Thursday, October 2, 2008

St. George's/ Sky Watch

How about about this pure blue sky? Some of you may remember last week's Sky Watch with the same lovely sky. And you may be thinking the skies over Central Ontario are always this clear.

Think again. Today's Sky Watch photos were taken on the same day as last week's.

Does this ram's head look to you like it's smoking a cigar? It's a downspout and it's at the top of the tower on...
St. George's Anglican Church situated beside Lake Simcoe -- Ontario's "first cottage country" (summer vacationland). This is the view from the road, which is on the chapel's south side and the lake in on the opposite side of the church.

The chapel was erected of fieldstone in 1877, the first year summer visitors travelled from Toronto to this area by railroad. Today St. George's is open for services from late April to mid October, and is on the edge of Sibbald Point Provincial Park.
Legend has it that the church was supposed to be built without iron rods, but stains on some of the fieldstone suggest the builders disobeyed orders.

A cemetery surrounds the chapel on three sides. This is view was taken from the cemetery on the west side.
To join in the Sky Watch fun, which features skies from all around the globe, visit the Sky Watch blog at http://skyley.blogspot.com

86 comments:

Ivar Østtun said...

Wow. Great architecture. Happy SWF

Tanya Breese said...

Wow, that is one amazing church! LOL about the cigar smoking goat and I'm jealous of those brilliant blue skies! Happy SWF :)

Leedra said...

Love the info. The down spout is ingenious, probably never notice it without our telephoto lens. We see so much more with these cameras, don't we?

Dewdrop said...

Enjoy those crystal blue skies while you can. I love that last shot! WOW! Amazing blue... reminds me of my church growing up. Interesting about the lack of posts.

Anonymous said...

Oh I love your skies but the building and ram's head you included are fabulous :0)
Would love to see them in person including the cemetery...

Anonymous said...

Such blue skies, great and beautiful architectures! thanks for sharing:) My SWF is posted HERE. Happy Sky Watching!~

Unknown said...

Impressing captures!

Happy sky watch :)

Anonymous said...

That ram should have blown smoke rings for you.

Anne said...

What an old and beautiful Church, and beautiful sky..., like a postcard the last one.

Nice weekend to you from Norway.

Photo Cache said...

I take a pure blue sky anytime. Wonderful shots, but you already know that.

Tom said...

ST Georges looks an excellent church building... I think it as made a great sky watch posting, one that I have enjoyed reading as well as looking at.
Thank you for joining in with Sky Watch this week and being part of the fun.

Tom

Mine's Here

Rose said...

Oh, I love that chapel! Love it against that blue sky, too. But it is the chapel that captures my heart.

Carver said...

I love seeing the church against the brilliant sky. I thought the rams head was sticking its tongue out. I enjoyed these shots so much.

Anonymous said...

Neat post! Many years ago I spent some time on Simcoe, but not in this spot, so the lovely church with it's smoking goat is new to me. Also didn't know Simcoe was the "first cottage country" - we down in here in Leamington must be a bit farther down the list...

imac said...

Love the vivid blue sky also the Church, looks a great building.

Anonymous said...

So pretty - the whole tour. Very nice of you to take us through the whole thing. And I do see a cigar in that ram's mouth. For shame, for shame!

Suffeli kuvailee said...

beautiful photos!!
have a nice weekend!!

Maria said...

Beautiful church and great blue sky!
I love the ram smoking his cigar ;)
Have a nice weekend!

Sandra said...

Gorgeous photographs - and the sky is blue, it seems like a really lovely day. Thank you for your visit - and I must admit that I was a little surprised (in the most positive way) when I saw you read about president Tito.

Anonymous said...

Great shots. Happy SWF.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

EG: You took the words right out of my mouth about the ram. If Tom hadn't made a post about what those are for I would have never guessed. Very lovely skies today.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous bright blue skies! And what a beautiful church - I love the stone work. Is that a dragonfly above the ram's head? Wonderful post!

Coloradolady said...

beautiful photos. It is amazing how the sky can change from day to day. Love your shots.

MumbaiiteAnu said...

Besautiful sky and great architecture!
Have a great weekend!

My sky hangout is here

Day4plus said...

Great blue sky. And what a lovely church. Interesting info. Wonderful about the downspout. Ingenious idea. MB

Craver Vii said...

The spout in the goat's mouth was for pranks in the days before water balloons. The guards up top used them like squirt guns to taunt the soldiers on the ground. The ground soldiers would in turn throw rock at the tower guard. But the clergyman got mad and they had to stop.

How did you ever get such a perfect shot of them stones so far up and away?

Petunia said...

WOW! Love this kind of architecture. You have a very great SWF post today! Great shots:)

Lapa37 said...

The blue in the last photo is so beautiful.Love the building to thanks for stopping by my place.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful building, sky and ram sculpture.
Nice gray and blue contrast.
Luiz Ramos

PS. Sorry. You comment before I have posted Sky Watch. My fault!!!
You are welcome. Come back, please. Comment on Sky Watch now.

Carole said...

These are wonderful! What a beautiful church.

Fish Whisperer said...

That first shot is amazing. Great description with the photos. Have a wonderful weekend.
Cheers

Kostas said...

Splendid architectural manufacture and very beautiful church!

Leora said...

This is fun. I like how you started with a detail. I thought you were going to show us a castle! It is a beautiful church. I love old stone.

CloudStalker said...

That was first thought about the ram smoking the cigar! Great pictures and thank you for the info! Happy Sky Watch!

maryt/theteach said...

Marvelous photos of a beautiful church and exquisite Canadian skies! Thanks, EG!

Dave Coulter said...

As an Aries I like that ram's head! :) Happy SWF!

