16 Valley Conservation Area

Ice Flows on the bank

Fencing that runs along the upper paths

The little dog in her macho sweater

Listening to the wild roosters

It was a nice day today, sun shining (very brightly I might add), it was about 1 Celsius (warm for February) this afternoon and it's a holiday - the "all new" Family Day. This is the 2nd year for this added day off work in Ontario, which is a welcome bonus to the long dreary months of winter (and the lack of holidays that we North Americans face). Family Day is now to be celebrated every third Monday of February thanks to Dalton McGuinty. To read the news release, click HERE.

So, I thought, what better way to spend part of the day then taking pictures at one of Haltons many beautiful conservation areas with my family. Well, I only spent it with part of my family. One part is off to work today (which is a bit of a shame, kind of defeats the purpose of the holiday), so it was the JRT part that I took along. I figured it was a good idea to get her back out in the woods again, and work that leg in a nature environment.

We decided on 16 Valley Conservation Area, since I didn't want to over do it with the little dog, and we just planned on mucking around near the creek. I regret not having the camera with me the day we had a major thaw, along with ample amounts of rain. The valley was completely flooded that day and I have never witnessed the water at those levels - amazing to see. A couple of the above are pictures of the after-math of that thaw, you can see the ice flows on the banks. The water is still fairly high and moving at a decent click, so of course, no swimming for the little dog, and I don't think she'd appreciate the water temperature anyway.

Conservation Halton History HERE

As far as I know, there are two separate areas to walk in this conservation area. You can park down in the valley in the unmanned parking lot (or mud pit, and I like to call it), cross the bridge and venture out and up the path that takes you for a hike-and-a-half (if you're willing), snaking along above the creek or one of its many tributaries through the woods and fields. You can walk for miles up there, so the weather today was much more forgiving for that kind of hike, rather than the 30 Celsius and humid weather that we decided to venture out in this past summer. Or you can park at the top entrance along the road, with an opening to a few upper hiking paths. We did a tiny bit of both today, never having entered from the top, I'm really not sure where it goes, but I'll definitely be finding out this spring or summer.

While on one of the upper paths, I thought I heard coyotes, unusual for the middle of the afternoon in this area. I was going to return to the car anyway, this just encouraged me to do it at a faster pace. All I had with me was my little 12lb Jack Russell and my Canon camera. Though I know she'd try her best, Brandy is no match for a coyote especially with a leg that's not quite up to par yet, and wearing her macho knitted sweater wouldn't help the intimidation factor. I really didn't want to have to beat anything off with my camera, it was expensive, plus I didn't have the BIG lens with me which would have done more damage if need be. The closer we got to the car, the more I thought that the coyotes sounded like a group of malicious of roosters. I take no chances in the woods by myself, I'm not exactly an imposing figure, and if there was a gaggle of wild roosters out hunting, feeding on unsuspecting hikers, I didn't want to take any chances. They have spurs you know. Back at the car, I still hadn't figured out what the sound was ... but I did decided it was coming from one of the farms in the area, which relieved me immensely.

So, we didn't get chased by coyotes, or a gaggle of wild roosters, nor did we get very far in our hike, but we caught some good shots, had a breath of fresh air, and I did it with part of my family, the whole point of the day.

I always miss the woods in the winter months, so this was a nice little taste to carry me until the weather gets a little warmer.