A Spot of Colour

I was out looking for daffodils when I spotted several of these bright blooms in someone's front garden. I think they are Ranunculus which I have bought in bouquets but have never seen them growing. This garden had had a few little protective tents scattered about their garden through the winter and I think they were there to protect these plants. I love the colour!

Lovey Daffodils

 The Daffodils are flowering and luckily the weather has been a bit cool so the blooms are lasting well. I wish their little heads would look up a bit though. They always seem to be looking down a bit.

Life's A Beech ....

 I thought this was a rather clever sign from the city advertising their program to  have a tree planted in front of your home for free. There is a big push on here to plant more trees in the city.

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

Special Balloons

I was at an art show last week and one of the installations featured these iridescent balloons which were changing colour as the lighting on them changed. They were really fascinating. There were no children there but I can imagine that a child would have been spellbound by these. The photo can't capture what the eye sees all the time.

Inclusion

This is another mural painted around the construction on Spadina Rd near the Alliance Francaise. It too was painted by Celia Pang and has all types of wonderful images included in it. There was no way to get a shot without the railings. 

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

Seems Early To Me

This Magnolia is always the first one that I see in bloom and this year it seems to be earlier than ever. Earlier this week it had already started to drop petals when most of the other Magnolias haven't even opened the flowers yet.

Silhouette Of A Squirrel

I always liked those old silhouette portraits of people and this black squirrel against the sky reminded me of them. The squirrel looks like it is hunkered down against the cold wind but it was actually trying to open a really hard nut of some type. 

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

Scilla

 There are great patches of Scilla flowering all over the city. I love to see the rivers of blue running through gardens although this patch was spotted in a section of a gravel driveway. So pretty.

More On The Gem

 In December there was the horrible news on the radio that there had been a fire at The Gem. The building didn't look bad and everyone hoped that it would soon reopen but in March the longtime owner announced that it was closed for good. The end of an era. This is how the front looks today although if you peek through some of the window coverings much work is being done inside so maybe something else will become a landmark in the area.

The Gem

 This is the sign from The Gem which was a great small place on Davenport Rd which at one point in my life I visited several times a week. It was full of eclectic things and friendly regulars and they would always whip up something from the kitchen for you even after service was finished for the day. I'll tell you a bit more about the place tomorrow. 

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

More In The Laneway

This laneway house is rather large compared to most of them as the lot was quite wide. I quite like it but it is too bad that some fools tagged the concrete panels.

Respect

This mural was spotted on the barriers around city construction near the Alliance Francaise on Spadina Rd and hence the bilingual messages. The artist for this one is Celia Pang aka Dreamdoodle who worked with students from several schools. There are some good thoughts included on this one.

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

Waiting

Before I totally leave Bloor St and the parade route for the St Patrick's Day parade I thought that I would show you a pre-parade pic. That wonderful building behind the waiting spectators is the York Club which is a members only social club that has been here since the early 1900s although the building is from 1892. The sky gives you an idea of the conditions on the day of the parade - we had snow, sun, a bit of rain, and a lot of wind but it was all fun.

Sleepy Time

I don't think I have ever seen a duck with its head tucked under a wing as far as this one has. She was really tired so her mate was keeping watch for her.

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

Last Of The Parade

 I'm going to end my pics of the St Patrick's Day parade with this shot of yet another bagpipe band. There were a few in the parade. There were also large groups of people from various Irish counties marching and really a lot of people from unions all over the city. Everyone seemed to be having a grand time.

More Great Colours

 I forget which group this was but they put on a good show at the St Patrick's Day parade. They were almost perfectly in sync as they marched along doing a nice routine.

Wonderful Music At The Parade

 Our St Patrick's Day parade is as multi-cultural as our city and one of the star groups in this year's parade for me was the York Lions Steel Band. There is something wonderful about the sound from a steel band. The band is made up of young people from York which is one of the areas of the city and they perform at many events around town. Lucky for them the sun had come out while they were going along Bloor St.

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

More Dancers

There were a few Irish Dance school groups marching and dancing in the St Patrick's Day parade. I was near the start of the parade but I bet they were tired by the end and those girls with short sleeves must have been cold as it was a cool windy day.

On The Road To Somewhere

 This seems like a perfect subject for a garage door.  The artist for this one is Colin Tea and I think I have seen a few others by him in the same area.

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

Bagpipes

There were several bands in the St Patrick's Day parade playing bagpipes. I liked the red kilts worn by this band.

The Fire Hall Dog

There was a huge contingent of Toronto Fire service people marching in the St Patrick's Day parade and they brought their Dalmation dog with them. It was a cool/cold day and so the dog wore 2 coats and a scarf to keep warm. Who could resist the smile on the Fireman's face? 

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

The Dancers

These women were part of the Mexican group marching in the St Patrick's Day parade and for most of the parade they were dancing and twirling away but no twirls when they were in front of me. I love the colourful dresses.

Having Fun

The Mexicans seemed to be having a lot of fun as they marched along in the St Patrick's Day parade. I was at the start of the parade and wonder if the energy ran out by the end a few miles later.

A Tribute

 There was a very large group of Mexicans who marched and danced in our St Patrick's Day parade as a tribute to the many Irish who fought with Mexico in the Mexican-American war. They formed the St Patrick Batallion.

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

Leading Off The Parade

 I went to our St Patrick's Day parade on March 17 and found a good spot near the beginning of the parade for viewing. These handsome police horses and their riders lead off the parade as usual.

April Theme: Medicine

 The April theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is Medicine and for this one I offer a shot of the Garrison Creek Toronto Western Family Health team which is a multi-faceted team of health care professionals working together and is a satellite part of the Toronto Western Hospital. There are family doctors, nurses, dietitians and more all offering a range of services.

