I spotted this very tall ghost glowing in the sunlight and had to pull over for a pic. Several of the homes around it were decorated but he took the prize for the most effective. He will be a hit tonight!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
This is the next wonderful mural by artist Philip Cote painted on the supports of the Old Mill subway station down in the Humber ravine. Each of these pieces is a masterpiece and to see them all in one location is astounding as they tell the Anishnaabe story of creation. There are still more to come over the next couple of weeks.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This is the mural found on the next support along in the pic I showed you last week of the Old Mill subway station supports and the wonderful murals painted on them. Artist Philip Cote has created wonderful images and hopefully if there is a tour done by him one day I can attend and learn more about the meanings. I'll show you another one tomorrow.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
There are a lot of inflatable Halloween decorations around this year but this is one of the most unique ones that I have seen. The eye on the right is rotating and the little kiddies have to walk into the mouth of this beast to get treats. It will be scary for the tiny ones!
Judging by how chubby this grey squirrel looks we could be in for a cold winter. I hope that is not the case but just in case he/she was busy eating as many acorns as possible.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
I spotted this sculpture of a giant game of Jacks out front of an apartment building in the Annex. It is a game I hadn't thought about in years - I wonder if it is still played and if kids would even know what these things are?
This pic is taken up on the same terrace as yesterday's pic but looking in the opposite direction. When Sidney Smith Hall was built in the early 60s this terrace was accessible by only one staircase (now has several sets of stairs) and there was nothing on it but the concrete slabs. Only the sculpture which you can see on the wall in the distance provided any life to the area. There were not even any plants. It was typical stark 60s architecture but it works so much better now as a gathering place for the university community.
This is part of the terrace of Sidney Smith Hall which houses the Faculty of Arts & Science at U of Toronto. It is usually packed with students but early on a cool Sunday morning there was no one around. That is the chemistry building to the rear.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
This is the walkway to the McLennan Physical Laboratories (aka Physics building) at U of Toronto. It was looking quite gorgeous with the golden trees as I wandered by a week ago. Quite a change from when I went to U of T and this was all concrete sidewalk. There has been a huge push to plant more and more trees on the campus and it is paying off with scenes like this.
This is the mural that you can see on the left-hand pillar visible in yesterday's post. Artist Philip Cote is depicting the Anishnaabe creation story through these murals but I don't know much about the symbolism of the images and could find little info on-line and don't want to make mistakes. The mural is so beautiful and it seems that the fish might reference the fact that we are right beside the Humber river.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
I've been showing you various pics from along the Humber River walking trail and several weeks ago I finally went back to get some pics of the wonderful art found on the trail as it runs under the Old Mill subway station. This is near where I showed you the canoes a couple of weeks ago. The First Nation artist Phil Cote painted scenes on each side of the supports depicting the Anishnaabe creation story. You can see some of them here as well as another photographer just to the right of the closest section. I will show you a close-up of the one of the left tomorrow and the rest scattered over the next few weeks.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This chipmunk totally refused to turn around for a head shot. He was so engrossed in gathering as much seed as he could from the feeder and was not ready for a photographer to bother him!
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
I spotted this maple tree glowing in the sunshine one day and pulled over for a quick pic. A couple of days later I passed by and most of the leaves had fallen. This while the majority of our trees haven't changed colour yet.
We have had some cold nights and so it is time to get plants ready to survive the winter storms ahead. Many people wrap their shrubs in burlap as these people have done up on their balcony. This is one of the cool laneway homes you can stumble across in older areas of the city.
I spotted this sign on the front yard of a house in Little Italy. I'm not sure if the Jack of all Trades lives there or just has his sign out by the entrance to the laneway. Everyone could use a Jack for some chores!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I took this pic last Thursday when we were having a last blast of summer weather. Not too many trees had changed colour other than the Maples and they were putting on a great show throughout the city!
