The Grey Barn

Last week I ran into John Jensen, the site manager. He told me there were some maps of the reserve on the walls of the Workshop—a building that I’ve been calling the Grey Barn. 

John told me the building was originally used for horses that were sick—or that had to be quarantined on arrival from the US. An addition was added for a coffee room for people who boarded their horses when Jokers Hill was a horse farm. When the university took over the property they converted this addition to a classroom, and now (the current classroom is in the Research Barn) it’s where people gather after one of the activities (like the Trees in Winter walk) for hot chocolate or tea, and a chance to talk. And so it is also known as both the Old Classroom and the Hospitality Barn.

The small wooden building has a wall of windows on its south side. On my walks past I'd noticed hibiscus blooming behind those windows, adding a bright note to grey days.

I loved the way the glass worked like both window and mirror, so I could see the
flowers inside overlaid on the trees outside. 

The hibiscus are John's—he has them in pots outside in good weather, and moves them inside the grey barn in the winter. It’s like having his own greenhouse, he said, with a grin.  

Here’s the description of the barn from an inventory of the site's buildings:

Built in 1950’s, frame construction with clapboard siding. Workshop area includes two automobile service repair stalls, tool room and utility room (houses electrical service for all houses and barns west of Dufferin Street). Old Classroom is located in a later addition, and includes men’s and women’s public bathrooms. Footprint, 260 sq-meters.

I went to explore the Grey Barn on one of the brightest and coldest days I’ve seen here this winter. Walking into it was like walking into a greenhouse-- warmth from the sun poured through the windows and the air smelled of growing things. Looking out the windows through a curtain of plants to the snowy hillside was a study in contrasts.

On the far side of the plants from the window stands a lovely long table of distressed boards where I can imagine working, soaking up the sun if its sunny, watching that hillside as the light and weather shift. 

At the far end of the table is a bookshelf that must belong to a reader with a one-track mind...

but it will undoubtedly be useful to me who never did study biology. On the wall as well as the maps are some charts and posters. My favourite image is the caterpillar of the white admiral butterfly-- it looks like something from Dune. Except it's white. On another day I'll photograph that.