Community Walks

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There's an old saying that suggests if you want to know if your brain is going flabby, feel your legs.

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Bill Robb/This Week

Trees given to new homeowners by Byron Dobson many years ago have now flourished on Lansdowne Avenue.

Daily walks keep legs limber and in good shape, and in the process, allow us time for reflection and quiet enjoyment. All of that helps us keep our brains in fine working order for when we need them most.

Today's neighbourhood walk is a favourite of mine, along the loop of Lansdowne Avenue which runs off Buckingham in Riverview, circles in a crescent, and comes out on White Pine Road. For a variation on the route, you can cut out along Deerwood Court, which runs off Lansdowne as well, and you will still come out at White Pine Road.

This neighbourhood was built about 35 years ago, and the early homeowners had the presence of mind to plant some lovely trees on their front lawn, so the street is a joy to walk along now. There is a little play park at the curve of the road that stretches over to nearby Manchester.

Although a couple of weeks ago this little park was struck by vandals and the case is before the courts, that in no way reflects the normal calm and safety of this neighbourhood. It is in fact a wonderful place to raise children and live a peaceful life.

I can say this with great conviction, because it is my neighbourhood and I am struck by how many residents of Lansdowne and Deerwood are the original owners of their homes. I think in this day in age that is unusual in any part of town, and it speaks volumes for the quality of life there. Where once our children played, now our grandchildren play.

These homes were pretty much all built by the late Byron Dobson and it was one of his ideas that in the spring after he sold a home to a young couple, he or one of his staff would come by and offer two free trees. He always said he wanted to build neighbourhoods, not houses.

That is why, on this walk, you will not only see trees but a beautiful assortment of what would be considered expensive trees in this period of time. On one lawn you will see a full and wholesome blue spruce, on another a magnificent flowering crab, and any number of different species of maples.

As neighbourhood walks go, this is a lovely one.