Art At The Park

 

On Tuesday I showed you someone reading at the park but there were other people enjoying the park in their own way. This woman had set up her easel and was busy capturing the fall views. I'll show you her subject tomorrow.

Pet Pantry

 

I spotted this structure outside of a neighbourhood cafe and thought it was a Little Library but looking closer I realized that it was  pet pantry. People can put extra pet toys or foods for someone else to take if they need it. A nice thing in an area with a lot of dogs and cats. I will post a shot of the side next Monday for Monday Murals.

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

At The Park

 

There is something wonderful about sitting in a park on a nice fall day reading and having a coffee.

Butterfles and Streetcar

 

These butterflies and flowers were found on the side of a commercial building along St Clair Ave W. The streetcar is a nice addition since they run along St Clair right out front of the building.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

Leaves

 

Out for a walk on a windy day and the Maple trees were dropping all their leaves. All of these leaves were from one large tree. It was great fun to walk through them.

Just Resting

After spending all afternoon eating seed pods off our neighbouring Maple tree this squirrel was quite content to sit and rest for a while. It does seem to be giving me a look to just leave it alone though.

Taking part in Saturday's critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.
 

November Flowers

 

We have been having warmer temperatures than normal for this time of year and the result is that there are still flowers around. I spotted this rose bush covered in blossoms just this week!

Golden

 

The bright reds tend to get a lot of attention in autumn but the golden yellows are beautiful too.

Fire Station 344

This fine looking building is Toronto Fire Station 344 which was built in 1910 and was originally Fire Station 23. The building originally housed steam-powered horse-drawn pumpers but is now totally modern. It is right in the middle of a residential area in the Annex and I wonder where the horses were kept.

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
 

Details On A House

 

I love all the interesting details on this home in the Annex neighbourhood like the wonderful side porch and the lovely oriel window above it. At the front of the house there is a nice balcony on the 3rd floor and then along the side of the 3rd floor is that little round window. I'm betting this place is beautiful inside.

A Party Bus

 

I first noticed the mural on the side of this bus and then saw the name. It reminded me of an old hippie bus but it turns out that it is a party bus that takes people around on pub crawls and other things like that. No actual party on the bus.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

Another Fine Restoration

 

I love all the wonderfully restored homes in the Yorkville neighbourhood. This old Victorian looks quite grand.

Pretty Girl

 

The male Cardinals seem to get all the attention but the females are quite pretty too. This one was getting ready for a bath up on our roof deck.

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

School Conversion

This building in the Annex neighbourhood housed a convent and high school for girls for many years. It was converted to condos several years ago and they are quite lovely. I have been in a couple of them and they have large rooms, lots of space and lots of windows. A successful conversion.
 

Red!

 

While out for a walk I came upon this real showstopper of a Maple tree so of course stopped for a pic. It was amazing.

A Sign Of TheTimes

It must be a sign that we all have too much stuff but there are more and more storage facilities being built. This is one being constructed on Bathurst St and looks huge.  The sign in the middle of the shot is for Proper Twelve which turns out to be an Irish whiskey - who knew.

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
 

Runners

 

The 32nd annual Run For The Cure took place at the beginning of October but I forgot to post a pic of the runners. The run has raised millions of dollars for cancer research over the years. As you can see there were many thousands of people running on what was a gorgeous day.

Peaceful Beach?

 

This painted utility box may be abstract but I'm sure the artist, Chris Perez, is referencing a rather peaceful beach. A nice tropical one!

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

Wonderful Red

 

I spotted this line of trees down a side street while I was out for a walk and had to turn the corner to see the beauties. They were amazing as they glowed in the sunshine.

Eat Them All

 

The squirrels are in a frenzy of eating trying to devour all the Maple keys that seem to be at their prime. There were 3 squirrels in the rather small tree, each with their own territory that they were defending.

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

November Theme: Cooking

 

The November theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is Cooking and for the theme I present some of my cook books. Can you tell that I like Jamie Oliver? I love reading cookbooks but probably try making a very tiny percentage of the recipes.

Taking part in the theme Cooking. Click HERE to see more recipes from around the world.

Happy Halloween

 I love this display out front of a house on a very busy street so it must get a lot of attention. Two undertakers who know their stuff.

Approach The Porch With Caution

 

Witches and ghouls await anyone coming up to this front porch. There are a lot of those tall inflatable ghosts around town.

It's Coming

 

The ghosts and tombstones are appearing all over the neighbourhood. I'm thinking this one must pretty spooky at night when those glow in the dark things light up.

Hearts

 Spotted on the side of an interior designers place on Avenue Rd in the Yorkville neighbourhood. I love all the hearts. The artist for this one is Anthony Ricciardi.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

Maples On A Hill

 

These 2 maple trees were putting on a good show at the top of a hill in a school yard. The colours of autumn are so beautiful especially when the sun shines.

Hermit Thrush

Up on the roof by my deck I have a very large saucer which I keep filled with water for the birds to bathe & drink. A week ago a pair of Hermit Thrushes appeared and they have been around ever since. I don't think they will be staying for the winter so I will enjoy them now. 

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

Through The Arches

 

These two pairs of semi-detached homes were built in the Yorkville neighbourhhood in 1889 (the pair on the left are washed out by the sun a bit). The most striking feature of each pair is the deep round-arched entries they have. Perfect protection for winter or for rain in summer. Both pairs have been nicely restored.

