Horseshoe Valley Kaleidoscope
— by Valerie Thornton
Our hot steamy summer continues. I must admit my gardening has suffered and been a challenge (and I am not a fancy gardener as I grow wildflowers and love clover in my lawns). As I am originally from England, people often assume that I know everything about plants and gardening. But for advice on those, you would have to contact Debbie Palmer who lives in the Highlands and is head of the volunteers who maintain the two boulevard gardens from spring to fall. What a beautiful job they do. Anyone interested in gardening should consider joining the Oro-Medonte Horticultural Society: info.omhs@gmail or visit their website.
Having lived here since 2004, I thought that I knew most of Oro Medonte; when driving to Barrie or Orillia I generally make sure I also drive through some of the leisurely country roads (Lines). So relaxing, lots of trees, fields and animals in the fields and generally good for the soul. But recently I have taken some different routes and meandered, discovering some new delights in our Township. In particular, I love all the wildflowers that flood the roadsides at different times of the season. Especially splendid now are the orange daylilies (often called the “ditch lily”). I even have some in my wild area section of my garden. I know they are an invasive perennial but what a glorious splash of colour they add to the landscape.
In spring my joy is seeing all the lilac bushes that dot our landscape, planted I am sure by some of the early settlers. Sadly, I have also discovered that there are more aggregate quarries than I thought. Fortunately, we have many Simcoe forests that dot our Township and farms. I do hope that our farmland is not turned into solar panel fields as is happening in parts of England.
The Horseshoe Valley Property Owners Association (HVPOA) had a successful golf tournament on June 28. The raffle raised $680 for Lost Boys Hope Dog Rescue, a Barrie-based foster rescue dedicated to saving and rehoming dogs in need. I love that they are still holding a yearly golf tournament and supporting the community. They also donated a basketball net to the new Horseshoe Heights School on 4th Line, to be situated in the outdoor play area.
The LON (Ladies of the Night) golf group’s fundraiser this year is COPE Service Dogs which is a charitable organization that breeds, trains, and places service dogs with individuals with physical disabilities and care facilities. After advanced training with their professional team, each dog is placed with a life-changing partner (from youth to seniors). The LON fundraising efforts include a Silent Auction, a variety of Prize Draws and their Annual Tournament. A donation of goods, certificate vouchers and services would all be appreciated. Interesting, in my first column 16 years ago (August/September 2010), I mentioned that work was commencing on the tennis courts and the LON golf group had just raised $6,000 towards the lights for the ice rink. This golfing group plays at two location, Settlers Ghost and Horseshoe and is made up of women from all areas not just Horseshoe Valley. For more information check out www.lonhorseshoe.ca.
In fact, both HVPOA and LON have contributed to our Line 4 Memorial Park. Michelle Turner and Dusana Bondy put together a cookbook, with all proceeds going to the playground at the park. I should add that people donated rocks, benches and trees. It was definitely a community effort.
H.Q. restaurant moved from Craighurst and is now settled in at the new location on Highland Drive in the old club house. It is lovely to see this being used again, and there is a lot of space including an outdoor deck area. The driving range is open as a bonus, with a bucket of balls at a reasonable price.
A survey was sent from Council to residents regarding future plans for the Line 4 Memorial Park. I believe there were over 300 responses. The main push seemed to be to put more pickleball courts in, which in one case took most of the already small parking lot. It is a relatively small park, and the green space is VERY important. It is the only area where groups can really gather (movie night and other such events) and young children can run and kick/throw balls. I know that pickleball is very popular now, one of my daughters who lives in Toronto plays a lot and loves it, but think they should consider other larger parks in the Township to put in more courts. They can even play indoors in the Simcoe Woods Community Centre which is part of the school on Line 4.
Horseshoe Valley Resort always seems to have different events going on. In fact, we are fortunate in having Vetta Spa, Quayle’s Brewery, numerous hiking/biking trails, and Hardwood Bike (I believe fat biking is very popular). In addition, we have easy access to Orillia (I must make it to the Mariposa Folk Festival next year) and Barrie (country music star Tim Hicks at the Troubadour Festival on September 12).
Hoping that we see some movement on the development in Craighurst soon and also that the railroad tracks are repaired. It is rather ridiculous that the speed is increased just before the tracks, from 50 to 80 kmh.
Keep cool and enjoy the rest of the summer. “It isn’t where you came from, it’s where you’re going that counts.” Ella Fitzgerald
