I love where I live
and the joy that it gives:
Dundas, Ontario, it's Our Valley-Town,
Along Spencer Creek, where nature abounds.  
In my backyard, Great Beauty is found.

Though I didn't always know,
and I was sort of just a schmo;
For it was not but several years ago...
I'd trek along the trail,
oblivious to the snails.
Thumbs thumping iPhone,
iPod pop tunes, head down, 
and wrapped in my own private sound.  
iMind my iBusiness,
but now it seems I digress...

In my middle-aged Nowadays,
I listen to what the bird says,
the clamouring cicadas,
thundering and the creaky tree. 
The water is turning and churning,
that cascading creek, rushing those rocks!
If you really listen, you know that the creek truly talks.

When it's inspiration that I seek
I take myself out for a peek.
Sitting on a rock by a creek
I listen and hear nature speak.

I see.
And I'm in utter awe 
of many mighty, minuscule, meaningful moments:
Oh, dear! A deer
and me,
we
share a stare
while the hare hops and the squirrel goes over the bridge.

"You're an Artist. And it's a great place to Be," said the biker to the Dreamer.

And, just so you know
this is a true story,
more or less, or less is more...
Maybe it was all but a dreamer's dream,
or a poet's poem?

Here is the complete adventure in photographs:
https://www.facebook.com/missnikkirocks/media_set?set=a.10157099612965705.1073741878.605790704&type=3&pnref=story

Full album here: 
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152034962685705.890849.605790704&

It's a common enough choice, really … between encouraging tourism to view the environment and sacrificing the environment to bring in tourists… This is our first hike since the Lower Webster's Falls Area had been closed off...

Beauty envelops.
The glowing warmth of the sun
reminds us of the reason.

Hubby and I went a’trekking ’round our Town, mostly in and beside Spencer Creek.

I urge everyone & anyone to check out MeYou Health and participate in the Daily Challenge.  Each day comes with a simple challenge to improve well-being, one small and manageable step at a time.  

For example,
Today’s Daily Challenge, Friday Jun. 24, 2011:
Connect to your community and learn one bit of trivia aboutyour city or town.

How to do it:  Type the name of where you live (city or town, state/province) and the word “history” into your Internet browser’s search engine. Then take a step back in time and learn one bit of trivia about the place you live. When was it settled? Did it ever have another name? Who made it famous? (If you really want to re-live history, go to your library and ask a reference librarian for help with finding original documents!)

Why it matters:  As people move from place to place, they shed attachments to communities. Knowing a bit about the history of your community will increase your bonds to it and help you feel more connected to your neighbors. It may even help you feel more civically engaged the next time you decide whether or not to take the time to vote on a referendum or attend a town meeting.

Fun Fact:  Entire countries sometimes decide to go by a new name. For example, Japan was once Nippon, Belize used to answer to the name of British Honduras, and Thailand used to be called Siam.

Taken directly from: https://challenge.meyouhealth.com/2011/6/24/connect-to-your-community-and-learn-one-bit-of-trivia-about-your-city-or-town

As this is a challenge that encouraged me to sing Dundas’ praises – some poeple know that I do this every chance I get (I should really work in Tourism!) – for my post, I shared this Blog’s link.  And, these are some of my replies:

Jone K. replied:  Great passion! Canada, eh? Got hockey?

Michelle L. replied:  I love going to spencer creek for hikes and to take pics! It’s so nice there!

Christina M. replied:  I always loved Dundas, at one point, before you were born we even looked into moving to Dundas but settled on Ancaster.  (This is my Mom… we do the Daily Challenge together!)

Carol D. replied:  My daughter and her husband and my one and only grand-daughter live in Dundas and they love it. John is from Dundas and has lived there all his life. I love wandering around down town Dundas and the wonderful shops that are there. Mickey McGuire’s is the best I alway come out of that store a lot poorer but it’s worth it.

Nikki S. replied: @Jone K. Oh, yeah, we have hockey… Dundas was actually Kraft Hockeyville, 2010 (potential for another yearly festival eh?)… we won a bunch of money to fix up the Arena!
@Michelle L I know… my Hubby and I even go crick-walking… we out on our water shoes and get in! There are some really deep spots… awesome for a really hot & humid day. It’s too deep & fast right now, though… we tried last night, but almost got washed down stream! So, we thought better of it… though we did stop to imagine the headlines in the Dundas News:)

@Carol D. I love the cheese shop, but I hear you about the poorness… It is a rare, but well worth it treat indeed! ps. How old is your grand-daughter and does she go to Dundas Central? Ps… if you live in Dundas, we refer to the Creek as a Crick, but I haven’t ever found out why!I have many ideas for more Dundas-related projects… but for now, here are some more pictures:

For a fascinating read of Dundas History… http://www.unityserve.org/dundashistory/… check it out!   I just read that the Arena used to be a reservoir until the dam gave out and was never rebuilt.  And, King St. was named after King Henry III; before that it was called Hare St.Huh.