Archive for the ‘general Toronto’ Category

On the Move

Posted: September 1, 2026 in general Toronto
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If you walk east on Bloor from Dundas West, you will encounter a railway bridge.

man pulling a suitcase as he walks on the sidewalk on Bloor street, eastbound, with GO train on railway bridge in the distance.

A section of the walls of this underpass have recently been painted by 40+ artists. The south side is now covered in new murals.

cyclists in bike lane on Bloor West, traveling eastbound and about to go under the railway tracks just west of Perth. Street art on the walls of the underpass

This underpass has been painted previously – back in 2015 both the north and south walls were painted in a Wallnoize project (see post from 2015). Some of the same artists appear on this updated version. This time it was StreetARToronto that sponsored the artworks. Let’s take a look at some of the murals (in no particular order)….

below: Stay young! An old man on a bike that he outgrew years ago! by Adrian Hayles

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West painted by Adrian Hayles - an old man in yellow suit and hat, riding a very small yellow, or gold, bicycle

below: Opola Karim painted this Toronto skyline scene, a view that is well known to anyone who has visited the Toronto islands.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West painte by Opola Karim, showing Toronto Harbour and Toronto skyline in a very stylized design, loon in water, beaver on a rock, Canada geese flying overhead

below: Peaceful, loving hands joining together by Phillip Saunders aka Loveishere

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Phillip Saunders, a k a Love is here. Four hands in shades of beige and brown, 2 with peace sign, one holding a round object with a red heart on it,

below: Close to the west end of the underpass is this colourful section. The collection of birds on the right side were painted by two artists, Just J. Art (the hummingbird and the hibiscus flower) and Ambsoul Art

two street art murals on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West. On the right side is collection of birds on the right side were painted by two artists Just J. and Ambsoul. BJR painted the let side, first nations symbols and objects like a bear with a fish in its mouth,

below: The left part (of the above image) BJR aka Bradley J. Reinhardt

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, byBJR, or Bradley J. Reinhart, bear with a blue fish in its mouth and a red heart on its side

below: Ambsoul Art’s feathery bird.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, bird head, part of a larger mural, by Ambsoul

below: From under the bridge, glimpses of colour between the steel girders and concrete barricades.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West as seen from across the street metal girders supporting bridge, traffic on the road,

below: Three of the artworks

three street art murals on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West. Artists were Curtia Wright, Phillip Saunders, and Artistic Perception.

below: Curtia Wright – a portrait with yellow flowers

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Curtia Wright, portrait of a brown woman with yellowy brown eyes, yellow flowers on either side of her

below: More women’s faces – some with no mouths? – have they been silenced? By Artistic Perception aka Kanisha

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Artistic Perception. three black women with short curly black hair, clothes in grey shades, with a garland of daisies

below: The Toronto Railpath runs beside these tracks.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West where it joins Wallace street entrance to the Toronto Railpath

below: By Getso – it’s green, it has sharp teeth and a tail, and it can stand on two legs (he’s standing in a boat)….

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Getso, a green crocdile, standing, with tail wrapped around a brown pole, beside water

below: EGR (with the help of some high school students) painted these cool glasses …. and the young woman on the skateboard.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by EGR, woman with sunglasses that reflected Toronto skyline and a person cycling past, red rims and blue glass
street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by EGR, a young woman skateboarding

below: Precious cargo in the old milk crate in a mural by Wenting Li aka Wenting Things.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Wenting Li, A cyclist riding a green bicycle past a stylized blue neighborhood skyline, transporting a growing branch with clusters of red fruit in a bright orange milk crate.

below: Another cyclist pedaling along, this time by Isabella Fassler

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Caitlin Taguibao and Andrea Manica created a mural of people and flowers.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, a mural of people and flowers created by Caitlin Taguibao and Andrea Manica
street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, a mural of people and flowers created by Caitlin Taguibao and Andrea Manica

below: A boy on the water and a blue jay watching him by Bunso, aka Night Owl Drawings

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Adrian Hayles’ man in yellow again, with a 26 cent stamp by Frannie Potts.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: A closer look at the bird and flowers on the stamp.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Part of the Nick Sweetman mural showcasing fish.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Visible Noise, aka Andrew Patterson

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: A pink cat with spots is the result of a collaboration between Muys and Chris Perez. Or is it a leopard?