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

There could not be a bluer sky. Lovely to show your beautiful and picturesque hometown. Happy SWF.

Pernille said...

WOW! Fantastic architecture. And wonderful shots! Thanks for sharing:)

Have a nice weekend:)

Merisi said...

Nothing more beautiful than blue skies! :-)

The gargoyle figure seems to smoke indeed, a big fat cigar at that. ;-)

Leslie: said...

What a beautiful location! But don't tell too many people how great Canada is because we wouldn't want too much of an influx....lol Out here in the West, we have our own blue skies. Come see some of it at The Photologue! :)

Barbara said...

I like the vibrant blue against the stone of the church. Great light.

maryt/theteach said...

EG, I have a little award thingy for you at my blog... :)

david mcmahon said...

Love that first shot!

Jules said...

What a fantastic church - you have some great shots there.

Pearl Maple said...

How kind of you to share these beautiful views of Lake Simcoe, my uncle had a cottage there and we often visited during summer. Wonderful part of the countryside.

Thanks for your kind comments earlier.

Louise said...

Terrific blue skies! Wow! The church is beautiful, and the cigar in the mouth is amusing. No it's more hilarious.

Ken said...

Nice shots. Did you know that Stephen Leacock is buried there in a family plot.

Kim said...

The first thing I thought was, "what's in that goats mouth". Haha, I'm glad it's not a cigarette. These are wonderful shots. Thank you for stopping by :)

Louis la Vache said...

"Louis" does believe that ram is smoking one of Winston Churchill's left-over stogies.... ;-)

Gill - That British Woman said...

realy lovely church and sky, I'm a good hours drive from you, one of the Toronto "suburbs!!"

Gill

Quiet Paths said...

I really enjoyed this post. St. George's is a very picturesque building. Would the ram's head be considered a toned down version of a gargoyle? Fabulous sky.

Luiz Santilli Jr said...

Wonderful blue sky as background to beautiful Church!

Santilli

Anonymous said...

what an awesome day you had to get those pics

Jeanne said...

Wow love the close up! The whole church is gorgeous but the details really gives it punch.

Kathie Brown said...

Beautiful views and architecture!

Annie said...

Ah, thankyou...those are great photos...lovely skies..and church...not to mention the gargoyle!

Annie

ps Thanks for visiting my Australian skies this week!

Mary said...

Beautiful church and love the "cigar smoking" ram :-) What a neat downspout. This is wonderful.

Roan said...

The downspout does look like a cigar. Love the architecture, and the clear blue sky. BJ

Laura ~Peach~ said...

excellent photos and I love the butterfly below too!

Ann said...

LOL. It does look like a cigar. Interesting building. That sky colour is what we've had here the last week or so. Beautiful but difficult to find interesting subjects for Skywatch. For Sky Watch I like clouds.

Carletta said...

Gorgeous church - I LOVE that last photo!

I have to say I knew what was in the ram's mouth thanks to Tom who did a post about the heads on churches.

Anonymous said...

Oh! I saw this church when I was visiting a friend in Penetanguishene. It's such a beautiful building and your photos are outstanding!

Anonymous said...

Yep, that certainly looks like a cigar to me.

Love me a clear blue sky!

Thanks for dropping by.

antigoni said...

Very beautiful pictures.

Dirkjogt said...

Nice set of pictures, indeed great architecture.

Anonymous said...

LOL, it really DOES look like a cigar! Too funny. But there's nothing funny about that clear blue sky. It's wonderful.

Torsdag 1952 said...

Blue sky over "first cottage country" and an amazing church -
beautiful combination.

Angie said...

You commmented on the beauty of European architecture, which is very true but judging by the beautiful architecture of that church, Canada also has it's share of stunning architecture.I love the ram's head, by the way :)

Cathy said...

You have captured gorgeous photos of the church. I love it.

Arija said...

What a wonderful little piece of history you bring to skywatch! A very beautiful church and that delightful ramshead gargoyle is an absolute treat.

tr3nta said...

Beautiful blue sky!!

Gemma Wiseman said...

That church building is magnificent! I love how you have carefully captured the detail of the architecture! And the clear blue sky just makes it all brilliant!

Darla said...

Interesting building. The cigar smoking goat comment made me laugh.

Darla

me ann my camera said...

What a delightful surprise this must be to some when looking up! Lovely!

Müge Tekil said...

So beautiful photos! And yes! The ram seems like cigar smoking! :-) Happy SWF! Have a nice week-end!

vincibene said...

WOW! Interesting building with beautiful bright blue sky!

Kelly said...

Wow! The Church and the brilliant blue skies are lovely. I love the beautiful architecture of the Church! Great series of photos!

Kyle said...

Interesting architecture, beautiful skies. Great SkyWatch post!

Mary said...

Oh what a beautiful spot! I love old churches like that one -- so much character. Looks like such a wonderful blue sky. We've been a bit overcast lately. Still waiting for that one perfect fall day!

Anonymous said...

beautiful! and the first thing I thought was "smoking a cigar" :)

Connie T. said...

Those skys are really blue. Nice photos of the buildings.

Unknown said...

Lovely subject, reminds me of England

 gmirage said...

A late visit (but still on a Friday) from ViennaDaily.

A great set, thanks for the input too! The sky here is getting darker so thanks for sharing your blues! =) Happy weekend.

A Blog In The Rough said...

You're right, beautifully clear sky! Love the smoking cigar lil dude, very cute, it would have been funny if it came out of one of his horns too.

dot said...

I noticed the "cigar" right away. Wow, the church is really pretty!

SandyCarlson said...

I love the gargoyle. Better that they're on the outside, not the inside!

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East Gwillimbury is a rural town less than an hour north of Toronto, Canada's largest city. My family calls me CameraGirl because I take my camera with me wherever I go.