Stony Swamp

 

 

 

 

I went for a walk today along one of the Stony Swamp Trails called Lime Kiln. It was during this walk that I remember why I usually only go in the Spring and Fall – bugs. There were so many mosquitoes and deer/black flies buzzing around it was ridiculous. As a result, I am now covered in bug bites and am feeling very itchy. It is a very nice trail though.
“The Flood Lime Kiln is one of the few remaining examples of a 19th-century industrial lime kiln in Canada. Lime was an important building and household chemical used to make mortar, fertilizer, whitewash, plaster and many other products. Francis Flood built this kiln in the late 1800s on a miniature escarpment of exposed limestone bedrock known as the Hazeldean Fault. Most lime producers went out of business in the early 1900s as new larger industrial kilns  were constructed and Portland cement was introduced from Europe. The Flood ceased operations in 1906, and the site was abandoned and fell into disrepair. The ruins of the kiln were rediscovered and its significance realized in the 1970s. The site was restored in 1999.” From one of the plaques at the Lime Kiln Trail.
I had tried to get to the Lime Kiln last year but ended up at Chipmunk and/or Beaver trail every time I ventured out that way. You see as I drive down Moodie Drive to get to the parking lots, I always get excited and end up turning into one of the first ones and walking along that trail. Parking lot 10 is the entrance to the Lime Kiln trail and is situated a little bit down the road, past parking lots 8 and 9 where you gain access to Chipmunk/Beaver and Jack Pine trail, respectively. This time I worked very hard on driving past these lots and toward lot 10.
Despite the bugs, I managed to get some nice shots of the ruins and of a happy, little frog (okay, terrified, fairly large frog) that sat for me for quite some time.