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Timmifuk removing not one mask, but two.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Timmifuk, young man with green face is removing two masks, one is blue and the other is a demon red

below: Rowell Soller

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Rowell Soller
street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Rowell Soller
street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: StephVonAwesome aka Stephanie Avery

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West cartoon llike characters by StephVonAwesome aka Stephanie Avery<
monsters having a tea party, mural by Stephanie Avery, including three eyed orange guy and purple furry guy
murals on wall of Bloor street railway underpass by , Isabella Fassler, Caitlin Taguibao, Andrea Manica, and Stephanie Avery

below: “Water is Life”, Bubzart

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, water is life, pregnant woman

below: A peace dove in a swirl of calligraphy, by Medeio

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West A peace dove with an olive branch in its beak, in a swirl of calligraphy, by Medeio, monotone grey

below: Danilo Deluxo, a woman in an elaborate helmet, futuristic pilot.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Danilo Deluxo, a woman in an elaborate helmet, futuristic pilot.

below: Facing each other, Danilo Deluxo and Drippin’ Soul

two street art murals on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, Danilo Deluxo and Drippin' Soul

below: Using shades of black, teal and magenta, Drippin’ Soul has created a very metallic looking profile

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Drippin Soul, woman's portrait in profile in shades of black, teal and magenta

below: That’s one creepy red eye! Or is it two red eyes? Ahhhh…. the red eye and brass (bronze?) pieces are part of a mask and the design was apparently “inspired by the taotie motifs of the Shang dynasty” (Quote is from MonkYi’s instagram page). The Shang dynasty dates back to between 1600 BC and 1050 BC; it marked the beginning of the Bronze Age in China. A taotie was a mythological creature that represented greed and gluttony.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Monk Yi, woman wearing a mask that has one red eye
two men walking past street art murals on the wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Ghazaraza‘s ladies are sharing a pot of tea.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Ghazaraza, two ladies are sharing a pot of tea, seated on the ground facing each other. Pink flowers in the middle

below: Flowers in her hair, flowers everywhere… Oh, I don’t know just why She simply caught my eye…. Or you can all it by its title, “Wildlife in Bloom” by Lula Lumaj.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Lula Lumaj, woman with long dark hair, flowers in her hair, monarch butterfly, bee, other flowers around her
street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, a butterfly and a bee by some small pink flowers

below: A cute little grey cat with green eyes.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, a grey cat with green eyes and a little pink nose
three street art murals on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West. an image of a GO rain engine is in the middle

below: GO train – definitely On the Move!

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, image of a GO train engine

below: “The Lookout aka the Fruit Bandits” not letting a fence get in the way! by Jim Bravo

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Jim Bravo, a group of children is picking fruit from trees that are on the other side of a fence, title is fruit bandits
street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Mother and daughter watching the traffic in a mural by Colin Tea.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, Mother and daughter watching the traffic in a mural by Colin Tea, girl is called Violet
three muralon a railway underpass, bloor street , street art, urban art,

below: Greetings from West Toronto by Rage WIlliams

Greetings from West Toronto is the text in this white, gold, and pink mural by Rage Williams.
street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Reboser’s athlete – a football player sprinting down the field.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, football players by reboser
street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: From the The Graffiti Studio ….

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Jeff Blackburn‘s young person on the move with drink in one hand and backpack in the other.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Two dogs and a stack of old tires, a painting by Megan Oldhues

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, two dogs and a stack of old tires, by Megan Oldhues
street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: Hummingbird by an orange flower.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, hummingbird

below: Three animals by a river from Waskwane Designs – beaver, bear and wolf (with a few bees and butterflies too)

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Waskwane Designs, animal, beaver beside a river
street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West by Waskwane Designs, bear with a butterfly
street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West, by Waskwane Designs, animal, wolf in black and white

below: Not for Sale, letters and flowers in a small square of concrete at one end of the wall.

street art mural on wall of railway underpass on Bloor street West

below: A lone pigeon watches me as I pass by.

pigeon sitting under a bridge, up high

below: The wall of the underpass peters out by the time Bloor Street reaches Perth.

Link for more information on StART – StreetARToronto

Photos taken August 2026

market day

Posted: August 14, 2025 in general Toronto
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A few scenes from the St. Lawrence Market on a busy summer afternoon

red, yellow, and orange cherry tomatoes, grown in Ontario, for sale, also some mangos and bananas, saint lawrence market

bakery and sandwich counters at saint lawrence market - parmigiana on a country bun, or a pea meal bacon sandwich,

a woman peers over the top of a display case full of cakes and pastries as two other women decide what to buy

piles of pasta in different shapes, for sale, saint lawrence market

crab legs and salmon pieces for sale at st lawrence market

baskets of peaches, baskets of strawberries and little boxes of blueberries

people waiting for food at Yianni's deli counter in st lawrence market

pedestrians on market street outside st lawrence market

bunches of asparagus for sale, 2 for seven dollars

a woman in produce, fruit, section of st. lawrence market, looking at small baskets of raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries,

a man in jeans and blue shirt, holding red shopping bag, is looking at a display case full of different kids of cheese

display case full of raw fish for sale, salmon, shrimp, and others, at fishmonger, st. lawrence market

a man reaches out to serve prepared food, st. lawrence market

different kinds of kebabs, uncooked, for sale at st. lawrence market, including mango salmon kebabs

bright yellow teddybear sunflowers for sale, in a bright green plastic bucket

a boy in a T shirt with bright colours and busy patterns, holds a drink, behind him is young man carrying containers of take out food, St. Lawrence market

