These freehold townhouses are located right across the road from the hill leading up to Casa Loma. In winter they have a great view of the Casa through the tree branches and in summer their view is of the mini forest covering the hill. They were built on what had been dairy property for years and attempts were made to construct high rises here but the residents of the Annex neighbourhood lobbied against that on the grounds that their view of the Casa would be gone.
I spotted this newly painted utility box recently in the Annex neighbourhood. The monarch butterflies are starting to appear around town as they get ready for their journey south and this mural gives a bit of a view of their life stages on their favourite milkweed plants. The artist for this one is Caitlin Taguibao.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
It is that time of summer when the dahlias are starting to bloom here and I recently spotted this beauty. It has had a few petals gnawed on by pests but it was still lovely to see.
This sweet chipmunk had been scampering about on the ground and then suddenly went up onto this branch and froze. It stayed there for a few minutes and looked to be listening for something and then disappeared off into the bushes. It may have heard a hawk nearby.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
This was the scene one afternoon last week outside the main entrance to Casa Loma. It is one of the top tourist attractions in Toronto and at this time of year there are full parking lots and many tour buses lined up around it. I've never been inside but this is definitely not the time for me to visit!
While heading up the steep stairs that lead to Casa Loma I came upon this photo shoot. The guy on the right was shooting the fellow on the left in various poses including having him climb up to the top of that pillar he is leaning on. The other fellow seemed to be an assistant. I'm not sure what the pics were for.
I spotted this little sign in a garden recently and thought it was perfect for these times when so many people are walking around with earphone on their heads. They can't hear other people let alone hear the birds!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I was driving by St Clement's Anglican Church in midtown and they had a huge sandwich board out beside this side entrance saying "Open For Prayer". It is so unusual to see a church open during a weekday that I pulled over and went in to find a lovely empty church with no lights on except by the altar. It was beautiful as is this side door as you can see.
Two weeks ago I showed you this mural (HERE) painted by Elicser on the wall of the Tranzac Club and I remembered I had taken some pics while he was painting it. This pic was taken from the other end and you can see that there are still some heads and details to be added in places.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
There is something so peaceful about waterlilies. I spotted this one recently and thought all it needed would be a wee frog to be sitting on the leaf beside the flower to be perfect!
When I was at the Salsa On St Clair event a couple of weeks ago I spotted this large fellow having a rest along the curb and trying to get into the shade. His humans were sitting on a patio about a foot in front of his nose and he looked totally unaware of all of the activity around him until another dog walked by. He simply lifted his head checked out the competition and then plopped his head back down. A very mellow big guy!
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
Our transit system ordered new streetcars several years ago and there have been numerous delays with their delivery and so far we just have 89 out of the order of 204. Just within the last month it has been stated that 67 of the 89 need to be recalled and totally taken apart and rewelded. They plan on doing just a few at a time and hope to have the order filled by the end of 2019. We will wait and see.
One of the highlights of the Salsa On St Clair event is the dancing which is led by several dance schools scattered along the street. Part of the time they do demonstrations with really talented dancers which make you want to go for Salsa lessons. With that in mind they also conduct mass introduction classes such as this one. It is interesting that it seems to be all women who are brave enough to get out there and try it. The guys all seem to be a bit shy!
A section of St Clair Ave was closed for the weekend of July 7 & 8 for the 14th annual Salsa On St Clair which is a large Latin street party featuring Hispanic culture, music, & food. There are dance demonstrations and lessons along the street as well as 2 large stages with ongoing entertainment. One of the highlights of the day is always the Samba Squad which you see here. They play world music featuring drums and have to be one of the most diverse groups you will ever find. They have members of different ages, ethnicity, & gender and it all works so well!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
This very rural looking stairway is actually in the middle of the city in the Wychwood Park neighbourhood and leads up to a home worth a few million dollars. This is a privately owned neighbourhhood that has never been taken over by the city which means that the residents are responsible for all road maintenance etc. It is a nice shady place to walk on a hot summer day with a large pond, tennis courts, and lovely arts & crafts homes.
I spotted this mural along a laneway and at first thought it was intact but as you can see the mural has been infringed upon by several windows, doors and an air conditioner unit. It looks like several different artists each did a section such as the lady with the window in her face that was done by Shalak. I think there is one of the wee yellow birds by UB5000 behind another of the windows. I wish I had seen the whole thing before.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This is one of several waterfalls that are in the gardens at the Veterans Centre at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. It is always a treat when the first waterlily flowers come out as they have in the last week. The birds in the area love having a bath on the rocks above the falls but I couldn't catch any this time.