I wandered down a laneway that I hadn't checked out for a while and spotted a garage door painted by Uber5000 starring his wonderful yellow birds. He often seems to be placing the wee guys at the seashore lately so here we have an octopus appearing in the middle. I like the pirate bird in the background!
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This is a pic taken from the walking trail along the Humber River ravine showing the rear of the Old Mill. The Old Mill opened in 1914 on the site of an old grist mill and has had many additions over the years as you can see. It is now a hotel, spa and event venue specializing in weddings with its own on-site chapel and wedding garden for pictures. It is also know for the afternoon tea that has been served since its opening in 1914. These back rooms would have a lovely view of the ravine and river!
The Goldfinches have lost their bright yellow feathers and are now wearing a rather olive green coat for the winter season. The change is quite amazing! I took this pic through a window so it isn't the sharpest.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
If you closely at the building in the upper half of this pic you will see that it is floating above yet another pit for a condo building along Yonge St. The building is supported by I-beams and two pillars that go to the bottom of the hole. I'm not sure if the owner refused to sell or if the building has heritage protection but obviously at least this front section is going nowhere!
This is a late afternoon pic of Casa Loma taken last week just as some of the leaves around it were starting to change colour. There are some beautiful colours developing around town which I will try to capture.
Dutch Dreams is famous in the west end of the city for their fabulous homemade frozen treats especially the ice cream. They have been in business for over 25 years near St Clair Ave and Bathurst St and during the summer the lineups can go right around the block. I took this pic of their cow on a coolish day and there was still a lineup out the door.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
When I showed you the kayakers in the Humber River a week or so ago you could see part of this bridge in the background. It carries Bloor St over the Humber Valley and was constructed in 1924 and totally rehabbed in 2010/11 even having the old lead paint removed from the steel supports while the whole structure was wrapped to collect the dust. The path you see runs all along the river right down to Lake Ontario and is very popular with walkers and bikers.
The bridge support in the background of yesterday's pic sports this well executed trompe l'oeill of a peeling surface. I'm not sure if the big letters below it belong to the mural but I couldn't read them and didn't go crawling through the bushes to find out. The bridge carries the subway line as it comes up from below ground to cross the Humber River valley.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
A week ago I showed you kayaking on the Humber River in the city. Well, you can also rent canoes and try your luck on the river in one of these. The season will soon be ending though as our temperatures have been up and down this week as is typical for autumn.
I spotted this little guy outside the Veterans Centre at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre as he waited for his human to come out with some nice cool water for him. It was one of our last hot days - the dog days of summer!
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
This pic was taken from the base of the Bloor One condo building that I showed you yesterday. I love the curves!
This condo tower is found at 1 Bloor St E at Yonge St and is known as One Bloor. Construction on this site has taken many twists and turns with various owners and designs until finally construction began on this 76 floor building designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects. This is an important corner in the city with Yonge St being the divider between the east end and the west end running from Lake Ontario right up to cottage country and Bloor St being one of the major east/west streets in the city. This view will disappear as construction has begun on yet another condo tower behind the hoardings you can see on the right in the pic taken during the Open Streets event.
This is the Danforth Music Hall, a music and event venue, located on Danforth Ave. It originally opened in 1919 as a movie theatre and was so until 2004 when it closed until 2006. It then opened and closed a few times until new owners took over in 2011 and renovated and continue to operate it now. The building was given heritage protection in 1985.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
This 7 foot tall vase with bronze legs is a recent addition to the front courtyard of the Gardiner Museum of Ceramics which is directly across University Ave from the Royal Ontario Museum. The artist is Shary Boyle who is a well-known Canadian artist. Unfortunately the courtyard is undergoing some construction right now so it is surrounded by fencing.
The October theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is "Change" and at this time of year that means the changing if the colour of leaves. This Japanese Maple was showing the most change I have seen so far this autumn and it was glowing in the sunlight when I went by. I wonder if the colour change will be later this year since we have had such a warm summer and fall.
Taking part in the theme, Change. Click HERE to see more examples from around the world.
