Posts Tagged ‘water’

opened! – the first new Port Lands bridge

Posted: October 7, 2022 in construction, locations, transportation, waterfront
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The middle of three new bridges built for the Port Lands redevelopment has just been opened to traffic.

looking north up cherry street through new yellow and white curvy bridge

The bridge may be open to traffic, but the area is still a construction zone!

Eventually Cherry Street will be realigned so that there is no jog in it at Lakeshore.    At this point in time, the south part of the realignment is closer to completion.  This is where the new bridge is.

Commissioners Street has been extended westward to join the new segment of Cherry Street.

 below: This is the east intersection of Commissioners and Cherry (looking east).  Yes, it’s a mess!  There are traffic signals even though only two of the four approaches are open.  If you are traveling south on Cherry, you have to turn right onto Commissioners.

cherry street and commissioners street intersection, canary diner restaurant, construction, port lands redevelopment

below: Same intersection, looking west.

intersection of Cherry and Commissioners street, construction, police watching over, trucks in intersection, new traffic signals

below: New part of Commissioners Street

construction along the west end of Commissioners street in the port lands, with the toronto skyline in the background

below: The west part of Commissioners ends here

dead end street, Commissioners street, west end, fence and no entry signs, traffic lights

below: If you stand in the same place as the above photo but turn to your right, this is the view that you see.  This is the new part of Cherry Street being realigned to match the section north of Lakeshore Blvd.  The new bridges over the Keating Channel are in place but there is still a lot to be done before this part of Cherry Street can be opened.

Glooking north where the new part part of Cherry Street is being built, new double bridge to go over the Keating channel as well as condos in Distillery District are in the background

below:  Looking south… It is the middle bridge that has been opened to traffic first.  It is located approximately where the T ‘n T grocery store used to be.  An interesting line of large boulders!

new Cherry Street bridge with its yellow curved lines, large rocks in the dirt in the foreground, construction still in progress

below: This is the view from the new bridge looking west.  The large white crane structure predates the construction.  The channel has always been here as it provides water/ship access to the Lafarge cement site on the south side of the waterway.  What is new is that the channel is being extended eastward to join the mouth of the Don River.

view from the Cherry Street bridge new bridge, towards Lake Ontario, Toronto skyline in the background, construction equipment in the foreground for the redevelopment of the Port Lands

below: Traveling northbound

a cement truck and a ttc bus on Cherry street on the new bridge

two cyclists pass over the new Cherry Street bridge in the bike lane

below: Looking east from the bridge.   Pinewood studios in the background on the right.

looking east from port lands yellow bridge, overlooking construction in port lands

below: Another view to the east but slightly more south.  This time Pinewood Studios is more to the left in the photo.   A pedestrian bridge is already built to span the new water channel that is under construction.

port lands redevelopment, noew pedestrian bridge over new water channel that is being created

temporary pole with pedestrian crossing light at an intersection in a construction zone, a cyclist is passing through, new port Lands bridge in the background

below: Looking north up Cherry Street towards the Distillery District.  The old, and now closed part, of the street is being torn up.  The new street and bridge are to the left in this photo.

port lands construction site, starting to tear up the old part of Cherry Street, distillery district condos in the background

port lands construction site, starting to tear up the old part of Cherry Street, distillery district condos in the background

big yellow machinery digging up the asphalt from an old road and placing it in a dump truck

a man in a red shirt walks two dogs on the sidewalk along Cherry street, towards construction and the new bridge, TTC bus in the oncoming lane of traffic

orange construction sign that says be prepared to stop, haul trucks entering and exiting, with construction, and a large dump truck beside and behind the sign

below: To the south, the lift bridge on Cherry Street is being refurbished but not replaced.  This part of Cherry Street is not being moved.

looking south at Cherry Street to lift bridge that is being refurbished

in the early morning sun, stairs in the sunlight beside a bridge, going down to the water, an old building and its reflections behind

Water is Life

Posted: October 7, 2021 in alleys, graffiti and street art, locations
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Women Paint Riverside
“Currents of Change”

the word life painted on a fence white letters on blue background

the word life painted on a fence white letters on blue background with small flowers painted all over it.

