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!
Our squirrels are very busy at this time of year burying a multitude of things for the winter ahead. This guy was running back and forth with seed pods digging them into the soil all over this lawn. This is of course one of black squirrels which are really Eastern Grey Squirrels with a black coat.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
This Richardson Romanesque building is the Ontario Legislative building and since it is located in Queen's Park it has become known as Queen's Park itself. The park is owned by the U of Toronto and is leased to the province for $1 a year on a 999 year lease so since the building was completed in 1893 there is still a lot of time left on that lease. The pink look of the building comes from the Ontario sandstone used in its construction.
I was taking a shortcut through the U of Toronto campus and used this nice walkway at the back of Hart House to get from point A to point B in style!
I showed you Barn Five at the Wychwood Barns a couple of weeks ago and thought I'd show you another of the converted streetcar barns today. Barn Four has an open air space behind those doors with a brick bread oven and then further along its length it has been converted into a large greenhouse to grow food for local food banks. I'm standing in the children's playground to take this pic and those hoops and nozzles are part of the kid's water feature. You can see some of the open space of Barn Five off to the left.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I took this pic because I liked the lighting fixture and didn't notice until I put the pic up on the computer that there was a security camera mounted right above it. Somehow I don't think it is there to protect the light!
I took this pic on College St a few weeks ago when we were still having warm weather. I think the figure on this utility box looks like someone getting ready for a ballet class but I could be wrong.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
There are 2 of these Volvo 544 cars in our neighbourhhood, this one and a red one both in great condition but what I like about this one is the sunroof. These cars were made from 1958 to 66 but I'm not sure what year this one is!
I have seen few creatures lately at my favourite viewing spot and I think it is because of the presence of a couple of Peregrine Falcons. This brave little chipmunk stayed stationary on this stick for several minutes as he looked around to check for enemies before heading off into the underbrush. The pic was taken through a window so isn't super sharp.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
This pic was taken about a week after yesterday's pic and just a two minute walk away from yesterday's pond. This row of trees always puts on a good show of colour!
This pic was taken a couple of weeks ago showing the pond in the middle of the Wychwood neighbourhood. As you can see the trees hadn't changed colour at all then and the leaves were still blocking our view of the houses around the pond. It is hard to believe this is in the city!
The November theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is Rock 'n' Roll and for the theme I offer this pic of a great old LP of original Rock hits. There are some great songs on there - if only I had something to play LPs on!
Taking part in the Rock 'n' Roll theme. Click HERE to see more examples from around the world.
