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Dundas, Ontario and a Bit of the Niagara Escarpment: April, 2020

Dundas, just west of Hamilton is nestled at the foot of the Niagara Escarpment.

The Dundas Town Hall, completed in 1848, is one of the very few remaining municipal buildings in Ontario from the pre-1850 period. It was designed by a local contractor in the massive, unornamented Roman Classic style.

Dundas Town Hall
Dundas Town Hall

Other Dundas sights:

United Church
Presbyterian Church
Post Office
Former Armoury now Community Centre
Roman Catholic Church
Catholic School
Escarpment behind
War Memorial
Public School
Anglican Church

There are various narrow waterways here and I found these birds:

Canada Goose
Hooded Mergansers
Mute Swan
Mourning Dove

Some town botany:

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Forsythia
Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
Manitoba Maple (Acer negundo)
Scilla
Choke Cherry (Prunus virginiana)
Periwinkle (Vinca minor)
Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata)
Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)

With all of the trails of the Royal Botanical Gardens and even the Bruce Trail closed at the moment, I was fortunate to find a spot where I could climb to the top of the escarpment.

Here are some of the plants I saw on the way:

Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum)
Basswood (Tilia americana)
Hop-hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana)
Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
Virginia Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginiana)
Moss
Blue Cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides)

Views from the top:

Burlington Skyway
Hamilton

NATURE POETRY

And the spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the spirit of love felt everywhere;    
And each flower and herb on earth’s dark breast    
Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.                  – Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)

Miles Hearn

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