below: The faucet is on and water pours into a glass.  Interesting lively water, full of colours and patterns in this mural by Kirsten McCrea

lift truck beside wall with new mural of a glass of water in many colours and patterns,

below: A large mural by Mo Thunder.  Follow the link to her website for more information about the mural – a mother and child lying side by side forming the land as water swirls around them.

the word life painted on a fence white letters on blue background

part of a mural by Mo Thunder on Broadview Ave of a mother and child lying in water, child has plants in her hand, mother earth theme, water theme

artist, Mo Thuner, on a ladder painting details on a mural with a small paint brush

murals in an alley

below: White flowers on a watery blue background by Julia Prajza

large white flower painted in a mural, on a blue watery background, ladder sitting in front of it, step stool with a can of spray paint

below: Invasive species such as phragmites in the Don Valley, by Merryn

metal stair cases, exterior of a variety store, laneway, bike, garbage bins, artist on a ladder painting a mural

below: Rabbit and deer having to contend with out of control greenery, possibly dog-strangling vine. Phragmites are reeds, those tall perennial grasses that grow very tall.

part of a mural by Merryn about invasive species in the Don Valley, a pink rabbit and a pink deer having to contend with out of control greenery

below: Raccoons frolic in the water and raccoons sit by the shore.  Even one raccoon spray painting a rock, naughty raccoon!  Mural by Emily May Rose.

below: by Haenahhh.  Arms around each other

part of a mural, a couple standing by a lake with arms around each other, seen from the back

below: Hands reaching out in a mural by Claire Browne,

murals behind Queen Street East, Riverside, Toronto, behind stores, water theme, blue, Women Paint Riverside,

black hand, large painted, mural, at bottom of metal exterior stairs and under a window with metal bars, part of a mural with water and plants

tall green plants in a mural by Claire Browne

below: Victoria Day‘s mural – what looks a bit like a blue water serpent but is actually a dragon flying high above us in the sky.

two murals in a Toronto alley, on the left, all in blue tones, a water serpent, very big and rising out of the water. on the right, a long horizontal lake scene with a pink border

below: In the pink is written, “A persistent drop of water will wear away the hardest stone.”

on a wood fence in an alley, a lake scene mural with pink border

below: by Scarbrite Collective (brightening the streets of Scarborough), aka Frannie Potts and Sylvie with help from Memengwaa Kwe Originals aka Caterina.

a woman backlit by large round white moon is holding an infant in the air, woman has long dark hair, sky is pink

laneway mural by Scarbrite Collective and Memengwaa Originals, a mother lifts her baby up backlit by full moon on a pink sky

part of a mural in an alley covers fence and a door in the fence, wood, painting of a landscape scene with water, green shrubs, a tree, and night sky with stars

below: Love not hate.  A blue raccoon stealthily walks across a roof above a mural that was painted by participants in this year’s Girls Mural Camp (a three week program in the summer for teenage girls).

murals in a lane in Riverside near Queen and Broadview, Toronto. raccoon on upper story approaching a window, night scene on lower floor with bird silhoutted by full moon

below: The other part of the Girls Mural Camp project.

on a garage door in an alley, a mural of a blue faced women with swirly white and blue hair, flowers in her hair

murals in an alley

below: by Moonlight Murals Collective

three water women mural on a wall

part of a mural with theme of water, blue woman dancing with eyes clsed

part of mural, pale blue legs and bare feet walking in swirling water

below: Three heads that seem wrapped by a fish, mural by Cedar Eve

below: Eyes closed

long haired creature with just eyes showing, long pink and red hair on a blue fence

below: The Girls Mural Camp 2020 mural is in the same alley.

girls camp mural in an alley near Hamilton Street in Toronto, poster like pictures connected with white lines like a schmetic drawing

blue raccoon painted on wall above a garbage can

NOTE: There is also an installation by monicaonthemoon on the back of the Broadview Hotel that is part of this project but I have given it a separate blog post – Hands, Florests, and Minds.

With support from:

Eastend Arts

Women Paint

Native Women in the Arts (NWIA)

Riverside BIA

StreetARToronto

Gerrard underpass – hands and water

Posted: May 17, 2021 in graffiti and street art, locations
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In many places in Toronto, railway lines run diagonally through the city’s grid of streets and avenues. Often, they cross the streets near intersections including at Carlaw and Gerrard East. The result is an intersection with two underpasses.

