Posts Tagged ‘wet’

a December morning walk

Posted: December 9, 2022 in locations, old buildings, people, public art, windows and walls
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

Ahhhh December, that time of year when the mornings are dark, and even darker when it’s raining.  But that’s no reason to stay at home!

people walking past Starbucks on Yonge Street, morning, still darkish outside, people inside the coffee shop, man with umbrella outside, another man standing by wall looking at his phone

below: The northwest corner of Yonge and Queen is still behind hoardings.

early on a dark and wet morning, the northwest corner of Queen and Yonge, 2 Queen West, a building under renovation and behind hoardings, people waiting on the sidewalk for traffic lights to turn green, reflections on wet pavement

below: Even on a dark and foggy morning, Dundas Square is radiant.  The colours that it casts on Yonge Street  are dependent on the electronic billboards that dominate the space.  A constantly changing light show.

looking north up Yonge street early on a dark morning, lots of red lights reflecting off buildings and pavement from the lights and large signs at Dundas square

below: Old style, simple, sidewalk to subway access.

looking north on yonge street, by entrace to TTC subway on sidewalk on east side of yonge street, people coming and going, dark morning, rainy, reflections,

a woman crosses the road, early morning, rain, wet pavement with reflections, she is wearing a bike helmet and roller blades that light up. Pedestrians and cyclists waiting for the light

large red planters at Yonge Dundas square with evergreen boughs, ribbons and other Christmas time decorations,

below: The Christmas tree arrives at Yonge Dundas Square

morning, on a dark wet day, Yonge Dundas square, wet pavement,

below: When a damp December day gets wetter it’s time to go inside!

back of a grey haired man's head as going up escalator, with some white lights in star shapes on the ceiling

orange coloured faceless mannequin in a store, holding a large bowl of facke food - lettuce, peppers, eggplant,

below: Snowpeople frolicking among the Christmas lights.  December of course means Christmas and you know that the stores have been decorated for weeks already!  Lots of Christmas stuff on display….

a red christmas sweater with many little white snowmen on it,

two white female mannequins stand beside a large white nutcracker figure and two very pink magenta fake Christmas trees. One mannequin in a slinky blue dress and the other mannequin in a silvery glittery dress with spaghetti straps. she is holding a gold sparkly handbag

below: Multicoloured shiny balls on this Christmas tree

large fake christmas tree with bright coloured balls on it, in uniqlo, a clothing store, with mannequins in winter puffy jackets

white eyeless mannequin with bright red lipstick, wearing a high necked embroidered top with flowers and leaves on black background, in a store

a woman comes out of the apple store at the eaton center

below: Hockey and rainbows

beaded christmas tree ornaments for sale, hanging on hooks, red maple leaf with silver accents on the left, a red and white hockey shirt with maple leaf in center, and a rainbow on the right

below: Another typical tree scene

mannequins standing beside a decorated christmas treee in a store, with wrapped presents under the tree, and handbags for sale

below: Many trees in gold and silver in this Christmas dream (nightmare) bedroom scene.  Jokes about Santa and naughty or nice are running through my head now!

decorated bedroom scene in a store, white bedding, gold and silver christmas trees, a large gold and silver nutcracker, wrapped presents with gold ribbon and bows, large white stars hanging from the ceiling

below:  Are those meant to be trees?  An anti Christmas statement?  Someone thinks this is being edgy or radical – a wink at climate change?  The Christmas budget was slashed to smithereens and this was all that was left?

two mannequins with black face, dressed for winter, Boss store, mannequins standing beside two very small and awful looking tree shapes made of grey sticks

below: Come on in! I’ve been waiting for you (no trees here!)

in a store, looking in the door, a faceless mannequin sits on a counter with legs crossed,

looking out a small window in a pedestrian bridge over queen st., yellow school bus on the street below

below: Christmas shopping 2022.

lots of stuffies on shelves, for sale for christmas time, mallow, round characters,

looking in the window of a barber shop or hair stylist, partially translucent window

below: A very tall tree stands on its own in a quiet corner behind the elevators.

a large christmas tree in office building, partially obscured by a bank of elevators

man on a lift washing interior windows, office building lobby, with danger sign below him, man in background looking out window while talking on the phone, christmas lights and decorations outside

below: A marble wall with a bas-relief artwork by Nicolas Baier with the title, “Mappemonde”It was made by cutting way pieces of the marble, leaving a tree-like network  that could be roots and branches or it could be more technical man-made communication infrastructure….

