Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday.

Coyotes in the neighbourhood

Just a little bit of a warning, one of our neighbours had a young coyote follow him when walking his dog along the path to the elementary school.

Some basics about coyotes

Residents living near ravines or wooded areas in Toronto are being warned they can expect more coyote sightings in their neighbourhoods this time of year. Coyotes are nothing new in Toronto, especially in the Beaches, where the four-legged canines have become a regular fixture in the east-end neighbourhood. The animals are more active and visible during the winter months, which is generally their mating season. With a particularly snowy winter, the city says they’ll be easier to spot in parks and ravines.

Residents are advised to keep their pets supervised and on leashes, and not to approach or feed the coyotes.

Despite the warnings, animal groups say coyotes pose no danger to humans living in urban areas. Residents in the Beaches tell CTV Toronto there are two coyotes that live in a den up on a hill, and that they are quite curious, venturing out most mornings and most evenings. Coyotes have also been known to frequent Tommy Thompson Park, located at the foot of Leslie Street, and roam the Don Valley.

Wildlife officials say coyotes are wary by nature and are generally more comfortable roaming the residential neighbourhoods when fewer people are outside. But there have been some encounters, with tragic consequences.

How to co-exist with urban coyotes

To minimize “negative encounters” with coyotes, the city of Toronto provided a tip sheet to residents:
- Avoid feeding coyotes or other wild animals. Feeding wild animals is detrimental to the animals themselves and can create problems for the neighbourhood.
- Avoid feeding domestic pets outdoors.
- Ensure that all household garbage is inaccessible to animals.
- Place garbage at the curb on the morning of the scheduled pickup rather than the night before.
- Consider using green bins instead of composters for food waste.
- Always supervise pets – keep dogs on a leash and keep cats indoors or supervised when outside.
- Remove dense brush and weeds around property to minimize hiding spots for coyotes.
- If you encounter a coyote, wave your arms aggressively, make loud noises and throw objects in its direction to scare it away. These actions teach coyotes to be afraid of humans and will help to minimize conflicts with coyotes. If those kinds of actions do not scare aware a coyote, slowly back away from the coyote – avoid turning your back or running away. When you have an opportunity later, report the encounter to the City by calling 311.

With a report from CTV Toronto’s Dana Levenson

We have a holiday market in the neighbourhood

HOLIDAY MARKET AT THE SHOPS OF DON MILLS

Start Date: Fri Dec 2, 2016
End Date: Sun Dec 18, 2016

This outdoor market will feature a collection of seasonal and artisan vendors, live music, food and drink, a warm-up lounge hosted by Jack Astor’s and a strolling Santa.

MARKET DATES & TIMES

December 2 - 4, 9 - 11, 16 - 18

Fridays | 3pm - 9pm
Saturdays & Sundays | 12pm - 6pm

FIRE HAZARD

This is a post from our neighbour Kim at 7 Humphrey Gate

Hi…I noticed birds nesting in my external dryer vent this year and could see them doing the same thing in virtually every neighbour’s vent that I could see from my backyard. I waited until the end of baby bird season and have just removed 6 nests as well as 3 dead birds from the vent….ugh! Obviously this was an extreme fire hazard. The vent cover is not animal/bird proof and if the louvered shutters are loose or open the mother bird is able to get in and out very easily.

As well as cleaning the vent we replaced the cover with one that is animal/bird proof. Now in my case we needed a very long ladder (over 24’)…if you don’t have one you can rent from someplace like Home Depot. Another alternative is to have a service like Magic Touch do the dryer vent cleaning for you (all the way from the dryer thru to the house exit). I had this done in May of 2015…I think they will also replace your cover for you but I really don’t remember….you should ask. (I didn’t have any nests in the vent at the time so this wasn’t an issue). If you're interested their website is www.magictouch.to .

While you are at it, you might want to check your other external vents to ensure that the louvered cover is still secure….although not a fire hazard like the dryer vent I don’t think anyone wants dead birds decomposing in their vents!