St. Lawrence market man in shorts and sandals buying food from bakery, glass cases with other baked goods on display in the picture as well

St. Lawrence market, open top fridge for cheese, mostly brie cut in wedges, and wrapped in plastic, for sale

group of older people standing outside st lawrence market on a summer afternoon

my go to places

Posted: April 29, 2025 in general Toronto
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Queen Street East, old brick building in front of new glass and steel condo tower

“My Go to Places” was recently a photo challenge from John at Journeys with Johnbo, another wordpress blog.  Because my blog is very Toronto centered, I don’t usually play along with such games but last week I thought that I would make an exception because “my go to place” is/are the streets and alleys of Toronto.

Every street has a story to tell, you just have to get out there and explore.

part of a mural on the Danforth, a larger than life person in white jacket and dark jeans, walking off the wall

On the Danforth, part of a mural by Monica on the Moon (aka Monica Weikler).

I enjoy finding the quirks of the city – humorous signs in store windows,  bizarre or funny graffiti, the quirky things people put in their front yards, and more.  I like stumbling upon surprises that make me smile (or wince!).

A happy face and poetic words on a TTC bus stop pole – “She lives to see the sun and feel the wind and drink the rain”.  Not bad words to live by!

But sometimes the joy is found in the ordinary.

a woman is crouching down on a sidewalk to get a better photograph of a garden full of bright yellow daffodils, with the stone buildings of Emanuel College, U of T, in the background

Bright yellow signs of spring, and hope, in front of the stone buildings of Emanuel College, University of Toronto.

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Out on the streets the cliche of ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ holds true – it’s all there (have I complained recently about the street level ghastliness of some new condos?).  And not just the on the streets, but also underground, wandering through buildings, or crossing above

looking out an elevated pedestrian bridge, enclosed in glass, looking out to street, and downtown Toronto

Sick Kids Hospital, crossing over busy streets

below: Behaving well on the subway.

small white curly haired dog sitting on a blue TTC subway car seat, with a woman in a blur coat, red scarf, and large red bag, she is looking at her phone

White Hydrangeas (A haiku for each petal)
…
Ivory flowers
sprout in the graveyard near me
soil-bound miracle
…
This ground is neutral
apparently this is so all I know is not
…
Dirt sits on a son –
a boy, thousand times unearthed –
who looks just like me
…
Bouquets mask his name
this world is not meant for us
still, white hydrangeas

I walk through ravines and along the lakefront….. past places that everyone recognizes as well as places that are hidden away.

GO train on tracks, repair and maintenance trucks parked beside the tracks, CN Tower and downtown Toronto in the background

A GO train travels just west of the CN Tower in downtown Toronto. A small piece of the white roof of the SkyDome (Rogers Centre) can be seen at the base of the tower.

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two people walking along the side of the railway tracks, apartment buildings in the background,

Walking beside the railway tracks, somewhere in Toronto.

I’ve seen the streets where we work, where we play, and where we live.

 

workman, cutting pavement, or sidewalk, outside, making lots of dust,

three brick duplex houses in a row

Duplexes on Eglinton

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large inflatable Santa Claus on a front yard of a large house with dark blue shutters

Santa Claus visits the west end.

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downtown row house with larger apartment building behind

Urban living downtown

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And I know that good things usually happen when you get out and be a part of the city.  Of course we have problems (that Eglinton LRT is a mess isn’t it? and it’s a shame about the Science Centre, right?)  It’s a friendly place.

pedestrians and one cyclist crossing on a green light at college and spadina

Pedestrians, a few cars, and one cyclist, crossing at College and Spadina.

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beside uber 5000 mural on the side of the Toronto Humane Society, people crossing Queen Street towards THS, people standing in bus shelter beside the mural, big orange cat and large dog, both in the mural

At River and Queen East, cats and dogs in a mural by Uber 5000.

Like all story tellers, I bring along my history and my biases.  If you were to walk with me, you might notice different things than I do.  Or if we see the same things, you might offer a different perspective. You would possibly write a different story but that’s okay.   Sometimes I wonder if I am writing stories about Toronto or if I am just writing my own story and Toronto just happens to be the setting!

