Love of Family

It was rather gloomy when I set out to canvass the Yorkview and Grove Cemetery areas this morning. I was debating whether to drive, gave my head a shake and realized that the best way to get there was to walk through the Driving Park and sneak along the path to Lowe Court. Duh!

I'm so glad I did because it gave me a great excuse to visit one of my favourite sculptures, Love of Family, which is located across from the tennis club, nestled in the rock garden that was liberated by Parks staff last summer. It looked especially pretty surrounded by the blooming black-eyed susans.

Love of Family

It struck me as a particularly timely image given all the local hubbub about nursing recently in the news. That there should even be a controversy about something so fundamental is perplexing but I digress.

Visiting the sculpture did the trick and I was off with renewed vigour.

This end of town is a fascinating blend of old, new and really new homes. Some places date from the 1850's and others were built just a few years ago. This sort of mixing is a very hot topic on the Dundas Facebook page I mentioned yesterday.

I'm of two minds on the topic. On the one hand, I love older houses. Ours is about 130 years old and I think it has tons of character, despite its many, many quirks. On the other hand, I did three years of design school and have a deep fondness for contemporary design. 

I personally believe they can coexist quite happily. Heterogeneity can be a really positive influence on a neighbourhood.

Speaking of the future, I attended a Metrolinx presentation this evening at the Hamilton Workers Arts and Heritage Centre concerning the new James St. N GO station. We got an update on progress and an up-close look at the final design for the structures and plaza. 

I thought it looked fantastic and incorporated a lot of features (a stage, parking for food trucks, public art...) that one doesn't normally associate with a mass-transit portal.

As I left the open house, I snapped a picture of the new piles at McNab St. The future does indeed look bright!

2001, A Transit Odyssey