Fresh Flowers

 

One of the best places in the city to buy fresh flowers is on Avenue Rd in the Yorkville neighbourhood where there are 4 shops selling flowers in one very short block. They all seem to specialize a bit and always have flowers out front along the sidewalk. It is a lovely place to wander even if you don't buy anything.

A New Place In Town

A longtime pub on Dupont St in the Annex neighbourhood has closed and the company that owned it has reopened the space as a pizza & pasta place. I haven't tried it yet but probably will. I'm betting the sign looks great at night.

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
 

Reflection

I loved the reflection of the street traffic on the window of an interiors shop along Davenport Rd.
 

Tropical

 

I showed this mural back in early Sept when it wasn't quite finished so I went by last week to see it finished. There have been a few more creatures scattered about along the wall and details added to the flowers. It is a nice addition to the area along Oakwood Ave. The artist is Sarah Waithe.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

Old Homes In Yorkville

 

Three sets of these semi-detached homes were built in the Yorkville neighbourhood in 1877-78 and used yellow brick which was a bit unusual in a city filled with red brick buildings. It is too bad that the pair on the right have had the front painted white but you can see the one on the left is still more period correct. Many of these large homes are now divided into flats.

Cold Up North?

 

The little Juncos have appeared here which is always a sign that winter has arrived up north and they have come here until spring. They are so cute as they tweet in the trees and poke around everywhere looking for food.

Taking part In Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

Autumn Colours

 

We seem to be getting colour change on isolated trees. As you can see this one was surrounded by totally green trees and I saw no others in the neighbourhood that had changed. It feels like things are a bit slow this year.

Spares

 

We all have spare tires for our cars and the TTC has spare wheels for the streetcars. These will be refurbished and used again on the different models of cars.

Ads On The Old Streetcar

 

Even today all or streetcars have ads inside running along above the windows but these ones were from the old Peter Witt streetcar that I showed you last week. I loved that they put up ads suitable to the age of the car itself. It was hard to take interior shots of the car as there were so many people standing in the aisle but you can see from this shot all the wood used. 

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Flexing

 

This is the interior of one of our present day streetcars, the Flexity Outlook, looking towards the driver's location. You can see in the floor how the sections slide against each other to give the flex or bend to the streetcar. I couldn't get anywhere near the front as there were kids totally enjoying themselves pretending to drive.

Abstract

 

I like the abstract image on the garage door but not the tagging which is distracting. There seemed to be no artist info at all.

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

The Driver

 

This is the driver of the old Peter Witt streetcar that I showed you last Tuesday. The interior of the streetcar was beautiful with wonderful wood used every where as you can see. I like seeing the old fare box.

Preparing For Winter

 

It is a busy time of year for squirrels as they hunt around for bits of food to hide away until needed during the winter to come. I'm not sure if this one was burying or harvesting but it was very determined.

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

Our Present Day Streetcars

 

This is one of our present day streetcars, called Flexity Outlook, which first appeared in service in 2014 and now make up the whole fleet. I guess they are called Flexity because they have 5 articulated sections. I remember how excited everyone was when they first started running here.

The CLRV Streetcar

 

These are the streetcars I have traveled on most, the CLRV (Canadian Light Rail Vehicle). These ran here from 1979 to 2019. Since most of the downtown surface routes are serviced by streetcars there were a lot of them. One more model to show you tomorrow.

Streamlined

 

The next model of streetcar to appear on Toronto streets was the streamlined PCC (Presidents Conference Committee) with the first arrivals in 1938. By 1958 there were 744 of this model running in the city with the last one in regular service in 1995. These are the ones I remember from when I was a kid going downtown shopping with my Mum. This one, #4549, is one of two that are still used for special runs and has been here since 1951.

Taking part in Signs 2. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

An Oldie

The Hillcrest yard of the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) celebrated its 100th anniversary this year and recently held an open house. This old Peter Witt streetcar was one of the stars of the show. It was in operation from 1923 until 1965 when it was used the last time in active duty for a retirement ceremony. As part of the open house you could take a 5 minute ride in this streetcar around a loop in the yards which of course I did.
 

"The 3 Sisters"

 

The 3 Sisters, by Meti artist Dani Kastelein, is found on what had been the entrance to a church on Walmer Rd in the Annex neighbourhood. The church is yet another one that has been purchased by a developer and a condo will go up on the site while maintaining part of the church. The mural represents the 4 elements Earth, Air, Fire, and water as well as the 3 sisters. 

Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.

Finally Flowers

 

All summer long my Morning Glories have have had plenty of leaves but no flowers until a week ago when I noticed tons of flower buds and now for the last few days the plants have been putting on a grand show. I love the blue.

They Are Gathering

 

A couple of times in the last two weeks I have been stopped in traffic while groups of Canada Geese slowly saunter across the road. They are gathering and getting ready for their journey south although many of them now stay here all winter.

Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

A Bit Of Colour Change

 

It is funny how all the trees can still be green except for a couple that show bits of what is to come. This shot looks like I was in deep forest but I was actually not far from a busy road and a parking lot right in the city.

Bird In The Window

 

Recently I was in one of the grand Victorian homes in the Annex neighbourhood and loved seeing this beautiful bird over the front window. Several homes along the block had been built by the same developer back in 1906 and they all have the same type of stained glass window with a bird as the highlight.