While wandering along College St in Little Italy I was intrigued when I saw this sign with a nun in a habit. It turns out that this is a Latin night club that is very popular and is known to be LGBT friendly and often has drag shows. It must be cool to see that neon lit up.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
This would have been perfect for the Blue theme but I just saw it a week ago when they had a small show of vintage cars for the vets at the Veterans Centre at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. It is a 1936 Ford and the woman who owns it has had it for 49 years and has done some modifications so that she can drive it on the highway.
I thought I would show a few more weeks of murals from the Butterfly Lane. This is a slightly different take on the Monarch butterfly but I like the graphic style of it. The artist for this one is Andre Kan. There are a lot of Monarchs flitting around in the city lately which is a great sign that they are recovering.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
There are lilies flowering all over the city right now. I spotted this one in someone's garden. I don't know the name but it certainly is beautiful!
The milkweed is flowering now and it is not only the Monarch Butterflies who love it. There are butterflies like this Black Swallowtail flitting about having a grand feed on the flowers. This guys right wing was a bit bedraggled but he is still a beauty!
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
In the older parts of the city you can often find small walkup apartment buildings like this one which are nestled in the middle of blocks of single family homes. They have gone out of favour in the newer parts of the city but there is a move afoot to encourage more of them in hopes of providing more rental units that are not in large towers. This beauty is found on Palmerston Blvd just north of College St in Little Italy.
The waterlilies starting popping open about a week ago in the ponds at the Veterans Centre at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. They grow them in pots which they bring into the green house for the winter because the ponds are too shallow to allow them to survive. It is always a lovely sight to see them.
I spotted these blue doors along College St leading to a space below an event space. For some reason I could find no information about it at all so it may be one of those places that if you are in the right crowd you will know where it is. I love the doors.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I think I might like to find a nicer parking space for my Porsche if I had one but parking in commercial areas is at a premium so they are lucky to find any space at all.
This is another of the painted garages from the Butterfly Lane which I showed you last Monday. This one is by Spud who is well known for his murals around the city.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
One year you plant a few Alium bulbs and within a few years you will have a fine crop. I took this pic in June and forgot to post it but wanted to show all of the blooms. The bees love them!
The Cardinals seem to be the only birds that are still poking around near the bird feeders at this time of year. They seem to be very quiet right now so I think they must have babies in the nest.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
Last Friday I showed you a few of the typical houses found in the Little Italy neighbourhood. It is a popular area and if any space comes free the developers pounce on it and it seems that the usual result lately is that a line of townhouses will appear such as in this pic. This actually shows two different projects as you can tell from the different styles. The section on the left in the pic used to have a small commercial building and the right hand part had a few small houses on it. These places go for over $1million! It will be nice when all of the trees grow up and make it a leafy area.
There is no mistaking that that is a jewellers store along Avenue Rd in the Yorkville neighbourhood when you see this large ring out front. I do wonder if it has a function as a bicycle stand too. I like their great clock too!
For the last few years the city has been putting names on the many laneways that run through the older parts of the city. This helps emergency services to find the lanes and by referencing local history it helps to build a community spirit. This laneway was named after Gustav Ciamaga who was a long-time resident of his neighbourhood and a distinguished member of the musical community (read about him HERE). He was also a dear friend of mine and it is lovely to see him honoured like this.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
This hill used to be covered in vegetation and had a steep path leading down into one of our ravines but the area has been closed off for well over a year now. That upper part with the dark brown covering is one of the city's water reservoirs which has been under renewal for at least the same length of time so I'm not sure if both projects are connected. You can still access the ravine from other points but this was also a great tobogganing hill so it will be interesting to see what happens with that.
A few weeks ago the third annual butterfly laneway painting project took place, this one along a lane south of Harbord St. Once again it was organized by Nick Sweetman whose work I have shown before (click on the label below) and was supported by the city and the David Suzuki Foundation. I think there are around 20 garages that have been painted with butterfly motifs. This one with the dancing Monarchs had no artist name unfortunately. It was sunny day with a lot of tree shadows but that just gave a bit more texture to the doors.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This is one of several waterfalls found in the gardens of the Veterans Centre at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. The sound they make is so soothing and the temperature seems to drop when you get close to them. Most have been funded by various generous families.
The Red Admiral butterfly is one of the most common butterflies found in temperate zones all over the world. I spotted this one in the gardens at The Veterans Centre at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and it was kind enough to pose while I got my camera out. Apparently the males are quite territorial and will defend their area from all other males in hopes that they will impress any females that may be nearby. Pretty things!
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
At the end of May I showed you a bookmark (HERE) that mentioned the verandahs along Grace St which the residents sat out on to cool off on hot summer nights. I finally went for a walk along Grace St and took a pic of the typical homes that you find in this neighbourhood, Little Italy. Practically every house has a large front porch and there are always a variety of chairs for sitting out watching the world pass by just as in the excerpt from the book.
After a cool and rainy spring it is finally patio season here. This is Il Gatto Nero which is located in Little Italy right across the road from yesterday's mural. It has been in business since 1960 and I can't believe that I have never eaten there! I must visit!
I spotted this mural with the Little Italy sign along College St in Little Italy. There is a movie theatre with that signage but it is now called the Royal but when it opened in1939 it was the Pylon. It is too bad that the cars are always parked there and some fool tagged the mural but it still works well.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
It has been a few years since I have shown a pic of this house which is found near Casa Loma. it is one of my favourite homes in the city and it is always a treat to walk by and see its wonderful presence. Built in 1913, it still looks great!
This is probably the last mural that I show from Feel Good Lane for a while since there are only a few left and I have so many other laneways to explore. This wizard seems to have created an underwater world off to the left but there were vehicles and piles of trash blocking the view so we can just admire him. The artist for this one is Meghan Oldhues.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
There seem to be so many different types of peonies around these days. I spotted these ones in a garden but have no idea what type they are. Pretty though!
I was wandering along Bloor St W and spotted this budgie flying about in a storefront window totally free wherever it wished to go. It seemed to be an office in the building and they had set up food, water, and various platforms for this guy to be happy. It really seemed to love climbing along this wire that was wound around in the window. When I came back past the window the cutie had flown back into the office - I'll have to go by again to check him out.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
These stone structures are called Inuksuks and are traditional manmade navigation landmarks used by the Inuit above the Arctic Circle in North America to point the way to hunting grounds etc. They have become a Canadian national symbol and can be found all over the country now. These ones were found by the driveway of a large home near Casa Loma - pointing the way in?
All of the old playground equipment with metal slides and other hard surfaces seems to have been replaced now by these colourful creations featuring all kinds of different uses. It sure is a change from when I was a kid. And that green surface below the play structures is almost as soft and cushion-like as a mattress when you walk on it.
PAT Central is a large Korean grocery store on Bloor St W in the Koreatown area. It is full of traditional Korean foods & treats as well as some Japanese and Chinese items especially treats. There is also a cool mural visible up on the side of the building next door but it is impossible to get the whole thing into the frame. And that is one of our postal delivery trucks out front.
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
When wandering through the Yorkville neighbourhood I spotted this scene in the front garden of an old Victorian house. I love the contrast between the carved terra cotta head on the wall and the angular bronze sculpture out front!
The July theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is "Blue" and I thought this 1957 Bel Air would be perfect. It was at the Exotic Car Show and got as much attention as any of the more expensive European models. Notice that it even has dice hanging from the rear view mirror.
Taking part in the theme Blue. Click HERE to see more blue from around the world.
Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians!
