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