a wall, interior, lobby of an office building, white, textured, artwork by Nicolas Baier called Mappemonde, Bay Adelaide Centre, bas-relief work made by cutting away at the marble, network of lines and shapes like roots and branches of trees

below: Watching the World Cup 2002 from Qatar.   As of this morning (9 Dec), eight teams remain – Brazil, Croatia, Argentina, Netherlands, Morocco, Portugal, England, and France,

people watching a large tv screen, world cup soccer, football, game,

below: Not a tree; instead it’s a collection of red, gold, and silver shiny balls in an metal inverted cone shaped frame.

tall christmas tree in an office building lobby, made of red, gold and silver shiny balls on an inverted cone metal frame,

people talking on an escalator, a Christmas tree of gold and silver balls is in the background

on a red carpet in a large space, a gold decorated christmas tree surrounded by 2 intersecting circular bands of lights so that tree looks like it is in centre of a sphere

below: Twin highly decorated, very brightly lit, Christmas trees at the St. Regis hotel.

two very decorated, very brightly lit christmas trees in the lobby of the st. regis hotel

below: A trend is starting to emerge… ye olde typical office building lobby tree. Tall, perfectly shaped, and classically dressed.

large plainly decorated christmas tree behind a window, orange and black abstract painting on a wall nearby

below: A new curved glass ceiling structure on Wellington Street beside the old red brick Toronto Club building.

new construction on wellington street, beside an old red brick building, a new curved roof glass atrium, behind black hoardings, and a new entrance

below: On an interior wall there is a plaque describing the history of the Toronto Club building at 107 Wellington West. It was built in 1889 and inside you’ll find “a billiards room, reading rooms, and dining rooms finished with wood paneling and carving, stone and marble fireplaces, and plaster ceilings.”

ontario blue and gold plaque for history of 107 Wellington St west, the Toronto Club building built in 1889

below: Access to the Toronto Club may be difficult but this little area seems like a quiet oasis for anyone that knows of its existence.  I didn’t try sitting down so I am not sure how security would react!  Some buildings are more welcoming than others.

small tables and chairs in a hall space, Christmas tree on one, side, pictures on the wall on the other side,

below: The pictures on the wall feature the rivers of Toronto – Humber, Don, and Rouge as well as the shore of Lake Ontario. They were painted by Canadian artist Linda Martinello (oil and graphite on drafting film).

four water themed paintings by Linda Martinello hang on a white wall, above chairs and desks.

below: The cows are lazing on the grass… perhaps they are waiting for someone to decorate the Christmas trees!

cow statues in a small downtown park, 3 conical christmas trees nearby, undecorated

2 young women taking a selfie at a specially set up space with proper lighting, and background designed with red and a large green heart, words say Celebrating Christmas

below: Gingerbread Lane at the Royal York Hotel

large gingerbread person shape in a christmas display, gingerbread lane, at the Royal york hotel. Large red bow on her head, green glitter on her face, a necklace of candy canes, a green collar on a lighter green top

large nutcracker christmas decoration, red hat with gold filagree, white beard, black mustache, green jacket, holding a present wrapped in red and white striped paper and a big red bow

below: Up on the mezzanine level of the Royal York lobby there is a display of old black and white photos such as this one of the building of the hotel (about 1928). The pictures illustrate the early days of the hotel. There are also photos of famous people who stayed here. The lighting is terrible but the images are interesting.

old black and white photo of building the royal york hotel

looking down into cafe area of royal york hotel, people eating, talking, and reading newspaper

below: The bar at the Royal York.  Not a bad place to end a blog post!

rainy day people

Posted: September 26, 2022 in locations, people
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
7

Hanging out and Yonge and Dundas and trying to stay dry

two young women standing in the rain at the corner of Yonge and Dundas, a Hop on hop off tourist bus behind them, large red planters in the square, one woman with a blue umbrella, the other wearing a bright yellow rain jacket with hood up

a man on a blue motorbike, in the rain, silver coloured helmet, scowling at the weather, woman behind him has hair blowing in the wind

two men talking to each other as they stand beside an electric billboard advert with bright yellow background, other people waiting under scaffolding for the rain to stop

decorated bus shelter, large picture of a hand reaching out, a man in the bus shelter with a microphone, another man walking past with hood up because of the rain, third man with gold and white striped umbrella

people getting off a streetcar on Dundas, in the rain, hurrying to try to stay dry, a woman with an umbrella stands on the sidewalk

people crossing yonge street in the rain, two sharing an umbrella, one holding a white box and hiding under the fur lined hood of her green jacket

a woman in a red jacket with a white umbrella and black purse, walks towards TTC streetcar doors that haven't opened yet, a man holding up his pants is also waiting for streetcar

a young couple share an umbrella and walk hand in hand together as they cross Dundas Street in front of the red planters at Yonge Dundas square