A young woman in floppy navy blue hat and holding a cup of coffee, pushes a stroller along a Yorkville downtown sidewalk, bright red building across the street,

Yorkville

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man sleeping on a TTC streetcar

Riding the TTC

Woodbine Beach – winter stations 2025

Posted: March 5, 2025 in general Toronto
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The annual “Winter Stations” public art installations are now up at Woodbine Beach. This year the constructions are colourful and fairly durable.   They should be there until the end of March.

snow covered beach, with a bench facing the frozen lake ontario, a tree beside the bench. in the distance, art installations in the sand

Once again, there are 6 installations to check out as you walk the beach.

below: “Watch” by Trae Horne.  The opening in the fence faces due east

winter stations, public art installation, resembles two sections of a red wood fence, title is Watch and it was designed by trae horne

below: “Peak”, designed by University of Waterloo School of Architecture and the Department of Architectural Engineering.    … ” angular peaks that frame perspectives and form pathways. Consisting of repeating structures of select shapes and sizes, Peak is an interactive installation that visually contrasts the existing site and offers refuge from the cold winter environment. “

peak, an art installation at woodbine beach

red, blue, and yellow triangular and pyramidal shaped structures in the snow beside lake ontario, art installation titled Peak, designed by University of waterloo students

below: “Parade” by Jesse Beus consists of six characters each with their own unique colour, shape, purpose, and identity.  There is blue Shadey and green Jadey.  Sunny is a yellow circle and Boxy is a red box.  There is an orange pyramid called Slippey and a funny purple shape that is Blob.

parade of shapes by a lifeguard station at woodbine beach, part of winter stations public art installation, a woman is taking a photograph, designed by Jesse Beus

the word shady cut of a blue surface, now acts like a window, snow covered beach can be seen through the cut out of the letters

green, blue, and purple structures on the beach, with snow, part of winter stations art project

below: “Ascolto” by French artists/designers Ines Dessaint and Tonin Letondu.

orange megaphone shape, winter stations, art installation

orange megaphone shape, winter stations, art installation, snowy beach, large trees in foreground

below: Standing at the edge of “Ascolto” and looking in.

orange megaphone shape, winter stations, art installation, shadow of photographer, seen inside the orange tube

below: “Solair”, by Toronto Metropolitan University Department of Architectural Science – Sunlight and air…  light and wind…. together produce movement and reflections and an ever changing abstracted image.  Each reflective square moves independently from the others.

winter stations art installation, hundreds of little reflective squares that move in wind, reflecting beach and lake and sky

winter stations art installation, hundreds of little reflective squares that move in wind, reflecting beach and lake and sky, up close of the squares

reflections of camera

winter stations art installation, hundreds of little reflective squares that move in wind, reflecting beach and lake and sky , panels on both sides of a lifeguard station chair

winter stations art installation, hundreds of little reflective squares that move in wind, reflecting beach and lake and sky , people looking at

below: “Slice of Sun” by a Portuguese group – Cláudia Franco, Mariam Daudali, and Tom Byrom.  It is a semi-circle within a rectangle.  There are steps inside the curved portion that can be used as seats but just be careful because if it is windy, you might get hit by a blowing strip of pink plastic!

pink plastic strips that blow in the wind, art installation at woodbine beach
slice of sun, an art installation at woodbine beach

art installation at woodbine beach, silver reflective wall

below: Dogma graffiti at one of the lifeguard stations

dogma graffiti, 2 stickers, on pink background dogma graffiti, green mushroom guy

footsteps in the snow leading to a bench by a frozen lake

pebbles of different shapes and colours on the beach

the tree of life – a ceramic version

Posted: November 16, 2024 in galleries, general Toronto
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The Tree of Life is a symbol that originated in antiquity; it appears in most religions and cultures.  Over the centuries it has been depicted in many different ways.  Here, it is shown with colourful and imaginative flowers and leaves in an image that has been constructed using large ceramic tiles by artist, Marc Egan.  The resulting artwork is 9 feet by 12 feet big.

artwork by Marc Egan, a large image of his version of the tree of life made out of ceramic tiles.

It is on display at Gallery 235 in the Harbourfront Centre,  It is part of an exhibit titled “Elaborate” that continues until 29th December 2024.

two flowers, yellow centers, white petals, on larger pale blue petals, skinny green leaves

part of a ceramic art piece by Marc Egan, imaginative flowers and leaves on a tree, black background

yellow and pink flowers, ceramic artwork

puffy foamy blue flowers in yellow green cup like leaves, ceramic artwork, tree of life, in an art gallery, other flowers that look like chocolate chip cookies,

two pink flowers that look like pink feather dusters, with long droopy skinny pink petals,

There is even a creepy crawly red and white bug!

red and white caterpillar on a branch of a tree, ceramic art by Marc Egan, tree of life, black background

bottom part of marc egan ceramic tree of life, the trunk, masses of green leaves

 

Good morning, Bloor west from Christie

Posted: November 2, 2024 in general Toronto
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On a warmer than usual late October morning….

