I have talked many times about the following to my students who are new to Canada; this is the second largest country in the world and is made up of many diverse landscapes. Here in Ontario, most of the province does not look at all like the vehicle-jammed, dense urban area in and around Toronto. The north is mostly rocks, trees and water while the mostly fertile, flattish area west of Toronto is full of small towns, mostly founded approximately 200 years ago.

On Wednesday, I FINALLY, took a day off, leaving behind at least briefly, my worries about caregiving, paying work and other responsibilities and wandered west where I came across this majestic creature. The moose is one of Canada’s most well-known large animals. This one looks like he is challenging me not to get any closer. One of the interesting things for me about visiting small-town Ontario is that I am often reminded of what I know of Southern Ontario’s history and I try to imagine what it must have been like to slowly set up a home, a business, a farm, a school, a village in this far-away, unknown place where the moose roamed freely. – Maria