appear right away. I was outdoors and just got back to my computer to moderate comments. I’ll visit your blog shortly. Have a great week ahead!
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Thank you, I thought that was probably why I didn’t see it. I totally understand and it’s good to know for next time. Thank you for hosting I am sure it’s a lot of work.
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If you leave a comment without a link on my blog, it should appear right away as WordPress recognizes bloggers who have been previously approved. Hosting takes some commitment. I don’t mind hosting when the participants read and leave comments as that’s what makes blogging fun for me.
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Me too. I am still a little new to the links but getting a little better. lol.
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Your link shows in the Inlinkz dashboard so you did it right 🙂
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I thought I had commented earlier so if this is the second please forgive me. I love the trails in your park they are so nice and wide. The blooming colors are so nice to see as well. We only had a partial eclipse in our area and it was ruined by rain and clouds. However we had a total eclipse in 2017 and it was spectacular. Have a wonderful week.
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Lisa, Thank you for your perseverance to leave comments. I got both of your comments. They were held for moderation as they had a link in them. It’s awesome that you had a total eclipse in 2017. Enjoy the rest of Sunday!
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Sounds like a great hike!
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It was fabulous!
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It definitely sounds like you had a really enjoyable hike. Beavers are such intriguing animals!
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Thank you Astrid for your comment and for linking up. I was delighted to see the beaver at daytime.
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That is cool you saw the total eclipse. We didn’t get complete darkness in Los Angeles. If you had the eclipse glasses, you’d experience a partial eclipse.
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Yes, it was nice to experience the brief solar eclipse and it was sunny again afterwards.
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Hi, Natalie. I love the daffodils, daring to burst forth through the ground ! Someone has to lead the rest, right? Were those patches of snow I saw in one of the photos?
By the way, I’m sorry that I missed the coffee shares this weekend and posted late. Have a great week!
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Hi Pam, The daffodils have been going strong with lots of them in bloom here this week. My photo of the beaver was taken at the end of March when there was small patches of spring snow left. I hope to see you at the WCS link-up this weekend before my blogging break. Have a wonderful week!
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We often see lots of beaver dams and trees that the beavers have chewed but we’ve never seen an actual beaver out in the wild before. You have some really lovely nature photos.
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Thank you, Joanne, for your compliment of my photos. I was delighted to see the beaver on land. It kept chewing on the tree trunk and seemed oblivious to everything else. I had seen beavers before but they were swimming in water.
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Hi Natalie, beautiful photos and what a fabulous way to spend a day! Nature always wins for me too! However, I will also look forward to reading about your trip to the Vatican! I still have posts I haven’t written about trips I took years ago – or maybe I started but never finished. It’s hard to keep up with it all sometimes! BTW I replied to your email a while back. Not sure if you saw it. Thanks for linking up with #WWWhimsy – have a wonderful week! xo
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Hi Min, Yes, it’s hard to keep up with writing posts that I want to write, especially now when I spend more time outdoors enjoying the nice weather and travel abroad frequently. I’ll check my email for your reply. Thank you for stopping by. Have a great week!
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That sounds like a perfect day, Natalie. I agree…nature wins! Don’t you just love springtime?
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Christie, It was a fantastic outing. Spring time is wonderful with new life everywhere and temperatures that are ideal for hiking. Thank you for stopping by.
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Natalie,
I’m a little late to your post, but I’m so glad I stopped by. A beautiful outing, indeed! I assume puschkinia are wildflowers–we don’t have them in Tennessee (unless they are called something else), but I love the sight. I remember the first time I saw a live beaver in the wild, and was surprised at how large they are. Thanks for sharing your day with us, I really enjoyed it. Joe
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Joe, Puschkinia or striped squill flowers are one of the common early spring flowers around here. I’ve seen beavers in the wild a couple of times and they are not small. They can weigh up to 50 kg (110 lbs). Thank you for stopping by.
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So serene and beautiful 💕
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Thank you for your comment.
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Beautiful post! Nature definitely wins!
Thank you for sharing this 🤩
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You’re welcome. I’m pleased you liked my post.
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That beaver is so cool. I would love to happen upon one in the woods. I just love nature.
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Beavers are nocturnal animals. I was delighted to see that beaver at daytime.
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What a beautiful day for a walk! This looks lovely! Your beaver sighting photo is incredible too – how lucky!
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It was a wonderful hike. I was delighted to see the beaver at daytime. Thank you Callie for stopping by.
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Great pictures
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That looked like a wonderful ride and hike. I’m going to try and join your next link-up when you return from your blogging break!
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Thank you Mad Rox for your visit and comment. I look forward to having you join us after my break. Please check the link-up guidelines at the top menu bar on my blog or the InLinkz dashboard.
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I love that you follow the delights in your life to inspire your posts: whether it is to recount a vacation highlight or a deeply satisfying nature walk. I am again dazzled by the loveliness of Toronto. Did I correctly spot patches of snow?
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Good observation, Ju-Lyn. The patches of snow were spring snow at the end of March. We didn’t have much snow this past winter. I just got back from a trip and will share blog about it soon.
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