On a dead end lane off a dead end country road near Whitevale in Pickering

I was surprised to find a very large former school. The building is in reasonable shape and the large grounds are well kept. There is no identification sign for the building except for the original marking:

Perhaps it was a private residence for a time but appears uninhabited now.

Here is a reference I found on-line:

In 1865, the Whitevale School was built.  The old James White homestead located on the corner of Lot 28, Con. 5 was selected as the site for the new school and cost $150. The school was built by Whitevale resident T. P. White for a cost of $1,900. Other members of the community contributed to the school; the brick was brought from Hubbard’s Kiln on Brock Road and the windows and doors were made in Whitevale.

There is another unoccupied property nearby:

MYSTERY BIRD

I will identify it at the end of the post.

Some botany:

MYSTERY BIRD

The black central breast spot identifies a Song Sparrow.

MAILBOX

Thanks to Heather Pantrey for these remarkable photos.

Hi Miles,

I loved your Barn Swallow pictures.  I have tried without success to get shots of the feeding process this year.  However, yesterday, in the windows of the factory near Sam Smith Park, I caught these Cliff Swallow pictures.  It was great to see the birds returning to their old haunt.

NATURE POETRY

Cool in the very furnace of July
The water-meadows lie;
The green stalks of their grasses and their flowers
They still refresh at fountains never dry.                       – John Drinkwater (1882–1937)

Miles Hearn