Hello from the Botanical Garden of Toronto during Winter
Recreating our moments 20.0 !!
It was a usual lazy laid back Sunday for the lazy duo. Woke up at around 10 am, with the new Canadian Spring time which otherwise would have been 9 am if it was yesterday. Did some weekend chores and was all geared up for some studying and productive work.
But, there came our mood to go somewhere, the one that we got when we were in Sri Lanka, where we woke up to our own rules, with nothing to think about. I suggested an evening stroll after doing the cooking for the week. Instead, Sachin wanted something more exciting.
Hence, Sachin did a quick googling of nearby places and just like that he made his decision soon after.
Let’s go to the Botanical Garden which is only 1/2 hour away.
We didn’t think much of the clothes, just changed into some good pants, got a water bottle and some cereals packed. Got the camera gear, and left home. Route we took was our usual 68 bus from Warden and 54 from Lawrence Avenue East.
The place was the easiest to find, by the main road. But, the crazy duo had a time finding the correct entrance to it. I kept saying let’s go from one side, whereas Sachin wanted to try the other. And for a change, Anupa let Sachin take his way; a quality I am practising these days.
Finally, we entered. Surprising us, the car park was unusually full for a winter day in Canada. Yeah, people do decide to be outdoors during Winter too, a decision we were doubting today when we realised only when we were on the road that, the botanical garden is all outdoorsy where the fuss pot here doesn’t handle it so well.
Anyhow, we started making our way through the paths.
1st thing we realized was, why didn’t we wear boots and come? In our defence, it was not a snowing day, so we were like why should we?? But no sooner we came here, we saw the notices everywhere noting that the place is not winter-maintained, meaning no snow shovelling is done on the roads. And the brave Anupa didn’t have her gloves too.
But we decided to take it as it comes and enjoy it.
We walked around the park. Had to be extra careful with our steps as there was almost-dry ice. And Sachin having bought his new camera gadget was testing close-up shots of all the trees and flowers that were good enough to be alive during this winter.
This is our 1st ever winter in any country. Coming from a very tropical country in South Asia, we have not seen anything below 15 degrees in our lives. So every day spent here is a new challenge, rather an experience for us.
Despite this harsh weather, one thing still amuses us, the beauty of this country remains strong. The best example is the botanical gardens today. Anyone would think, what a stupid thing to do to go see flowers during this winter.
But, there is a different beauty in everything here during each season. I believe, it is seeing what is hidden beneath drops of mountains of snow. The trees, bushes, and greenery that stand out among white snow are a different level of a sighting.
I, who speak here like a brave one, is not the best when it comes to dealing with the cold weather, I shy away. But, I think it should be noted, just because I can’t handle the weather doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate what is seen.
Coming back to the story, we kept walking in, me taking photos of everything I see on my way, being the official 2nd photographer now with Sachin’s brand new iPhone 14 pro which has the best camera quality I’ve seen to date. I even thought to get one for myself but realized, no point in both of us having one as Sachin will anyway be capturing most of his shots from his camera, which means, I can use his phone. So why need another phone??
What came next was the best surprise for us.
From a distance, we saw a small water stream flowing. We, the waterfall junkies instantly fell in love with this sight. The side path to the water was full of snow, but Sachin managed to get past to get a close-up shot of the ducks we spotted, it was a happy moment, and let me share some proof of it.
As we walked along, we got a sight of a bridge joining the two ends of the park, and we got going to that side and started crossing.
Then comes another surprise. A mini waterfall.
Water droping down at its own leisurely pace, giving me an instant flashback of the Sera Ella from Sri Lanka. We kept eyeing the surrounding water for a bit and got our usual selfie here as a memory.
And I took my Instax out to get one for the book too, to realise it was of low battery. Both of us felt quite bad, as now now we have troubles with Instax whenever we decide to take a photo from it. Sachin was taking the blame for him, but I asked him not to worry and that it is my responsibility to get *only* camera gear in order and not his. Getting his camera gadgets is his task and this is mine, so I am to be blamed.
Anyway, we called it a day as Sachin was not up to continuing as keeping hands out for a while freezes you out. Saw this, and got a reminder to not take our lives for granted.
On our way back, we stopped at the gift shop, enjoyed the little gadgets they had, and checked the books, toys, and souvenirs.
We caught the bus soon after and headed home. On our way, we were surprised to see that we got a bus-free transfer swipe. It was more than 2 hours since we last tapped in but, anyway enjoyed that, had our cereals and walked home from Lawrence Avenue.
So our Sunday was well spent.
