we love our - part 2

park. Duffin Grove is about 12 mins children's pace from our house. It is great. It is known as one of the best, community parks in the city. We do have a park closer and it's fine in a pinch, but it - and pretty much everything - pales next to DGP.

There is the year-round organic farmers' market, the community bread ovens, the communal garden, the papier mache public arts puppet theatre group (look out for Hallowe'en posts to come), speakers series, healthy snack bar, playing fields, dog run, etc. In winter, there is the free outdoor skating rink and the cheap rental of skates, helmet, and stabilising chair to push along.

But what we love most is the playground, sand pit and wading pool. I didn't get any shots of the latter but it is simple, communal (i.e. shared toys), safe (shallow and lifeguarded), and shady. In fact, the whole play area is very shady. The play equipment is rugged wood and comes in various shapes and sizes. It is often crowded but not painfully so. It's a younger child area (under 8) but that transition is 3+ years away.

However, the sand pit is the favourite of Seb's and I can understand why. It is just sand and logs and a water spiggot and shovels galore. It can be everything and anything and there is always other kids to imagine with or space to go off alone. Plus, did I mention the real shovels?

My goal was to have a playground pal by the end of the summer. I think I have one in Lucie - a Franco-Ontarian teacher with a 16 month old Alexandre. We see each other most days, plus there are a handful of people I can smile at as I see them at Dewson School on a regular basis.