The mural on Gerrard East was updated and added to recently that I remarked on that I noted in a previous post, East on the 506. Kirsten McCrea was the artist.

below: The southeast corner of Gerrard and Carlaw is angled.  In “East on the 506” I described the art on this wall as:  “In the center of the newly painted rectangles are two grey shapes, these are originals. They are part of a 1996 installation by Dereck Revington called ‘Blue Fire’. There is still a plaque that describes these aluminum pieces as “a constellation of five paired aluminum fragments etched with traces of a poem by Robin Blaser and suspended from the entrances to the underpass”.

southeast part of intersection of Carlaw and Gerrard with railway overpass

The overpass on the Carlaw side has now been painted too. The following pictures were taken back in November.

below: Hands beckon and point the way under the railway tracks on the west side of Carlaw, from the north

A large hand mural beckons you forward, under a bridge on Carlaw

below: And from the south

a large realistic hand painted in a mural, part of Bridges in Art project

below: Under the bridge

purple windmills on an orange pink background, part of a Ryan Smeeton mural on Carlaw

Under a railway overpass, looking across the street to arches in concrete supports between road and sidewalk, lights on above sidewalk, mural painted on the far wall including purple windmills on pink and orange background

part of a mural, text graffiti, very three dimensional looking in shades of blue on blue background, representing water

below: A blue octopus in the water

part of a mural, blue background with a darker blue octopus

At the southeast corner of Gerrard and Carlaw there is a small park. The retaining wall of the railway tracks marks one of the boundaries of the park and is continuous with the walls of the underpasses. It too was painted by Ryan Smeeton but with the help of Elicsr, Smug, Tenser, and Steam.

part of a mural, a very large brass faucet is open, water is pouring out, a frog sits on a lily pad

mural on a wall along railway embankment, park in front of wall. water theme mural, large faucet has water running out of it, a frog, a scuba diver, and some text street art

part of a mural on an outdoor wall, a frog in a blue hoodie sitting on a lily pad, frog has gold chain and medallion around his neck

tree in front of a mural, painting of a person in vintage scuba outfit with old fashioned helmet, yellow suit, weight belt, sitting on a box or a rock at the bottom of the lake, silhouette fish swimming past

park in autumn, wall of railway embankment runs along edge of park, mural on the wall, water theme, with text throw up street art by tenser and steam

part of a mural, a young man in red shorts and red baseball cap, squatting on ground beside a ghetto blaster, there is also part of a text street art piece, as well as a rose on a stem with thorns and a couple of leaves painted on a support pillar for a bridge

paths to ruin and a course

Posted: April 18, 2021 in locations, nature
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As you probably know, Toronto is full of creeks, ravines, and trails. Most of the creeks are tributaries of the Humber, Don, or Rouge River. This week’s adventure was along the Don River starting at the south end of the Betty Sutherland Trail. The north part of this trail begins at Leslie and Sheppard, just behind North York General Hospital (where parking is difficult).  Even though early April is still brown and grey, there is always something to see.

below: Don River

Don River in early spring

below: Pussy willows – One of the first signs of spring

pussy willows in spring

below: As I walked along the trail, I encountered this guy. He started getting agitated as I got close to the the river, but there was a photo that I was after…..

a male mallard duck standing on the bank of a creek with back to photographer but turning head to look behind

below: I had spotted colours through the browns and greys of the trees… graffiti covered ruins on the other side of the river.

colorful graffiti on an old stone structure whose roof has collapsed, as seen from across a creek, with trees in the way, no leaves because April, too early in the spring

Of course I found my way across the river to explore them in more detail!

below: When I went looking online for information about this structure, I came across a blog post in Scenes from a City from 2013. It’s hard to see, but some of the graffiti remains unchanged 8 years later.

below: And right behind me I discovered a tunnel entrance built into the hillside

below: It was very dark inside so the quality of these photos is questionable, but I thought that the old rusty control boxes looked fascinating. How long have they been here?

