Posts Tagged ‘dogs’

behind Alhambra

Posted: November 29, 2025 in alleys, graffiti and street art
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alley on a rainy day, wet pavement, garages, some with painted garages, street art

below: This short alley starts at Alhambra Avenue and runs east towards Dundas.

alley that runs east of alhambra south of bloor, before turning south behind dundas west

below: Renovations to expand up and out.

large house on alhambra, from alley behind, addition on back including third floor and rooftop terrace

below: Cats, dogs, and little yellow clouds.

garage with 4 cartoon-like cat and dog heads painted on it

below: He walked into my picture.

red garage with white doors, in an alley, beside a larger white building, west pavement,

below: The lane turns south and runs between Dundas West and Alhambra Avenue.

looking south down lane behind dundas west, just south of bloor

lift parked beside wall covered with street art

below: She stares at you from beside the Taj Mahal.

below: Ready to play.

basketball hoop, slightly crooked, mounted on garage with large mural of a woman with pale purple flowers over her eyes,

below: Two Kizmet Radcliffes, the crazy raccoon.

painting by kizmet, radcliffe character, on the side of a garage in an alley

metal stairs, exterior, painted orange, contrasts with a bright blue wall

below: Cruz1 painting  (signed as Cruz Uno) – a parrot flies somewhere over Toronto.

A parrot flies somewhere in Toronto - painted by Cruz.Uno

below: Herbs vegan snacks

mural on a garage door in an alley, cartoonish characters

below: The Faceless Few in orange and blue.

faceless few mural covers the front of a garage including both doors at number 15, in an alley, mural is in orange and blue
faceless few mural covers the front of a garage including both doors at number 15, in an alley, mural is in orange and blue

below: Can you see it?

alley scene, garage painted in olive green camo pattern

small building in an alley covered with graffiti and street art

below: Twelve small panes under a small arch.  Old bricks once painted white.

window with 12 small panes and slightly rounded arch top, on a brick wall painted white but with paint peeling

dead flower, petals turned brown but still intact, beside a green plant,

below: Sunflowers, bent over under the weight of their heads.

two sunflowers painted on a white garage door

alley views, back of 3 storey red brick multi family residence with black metal balconies and external stairs , black car parked beside, a white garage and a wood fence also in the picture

below: Small scrawls

small graffiti on a white brick wall, small yellow heart with black eyes, black drawing of an ugly face or head

 

winter came back

Posted: March 27, 2024 in people, public art, waterfront
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Woodbine Beach &
Winter Stations

Woodbine beach in the winter, large trees, some snow,

faded orange wood snow fence in winter, at the beach

woman walking two dogs at the beach

below: “We Caught a UFO”.  Design Team: Xavier Madden and Katja Banović (Croatia and Australia)

public art, winter stations, on Woodbine beach, supposed to look like UFO that landed on the beach, covered with netting

young boy holding a stuffie as he sits inside an art installation at winter stations, netting a ufo

below: “Nova” designed by a team from Toronto Metropolitan University Department of Architectural Science.

nova art installation, winter stations 2024, woodbine beach, white fabric over red triangles shapes made by metal bars

shadows on white fabric of a public art installation at the beach

looking past white fabric and red posts, part of an art installation, towards the lake Lake Ontario where a couple is walking a dog on a leash

two women dressed in winter layers, with two dogs, getting a dog to pose by icicles on a shrub by giving it treats

below: “Bobbin'”  Design Team: From University of Waterloo – Max Perry, Jason Cai, Kenneth Siu, Simon Peiris, Yoon Hur, Angeline Reyes, Oluwatobiloba Babalola, Yiqing Liu, Kenyo Musa, Ali Hasan

winter station called bobbin on woodbine beach, red wood fence around a teeter totter

a woman walking a small brown dog on the boardwalk at woodbine beach

three young people jogging on the boardwalk at woodbine beach

below: “Kaleidoscopic Odyssey” designed by Brander Architects Inc., Adam Brander, Nilesh P, Ingrid Garcia, and Maryam Emadzadeh

two girls wearing pink coats play inside art installation that has many reflective surfaces

man crouching inside a tube with reflective surfaces as he takes a picture

kaleidoscope art installation reflections

below: “Nimbus” designed by David Stein

woodbine beach by Lake Ontario on a sunny wintery march morning, with art installation, part of winter stations, nimbus, designed by david stein, people walking on beach, large tree

nimbus winter station art installation at wodbine beach, large white cloud with blue rope rain

below: Someone left their ammo behind.

