This guy looks terribly unhappy with the weather and the direction it has been taking which here seems to be towards Arctic conditions. I hope none of you will be looking like this tomorrow morning after celebrating tonight!
A lot of people still ride bikes around in the snow once the roads have been cleared a bit so our bike share program keeps the bikes out all winter. Not for me though!
This looks like the safest way to be out riding in the weather we have been having!
There is something about this entrance to an older low rise apartment building which I find very welcoming. It looks so tidy that I'm sure the interior must be really well maintained.
I spotted this neon sign one evening just off St Clair Ave W so had to investigate and found out that it is a hair salon for men and women. I love the sign!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
These clowns from the Santa Claus Parade seemed suitable for a boxing day pic since Boxing Day can be a real circus with all of the shopping for sales going on!
I saw this plaque in October on the wall of a large home near Casa Loma and saved the pic for today. It is out there all year but is perfect to say "Merry Christmas" to everyone who celebrates Christmas. I hope you all have a wonderful day!
The final float in the Santa Claus Parade is always Santa's and it is always the one the kids look forward too. You can see the two wee kids watching the volunteers getting everything ready for Santa to head out and although Santa's sleigh is still covered with plastic Rudolph is ready with his red nose to lead the way.
This float from the Santa Claus Parade was from the Ripley's Aquarium and shows all sorts of creatures from under the sea. You can see two volunteers in their red coats working on setting some pieces in place. I love that turtle!
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This float from the Santa Claus Parade shows the elves getting ready to decorate the tree. They have all of the lights and pretty decorations out so now comes the fun of hanging them all. This float is from the Canadian Tire Store, another of our Canadian institutions where you can buy everything you need for your car and your house and your sports!
This has to be the strongest reindeer I've seen in a while. I think he would be able to pull Santa's sleigh all on his own so this elf could be in for a good ride.
Indigo is the largest chain of bookstores in Canada and their float for the Santa Claus Parade featured books and toys for kids. I liked the cheerful egg at the front which probably moved up & down during the parade itself.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
After attending the opening of a friend's photography show we retired to a brewpub in the east end. This pub had the fermantation tanks right in the room with the seating which made for an interesting atmosphere.
I'll be back to more floats from the Santa Claus Parade tomorrow.
This is another mural from the same laneway we have been touring for the last while. I showed you the artist, Nick Sweetman, working on this one back in October (HERE) and this is the finished piece of a Whale Shark. The sharks to the right are by a different artist.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This float from The Santa Claus Parade was brought to you by the company with the golden arches and shows all the creatures enjoying winter sports. They all look so happy don't you think?
I loved the rooster which was on the Maple Lodge Farms float at the Santa Claus Parade. Suitable for them since they are a chicken company!
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see creatures from around the world.
This float from the Santa Claus Parade features Super Mario Odyssey which I guess is a new video game that has just been released. I just liked the way Mario was standing so proud at the front of the float waving his hat!
This float from the Santa Claus Parade is a tribute to our beloved hockey team, the Toronto Maple Leafs who haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1967 but we keep hoping that this is the year. The float shows the old Maple Leaf Gardens on Carlton St, the mascot Carlton the Bear, and the wonderful Johnny Bower who was playing goal for us when we last won and is now 93 years old!
This float in the Santa Claus Parade was sponsored by Tim Hortons, the Canadian institution for coffee & donuts with outlets everywhere you turn. On the float we have cups of coffee as well as Timbits playing various games. Timbits are the centres of donuts and are sold by the little box full and are really popular with everyone especially kids!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I thought I would show you some of the floats from the Santa Claus Parade which took place a few weeks ago. I go down to the set-up area near Christie Pits Park early in the morning before the parade to get up close to the floats but it means that all the kiddies who would be riding on the floats aren't there yet so you will see empty stools like in this pic. This is Mother Goose and she has been the traditional leader of the parade since 1917 although the first parade was in 1913!
This mural was found on a garage along the same laneway that I have been showing you recently and was painted during the same weekend as the others. The artist for this one is Luv Sumone. And you can see the CN Tower managed to get into the background of this one!
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
A grand old factory building by some railway tracks was recently torn down revealing this steel structure that had been added onto the back and above a row of one storey commercial buildings. It took me two tries to finally find a very narrow laneway which leads down to this place. I love how the rusted steel glows in the sunshine. Wouldn't you like to see the inside of this one?
This chubby guy looks like he has packed on a lot of weight for the winter ahead and I'm hoping he doesn't have a hint that it is going to be a bad one. He was eating some kind of dried up fruit in a grocery store parking lot and agreed to pose for just a minute. He is one of our black squirrels but looks like he has a lot of the grey showing through too.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
I showed you the pretty red building in the Yorkville Village neighbourhood a week ago and this is another of the surviving old buildings on Yorkville Ave. This Georgian beauty was built in 1837 and now houses Pink Tartan which is a women's wear brand. There is a well executed glass addition on the back which now acts as the entrance to this store.
I spotted this fun piece by artist Patrick Amiot outside a gallery in the Yorkville Village neighbourhood. Amiot is a Canadian who is now based in California and makes his whimsical sculptures from recycled metals. I really like the dog in this one! The Mountie is pretty cool though.
