I met up with Ted outside his apartment near Etobicoke Creek, which forms the border between Toronto (the amalgamated version) and Mississauga. A hairy woodpecker was enjoying some suet at a feeding station outside his building. . At first I thought the woodpecker was a downy but it was just too big. Downy woodpeckers are only around 6 inches tall. Hairy woodpeckers are significantly larger, closer to 9 inches. They also have more significant beaks than the downy.

We walked north along the creek. I rarely walk up this way. For a walk in this area, my usual preference is to go through the fields in the Arsenal Lands then back through the forest in Marie Curtis Park. Morning was overcast, and though the temperature was moderate, there was a dampness in the air which made it feel perhaps colder than it actually was.

This tree has been festooned with birdhouses and feeders. Here we saw another woodpecker, this time a downy.

The trail along the creek is blocked with big danger signs at around Evans Ave. It looks like some work is being done to enhance the trail. We took a tall set of steel stairs up out of the Etobicoke Valley into a neighbourhood. From there we walked east to Browns Line, getting to the main road just south of Horner and Il Paesano pizza.

We walked south, past the ten dollar psychic…..

….and past the Fire Safety Plan, carefully locked away in a metal box.

We stopped on the rail bridge for a look down the tracks. The Go Train Lake Shore line runs through here. Browns Line curves just south of here before spilling out onto Lake Shore. Walking west, we passed the Long Branch Loop, the Go Station and the Legion before getting back to Ted’s place.