The Betty Sutherland trail ends at Duncan Mill Road. I was trying to get as far south as possible, so rather than go up to street level, I went under Duncan Mill Road where my map showed that there was more green space.

below: Wishes were written on pieces of paper, folded, and tied to a tree with pink yarn.

pieces of white paper tied to small branches of a small tree with pink yarn

below: The tangled roots of a dead tree lie beside the Don River just south of Duncan Mill Road.

a large piece of driftwood from the roots of a large tree in the foreground with a river, trees, and an apartment building in the background

below: Blue and yellow rocks

many small stones painted blue and some painted yellow, on the ground, with weeds starting to grow up among them

below: It wouldn’t be a walk without a (or several!) used mask lying around but this one is cuter than most.

a pink covid mask lies on the ground, on top of dead leaves. The mask has a picture of a peach on it.

below: Oh Oh

below: Bracket, or shelf, fungi on a dead tree trunk

below: Playing fields alongside Moatfield

Green space, playing field, beside a road with office buildings on it

below: Looking east towards Graydon Hall

playing field with soccer goal, apartment buildings of Graydon Hall in the background.

below: Now we are off the beaten track. That’s Don Mills Road with some graffiti on a pillar that beckons me forward. A few trees have been planted here but maintenance may be sporadic.

below: under the bridge
close up of a discarded can of spray paint lying on the ground. Graffiti under a bridge is in the background but out of focus.

under a bridge over the Don River with graffiti on the concrete, metal girders overhead, water in the river

below: There was no problem getting under the bridge, but around the corner was an unexpected surprise – This appears to be the end of the line. Yes, it was green space but my map didn’t warn me that it was private! I didn’t have golf clubs with me so I wasn’t sure if I could sneak or bluff my way through – plus my car was behind me so it wasn’t worth the trouble to try.

sign saying private property no trespassing at the edge of a golf course, Donalda Golf course

blog_betty_sutherland_trail

“Betty Sutherland served thirteen years as an elected representative on North York Council until her retirement from politics in 1985. From 1979 to 1985, Mrs. Sutherland was a member of Metropolitan Toronto Council and the Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. Devoted to the improvement of recreational opportunities for citizens and visitors, Mrs. Sutherland was Chairman of Metropolitan Toronto Parks, Recreation, and Property Committee from 1982 to 1985 and a member of the Authority’s Don Valley Advisory Board from 1981 to 1984. The naming of this trail is a symbol of the significant contribution she made to Metropolitan Toronto’s regional parks.

north of the Keating Channel

Posted: March 10, 2021 in history, locations, old buildings, transportation, waterfront
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The other day, later in the afternoon, I was driving along the Lakeshore when I noticed that perfect lighting on the south side of the Keating Channel.  I’ve done blog posts about the Port Lands development but I hadn’t looked at it from the other side.  A quick change of plans – a parking spot nearby and a walk along the Lakeshore.  This is some of what I saw that day.

below: At the bottom of Cherry Street

Cherry street railway building

below: At the corner of Cherry and Lakeshore.

old concrete silos as seen from Lakeshire and Cherrt, with Gardiner Expressway above

below: Along the Lakeshore, looking south towards Port Lands at Cherry.

yellow fire hydrant in front, guard rails along the side of Lakeshore Blvd, with Lafarge silos in the background

below: The Gardiner curves slightly northward as it aligns with the Keating Channel.  Lakeshore Blvd takes a wider turn and comes out from under the Gardiner for a few brief moments before slipping back under as both roads parallel the channel.

Gardiner Expressway curves to the left

below:  On the south side of Lakeshore, there is no sidewalk here but the grassy area is wide enough…..

shadow on the grass beside the Lakeshore

below:  Walking here offers a different view of the Port Lands.  The “smokestack” on the right is the old Hearn Generating station.

Keating Channel, looking east

below: Some of the buildings that remain on Villiers Street.

looking across the Keating Channel to a low rise building, square dock juts into the channel

old buildings still remaing on Villies Street as seen from across the Keating Channel

below: Panorama of Keating Channel being developed, 1916, before there was much on the Port Lands and  Cherry Street was just a one lane dirt road.

panorama - 1914 picture of building of Keating channel to divery mouth of Don River to Lake Ontario, black and white vintage photo, also Port Lands before they were developed

below: Keating Channel, 1916

1914 picture of building of Keating channel to divery mouth of Don River to Lake Ontario, black and white vintage photo
The original plan for the diversion of the Don River called for a more curved mouth of the river before it joined the Keating Channel.  But the British American Oil Company who owned the land fought that idea.  Instead, the 90 degree turn that still exists today was built to avoid crossing B/A property.