The Bar Ape (ah-pay) is a gelato spot just off St Clair Ave W and unfortunately the ice cream season is over for us. The business started off selling gelato from a 3-wheeled Piaggio Ape truck and hence the name. I like this night-time scene with the scooter out front.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I was walking around among the large homes in the Casa Loma neighbourhood when I spotted this sculpture in the side garden of one of the homes. It certainly beats a garden gnome!
This is the back wall of a daycare centre that faces right onto the loading area for the buses at the Ossington subway station. The colours have faded a bit in the strong sun but I'm sure it grabs everyone's attention as they wait for a bus.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This was taken late last Sunday afternoon the first weekend the outdoor rinks were open in the city. This rink at Christie Pits Park is a very popular one but this pic was taken just before the break for dinner so there was lots of room on the ice. And of course we are photo-bombed by the CN Tower which is several miles away.
A few seconds before this pic was taken those ducks were sleeping and lounging on the grass but then this young visitor arrived and they all fled into the pond. The dog soon left and the ducks returned to their resting places.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
The December theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is Gift and I am using a pic I took a few years ago at the Santa Claus Parade as my gift. I always liked this float with the beaver paddling a canoe of gifts along Bloor St!
Taking part in the December theme day. Click HERE to see more gifts from around the world.
A walk through the Yorkville Village neighbourhood recently certainly drove home to me how times have changed. In the 1960s this was home to many coffee houses and funky stores and was the heart of the hippie movement in Toronto. People like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young lived and sang here and you could always find fun of some kind along the street . Today most of the old buildings are gone and gentrification has totally changed the area. It was nice to see this old cottage surviving and I did enjoy the wonderful red which is fitting for it is a Christian Louboutin store now. Chanel is across the street.
Our Toronto police take part in the Santa Claus Parade each year and this old 1955 (I think) police car was part of their presence this time. You sure couldn't miss a car that colour coming towards you unlike the mostly silver grey ones we have today. This was taken a few hours before the parade began and you can see more of the chairs lined up along the curb behind the car.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I went down to view the floats in the Santa Claus Parade last week in the early hours before the parade begins and I am not the only one who is out early. People go down to Bloor St during the nighttime and put out chairs to mark off their space and then leave and go home until just before the parade starts around noon. It is amazing but everyone respects these territories and no one dares to take over someone else's space.
This is yet another mural from the same laneway we have been touring for the last few Mondays. These whimsical raccoons are by artist Emily Mae Rose and I have been seeing them in several spots around town. Our population of raccoons is huge so she would have lots of models to work from.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
I just like the clean graphics of this house in the Seaton Village neighbourhood. It has recently been redone out front and looks quite nice don't you think?
On November 11 which was Remembrance Day here, there were thousands of these small Canadian flags planted on the grounds of the Veterans Centre at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. They didn't seem to frighten the birds away from beneath the bird feeders at all as you can see from these two wee sparrows poking about.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
This wonderful building is actually a substation for Toronto Hydro and the gentleman driving the van out front told me that it is full of switches and transformers. The windows were replaced a few years ago and the brick work has been well maintained since the buildings completion in 1911. I mentioned to the Hydro guy that it would be nice to tour it during our Doors Open event in the city but apparently it would be too dangerous.
When I headed to James Gardens a week ago the sun was out but the clouds soon rolled in and about ten minutes after this pic was taken it started to rain. The grasses around the park looked fabulous blowing in the wind.
I spotted this great sign on the gate of a house in the east end. Now that is what I call friendly protection. And the handle is cool too!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I'm betting that these two houses in the Hillcrest neighbourhood were built on the lot of what had been a single home. I like the one on the left for its windows but like the porch on the right- hand one so it would be a hard choice between them for me.
I think it would be a treat to come home to this flowery garage door every day. This door was found along the same laneway as the bird I showed you last week and the artist for this one is Blazeworks aka Blaze Wiradharma. It looks as if the garage itself is still under construction doesn't it?
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
Wouldn't you have loved to have this in your back garden when you were a kid? It looks like it is built on stilts rather than in the tree but I would still call it a tree house. And it even has a wee balcony!
The Eastern Grey Squirrel come in 2 colours - grey and black which I think is the most common colour in Toronto. It is the grey ones which seem to have the big bushy tails like this one. Wrap that around yourself in your nest and you can be warm all winter!
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
I spotted this cute little window in one of the buildings at the U of Toronto a few weeks ago. They sure don't make windows like that anymore! And it even opens.
This GMC pickup would certainly get everyone's attention anywhere. I think it is a 1955 model and looks like it has never been driven in the winter! I love all of the chrome.
This condo tower on Bloor St in the Annex neighbourhood was required to keep the facade of an older building that stood on the property and was the studio of architect John Lyle. The facade forms the entrance to yet another coffee shop as you can see from the sign placed subtly in the alcove to the left.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
This law office in a converted older home in the Annex neighbourhood is surrounded by newer buildings but outshines them with its lovely ivy-covered walls and its gardens. I'd love to see what the inside is like.
Early this fall I happened upon a laneway which was having many of its garage doors painted with murals and I went back recently to see the final results. This is one of my favourites which was painted by the artist Muisca, a young woman who was there working on this when I first saw it.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
These are the stairs leading from Davenport Rd up to Casa Loma. It is a steep hill and even the double decker tour buses that operate around town won't drive up the hill - you get on and off at the bottom and then walk. I thought the red bush at the half way mark looked beautiful against all the green around it. 100 steps to the top!
