The amount of new housing is amazing

 

London is growing. And London is not alone. Pick a town in southwestern Ontario and you will find a town growing by, as they say, leaps and bounds. And that amazing growth rate extends right across North America.

As farmland disappears under new housing and all that accompanies that growth -- streets, shopping districts, schools and even parks -- one must ask, how long can this pace be maintained?

Many of us, old enough to recall peach orchards and other crops now gone or disappearing from the province, worry about what crop or crops will be eliminated next. Peaches, once grown but on the edge of town and canned in one of the numerous canning plants that once dotted the countryside, now come from Greece or Australia.

A unique townhouse development

 

This townhouse complex is somewhat unique in London. I can't say I'm familiar with the whole city but I personally do not know of another neighbourhood quite like this one. With tree floors, these places are not designed with seniors in mind. Too many stairs. And the single car garages further restrict the market that these units appeal to.

What these places do share with many other recent developments in London is that these are clearly high density.

Yard decoration

This was a car stopper. Seeing this concrete column with a sculpture of a horse trying to squeeze its way out, had me braking to a stop in order to take a closer look. I immediately saw it was not alone. There were possible a dozen other columns, all with realistic sculptures poking out.

These were clearly lawn ornaments -- somewhat sophisticated lawn ornaments. These were not the usual garden gnomes with pointed hats. One column I could understand. A couple, one on each side of the driveway might work. But a dozen scattered about the yard seemed a little much. Was this a display of items for sale? If it was, was this legal in a residential neighbourhood?

Higher Density Development

 

Just a few short years ago, this was rich farmland. Some of the best in Canada thanks to the long, for Canada, growing season. Now, it's an expanding Northwest London suburb. The apartments and the townhouses raise the overall density per square kilometre of the area to the density  demanded today by city planners.

Dandelions are going to seed

It seems winter just left. It did. And the plants began to flower just the other day. Again, they did. And now, the flowers, like the dandelions in almost everyone's lawn, are going to seed. Talk about speedy, focused action. 

Maybe, just maybe, it is time to think of dandelions as food, salad greens, and not as weeds. If you can't kill 'em, maybe the answer is eat 'em. Or, if you are into dandelion wine, maybe we should drink 'em.

Dandelions are numerous and poison-free

Dandelions were once hated. Parks and other open, grass-covered spaces were almost devoid of the bright yellow flowers. Today dandelions are everywhere. Parks are filled with thousands and thousands of the bright, yellow blooms. Yet, for the most part, dandelions are still hated.

So, what changed to make the weed so common? The loss of poison control  of weeds. Poisons are out today and so dandelions are enjoying a de facto welcome. In Ontario, 2-4-D is essentially illegal. It is no longer used in parks or sold in stores. Round-up is also difficult to come by in Ontario although it is legal for some purposes.

When I was kid, I was warned not to pick the dandelions growing in the park. They might be contaminated with herbicide. I guess this is one other thing that has changed. Kids now pick dandelions without fear. And these young kids are growing up in a world where dandelions are so common that my guess is that the day is coming when the bright, yellow blossoms will be welcome and the oh-so-common weed will no longer be hated.

A sliver of forest in a suburban jungle

When I moved to London Warbler Woods it was a large wooded area on the southwest edge of the city. When a suburban development was proposed for the area, a massive movement to save the trees was started. Although it failed to save all the trees, or even the majority of the forest, the development was stopped before all sign of the wood disappeared.

Some years later the land on the other side of the woods was developed. Today Warbler Woods is but a sliver of forested land situated between two big subdivisions. The remaining land gives one a window into the look of the area before sewers, streets, sidewalks and homes filled valleys and flattened hills.

It may be small but it still lays claim to accolades for being a remaining wilderness area in the middle of an urban area. One spring when I stopped by with my granddaughters to hike into the woods on a Trillium hunt, some hikers warned us to stay together. They had spotted a small pack of coyotes in the forest. Not surprising as deer and rabbits frequent the area.

With covid-19, the area is more popular than ever. Hiking in the woods is one area where one can go maskless and this is oh-so-important to some folk.