Blissful Memory of the Don

With summer’s heat, the weeks sped by,
And springtime streams did all but dry.
But days grew short and followed on,
Oh, blissful memory of the Don.
Of you, we think with saddened heart,
Our time is up and we must part.

Note: The naturalist Charles Joseph Sauriol, an esteemed son of Toronto, was born on this day in 1904.  (May 3, 1904 – December 16, 1995)

Charles was a one-man conservation powerhouse - saving of many natural areas in Ontario and across Canada. It's so easy to feel connected to Charles; his diary entries are shared a fabulous twitter feed. 

In 1927 Charles purchased a 40-hectare property at the Forks of the Don. Charles used this as a cottage, and every year, he and his wife and four kids stayed there during the summer. There were ducks, a goat, and even a pet raccoon named Davy, who followed Charles around like a dog.

At the end of his first summer at the cottage in Don Valley, Charles wrote about leaving the place he loved. And, that's when he wrote today's poem.