below: A few years after the channel was upgraded (1934)…  From vacant land to a forest of BA oil tanks. There are railway tracks along the edge of the channel.  From Wikipedia: “In 1908, with 8 shareholders, B/A built Canada’s third refinery on 3 acres on the eastern waterfront in Toronto. The company refined imported crude oil and its main product was kerosene; a then-useless by-product was gasoline, which was dumped into a swamp.”

photo of Keating Street

Photo by Arthur Beales. Toronto Port Authority Archives, PC 1/1/10769. Found at Wikimedia Common

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below: BA refinery with the Don River on the right, 1931.  There were still storage tanks here in the 1960s when the city was building the Gardiner Expressway.

1931 photograph, vintage, black and white, of British American oil refinery just north of the Keating Channel and just west of the Don River,

Photo source: Library and Archives Canada, online

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below: This rusty “fence” isn’t going to hold anyone or anything back.  I had visions of tumbling into the icy channel if I went near it.  I think that just looking at it made it wobble.

old rusty metal barrier between the Keating Channel and the road, with some weeds and gravel

below: There are still places to tie up your boat

a large metal piece beside keating channel, for tying off boats who want to park there,

below: A big tap? It’s attached to a pipeline but is it functional?  (It doesn’t look like it).  There is a lot of infrastructure buried under the Lakeshore, sewer lines, water mains, electricals, etc., but this looks like a piece of history.  Pleased correct me if I’m wrong!  Also – if you plan to explore here, there are stretches where the only option is to walk right beside the road.

old rusty large valve for a pipeline, beside Lakeshore Blvd,

below: Likewise, the box structure is probably there to protect the rest – but what are they?  Valves of some kind?

old metal pieces of hardware, pipes and valves?, rusty, beside the Keating channel

lone building onthe other side of the water, surrounded by construction at ground level. boarded up, two storey building

construction in the background, blue digger, vacant land, and the Keating channel in the foreground, ducks in the water

below: Looking north to Canary District and West Don Lands development.  The oil tanks are long gone.

Canary district development from the Lakeshore, looking north,

below: Looking up from Lakeshore, under both the Gardiner and the ramp from the DVP

view from the Lakeshore looking up to the Gardiner Expressway and the underside of the ramp from the Don Valley Parkway to the Gardiner, 3 levels of concrete pillars and roadway.

below: Looking west from Don Roadway along the Keating Channel to the new Cherry Street bridge.

view from the Don Roadway back to the new Cherry Street bridge, looking west, with the Gardiner to the right, Keating channel with thin layer of ice on it, docks and a few buildings on the Port Lands side of the channel

below: Intersection of Lakeshore and Don Roadway.

at the intersection of Don Roadway and Lakeshore Blvd, traffic cones and a blue sign that says sidewalk closed ahead

below: Two metal transmission towers standing side by side.  Geometrical, straight lines, yet lace-like.

two tall metal hydro poles with lots of blue sky, power plant in the distance, and looking very small

below: From the Don Roadway, northbound and homeward

street art on the concrete bents holding up the ramp from D V P to Gardiner Expressway, walking path beside, with a man walking his dog,

close up of part of electrical station equipment, with water tower in the background with word Ponds written on it

chain link fence with a design woven into it with different colours, artwork, shrubbery with no leaves (winter time), billboard on an expressway in the background

Saturday at the beach

Posted: September 29, 2020 in people, waterfront
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… even though it was the end of September!

below: Up, up, and away… not!  The woman in the middle doesn’t seem to interested.  Perhaps she’s too busy taking advantage of an unexpected opportunity to sun bathe on the beach one more time.

two men with large kites are trying to get themselves up in the air, a woman in a bathing suit lies on the sand between them.

two women and a girl paddling in a yellow boat, a sailboat is in the background

below: Walking past Leuty Lifeguard Station.

three couples on the boardwalk, one couple is walking their dog

below: He decided to stay and relax a little while people watching.