a pile of snowballs left on a wood bench at the beach

Canada Day on the waterfront

Posted: July 1, 2023 in locations, people, waterfront
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front of restaurant, patio, canadian flag, happy canada day sign, rainbow umbrella

a couple stand together at the edge of the waterfront, by Lake Ontario

looking west along waterfront towards boats docked and silos at the foot of Bathurst street

Empire Sandy tall ship with three masts is moored or docked in Toronto harbour

William Lyon Mackenzie fire rescue tug, red, boat, in Toronto harbour

people on the back of a large boat, looking at man working on smaller boat moored beside it

on the waterfront, people walking past small lake cruise boat

young girl walking a dog while looking at her phone, on the waterfront, walking past a boat

a woman in bright orange shorts jogs along the waterfront in front of a green park and wood bench

the words life is beautiful written in yellow on the concrete walkway on waterfront

two people putting a red kayak in the water while a third person is in a blue kayak already on the water

kayak on Lake Ontario

looking through a rack of upside down kayaks towards the rest of the waterfront

a woman site by herself on a bench

a mother and daughter sitting on a bench eating ice cream

a man in a pink shirt takes a selfie in front of the Empire sandy boat on the waterfront

rigging, ropes and chains from a boat in the foreground, kayaks on the water in the distance

people walking past

cyclists on the Martin goodman trail

a bored looking woman witting on a concrete barrier, holding her bike in front of her, by the waterfront

a man in a white hat holds his bike, while standing

gift shop selling canada day souveniers

queens quay at waterfront, red beaver tails store and gift shop, condos, people,

three people talking, standing in a park

two young men sitting by waterfront, each reaches his hand towards the other

man sitting in red muskoka chair under yellow umbrella, toronto waterfront, sand

kids playing in a splash pad at sugar beach

kids playing in a splash pad at sugar beach

woman in thong bikini laying prone, sun tanning, sugar beach

standing by Lake Ontario, a father holds a young child while another stands beside

woman on bicycle with a trailer full of furniture

two women, one on a bike by a blue truck, on in red head scarf and black and white polka dot skirt,

Pride Parade 2022

Posted: June 27, 2022 in events, people
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little colourful plastic windmill attached to mirror of firetruck, also 2 yellow balloons and 1 green balloon

Dancing in the streets.  Pride 2022.

Toronto Pride Parade 2022, start of route, man in long pink gloves posing with woman in hat with flowers on it

people sitting on scaffolding over sidewalk by construction site to watch pride parade, two have rainbow flags

person in costume at pride parade, hair wig made of ribbons, big puffy skirt, ribbons in curls as collar

group cheering and blowing whistles, arms up, getting ready for pride parade, TD canada trust group in green t shirts with rainbows on them

stuffed tiger with rainbow garland around it, on front of a motorcycle

group dancing, choreography, with pink puffs in each hand, practising before the pride parade

group dancing, choreography, with pink puffs in each hand, practising before the pride parade

young girl helping to hold white banner, marching with pride, other hands holding the banner too, toronto pride parade 2022

face painted person, with sparkles on face too, holding a sign with all the colours of the LGBQT flag, with words be proud, born this way

man in grey hair, silver crown, bending over to talk closely to woman in hat covered with multi coloured flowers, start of pride parade

rainbow striped ankle socks, and running shoes with red, yellow, and blue on them, standing on a sidewalk box to get a better look at passing pride parade

young woman tying orange balloons to a pride parade float, NDP float, she's wearing orange too

marilyn munro air kissing, under rainbow umbrella, white dress and gloves and sparkly silver purse

kids playing in bubbles while a man in a yellow t shirt walks past, on a street,

it gets better canada on purple t shirts, holding hands, people, pride parade

placard at pride parade that says protect bipoc queer kids

great dane dog with a group getting ready to walk in pride parade

large letters S and I made of balloons in a pride parade, held by a man in yellow with white hat