This grey squirrel was rustling around in the tree which overlooks my tomatoes and other plants and I think he was pretending that he wasn't interested in my things. He also seemed to think that I couldn't see him but the evidence he left of digging around the veggies would have given him away even if I hadn't heard him!
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
This house located just around the corner from Casa Loma is one of my favourites of all of the houses in the city. It was designed by architect Yaivo Kapsi and finished in 1968 but unfortunately he had died before the house was completed. It is a beautiful example of Brutalist architecture with the concrete being cast-in-place in wood lined forms so that the whole structure has a fabulous texture. The back overlooks one of the nicest ravines in the city.
We have had a lot of hot sunny days lately and I wonder how warm it is in Casa Loma and whether they have air conditioning. This is a side view taken from the top of the stairs leading up from Davenport Rd and looking over the stone wall that surrounds the Casa.
This memorial was presented to the city by the Finnish people of Canada in 1959 to honour Jean Sibelius and it is located in a small park in the Annex neigbourhood. Jean Sibelius Square has been in use since the 1950s but was recently refurbished with new playground equipment and a new outbuilding. In winter there is a natural ice rink and there are also lots of benches for relaxing. This pic was taken in the spring before the leaves came out since I haven't been out too much in our heat to take pics.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
Years ago my mother got a cutting of not the most attractive cactus from her older brother. Every few years it might put out one flower but this year it has been covered with these large lovely translucent blooms. It makes it worthwhile to keep it growing!
This mural is found on the side of the Tranzac Club just south of Bloor St W and was sponsored by the city and painted by Elicser. The Tranzac club was formed in the 1930s and the name stands for Toronto Australia New Zealand Club. It is a great place for live music every day and is a favourite place for indie musicians to play.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
I love the old homes in the Annex neighbourhood with all of their lovely porches and turrets. This large semi-detached home has a very interesting turret since the turret itself has a little dormer in the front of it. I'd love to see the inside to see how that looks. The other nice thing about these big semis is that each half is usually quite different from the other as these two demonstrate so well. Originally built as single family dwellings many of these homes are now divided into apartments although there is a trend to return them to family homes.
This was taken a few weeks ago at the Wychwood Barns on a coolish Saturday morning before the heat hit us. The farmers market was taking place just to the left of this pic while the dogs roamed about in the off-leash area. There were several more big dogs off to the right who were having a minor power struggle which often seems to be the case in these areas.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
I spotted all of these heads at a local garden centre a few weeks ago. I'm not a fan of the sleeping heads in the front but those large heads in the background are wonderful. They were solid concrete and really expensive and really heavy!
Brunswick Ave north of College St is unusual for the older parts of the city in that it is a wide street with wide boulevards on each side of the street. These boulevards provide a perfect location for trees to thrive as you can see from this pic. I always find it a bit of a shock to turn the corner onto Brunswick Ave and see all of the greenery ahead of me.
I spotted this sign by the driveway of a house in the Annex. Could Doug be a dog or is there a fierce fellow named Doug who lives here? I was careful not to step on the driveway!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
The neighbourhood just to the west of the U of Toronto downtown campus is known as Harbord Village and part of it has been declared a Heritage Conservation District which means that no major changes can be made to the buildings there. There is a great variety of homes there such as the white house with the great porch which I showed you a few days ago. This house is just around the corner from it and it has been beautifully restored and maintained. Most of these homes were built in the late 1800s and feature wonderful craftsmanship such as you see here.
This is a closer look at the front of St Alban's chapel which I showed you yesterday. I wanted to give you a view of the wonderful oak woodwork found throughout the chapel as well as a hint of the stained glass.
The July theme day for the City Daily Photo Blog community is "Spirit" and I had a bit of a hard time with this one until visiting this chapel in the Annex neighbourhood during the Doors Open event. St Alban's was a chapel built in 1885 and was to be a chapel as part of a large Anglican cathedral but for several reasons including WWI the cathedral was never built. The chapel however continues to be a special place where the sight of its wonderful double hammerbeam ceiling always makes my spirits soar. It is a truly beautiful space!
Taking part in the theme Spirit. Click HERE to see more examples of spirit from around the world.
Happy Canada Day to all my fellow Canadians!!
