It is a beautiful time of year when large areas of lawns and boulevards become fields of blue covered in flowering Scilla. It spreads wonderfully and after flowering people just cut their lawns as normal and we all wait until the next year for another display. That is the stone wall from Spadina House in the background here.
I'm continuing to post murals from Feel Good Lane for Monday Murals. This lovely blue garage door was painted by artist Chris Perez whose other works that I've seen have been the same type of abstract swirls of colour. They are really quite beautiful.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
I was walking along and spotted these Daffodils on a south-facing hill this week. They were the first ones I've seen this spring so it was a pleasant surprise!
The summer birds are slowly returning to our area and last weekend I saw the first Purple Finches of the season. There were a couple of pairs making full use of the bird feeders at the Veterans Centre at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Isn't he handsome?
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
This century old church just off Yonge St was one of the first that I was aware of being converted to condos. It was also one of the most successful. The large church was divided into 5 huge units each of which with quirky features and price tags in the several million $$ if and when one goes on sale.
This is the view of Casa Loma from the southwest and a block further south than yesterday's pic. The construction site in front is for some very high-end condos that are being built right beside railway tracks and behind that you see the buildings of George Brown College, a community college. Soon the Casa won't be visible from here except by those who have paid $1.3 million & up to live beside the trains.
This is the view of Casa Loma taken from a block southeast of Davenport Rd and the stairs going up the hill to the Casa. As you can see from the sign this is the location of the Toronto Archives and one of our bike sharing stations. I will show you the very different view from the southwest tomorrow.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
The Rosedale subway station is located just down Yonge St from the dog spa that I showed you last Wednesday. It serves the Rosedale neighbourhood which is one of the wealthiest and most expensive neighbourhoods in Canada. This is the area where "old money" lives. This station was built in 1954 and has heritage protection although some changes in tile colour have happened through the years.
We are back in Feel Good Lane for another mural and this week it is another woman but this one a bit more angular than the other. The artist for this one is cruz1art aka Angel Carrilo who does a lot of mural work around the city and is known for his angular style.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
Many people will be waking up today to find that the Easter bunny has left them a chocolate treat. I spotted this chocolate bunnies in the window of the same shop that had the chocolate man I showed a couple of days ago.
Have a wonderful Easter to all of those who celebrate it.
I caught this little Red Squirrel in deep shade on a sunny day and he was moving quickly so the pic is not the sharpest but he looked so cute that I'm posting it anyway. He grabbed a peanut from the feeder, sat for 1/2 a second and then was off to eat it somewhere else. The red ones are so tiny compared to our grey & black squirrels.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
I spotted this chocolate man working overtime in a chocolate store getting ready for the Easter bunny's deliveries on Sunday. That is a huge amount of chocolate!
This gate is located almost directly across Yonge St from yesterday's pic and it leads to a courtyard that is very pretty especially in summer. The building is U-shaped and was in very rough condition until undergoing a huge renovation and restoration several years ago. It now has some commercial space on the main floor and exquisite residential in the rest of the building. Wouldn't we all like to have a tour?
I spotted this dog store along Yonge St in one of the most upscale parts of Toronto. I'm sure there are a lot of lucky dogs from this neighbourhood who get presents and spa treatments here. That is a great name they have!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I spotted this flowery bike while out for a walk on the weekend and thought it was perfect for the season. And doesn't that seat look comfortable?
We are back to Feel Good Lane for another mural. I love the playfulness of this one by artist Monica Wickeler. Coming home to this garage would make me smile every time! There will be several more murals from this lane on the Mondays to come.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
I spotted the first pansies of the season at a local garden centre. Pansies can survive a little cold weather so are always the first plants to appear in the spring.
Spring is not the most attractive time of year for squirrels when they are shedding their winter coats and preparing for a nice new summer one. This poor girl had better hope that we don't get some very cold weather or she will be feeling the chill a lot!
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
Last weekend we finally got warm weather and the spring flowers started to pop open. One of my favourites are the Scilla with their lovely blue colour. This patch had an American Lady Butterfly as a visitor!
This is the lower part of the facade of the tower which was off to the left in yesterday's pic of the ghost sign. This is a new tall condo tower and as part of new construction in the city there is a requirement for a certain percentage of money to be spent on public art. I could find no artist name for this one but did find a reference to it as being inspired by a topography map. It is likely that it lights up at night since this is the entertainment district which really comes alive after dark.
I spotted this restored ghost sign on Peter St in the Entertainment District. Blackwell& Company was established in 1873 and the original sign was on the building until 2015 when an extensive restoration of the building included renewing the sign. I think the building now houses offices and studios but I'm not sure.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I spotted this cute scarecrow with the pumpkin head on the door of a pub along St Clair Ave W and took the pic because I liked it but couldn't figure out why it was there. When I got the pic up large on the computer I could see that the hat has the word Beau's on it which is a local craft brewery. It turns out this little figure appears on the label of an autumn brew called Weiss O'Lantern, a pumpkin flavoured Weiss. I'm not sure about pumpkin flavoured beer.
This is the first of the murals from Feel Good Lane which I will be showing you for the next several weeks. The artist for this one is Frannie Potts and she has done a wonderful job. I love the colours and the style!
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
Last Sunday Toronto woke up to a surprise snowfall which continued on and off through the afternoon. Frosty had left his post on our roof deck and handed duties over to Bob the bee but Bob was not expecting to be snowed on. That man continues to lurk in the background and our weather has warmed up a bit this week.
I've heard a few robins around and spotted some from a distance but this is the first one that I have seen poking about in the grass for goodies. He certainly kept an eye on me and the camera before flying off into a tree.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
This condo building has been recently completed and people have been moving in. It had replaced some uninspired commercial buildings along St Clair Ave W and looks to be a nice addition to that neighbourhood. I like the design a lot. It will be interesting to see it when the commercial spaces on the ground floor are filled.
Yesterday's Bookmark was located out at the front entrance to Casa Loma which features in Dennis Lee's poetry. We don't have any snow and ice now but a couple of weeks ago I had to walk gingerly across the ice to get this pic.
I spotted another of the bookmarks erected by Project Bookmark Canada, this one the first children's bookmark. It was unveiled in 2016 and is The Cat And The Wizard by Dennis Lee who is a Toronto author well known for his children's poetry. I'll show you the location tomorrow.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
A week ago I explored a laneway in mid-town that is called Feel Good Lane, named after a local rapper who performed under the name "Feel Good". His real name was Barry Luksenberg and he was killed while motorcycling in Viet Nam in 2014 and the lane was named after him in 2016. Last fall a large group of artists painted murals on garage doors all along the lane and I will show you some over the next few weeks on Monday Murals.
Taking part in Monday Murals a day late. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
The April theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is Yellow and I offer this wonderful yellow hat as my choice. It would perfect for Easter which comes on April 21 this year. And I like the old sewing machine in the front of the window display where I found this one.
Taking part in the theme Yellow. Click HERE to see more examples of yellow from around the world.