hear comes the sun poster in a store window on bloor west

… when the early morning sun played with the autumn leaves in Christie Pits park

trees in autumn foliage, reds, golds, and oranges, in christie pits park

painting on a cement box in christie pits park, black bird head, with text, land back to natives is justice

a man walks by a fruit and vegetable store on bloor street

Of course, late October means Halloween with pumpkins and other spooky things.

display of small pumpkins, outside in sun, at a market, orange with green bumpy bits

below: This guy hasn’t had his coffee yet!

halloween decoration in front of coffee shop, inflatable orange pumpkin with scary face, also two green arms,

As I started putting together this post, I learned that Doug Ford wants to tear up Toronto bike lanes starting with those on Bloor, Yonge, and University Ave   He has named them in his latest wannabe Toronto mayor action, namely Bill 212, Reducing Gridlock, Saving You Time Act, 2024.

stickers and notes on door of bike shop

Ford claims that bike lanes add to the congestion on our streets (and makes his commute to work difficult).  You will note the traffic chaos here this morning! The vans on the far side are (legally) parked.  I suspect that Ford once sat in a traffic jam on Bloor and noticed that cyclists were moving faster than he was.

a female cyclist rides a bike in a bike lane on bloor street, one car is driving past, some other cars are parked across the street

man in plaid shirt riding a bike in bike lane

But I don’t want to get bogged down with politics and the antics of politicians, so I will leave you with a few scenes for Bloor West (approximately) between Christie and Lansdowne.  There is some Halloween, some stores, some construction, some people, some architecture, some of the usual stuff!  Maybe even a few things that will take your mind off politics!

below: Bloorcourt

bloorcourt sidewalk art, heart shapes around the letters, in front of a convenience store, painted by Victor

bloorcourt banner on a utility pole at dovercourt and bloor, with crane in the background, for construction on the northwest corner of that intersection

below: A little bit of history…. small tiles in the doorway of number876

floor, exterior, outside of doorway of store on bloor west, covered with small multi coloured tiles, plus green tiles making the number 876

below: Banjara parking lot payphone with its own Heritage Plaque thanks to the Toronto Sign Reimagination Unit, aka Jode Roberts.

empty small telephone booth with a plaque on top

In the summer of 2015, a coin-operated telephone was installed here, replacing three long-standing Bell payphones.  This payphone served hundreds of residents, offering a vital communication link.  To make a call, users had to insert metal coins through a slot.  However, the phone mysteriously disappeared sometime in the past year. 
The coin-operated payphone was patented by American inventor William Gray in 1891.  Its use peaked around 2005, with nearly half of Canadians reporting regular use and over 150,000 payphones across the country.  By 2015, more than two-thirds of these payphones had been removed. As of 2021, only a few hundred functioning payphones remained in Toronto.   This plaque commemorates the payphones in this parking lot and their gradual disappearance from the urban landscape. 
Heritage Plaque courtesy of the Toronto Sign Reimagination Unit, 2024

 

a woman sitting on a bench, outside, beside a small store, leaning on grey fence with sign on it saying pizza, as well as an arrow pointing right

looking in a store window, mannequin hand in front of a design on a t shirt that is a raccoon popping its head out of a garbage can, trash panda

chairs stacked in corner of patio, outside, some leaves have fallen on the chairs

below: Bloor and Brock

Pizza Pizza on the southwest corner of Bloor and Brock, also stores on the north side of Bloor,

bloor west, north side, at brock, blue collar bakery, bar neon, old laundromat, man walking past on sidewalk,

below: Part of a mural by Jimmy Chiale

part of a mural by Jimmy chiale, many shapes and colours, abstract, mostly blues, some faces,

man standing outside a door of a store

jumble of signs outside of a store

window of a business on bloor street, massage, neck and shoulder etc., red words on the glass that are starting to peel off, plant in window,

bloody no trespassing banner, as halloween decoration, in a store window display, with reflections of the street

hoardings beside construction site, along with scaffolding and protection that covers the sidewalk

below: Amazing!  He’s a cumin being! Good things!

decorations in a window display, store, paper hearts in different colours, each with one or two words like amazing, good things, , also note saying he's a cumin being.

below: Angel Mary

white statue of angel mary, praying, in a store selling beauty and hair products

below: Very large Italian flag by Vito Vesia Upholstery

large italian flag hanging against exterior wall of a building

envelope sticking out of the top of a rusty mailbox that is mounted on a blue metal gate

below: By Dufferin station

people waiting outside subway station, both women on phones, one standing beside a large suitcase

below: Bloor & Lansdowne

looking west along bloor at Lansdowne, front of TTC bus, people waiting to cross street, discount store on the northwest corner,

below: Scrawl on a TTC bus stop pole.  At first I thought that it was a biblical reference, but when I checked, I found that Daniel 5:5 is “Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote”.  I doubt that has anything to do with gullible Christian hippies, right?