I want to also add that during our top floor renovation, we discovered that the dryer duct had blown apart inside our floor joists and had been depositing lint everytime we used the dryer. It was a fire hazard of the worst degree. The design of our ducts is not the best and we need to perform basic maintenance on a regular basis.

What a wonderful day - 2016 best neighbourhood party yet

How's this for real time reporting?

Today's neighbourhood picnic couldn't have asked for better weather or better company. Thank you everyone for turning out with so many goodies for the picnic table. We had at least 100 people throughout the day. Even a potential new family who were here for an open house.

We live in an awesome neighbourhood.

3rd Annual Neighbourhood Picnic Sept 11th

TALK TO YOUR NEIGHBOURS... INVITE YOUR FRIENDS... PREPARE FOR LOTS OF FUN

It's all set and signs will go up on Sunday. Bring chairs, blankets and a dish to share. The Fire Department will be joining us. This is time to catch up with your friends, make new ones and build our sense of community.

Everyone is welcome!

3rd annual neighbourhood picnic 4 weeks away

Time to save the date! September 11th in our newly named Greenbelt Park.

Summer is flying by and we don't want to miss a minute. As tradition demands, our neighbourhood picnic lunch will be the first Sunday following the long weekend. It's only 4 weeks from today. Time to plan your pot-luck dish.

Now there have been a few families move in that may not know about our tradition. If you have a new neighbour, please make sure they know they are invited.

We'll post more as we get closer and signs will go up around the neighbourhood just afer Labour Day.

Front steps make a difference on how the world sees you

As many of you have experienced, our front steps and outdoor landscaping is less than optimal. With that in mind we've hired Verdant Landscaping to repair/replace our front step landing and the adjoining floor bed (and since we're an end unit, the retaining wall across the front of the two properties).

Like many of us, out steps were sloping and becoming unstable. Verdant is correcting the problem. First they've dug down and installed a concrete pad to provide stability for the steps going forward, then they have installed weeping tile, and blocks below grade. On top of this they are building the steps and the garden walls. Since I've already been asked, the contact is:
Caleb Closs
Sales & Project Manager
Verdant
They are from Ingersoll so his number is 1-226-238-0591.

If you think that sounds familiar, it may be to regular blog readers, because Caleb installed Kim Fraser's steps a year ago.

Artwalk at Shops of Don Mills this weekend

The amazing neighbourhood of Don Mills is hosting another amazing event.

ARTWALK IN THE SQUARE

Start Date: Fri Aug 12, 2016
End Date: Sun Aug 14, 2016

This August, in partnership with the Artists' Network, CF Shops at Don Mills is hosting Artwalk in the Square, our largest art festival to date featuring local and emerging artist.

For more information visit

Thinking of a new roof?

There's been lots of activity in the neighbourhood recently - new roofs, new driveways. All really good to see. If you have not decided on a new roof, I want to tell you about a gentleman we met this evening.

Diethart Metzner, a contact from Michael Mazzucca from 298 David Dunlap, visited with a group of residents this evening consulting on roofing issues. He provided information on what needs to be looked at to provide a thorough understanding of each units' specific roofing issues. Such an evaluation will required access to each attic, pulling up of shingles at at least one house to evaluate the venting of the monsard roofs, evaluating snow and ice shield and commenting on flashing and gutters. He has offered to do a day of testing and investigating with the view to providing estimates for roof replacement. There will be a nominal fee for this service.

If you are interested in participating in the evaluation day, please contact Diethart directly. He would like an email with a list of current roofing concerns. Day of evaluation TBD.

Concert series at the Shops at Don Mills

We live in a great neighbourhood and one of the advantages is FREE summer concerts.