a man lies on the grass and watches people passing by on the boardwalk including a woman in a bathing suit and red shoes while talking on her phone, in front of Leuty Lifeguard station

a family sits together on the beach, the youngest is a baby in mother's lap. stroller is beside them, empty lifeguard station too

a man pulls a wagon with a child in it through the sand towards Lake Ontario leaving ruts where the wheels have passed

people walking on the boardwalk at Toronto waterfront, including four kids on their bikes, four aside, blocking traffic

a couple sit on low chairs in the sand at Woodbine Beach, others are in the water swimming or on paddle boards

a group of young people in bathing suits and summer clothing having a picnic at the beach, some under a striped umbrella and some standing and sitting around an large inflatable pink flamingo

young people playing volleyball on the beach in the sane

a couple sits near the water, their bikes are parked on the sand beside a large piece of driftwood

an old woman in a long purple and white skirt and a scarf over her head walks along the boardwalk with her walker

below: … and (almost) last, a wedding party in the park… finding ways to have celebrations in the summer of Covid-19.

a wedding party in the park, other people sitting in the park and looking out towards Lake Ontario

below:  That’s one way of getting to the beach!

new blue Mclaren sports car parked ina parking lot at Woodbine beach, beside a white car and in front of a TTC bus stop

below the bluffs

Posted: March 22, 2020 in locations, nature
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Scarborough Bluffs Park on sunny but windy Sunday afternoon in March.

Scarborough bluffs, cliff by Lake Ontario

The red twig dogwood is looking redder and the trees are barely starting to bud.

a couple walking together on a path at park, with tall grasses and leafless bushes beside

signs in a park, Scarborough bluffs, that say danger unstable soils and naturalized area do not disturb

2 teenagers climbing a cliff face at Scarborough bluffs

a few people standing on a path in a park with cliffs behind them

Scarborough bluffs, cliff by Lake Ontario

The water and air are still cold enough that icicles form on the overhanging branches that get hit by waves.

a woman with black hair and weraing a blue winter coat is taking picture of icicles with her phone, waves crashing against the rocks along the shore below the tree with the icicles

icicles on a branch that overhangs Lake Ontario

a woman with black hair and wearing a blue winter coat is taking picture of icicles with her phone

men in the water with wet suits on as they try to surf in Lake Ontario

a woman in a white parka is watching men surf in rough waters and high waves of Lake Ontario

two women in winter clothes sitting on a blanket on rocks by the lake, one is pointing at something

shoreline of Lake Ontario, rocks and trees, early spring, no leaves,

Winter Stations 2020

Posted: February 28, 2020 in events, locations, public art, waterfront
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This is the 6th annual Winter Stations art installation event at Woodbine Beach.  It was officially opened on Family Day, February17th.

below: Tying yellow ribbons on the yellow metal frame in “Mirage”, designed by Cristina Vega and Pablo Losa Fontangordo.  The orange frame is parallel to the lake and the yellow sections are perpendicular.    Depending on where you are standing, you see either a red transparent sun setting or a light and bright rising sun laying on the horizon.

5 people working, two up on ladders, Lake Ontario in the background, tying yellow ribbons on an orange metal frame, finishing touches on an art installation called Mirage

tying yellow ribbons on an orange metal frame, finishing touches on an art installation called Mirage

below: “The Beach’s Percussion Ensemble” by Centennial College while under construction.

woman holding a shovel, on beach, by some yellow and pink boxes, installing a public art display at Woodbine Beach

below: The end product.  There is now graffiti on the boxes

tagged and graffiti covered pink and yellow boxes stacked on the beach, art installation by Centennial College students.

below: and cowbells hung from the underside of boxes in a couple of places.

smal cowbells hang from the underside of a yellow box that is stacked on top of two other boxes, one yellow and one pink

below: “Kaleido­scope of the Senses” is a strong piece designed by Charlie Sutherland of SUHUHA (An architecture studio in Edinburgh).  People were lining up to take turns sitting on the lifegusard chair.

people lined up to take a look inside a portion of art installation at Woodbine Beach

a father lifts up a young boy in a red winter coat so he can sit inside an art installation over a lifeguard station at the beach

below: “Noodle Feed” by iheartblob was very popular on the Sunday before Family Day (the official opening of ‘Winter Stations’).   It wasn’t designed to have a jumping feature but that’s what all the kids were doing that day.  The fabric tubes are filled with straw.

a girl jumping off a lifeguard station onto rolls of fabric stuffed with straw, on the beach

below: When I returned to the beach a few days later, the installation was gone.

