I recently visited a house in the High Park neighbourhood which has this wonderful back garden. It is quite a wonderful oasis right in the middle of the city. They also have a huge deck up by the house with all the current outdoor kitchen features. I would never want to leave this yard if I lived there. The glass panels are part of the fencing required around swimming pools here.
For some reason I don't wander around in the High Park neighbourhood very often although I should since there are some beautiful homes in the area. I love this one that I spotted one morning last week.
Every summer there is a production of Shakespeare in High Park and this year it is King Lear that is being presented. I'm not sure if a squirrel is really playing King Lear but I do love this sign for the production!
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.
I spotted yet another decorated utility box, this one by St Cecilia's school in the High Park neighbourhood. The chair that is locked to the fence belongs to the school crossing guard who I guess takes a break in between groups of kids who need the traffic stopped. The artist for this one is Andrea Mancina and she did a fine job making a cheerful addition to this corner.
Taking part in Monday Murals. Click HERE to see more murals from around the world.
This is St John's Anglican Church West Toronto, found in the High Park neighbourhood. I thought I had better get a pic now before the leaves come out on the trees and hide it!
Just around the corner from yesterday's Little Library is Humberside Collegiate Institute and this is the main entrance to the school. I love the architecture of this old section of the school. The school was established in 1892 and is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year!
I spotted this Little Library in the High Park neighbourhood and did a quick U-turn to get a pic of it. It looks to be the best constructed one I've seen, as if a cabinetmaker built it!
I was wandering through the High Park neighbourhood and spotted this unusual Little Library so headed over for a pic. It's nicely done don't you think? And it has lots of space for books.
I was driving along in the High Park neighbourhood and just caught sight of this playground at St Cecilia school and immediately turned around. The playground was built 20 years ago with donations and labour from the surrounding community. If I was a kid I would love to play in the castles - even now I'd like to poke around in there!
For almost 40 years the Spring Run-Off Race in High Park has marked the unofficial start to the Toronto road racing scene. It takes place the 2nd weekend in April and some years it can be snowy, some years very hot, and others like this year when it is sunny but very cold and windy. High Park is very hilly so it is a tough run and the finish line is at the top of this long steep hill which I have pictured here. All the spectators line up to cheer the runners to the end and all finishers get a medal. Around 4,000 people take part each year with money going for cancer research.
This is what most of our winter has been like this year - very little snow and any that we have had has melted in a couple of days. Very strange. This is one of the many paths that run through High Park which is one of the largest parks in the city and has lots of amenities - skating rinks, tennis courts, pool, restaurant, gardens, off-lesh dog areas, etc.
I was wandering around off the paths in High Park, which is one of the largest parks in the city, when I happened upon this scene of discarded pin-back buttons. Most of them are fairly old political buttons supporting members of the Liberal party. I'm sure there is a story behind this but I have no idea what it is!
I was at a loft in the High Park neighbourhood which is about 4 miles from the CN Tower and the rest of the downtown skyscrapers and caught this pic of the skyline just after the sun had set. The dark area towards the bottom is actually the well treed streets below the loft and you can see a few of the homes peeking out of the shadows. This skyline is in a constant state of change since there is so much construction going on in the city especially downtown!
I have been unable to get out for any pics for 2 weeks so I am into my archives. I am not sure why I never posted this shot of the downtown skyline taken from the High Park neighbourhood which is about 4 miles west of the CN Tower. It is quite different from the usual TO skyline shot which is normally taken from the south while on a boat or at the Islands. I was on a deck on the top of a church tower of a church that has been converted to lofts and we were waiting to toast the sunset which came soon after I took this shot. It is quite a location up above this well-treed area of town!
It's going up to 36˚C and really humid here today so this is the place to be! This long, narrow, shady backyard in the High Park area offers the perfect option to fighting traffic heading to a cottage - just walk out off the back deck and dive in! Wish it was mine.
This is the middle of the pack of 5,000 runners waiting for the start of today's "Harry's Spring Run Off" 8 km run to raise money for fighting prostate cancer which marks the unofficial start of the running season in Toronto. The Spring Run Off has taken place in High Park for well over 20 years and today must have been the best weather for it in a long time! I have shown you some of the sculptures that are installed in the park before.
Another of the pieces in High Park from the International Sculpture Symposium of 1967, this steel piece called "November Pyramid" was done by German artist Bernard Schottlander. It is situated beside one of the off-leash dog trails so gets lots of viewers especially on nice weekend days.
1967 was not only the year of the International Sculpture Symposium in High Park but it was also the 'Summer of Love' and this sculpture in the park pays homage to that. By Canadian artist William Koochin, this sculpture called "The Hippie" even sports a 'Love' button on the jacket lapel. Enlarge the pic to see it. Those were the days!
In 1967 an International Sculpture Symposium was held in Toronto and the resulting pieces were installed in High Park. Originally 10 sculptures were installed although only 5 of them remain in the park with 2 having been relocated to other spots in the city and 3 I haven't been able to account for. This piece, Three Disks, by Israeli artist Menashe Kadishman is one of the most striking with its bright yellow cantilevered disks!
While walking through High Park on Sunday I stumbled across this wood sprit carving on a dead tree and I have since learned that the City of Toronto had commissioned carver Colin Partridge to create 4 of these in 2006. Partridge, a retired RCMP officer (Mountie), used special chisels, a chainsaw, and other tools to carve into stumps and dead trees and then stained the works to hopefully protect them for awhile. I will have to go back and look for the other 3 as it is said that to see a wood spirit brings good luck!