graffiti writing on TTC bus stop pole that says Daniel 5.5 gullible Christian hippie

big orange cartoon face, with white cap, mural on a garage in an alley
an alley in bloorcourt, murals on garage, staircases, brick buildngs,

close up of a painting on exterior of garage in an alley, blue star with a man's face in it, front end of car with licence plate 007

mural of lighthouse on a red brick wall, bottom part has been tagged over with a lot of yellow paint

below: “Remember to Love! Go call your mom, say I love you and thanks!”

sticker graffiti on a Canada Post mailbox

graffiti stickers on the back of street signs

With thanks to Bill, Jeff, Paul, and Barry who walked with me that morning – and a shout out to the woman who said, “That’s so cute” when she learned that we were walking together.  Cute?

pedestrians crossing street, man on bicycle waiting for green light, bus stop pole, lowrise brick apartment in background

walking on sidewalk, west on bloor,

When we tried to walk the Betty Sutherland trail

Posted: October 31, 2024 in general Toronto
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The best laid plans….

Tucked away on a dead end suburban street is a little park with a monument in it.  A monument to a couple, Henry Mulholland and Jane Armstrong.

stone pillar about 6 feet high, with plaque, memorial for Henry Mulholland

Dedicated to the memory of Henry Mulholland and his wife Jane Armstrong. Pioneers of this district who emigrated from Ulster in 1806 and took out the original grant of four hundred acres from the crown. He fought in the War of 1812 and later returned to Ireland to induce further emigration. While returning was drowned in the wreck of the Lady of the Lake in the Straits of Belle Isle in 1833. Erected by the eight branches of their descendents, 1937.

The ‘Lady of the Lake’ sailed from Belfast on 8 April 1833.  She was bound for Quebec with 233 passengers aboard – mostly immigrants. On the morning of 11th May, off the coast of Newfoundland, the ship struck an iceberg.  Only a few people survived.

Jane was not with her husband on that trip, instead she was at home with her 10 surviving children, the youngest of whom, Henry Jr. was born in 1829.  Two more children later died of smallpox.

Jane and Henry were married in Co. Monaghan Ireland in 1806 so they must have emigrated as newlyweds.  Their first child, Mary Ann, was born in 1807.

The 400 acres that the couple were granted were Lots 14 and 15, Con 3 in East York (south of what is now Sheppard and east of what is now Leslie).  They built a log house on an island in the East Don River.   Fast forward a number of years, after a number of changes of ownership and many changes in the neighbourhood, Henry and Jane’s great grandson, George Stewart Henry bought the farmhouse and property at Lot 14 Con 3 (for $14,500) to bring it back into the family.

The name George S. Henry may be more familiar to some of you.  There is a high school named after him, and a whole neighbourhood, Henry Farms.

The reason that I found the Mulholland cairn?  It is located close to one of the entrances to the Betty Sutherland Trail, just north of the 401 highway.  A few years ago I walked the south end of this trail (you can read about it here: Paths to ruin and a course, 2021).  Now I wanted to walk the northern section as well.

below: An ominous sign, construction on the trail!

signs at the beginning of the Betty Sutherland Trail

below: It wasn’t long before the trail ended.  There were six signs to warn us.  The end was at the 401 highway.

Rather than retracing our steps, we went down to the river’s edge.

The East Don River flows under the 401

We headed back north instead of south. …Over a piece of the path that had washed out in the August flooding.

below: stag horn sumac

below: pear tree

below: swamp bush sumac

below: North York General Hospital in the background.

below: The East Don River flows diagonally under the Leslie Sheppard intersection.  The black and white highrise in the distance is farther north up Leslie Street.

below: Looking west along Sheppard towards railway bridge

below: Seen just outside of Leslie subway station (at Sheppard).  We didn’t see any wildlife, just a lot of traffic.

Apples on the sidewalk, north side of Sheppard…. Seems to suggest that once upon a time someone lived here and planted apples.

below: Looking east

below: Teasels

below: Chinese Crab Apple tree

Now on the East Don Trail (north of Sheppard) where there is more construction.  Also, a large number of new trees have been planted.

below: Strange artwork outside Canadian Tire, just west of Leslie

Getting back to “Best laid plans”…..   You may have noticed that these aren’t the most recent pictures (wrong season!)….  This post was written back in early September and I thought that I had uploaded it.  Ooops.  Forgot.

Sunny times

Posted: June 19, 2024 in general Toronto, locations
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And now for something completely different..  something very yummy!

I stopped at Sunny Foodmart on Gateway Blvd because I needed something quick for lunch after a walk.  I was amazed at what I saw.  I have been in Asian grocery stores before but this was so much more.

below: Obviously she is over-dressed for the hot weather that we’ve had this week! Photos are from a couple of weeks ago 😄

woman shopping in grocery store

below: Pani Puri originally from India or Pakistan, sort of like samosas but round.  Fried dough balls stuffed with good things.

