Contemporary modern design is a trend.

Said to be a minimalist's dream, these angular, grey and white condos have a selling price of approximately $725,000. These units are in the west end of London, Ontario, but similar buildings are going up both north and south of this development.

For a look inside one of these units, click the link to the right: Inside Look.

Described as a contemporary, modern design, residences in this vein are being built all over Canada with examples in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Until I wrote this post, I had no idea this was a trend in residential design.

Monkey Bars: Loved by Kids All Around the World

London, Ontario, is absolutely riddled with parks. Southwest London alone has more than a hundred little parks.Yet, despite the great number of parks, duplication of play equipment is minimal. Swings, slides and monkey bars are the only pieces of equipment to be found in almost every location.

When I was a boy, more then six decades ago, swings, slides and monkey bar were just about it. Everything was made of rolled steel, cast iron, metal chains and large boards. The ground under the pieces of equipment was often paved. Injuries were common

In the mid 1960s, architect Richard Dattner designed the iconic and very popular Adventure Playground. These often looked dangerous but it was that very look that made them safe, or so  the theory went. Kids recognized the dangers and this caused kids to be more cautious.

Three and a half decades later the Adventure Playground fell out of style. The park near my home was once an Adventure Playground. It was demolished around the turn of the century. Why? I was deemed too dangerous.

Which bring us to today's designs, which are interactive and inclusive while encouraging role playing, discovery and critical thinking. Social skills are accented: interaction, sharing, and participation. At least, these are the claims.

Yet despite decades of design improvements, my three granddaughters all gravitate to the swings, slides and monkey bars.

At later date, we will take another look at children's playgrounds. I find it very interesting that equipment designs, driven by an almost universally accepted philosophy of play, are almost the same whether the park is in Canada or Romania.

Condo Infill Units Popular in London, Ont.

It wasn't a large piece of suburban land but that didn't stop a creative developer team from building almost two dozen condo unit. Some folk object to the cookie cutter look of infill projects such as this. To which, I say, humbug. If the cookies are good, a small batch of them is delightful.

Checking the MLS records, I discovered the average selling price in 2017 was $580,500 Cdn. (or about $436,300 U.S. or £354,400 GPD). That was up from $549,800 a year earlier. There were no sales the following year and I didn't see any sales this year. It is safe to say that these units have increased in value.

The exteriors are a mix of stone and brick, inside there are nine and 10 foot ceilings plus some units have vaulted ceilings. At the rear of each unit is a covered rear deck. The units vary in size from 1534 sq. ft to 1844 sq. ft with 7 sizes in between. These units look similar but clearly there are some major differences when it comes to the layouts.

Units such as these are popular with retired folk. Being condos, all exterior work is handled by the condo board. My friends who live in condos appreciate not having to cut grass (as I do). And if the seniors lived in Toronto or had a lakeside home, as two of my friends did, selling and moving to London left them with additional cash when the financial dust from the move had settled.

Is it a residence? ...a commercial property?

One thing is clear: it's big. But what is it that is big? —a home? —a commercial property? At one point my wife and I would have voted for commercial property but that is not the skuttlebutt making the rounds in the neighbourhood.

Rumour has it that this new, and I think very handsome building, is a triplex. Supposedly three beautiful residences have been merged into one glorious building. Parking is underground, there is wheelchair access on the far right side and reportedly the building has an elevator. There is one more juicy rumour: supposedly there is a rooftop pool. I find that easy to believe.

Do you have a gut feeling? Have you seen something similar? If so, what was it? A home?

And thanks to my blog, I have been sent the definitive answers. Click this link and you find answers to the questions being asked: 1218 Riverside Drive Dr.

Chipmunk: a small squirrel, not a cute mouse

A little more than 400,000 folk live in London, Ontario. But that's not the whole story. London, like all cities, shares its space with other animals both big and small. A nearby cemetery is home to dozens of deer, the forested river valley near the university is posted for coyotes and Byron, my neighbourhood, has chipmunks among its rich mix of wildlife.

It's now fall and the chipmunks are preparing for winter. I put out seeds for birds and I also attract chipmunks. They munch away until, with their cheeks are puffed out with seeds, they scamper into the treed area at the back of my lot where they have their extensive burrows.

I used to call chipmunks cute mice but in doing the research for this post I learned I was wrong. Eastern chipmunks, the kind found in London, are small squirrels. I also learned that the goundhogs that frequent my backyard, also called woodchucks, are the biggest members of the squirrel family. Note the damaged bark on the branch behind the chipmunk in my picture. That may well be goundhog damage. Groundhogs eat bark.

Chipmunks will cart away a lot of seeds. If all goes well, they sleep quite lightly during the winter, waking up every few days to feed on some stored seeds. Chipmunks don't have oodles of fat reserves like animals that go into full hibernation. But, if it's a particularly harsh winter period, chipmunks will go into a deep state of torpor with their heart rate falling and their body temperature crashing. If this state lasts too long, the outcome can be poor.

For more info, see:  Penn State article on chipmunks.

Suburbanites like to walk

Generally, suburbia has a reputation for cookie-cutter houses, curved streets and a total lack of neighbourhood shopping. Suburbia is car country; folks don't walk in suburbia or so goes the oft repeated cliché. But it is not true, at least not the part about no one walking.

People walk in my suburban neighbourhood and they walk a lot. It's not the pull of shopping, like downtown, that gets my neighbours out pounding the pavement. Nope. More often than not, it's their dogs. Rain or shine, dogs need to be walked. Although, I must admit, jogging or just walking to get some exercise does come in a close second. And simply going out for a pleasurable stroll is also worth a mention.

So, the next time you hear someone saying that suburbanites never walk anywhere, smile. They walk a lot, at least they do in the Byron neighbourhood in London, Ontario.

Tanker Cars Rolling Through London

This kilometre-plus-long freight train is rolling through London, Ontario, heading for the core of the southwestern Ontario city. From there it will pass through east end residential neighbourhoods before exiting the city.

What makes this train worth noting are all the tanker cars. As you may recall, the horrific train derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in 2013, involved tanker cars carrying crude oil. The fire following the derailment destroyed the town centre leaving 47 dead. If your town has one or more major rail lines traversing densely built-up areas, you should read the BBC report on Lac-Magantic.

Since the Lac-Megantic accident there has been an off-and-on again discussion of creating a bypass to enable freight trains like the one pictured to avoid London's core and its densely populated residential neighbourhoods. But a new route would be exceedingly expensive, not to mention time-consuming. The tracks running straight through London will remain for the foreseeable future.

When I worked at the local paper, The London Free Press, I covered a number of local derailments with some involving tanker cars. Shooting pictures of derailed railroad cars is fraught with danger. Tanker cars can explode and propel the massive, round, metal ends a surprising distance. The ends are the weakest point in a tanker car. I always shot burning cars from the side and with as long a lens as possible. There were good reasons for the homes in the immediate area being evacuated.