3 teenage girls plus another woman standing on side of street watching pride parade, temporary tattoos on their legs,

three young people holding a rainbow type flag over their heads as they watch pride parade

two men in pink at pride parade

two wagons full of trojan condom packages

two people at pride parade, one in rainbow striped shirt and the other in rainbow netting outfit with stickers over nipples, thong underwear under neath

member of skule university of toronto engineering school in pride parade

people with signs at pride parade, pflag group, totally rad mum and dad, labels are for canned soup, love is love

women cheering and taking photos while watching pride parade

some members of triggerfish in their speedo suits, dancing with red fans

plastic fuzzy garlands on front of a fire truck

man with rainbow bandana around head, and scarf on back as well as many bracelets, holding small Canadian flag, dances in the street for pride parade

crowds on scaffolding, many levels up, at Yonge and Bloor

policeman and crowd at pride, lots of bubbles in the air

a boy holding a Canadian rainbow flag, small girl beside him with sunglasses lowered

woman in magenta glasses and cowboy hat laughing with woman with rainbow bandana over her head

getting ready for pride parade, man with gold collar and not much else, woman in red sari, tattoos, drinking from bottle

people up on scaffolding to get above street level to watch pride parade

woman watching pride parade is holding a small dog with a rainbow bandana around its neck

back view of two people hugging, one in a plaid shirt and the other in a rainbow t shirt

Toronto Pride Parade, person with tattoo on upper arm holding an orange sign that says we love trans youth. Tattoo says In a dream you saw a way to survive and you were full of joy

little plastic windmills in different colours with little pride flags as decorations on a float in pride parade

Photos from Dyke March 2022

as the lights come on

Posted: December 8, 2019 in events, locations, waterfront
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I’d heard that there were some Christmas lights brightening up the sky at Kew Beach.   What I didn’t know then was that this is now an annual tradition;  it was started by DeClute Real Estate in 2007.  Since there was still some daylight left, I started my walk at Woodbine Beach, a bit west of Kew.

snow fence beside Lake Ontario at Woodbine Beach

below:  Small waves crash over the rocks at the shore.

slow mo pic of waves crashing over a rock at the beach

below: Leuty Lifeguard Station closed up for the winter.

Leuty lifeguard station in late afternoon, snow fence, some snow on the ground, lights on,

below: Ready to run

between a snow fence and Lake Ontario, a woman is in the process of throwing a ball for her dog who anxiously awaits the throw

long snow fence running parallel to the shore at Woodbine beach in December, some snow, no people

sunset behind Lake Ontario at Woodbine Beach, snow fence, some snow on the ground

 

below:  Once I got to the Kew Beach boardwalk I discovered that there are other reminders that it is now December.   And what could be more appropriate than some Christmas decorations to add some cheer ? Pine and poinsettias on a bench.

bench decorated with fake pine, pine cones and a red poinsettia flower

below: Bright red ribbons tied around a small tree.

 

ribbons tied around a small tree trunk and branch, one red ribbon and one red and white striped ribbon, Christmas decorations

below: Shiny Christmas ornaments hanging from branches and a wreath on a tree trunk.

a shiny silver ball, Christmas ornament, hangs from a small tree, in the background is a red ball also hanging from the tree, as well as a green Christmas wreath attached to the trunk of the tree

below: More signs that Christmas is soon –  Some of the trees along the bike path and boardwalk at Kew Beach have been decorated with Christmas lights.   As the daylight begins to fade, the Christmas lights become more noticeable.

late afternoon as it starts to get dark, along the bike path at Kew Beach, some Christmas lights on a few of the trees

below: Looking back towards the city as the sun goes down.

looking towards downtown Toronto from the boardwalk at Woodbine beach, sunset, orange colour with small clouds, some snow on the ground

 

below: The mood and atmosphere of the beach changes as it gets dark outside.  The light shining on the Muskoka chairs highlights the pink and green colours and almost makes the chairs look translucent.

after dark, lights shining on two Muskoka chairs beside the boardwalk at Kew Beach

dusk, Kew Beach, snow, lights, snow fence, and trees,

night, Christmas lights on a tree

after dark, Christmas lights on tree, lights beside path, snow on the ground, small puddles on path

The lights remain until well into the New Year.  More information can be found on the Light Up the Beach website.