Dr. Draw, 2 pm & 4 pm

Dr. Draw is known as the first violinist to venture from rock and classical into electronic music culture. His style is difficult to describe as his history with music and culture spans an eccentric lifetime. From playing for royalty in Prague to creating near chaos at the Toronto Beaches Jazz Festival to playing luxury brand events like Chloé and Dom Pérignon, Dr. Draw inspires kudos wherever he plays. Lately, his reputation is growing eastward. Performances have included playing in Singapore, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and a spate of Louis Vuitton events in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and South Korea.

Performing in such frenetic locales energizes the performer time and time again, allowing him to repeatedly “creatively interact with cultures all across the world.” The result is a constantly evolving musical style that brings together the seemingly disparate elements of classical violin, jazz-rock fusion, folk, and pop into a riveting masala that feeds the soul and invigorates audiences.

Shops of Don Mills Farmers' Market Open for the Summer

SHOPS FARMERS' MARKET

Start Date: Tue Jun 28, 2016
End Date: Wed Aug 31, 2016
Time: 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM

Enjoy fresh Ontario grown fruits and vegetables, baked goods, and more!

Every Tuesday beginning June 28th, from 11 am to 5:30 pm. Visit Shops Farmers' Market located on Aggie Hogg Gardens.

It's not too late to participate

Come out and join your neighbours!
Over 24 families are participating.
Over 300 hits on social media.

It's going to be a great event.
The date - June 11th, 2016

It's not too late to participate.

Everyone interested in participating please respond by email to:
Kulsum Jaffer: kulsum@rogers.com

All the clutter will find a new home
The idea is to get everyone who has extra stuff they want to get rid of, to have a garage sale at their home. We'll collectively advertise that we are having a huge neighbourhood garage sale, hopefully attracting lots of visitors and when we're all finished, we can gather in the park for a bit of a neighbourhood celebration.

Date: Saturday, June 11
Time: 8:00 am to 3-4:00 pm, rain or shine.
Location: garages throughout the neighbourhood

We'll get helium balloons to be distributed to each household that wants to participate. We'll advertise in local papers, online forums and signage on the streets. It can be great fun and a great way to clean up for summer. Hope everyone participates.

Purge and sell together

We're setting a date - June 11th, 2016 - for the community to come together and have a massive neighbourhood garage sale.

Everyone interested in participating please respond by email to:
Kulsum Jaffer: kulsum@rogers.com

All the clutter will find a new home
The idea is to get everyone who has extra stuff they want to get rid of, to have a garage sale at their home. We'll collectively advertise that we are having a huge neighbourhood garage sale, hopefully attracting lots of visitors and when we're all finished, we can gather in the park for a bit of a neighbourhood celebration.

Date: Saturday, June 11
Time: 8:00 am to 3-4:00 pm, rain or shine.
Location: garages throughout the neighbourhood

We'll get helium balloons to be distributed to each household that wants to participate. We'll advertise in local papers, online forums and signage on the streets. It can be great fun and a great way to clean up for summer. Hope everyone participates.

Join the DMRI for your say on how your neighbourhood should be

Hi neighbours, it's been a while since our last post. Summer finished with our community picnic on the only cold weekend of the summer - hopefully this year will be better. Block off Sept 11th for our next community lunch in our newly named Greenbelt Park.

WE ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO JOIN THE DRMI

Today's big news: we encourage everyone join the DMRI (Don Mills Residents Inc). The Don Mills Residents Association is a respected voice on behalf of the community at both the municipal and provincial government levels. Divided into 13 Areas, (map), each Area has a Coordinator who, along with the DMRI Officers and other Coordinators, serve on the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee meets at a minimum, once per month.

With all of the building in our area, it is of utmost importance that our voice is heard. We need to have a say on how our neighbourhood is shaped for the future. The annual membership fee is $25 which is used to fight for the shape of our neighbourhood. You can join online at http://dmri.ca/membership/. Check out everything the DMRI does at http://dmri.ca

The 2016 DMRI Annual General Meeting Wednesday, May 11th at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be held at St Bonaventure, 1300 Leslie Street. The meeting is open to all DMRI members.