On The Ferry At Dusk

This shot goes with Tuesday's shot in that it was taken from the ferry as we traveled back to downtown from the islands. It was a beautiful evening on Lake Ontario.

End Of Day At The Island

After a day on the Toronto Islands while waiting for the ferry to take you back to the mainland this is the view you get of downtown Toronto with the CN Tower as the star of the shot.

August Theme: Wood

The August theme for the City Daily Photo Blog community is Wood and for this I offer a shot of two wooden residences  found on the Toronto Islands. The vast majority of homes here are brick so wooden homes are a bit of a rarity and combined with the large trees this shot says 'wood' to me.

The Toronto Islands are a short ferry ride in Lake Ontario just across from downtown Toronto and at one time had about 700 homes but there are now around 300 of them and most of the islands are parkland.

Taking part in the theme Wood. Click HERE to see more examples of wood from around the world.

Vintage Island Home

This home on Ward's Island looks as if it has had very little done to it on the exterior over the years. There are several elderly people who have lived their whole lives on the Island and have no intention to leave. It is a complicated system to buy a home there - the land belongs to an Island trust and the homes can only be purchased through the trust. The waiting list to buy a home sits at its maximum which is 500 and it can be years before even one comes up for sale. The people at the bottom of that list will probably be elderly before their name comes up!

Lake View

Turning right around from yesterday's pic and taking a few steps to side to look through the trees gives you this view over the beach at Ward's Island and out over Lake Ontario. If we had eagle eyes we could see Niagara Falls on the other side. On a clear day when you are at the Falls you can see the Toronto skyline across the lake. 

Hello There!

In many parts of Ward's Island you are wandering on very narrow tree lined streets and it is easy to forget that you are so close to downtown Toronto and then you walk out to an open space like this playing field and there it is - the CN Tower peeking across the harbour. I'll show you the 180˚ view tomorrow.

Eating On Ward's Island

This is the Island Cafe on Ward's Island and it is located right beside the Ward's Island Association Clubhouse which I showed you last week. It is a funky looking place but serves great locally sourced food, is fully licensed for alcohol, and has a cool patio. What more could you want for a meal on the island?  
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Windows Everywhere

This is another of one of the highly renovated houses on Ward's Island. I think you are not allowed to build new structures there but can renovate which can result in a practically completely new house like this one. It must have some very interesting spaces inside judging by all of the windows and gables.

Natural Wood

This is one of the cottages/houses on Ward's Island that hasn't been totally upgraded at least on the exterior. It is nice the way the natural wood blends into the surrounding greenery though. You can see bits of each of its neighbours giving you an idea of how close all the buildings are to each other.

Monarch

I spotted this Monarch Butterfly on Ward's Island when I was there. He was fluttering back and forth from blossom to blossom probably gathering nutrition for his flight to Mexico. There seem to be a lot of Monarchs around this year which is a good sign that all of the milkweed being planted is having an effect since it is the favoured host plant for these guys. This one has a bit of damage on the tip of his right wing so I hope he makes a successful journey.  
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

Island Living

I thought I'd give you a look at one of the houses on Ward's Island many of which were originally cottages that have been winterized and renovated. Most of their lots are quite small and I couldn't help thinking that you would have to be considerate on a hot summer night when everyone's windows were open although this house may have air conditioning. There are no stores on the Island so everything must be brought across on the ferry and then wheeled home by wagon or some kind of bundle buggy since there are also no cars. Not fun in the winter!

Island Amenities

There are several yacht clubs on the Toronto Islands and most evenings during the summer you will see the harbour full of boats of various sizes. This is a pic of the Queen City Yacht Club which is located on Algonquin Island, the only  island other than Ward's with residences. Most of the members of the clubs live on the mainland and use the ferries or water taxis to get to their boats.

Club House

This is the Ward's Island Association Club House which is located close to the ferry dock and can be rented for occasions such as weddings. The association was formed in 1913 but this clubhouse was not built until the winter of 1937-38. It is such a pleasant colour don't you think? 
Taking part in Signs, Signs. Click HERE to see more signs from around the world.

Car Free

I'm back to posts about the Toronto Islands for a few days where I had gone to watch the running race. The runners I showed you on Sunday took off running along this roadway for 3km & then back and since the Toronto Islands form the largest car-free community in North America the only vehicles they had to watch out for were bicycles and these rental pedal machines. There are a few service vehicles around during the day such as fire engines and that is it.

Sunset Shuffle

My reason for going to Ward's Island was to watch the Sunset Shuffle a 6K race that takes place there on a Thursday evening every summer. The race is limited to just a few hundred  runners and always fills up quickly because of the location and because of the great after- race party which is sponsored by a local brewery. In the pic the runners are getting their final instructions before the horn goes off.

Island Dragon

On my little journey over to Ward's Island I spotted this creature as I wandered about the area. This steel dragon was done by artist Bruce Smith and if you click on my 'Islands' label below you can see another one that he did as well as more pics from Ward's.
Taking part in Saturday's Critters. Click HERE to see more creatures from around the world.

View From The Island

This is the view looking across the harbour from the ferry dock at Ward's Island. You can see a bit of the dock off to the right in the pic. As you can see it was a cloudy night with the threat of thunder storms all around us but we were lucky and stayed dry.

Just A Short Ferry Ride Away

Last week I took the 10 minute ferry ride to the Toronto Islands which are located in Lake Ontario just off the lakeshore downtown. There are 4 ferry routes to the Islands and I took the trip to Ward's Island which is where you can still find around 250 homes. The islands were totally inhabited until the 1950s when the decision was made to turn the whole place into parkland but the residents at Ward's have resisted so far. I'll show you some more pics over the next few days.
This ferry is the Sam McBride which is named after a former mayor and was commissioned in 1939.

Tower In The Dark

When I was looking through my archives for a skyline pic for the February theme day I found this pic showing the CN Tower and its neighbour, the Rogers Centre (previously known as the Skydome) where our Blue Jays baseball team plays. I think I took this shot from the ferry heading home from the Toronto Islands. There is something magical about a skyline at night.

Theme Day - Photo Of The Year

The January 1 theme for the City Daily Photo blogger community is "photo of the year" which can be your best or your favourite photo that you had posted over the past year. I chose this one of the Toronto skyline as seen from the Toronto Islands in summer since one of my favourite things is to take the ferry over to the Islands and wander around enjoying all the fabulous views and just relaxing away from all the traffic and construction in the city. I had originally posted this one for the July 1 theme day.
To see more "Photos of The Year" from around the world, click HERE.