 

shiny green Christmas garland wrapped around part of a snow fence

Kensington Pedestrian Sunday, July 2019

Posted: August 4, 2019 in general Toronto
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a young man plays a violin in front of a pedestrian Sunday banner

It was a very busy (i.e. crowded) Sunday afternoon at Kensington. Last Sunday that is.

an Asian woman walks holding a white umbrella with frilly trim

below: Bubbles of joy

a young boy in yellow shhorts and blue shoes is laughing as he runs through a stream of bubbles, outside on the street

below: Honkers on their saxes performing on the sidewalk.

two saxophone players, hinkers group, at outdoors performance

below: Street performance by Hero-San, a Japanese man who has been performing around the world for 25 years.

hiro son, a Japanese performance artist stands on one hand on a box in front of a crowd, outdoors, on the street, street performance

below: His show is part comedy and part stunts involving standing or walking on his hands.

hiro son, a Japanese busker and performance artist does a hand stand on the arms of two men standing facing each other, orange sweat pants and legs open wide for balance, a crowd is watching from behind

below: The finale was Hero-San walking on his hands while going through the open legs of a young boy. Even though his body was very close to the ground, only his hands actually touched the ground.

hiro son, a Japanese performance artist is standing on his hands in front of a young boy who has his hands close to his mouth, crowd watching in the background

below: A wagon full of plants to sell. $25 each.

people around a man with a woagon full of small marijuana plants that he is selling for twenty five dollars a plant

below: Sitting in front of poser bunnies while the world walks past.

two people sitting in front of poser bunnies mural in Kensington as other people walk past

below: A dog and many tattoos

a dog on a leash being held by a person with tattoos on booth knees and shins

two black women walking down the street while looking at their phones, on in a bright pink T shirt

a woman walking in short brown dress and floppy beige hat, another woman sitting in the window of a cafe and a third woman in striped pants and grey hat

below: Paper graffiti on a utility pole

on a utility pole, a paper graffiti piece of a man's face with the eyes from a different picture

Pedestrian Sundays in Kensington are the last Sunday in each month from May to October.

admit one… and a few more

Posted: February 10, 2019 in events, people
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ice sculpture that says, in blue, Bloor Yorkville Icefest, and then above it another sculpture that looks like a ticket, says admit one

The theme of this year’s Icefest was ‘Hollywood North’.

Shooting on location at Yorkville Village Park on Cumberland Ave
during the weekend of 9th and 10th February

Featuring: Lots of ice sculptures (over 70,000 pounds of the stuff!)

using a power sander, a man is creating a sculpture out of a block of ice

a man in black jacket and bare hands is feeling the edges of an ice sculpture

In the Director’s chair

a woman in blue sunglasses poses

Starring

a woman with long reddish hair poses behind a cutout of a star in an ice sculpture

and a cast of thousands.

a child ina striped jacket and mouth open wide poses beside an ice sculpture

a woman's face as she looks through a block of ice

a little girl in pink looks out from behind a man an ice sculpture

a young girl in ear muffs has her face close to an ice sculpture as someone takes her picture from the other side

a woman in a white parka with a black handbag poses beside an ice sculpture

Somewhere on instagram there is probably a dog….

a man in short black hair and a black Canada Goose parka holds up a dog in front of an ice sculpture that is an instagram frame.

a pug wearing a sheep skin lined jacket

It says, “Say cheese”, so of course we do!

an ice sculpture of a photographer, a person with a camera to his or her eye

two women pose beside an ice sculpture that says Say Cheese. One woman is wearing a grey toque and scarf and the other woman is wearing a white parka with a fur lined hood