a metal frame lifeguard station, raised seat, with a red board against the back and a sign on the front that says do not jump off lifeguard chair

blue pole with two small signs, both with snow on them, the top sign just has the number 3 on it. the other sign has its back to the camera so it can't be read

Information about the installations can be found at winterstations.com

February thaw

Posted: February 23, 2020 in locations, nature, people
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This weekend saw the temperatures rise high enough draw people outside.  A lot of the snow melted and there was hope in the air – hope that winter won’t last too much longer.  This being Canada, winter can last as long as it wants!…  And that’s often into April.  In the meantime, it was great to enjoy the weekend.

a family of three, mom, dad, and toddler, walking on snowy path at Wilket Creek, with toddler in middle

below: A quiet sunny spot to sit

a young woman in a red jacket sits on a bench at Wilket Creek Park and reads a book in the sunshine.

mostly frozen creek with snow on the banks and rocks in the shallow water

below: Taking selfies on the rocks at Edwards Gardens.

two women standing on the rocks in the creek at Wilket Creek park, taking selfies

below: Watching the ducks on the partially frozen Wilket Creek.

ducks on partially frozen river, small bridge in the distance, a mother and daughter waiting to feed the ducks

puddle on the path and reflections of part of the people close to it.

forest of trees in winter

young trees on riverbank, snow, and frozen water in the background

a couple sits on a bench, from behind, in winter clothes, snow on the ground in the park

beach morning

Posted: August 23, 2019 in nature, waterfront
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As August marches relentlessly along the daylight hours shrink.  One advantage of the shorter days is that sunrise isn’t at a time that starts with the number 5.   I’m not a morning person but I like to take morning pictures.

below: Pinkish sky as the sun rises.

sunrise over Lake Ontario, pinkish sky, water with some reflections, loght cloud cover,

below: There was an enormous flock of birds flying low over the water together.  Can you see the swimmer?

a verylarge flock of birds flies low over the water, over Lake Ontario, early morning. To the right, the birds are beginning to fly a little higher, clouds, morning sun trying to break through.

below: Ready for the day

two muskoka chairs, a red muskoka chair and a pink muskoka chair on the beach near the shore of Lake Ontario, Kew beach, sunrise with a few clouds in the sky

below: Reading on the beach…  just after 7 a.m.

a person in a black hoodie is sitting on a blue Muskoka chair, reading a book on the beach

below: A group of women on their paddle boards (not quite so early.  I had breakfast part way through my walk that morning).

a group of five women each on their own paddleboard, very calm water of Lake Ontario just off the shore, two re standing, two are sitting on the boards, and one is kneeling,

a lone small tree with no leaves on the shore, sand, large rocks to prevent erosion, beyond the tree is Lake Ontario with some sailboats on it

below: Mother and son.

a mother in wide brimmed hat and her son in a red hat sit by the shore, sand, water, sky,

below: At 11:15 the life guards row to their stations.

two men sit on rocks on the shore of Lake Ontario watching 3 life guard rowboats passing by

a couple on the beach playing with a volleyball

below: Kew Williams house, now on the grounds of Kew Gardens.  Kew Williams (1873-1956 ) built the house in 1902 on the grounds of what was then The Canadian Kew Gardens, a campground resort opened in 1879 by his parents, Joseph & Jane (nee Henry) Williams.   Joseph Williams sold the house and 20 acre property to the City of Toronto in 1907.   A year later the property became Kew Gardens.

Kew Williams house in Toronto, with small turret, and porch, gardens in front with lots of flowers

The gardens are very well maintained.  They are in full bloom at the moment and looking gorgeous.  I will leave you with a few pictures of flowers, colourful ones to brighten your day.

below: A stalk of lobelia cardinalis grows among the black eyed susans.

black eye susan flowers with their bright yellow petals and black centers. Growing amongst them is a stalk of bright red lobelius cardinalis.

below: A monarch butterfly finds a bright red flower.

a bright red flower with a monarch butterfly on it

below: A pink zinnia

a pink zinnia

below: Gaillardia pulchella, also known as firewheel or Indian blanket

bright red and yellow flowers

below: Three white daisies growing with smaller orange flowers

three white daisies among small orange flowers and lots of leaves

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