Pani Puri and other Asian foods for sale, interior of Sunny Foodmart grocery store

below: Quite a selection!  Wasabi, soy sauces, teriyaki sauces, sukiyaki sauces, rice vinegar, oyster sauce, and many labels that I can’t read.

shelves of bottles, grocery store interior

below: More bottles, more sauces. Sesame oil, apple cider vinegar, and cooking wine too.

shelves of bottles, grocery store interior

below: Filipino spaghetti sauce – I had no idea that that was a thing!  And the packaging is bilingual English/French!

packages of filipino spaghetti sauce for sale

below: Chaat is another new word for me.  It’s another food that originated in India and has spread as street food in many south Asian countries.  In the freezer below you’ll find sausages, fish balls, Chicharon Bulaklak (pork ruffle fat), smoked herring, and dried danggit (a type of fish from the Philippines, also called rabbitfish or spinefoot fish).  In case you’re wondering what  ruffle fat is, it’s not actually fat… Chicharon Bulaklak  is made with the mesentery (or the connective tissue that joins the internal organs together).  It’s salty and crunchy apparently.  No, I haven’t tried it!

Chaat, Chicken Tikku,Asian foods for sale, interior of Sunny Foodmart grocery store

below: Bags of dried hawthorn, dried orange peel, dried lily bulbs, and longan berries, along with white pepper, cardamom, and aniseed.  One of bags is labelled as amomum tsao-ko which is also known as black cardamom.

dried hawthorn, dried orange peel and Asian foods for sale, interior of Sunny Foodmart grocery store

below: Freezers full of goodies – corn on the cob, scallion flower rolls, assorted dumplings, and golden saba bananas (short stubby bananas from the Philippines).

frozen foods in a freezer, Asian foods for sale, interior of Sunny Foodmart grocery store

below: More frozen food – udon noodles, lamb rolls, lobster rolls, and bean curd.   Boxes of coconut milk are stacked on the other side of the aisle.

frozen udon noodles and other frozen foods, Asian foods for sale, interior of Sunny Foodmart grocery store

Asian foods for sale, interior of Sunny Foodmart grocery store

below: That’s a lot of hoisin sauce!

large bottles of hoisin sauce, Asian foods for sale, interior of Sunny Foodmart grocery store

below: Floor to ceiling jars, bottles, and cans including cans of green jackfruit still in the box.

Asian foods for sale, interior of Sunny Foodmart grocery store

below: Pork pieces, feet and hocks

part of meat counter, interior of Sunny Foodmart grocery store

below: Colourful veggie jars. Red peppers, sliced pickled jalapeno peppers, pickled wild cucumbers, white asparagus, peas, pickled white cabbage, and roasted eggplant.

glass jars of preserved foods, Asian foods for sale, interior of Sunny Foodmart grocery store

below: There were a couple of aisles of bags of rice stacked in piles on the floor.  Thai jasmine rice is pictured here.

large bags of rice stacked in aisles of grocery store

below: Marjan rice from the foothills of the Himalayas (Pakistan) as well as Basmati rice.

large bags of rice stacked in aisles of grocery store

below: No grocery store would be complete without a candy section – orange, mango, peppermint and ginger chewy candies.  Lollipops.  Ricola in the original herbal formula.  And don’t miss the Super Lemon or Super Cola candies!

candy from different countries for sale, peppermints, ricola,

below: Pizza snacks (very Asian!) and shrimp chips.  Honey butter chips and sweet potato snacks.  On the bottom shelf, want want crackers – part sweet and part salty and totally yummy!

shrimp crackers and Asian foods for sale, interior of Sunny Foodmart grocery store

My apologies.  All photos were taken with my phone so the quality may be questionable especially after reducing the resolution a little before uploading them.   I hope that you still enjoyed the tour!

call me Tim

Posted: May 10, 2024 in general Toronto
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Knock knock!

an empty tims coffee cup on the sidewalk outside a glass door, store front

Hi!  Just call me Tim. Actually, I’m nothing special; there are millions more just like me.

I am just an ordinary red and white cup, a Tims coffee cup.  I’ll bet that you’ve seen many of my relatives and you’ve probably even held one of us.   We can be very useful!  And we certainly get around.

There are even rumours of a musical production!  Theatre!  Some of us might become stars!

I wasn’t asked to be part of the show, so many of us weren’t.  But we have many talents and we do lots of interesting things.  You just need to get to know us better.