An Oscar winning performance!

ice sculpture of an oscar

Pedestrian Sunday, August 2017

Posted: August 29, 2017 in graffiti and street art, landmarks, people
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Once again, the last Sunday of the month was Pedestrian Sunday in Kensington Market.  There was a large turnout this past weekend!  Lots of people, music, food, sunshine, and good times.

below: Dancing in the steet

a small group of men are playing instruments and singing Spanish songs, a crowd of people have gathered to watch, outdoors, on a street, some of the people have started dancing on the street

Two men stand beside their bikes talking, a woman in a straw hat an dsunglasses sits behind a table with a yellow table cloth with items for sale on the table

a large number of people in an alley. A banner over the alley says Kensington Flea Market and Beer Garden

below: A song, a mandolin, and a Polish Boy Scout belt buckle?

two musicians, one is playing a mandolin and singing the other is just singing, they are both sharing the same microphone

below: She is showing lots of courage!

a mannequin sits on an upper balcony but only her legs and feet show in the picture, hanging from the balcony are some pieces of paper with the word courage written on them

a young man drills out the center of a pineapple while two women blend the chunks into juice. The juice is then poured back into the hollowed out pineapples and sold as a drink

a head mannequin in a store window, with an orange piece of fabric wrapped aroungd her head. Other fabric in the window. also two people reflected in the glass

two men with baseball caps are sitting on yellow Muskoka chairs on a sunny afternoon. One is facing the camer - he is holding a piece of paper in one hand, he is yawning.

below: A quiet corner for a good book

double entrance to semi-divided house, both doors are open, there are bookcases beside the doors. In one of the doorways, a boy in a green t-shirt sits and reads

looking into the window of a bakery/restaurant. Three people are sitting at a table that looks out the window. One is one his phone and the other two are looking out the window. The sign on window, in red lettering is Ricas tortas,

items for sale on a table outside, three shoes (no pairs), one gold, one red velvet and one patterned, on a purple table cloth. Also for sale, two round orange lamp shades

below: Numbers on the alley by #whatsvictorupto

an alley in Kensington with a painting by #whatsvictorupto on the ground - numbers

below: Drinks – the changing nature of Kensington market is reflected in the food and drink that is available.  There is now a large South American influence in the area so products like Inca Cola and Chicha can be bought.

sample of drinks for sale at a food stall at a street festival, nestea, coke, water, some soft drinks as well as south american products like chicha (purple) and

below: A poser bunny still lurks in an alley.  Everything around him as changed be he remains.

an old poser bunny on a wall in an alley

below: Sign on phone – Stop busting our phone!  Outside the Moonbean Coffee Shop

a small phone booth outside a coffee shop with a patio. Some people are sitting on the patio, Moonbean coffee. On the phone is a round white hand written sign that says Please stop busting our phone

a man looks at sunglasses at a table outside where they are for sale. The sign says Pedstrian Day Sale, sunglasses ten dollars, straw hats ten dollars

an old green and white pickup truck parked in a driveway in Kensington Market, beside a store with a very faded sign that barely says King of Kensington

below: Who you callin’ a pretty boy?

an ugly white dog, on a leash, is looking at the camera, outside, on the street, with the legs and feet of some people

items in the window of a store, as well as on a table set up outside the store

below: The Joker and a friend.

in an alley, two graffiti pieces. One is a pasteup, realistic and detailed drawing of Heath Ledger as the Joker and the other is a quick black line drawing of a man's face

dyke march 2017

Posted: June 25, 2017 in events, people
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person with rainbow face paint, rainbow rimmed sunglasses and a rainbow flag draped over her back

It’s Pride weekend here in Toronto with its many activities including the usual parades.  Yesterday was the Dyke March.

people walking in the dyke march, colourful clothes, floral shorts, polka dot top, sailor hat, flags, beads,

a woman is on another person's shoulders so she's above the crowd walking in the dyke march. She is holding a sign that says happy pride

a mother leans over her young daughter who is sitting in front of her on a bike, Small rainbow flag is on the handlebars

below: As in previous year, the motorcyclists led the parade.