Taking part in the theme Medicine. Click HERE to see more takes on the theme from around the world. 

The mural running along the window lists all the services they provide. Find more murals at Monday Murals HERE.

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone got lots of treats for the day. A talented member of our family made the great table runner for us to mark the day!

A Sweet Couple

 There are couples of Canada Geese wandering around all over the city as they get ready to build nests and start a family. This fairly calm pair was spotted at James Gardens and they were paying little attention to the humans which is not always the case as often the geese go into protective mode and become very noisy.

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

Not Just The Door

 It is not just the door of this garage that is decorated with shells but the whole side of it as well. I couldn't get a straight on shot because of parked cars but I think this gives you the idea. The whole front of the house is decorated with things too and even the homeowners van is covered in little things.

What A Garage!

There is a house in the Seaton Village neighbourhood (which is right beside the Annex neighbourhood) that is almost totally decorated with bits of wood attached to it. This is the garage belonging to that house and all that patterning is made by shells that have been glued on to it. The only part not shells is the section below the roof that has small bits of wood. The interesting thing is that no one ever seems to vandalize this place. I'll show another view of it tomorrow.

Escape

I'm not really overly familiar with escape rooms but apparently this place has several  different kinds. Sometimes the idea of a place to escape to sounds better than escaping from. A quiet relaxing place would do the trick.

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

A Different Laneway Sighting

 Not all the garages and buildings in our laneways are painted with lovely murals as this door shows you but I find something intriguing about it. You wonder why there would be such a door on a laneway running through a residential area. Was there a small business operating here years ago? A mystery?

A Vanouver Sunset

 I spotted another fine mural by Nick Sweetman as I wandered down one of my local laneways. His work is always so well done and this one shows the Lions Gate Bridge in Vancouver at its best. The mountains on the far side of the water are known as the Lions so hence the name of the bridge.

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

A House For Bats

 I haven't seen very many of these bat houses but apparently they really work and the little guys seem to like them. And the bonus is the bats help to keep the mosquitoes in check at night.

They're Back!

We had a  few tough Robins that stayed here all winter but most of them head south. The past couple of weeks the snowbirds have been arriving back in town and it is not unusual to see large groups of them foraging in the parks. On a coolish morning this one was soaking up the sun and quite enjoying it, I think, since it stayed on this branch for at least 10 minutes. It's good to hear them singing again. 

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

An Addition

I vaguely remember when the white building on this corner was for sale and it had parking behind it.  It sold and then the large grey addition appeared with its great red doors. I rather like the contrast between the two halves of the structure. You can see that it is beside the laundromat that I showed you a week ago. The white building was a store but looks like it has been converted to residential.

Noisy Arrivals

When I was walking along the trail by the Humber river last week there were a lot of noisy Canada Geese flying around. I think they had all recently arrived back in town and were establishing territories. This noisy group landed a bit further along on the river.

Mangia Con Amore

This tiny Italian restaurant, Morellina's, is found on Christie St in the Seaton Village neighbourhood. I was looking through the window early on a Sunday morning and it looks quite lovely inside but very tiny with maybe ten tables but I'm not sure about that. I looked up their menu and it all sounds wonderfully delicious. 

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

No Golf Yet

Last week we had a day when it was 18˚C and sunny so I went for a walk along the Humber River. On the other side of the river there are two golf courses right in the middle of the city since that area is flood plains and can't have houses built there. The grass is greening up but here were no golfers out yet as the ground is still quite wet. 

A Nice Burst Of Colour

 It was a dull day when I wandered down a laneway and discovered this nice pop of colour on a garage door. I could find no artist name on it. 

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

There Was A Little House ...

This little house was spotted in the Seaton Village neighbourhood. It is on a huge lot and even with the house set back so far from the street there is a large back garden behind it. It is really tidy outside so I assume the inside must be set up very efficiently and is well organized.

Happy St Patrick's Day to everyone!

Nest Building

I wanted to show you the nest that two squirrels have been building and improving for days now. It is fairly high up in a tree and is getting bigger all the time. You can see one of the squirrels just below the nest towards the right. They are really preparing this nest to last a long time.

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

Reflection

I liked this reflection of some of the storefronts along Bathurst St and was lucky to be there when there were few cars parked.  All the stores in this area have apartments upstairs which makes for a nice neighbourhood with lots of activity.

Winter Grasses

Despite our unusual weather the gardens at James Gardens have been left untouched so the winter grasses are still blowing in the wind. I loved the contrast with the red branches.

Laundry Time

 This coin laundry is not only a place to wash your clothes but you can pick up snacks while you wait. I have to go by to check out the snacks one day.

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

An Unusual Sight This Winter

I was wandering along the trail beside the Humber River when I saw this small creek that  runs nearby. I was rather startled to see some ice along the edges of it and realized that I haven't really seen any ice this winter. Strange times.

A Lovely Surprise

I looked down one of my usual laneways that I explore and saw this wonderful surprise painted by Nick Sweetman. His work is so wonderful that he makes even one of our raccoons look beautiful even though they can be a major pest. I'm dedicating this shot to my friend D who has an ongoing battle with raccoons who take over his roof deck. 

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

Snowdrop Swaths

I was at James Gardens a week ago and there were large areas with lovely swaths of Snowdrops. No snow but lots of flowers.

Found A Treat

I had been watching this grey squirrel working on a nest by gathering leaves and bits of grass when all of a sudden it headed for the curb of the roadway and started poking around. And then up it popped with some kind of good treat and looked quite happy. Most of our squirrels are the black version of the Eastern Grey Squirrels but this winter there seem to be a lot more of the grey ones than usual.

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

Concentration

 All eyes are on the puck as the players try to stay in position. Half the time during the game they would all chase the puck into the corner leaving the whole rink open space. It is still fun to watch the kids at play though.