 

“Someone left the cup out in the rain.
I don’t think that I can take it
cause it took so long to make it…”

Some of us are still a little hurt for not being cast in the upcoming musical.

tim hortons red and white coffee cup sitting on a wet sidewalk beside a large red planter at yonge and dundas in the rain

We have a very busy social life and you can often find us mingling with friends as we gossip about the celebs we’ve seen and brag about how many instagram and twitter followers we have.

empty starbucks coffee cup, empty tim hortons coffee cup and a blue prime drink bottle, all on top of a black garbage bin on the sidewalk

Stay hydrated my friends!

a tims coffee cup and a bottle of water on top of a barrel beside a brick building

Hey!  That’s my line

A tim hortons cup on top of a yellow fire hydrant

Some of even find time (and the energy) to cavort with the competition in secret places; you’ll never know where we’ve been!  And we won’t tell.

two empty coffee cups, mcdonalds and tim hortons, on the ground, in a corner with a pile of dead dried leaves

We like to get out for a little Culture too, a little art to brighten up our day.

a tim hortons coffee cup on top of anewspaper box in the street, along with a painting of a woman with an umbrella in the rain.

We often find time to be at one with nature.

an empty time hortons cup in a concrete planter on the sidewalk along with green plants

Or just sit and watch the world go round.

tims cup sitting on a weathered green wood bench with a small brass plaque on it
We’re a little bit country

a tims cup stuck on the top of a metal construction fence in a park
And a little bit city.  Downtown…. everyone hum along…. “Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city…”  Oh for a chance to see my name in lights!

tims cup on a box on the sidewalk in chinatown,

You won’t find us in fancy restaurants. We’re more into fast food and eating on the street.

a tims coffee cup on the ground beside a cardboard take out drinks tray and a plastic plate

You probably shouldn’t find us here either…. the sights we’ve seen!

looking under the doors of bathroom stalls, three pairs of legs and feet, and one tims coffee cup

We like to go on road trips.  There are even special places in cars for us to sit but it’s nice to get a window seat every once in a while (more sights, better sights!).  Road trip to Sarnia anyone?

a red and white coffee cup from Tim Hortons sits on a the front ledge in a car, inside, going on a road trip

Sarnia? Yes. The musical is to be set in Sarnia … but it’s just pretend.   No road trips needed.  You have to be in Toronto to see the show to pretend you’re in Sarnia.

Yes, I am a bit obsessed with this theatre thing.  It’s hard enough to try to be a winner and then discover that you’re just another discarded loser.  The ego takes a big hit.

tims cup with roll up the rim to win, lying on the grass, thrown away

It can be cold and lonely out here.  It’s hard to cope as all the life drains out of you.

a used coffee cup lies on the ground beside a sewer drain and a small snowbank

No wonder some of us end up in shady places with sketchy companions.  It’s not easy being cast away – first they use us then they ignore us.  From hero to zero.

trash on the ground including an empty water bottle and a red and white tims coffee cup

Sigh.

There are things we can’t do.  Without arms and legs we have trouble making snow angels.

tims cup in the snow

and life’s hobbies are limited.  If I had a hammer it would be useless.

tims coffee cup wedge into the bottom of a pile of lumber, between sheets of plywood and the stack of 4 by 4s

But we try to stay healthy, stay positive,

upside down tims cup on the ground beside a used covid mask

and not get too hung up on the little things.

tims cup stuck in a metal loop attached to a block of concrete

And at the end of the day we count ourselves lucky to find the great bin in the sky.  Not all believe –  they don’t think that we can be recycled.  Others haven’t lost their faith.    Maybe we’ll come back again.  I, your friend Tim, would certainly like to come back again!

 

recycling bin on municipal garbage can is full, with a tims coffee cup at the very top

At least it’s been a good ride while it lasted.

tims cups in a shopping cart and on the ground in the snow

Editor’s note: No Tims cups were touched in the making of this blogpost.

Along the Riverbank

Posted: January 25, 2024 in general Toronto
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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There is a new mural (2022) in Toronto by Nick Sweetman featuring animals and plant life commonly found along Ontario’s rivers, especially the Don River that flows nearby.  It adorns a wall/fence that runs the length of a new park, Riverside Square, which is southeast of Queen and the Don Valley Parkway.

below: The east end of the mural

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: A blue-fronted dancer damselfly (A very long name for a very small creature!)

below: Mink, toad, and a water insect called a water strider.

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: Catfish

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: A raccoon eyes the fish swimming past

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: A happy dog among friends, a raccoon and a cotton tail rabbit. If you look closely, there is a bridge in the background by the fox – Torontonians might recognize this bridge as one of the many that cross the Don River.

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: Red fox, coyote

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: In the middle

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: Egret diving for fish

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: White-tailed Deer

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: North American beaver

below: Painted turtle

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

below: Northern Leopard Frog

part of mural by Nick Sweetman, Along the Riverbank

Tensoe2 and Moises (Luvs) also contributed to ‘Along the Riverbank’

This post also appears in Eyes on the Streets

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