dykes on bikes motorcyclists at the start of the parade, dyke march, at Yonge and Bloor

a small white dog with a little hat on its head, head resting on person's shoulder.

leather pants and belt, with a person's hand on bum (with black fingernails). harness on top with nothing under it, partially bare back

waiting for the dyke march to begin, two people by their motorcycle, one is in leather shorts and has angel wings made of rainbow coloured feathers

laughing women holding up a banner in support of trans people

people walking in the dyke march. one is holding a young girl who is wearing a pink dress, one is bare breasted

torso from the side of a person in a lacy black bra with a large tattoo on upper and lower arm. Upper arm tattoo is a woman's head with the words live deliciously written under it

a volunteer wearing a yellow tshirt stands in the middle of yonge street facing the dyke march parade that has stopped just up the street, people are lining the sidewalks to watch the march

a woman drummer, She is wearing a tshirt that says no a la homofobia. walking in dyke march

a muslim woman in a black head scarf takes pictures on her phone at a dyke march. a woman in a bikini top is clapping as she walks toward the camera

dykes on bikes stop in the parade for a photo op. one woman is topless with a bicycle painted on her chest.

a young woman in the dyke marching is holding up a sign that says Humber, we are proud

two women, in profile, watching the dyke march on yonge street, pink sunglasses

long haired woman holding rainbow flag, wearing sunglasses

a middel aged man in a tie dyed shirt with a big happy face in the middle of it, stands by a police car as he watches the dyke march

a group of people sittingo n the sidewalk on Yonge street as they watch the Dyke March. One woman is topless, two women are on cellphones

people on roller blades at the start of the dyke march. a woman holds a sign that says my pride includes the police

a woman in rainbow scarf, and police hat, holds a sign that says thanks first responders

women in a dyke march, one is holding a sign that says kittens against trump

three women walking together in the dyke march

a young man with a flower garland in his hair (paper flowers)

a couple - one is a purple wig and sunglasses and the other in a straw hat with sparkles glued to her face in the shape of a thin beard

going to the dogs

Posted: June 19, 2017 in locations, nature, people
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The facelift of Berczy Park has been completed and although the park only reopened a short time ago, it has already become a popular spot.

a photographer is taking engagement pictures of an Asian young couple as they sit on the edge of the fountain at Berczy park. The fountain features sculptures of dogs that spout water into the fountain. A young boy is also sitting on the edge of the fountain. He is looking forlornly at the photographer, looks like he's feeling left out.

The highlight of the park is the refurbished fountain.  Sculptures of dogs big and small spout water into the fountain – or maybe they’re drinking from the fountain?  There is one cat that sits quietly on the base of the sculpture seemingly unaware of the canine antics.

the new fountain in Berczy park, many sculptures of dogs that are spouting water into the fountain

Three boys playing with the water spouting out of a dog's (sculpture) mouth and into a fountain. One is spraying the other while a third watches

two little kids playing in a fountain, a young girl and a young boy. The boy is spraying water while the girl watches

Besides the fountain, there is new landscaping, trees, plants, and benches.

mural of windows and facadde on the back of the flatiron building with the redesigned Berczy park planting and benched in front of it

This sculpture was a feature of the original park but it’s been moved to a different location.   It is the work of Almuth Lukenhaus-Lackey.

sculpture of a family - father, mother and child in a park, with new garden plantings around it, hostas mostly

The plaque by this sculpture says “This sculpture was donated by the Electrical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada Inc., with the financial assistance of The Consumers’ Gas Company Limited and the The Council of Metropolitan Toronto, in memory of Johan Albrecht Ulrich Moll, better known as William Berczy, born December 10, 1744 in Wallerstein Germany. He was co-founder of York (Toronto) in 1794 when John Graves Simcoe was Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. His younger son, Charles Albert Berczy, was the first president of The Consumers’ Gas Company, from 1847 to 1856, and Postmaster of Toronto. His older son, William Bent Berczy was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada and like his father and mother, a gifted painter.”

I only spent a short time at the park on the weekend but I’m sure that I’ll be back!

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