a man in a blue hoodie grimaces as he walks in the rain, behind him, a woman with a red backpack gets onto a streetcar TTC

woman with red umbrella and long beige coat walks in front of a car, in the rain, at Yonge and Dundas,

a man in shorts and sandals with a blue umbrella stands beside a woman in black boots and long coat, under shelter while it rains, waiting for a green light to cross Dundas Street

three young woman standing together beside a lit electric advertisement

people crossing on the diagonal at Yonge and Dundas, kids with pink rain coats, woman with pink umbrella, family with large rainbow umbrella, man with a broken umbrella

man in grey hoodie walking with head down in the rain as he crosses a wet street

people with umbrellas walking in the rain at Yonge and Dundas

people crossing yonge street in the rain, one with brown and white animal print umbrella and wearing a covid mask

a young man holding a blue umbrella

two people in cheap flimsy red ponchos in the rain, walking on Yonge street, behind a man with an umbrella

it started as a walk in the park

Posted: October 27, 2018 in history, landmarks, nature
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
3

large trees in a park, a person walking in the park along with a white dog

below: After the rain the leaves lie stuck to the path and tangled up in the grass.

wet path in park, after a rainfall, leaves on the ground, on the path and amongst the blades of green grass still growing in the park

below: Or stuck in the fence

a few yellow and pale orange leaves have been caught in a chainlink fence, close up shot

in a park, after the rain, autumn, red leaves and yellow leaves on the trees, many leaves on the ground

below: You can’t escape the cranes…..

in a park, with picnic bench in the foreground, some people walking on the path, houses on street in middle ground and construction cranes and highrise under construction in the background.

below: … or the hoardings.

a small construction vehicle parked beside a sidewalk with orange barricade and sign that says pedestrians use other sidewalk, a path has been made on the side of the street for pedestrians.

large square brick house from the early 1900s, windows boarded up and green plywood hoardings in front

below: Magnus and Angel are missing…. Is this a coincidence?

two lost posters on a utility pole, one for Magnus the cat and the other for Angel the bird.

below: Pink flowers and a purple door.

closse up of the front of a row of white houses, a garden with plant with large pink flowers in front, one of the houses has a light purple front door

old black and white no parking sign on the side of a stone church, with engraved stone above it that says A.D. 1897

below: Built in 1892, this building was once the Church of the Messiah Rectory. The church is the next building to the right (with the slightly yellow stones)

stone building, with castle like features, former Church of the Messiah Rectory on Avenue Road, now office building and medical clinic. Three storey grey stone

below: Faded flower of a different kind

faded metal sunflower wedged between a fence and a small tree

below: Building behind the Rosedale Diner, as seen from Crown Lane

side of a garage painted with a couple of large red flowers

below: Locked door

particle board door on a shed, painted pale blue and with a large red flower

below: Graffiti on private property.

private property no trespassing sign on chainlink fence, trees and building behind, graffiti on the building

below: The limestone Summerhill LCBO store which was originally the North Toronto Canadian Pacific train station.  The clock tower is 43m high.

view of front of Summerhill LCBO store, former CP train station, olf light brown stone building.

below: From a different angle, the station when it was first built in 1916.  The tracks are still there but only freight trains pass by these days.  It only lasted as a passenger station until September 1930.   Back in the day if you wanted to take a train to Lindsay or Bobcaygeon, this is where you’d go although you could also get a train to Ottawa (via Peterborough & Smith’s Falls) or Montreal.

old black and white phot of North Toronto train station when it opened in 1916. It is now the Summerhill LCBO store on Yonge Street.

below: No stop ahead

trees and woods behind, a yellow diamond shaped sign with picture of stoplight, telling people that there is a traffic signal ahead, except that the red light has faded and disappeared

below: “Help negro and white people mass (?) produce painted stones and hide them” plus a lot of other lines and shapes that might be letters or words.

small sapling growing beside a concrete wall that has graffiti words written on it

below: I also came across this box yesterday – Sam the Chinese Food Man and other signs.

painted metal Bell box on sidewalk, painted with an old scene from Yonge street with signs for stores and restaurants

below: I have vague memories of such a Sam’s restaurant so I went online to find out more about it.  What I found is this image in a “Lost Toronto” blogpost.  It is Yonge Street just south of Gerrard (the Rio Theatre was 373 Yonge Street).   Did you know that Toronto once had a wax museum?

old colour photo of part of yonge street

Photo source:  ‘Lost Toronto’ blog, post titled ‘When Yonge St Was Fun‘

… and it ended with a trip down memory lane.

it rained last night

Posted: October 24, 2017 in people, reflections, transportation
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

people walking past a window, dark outside, reflections of the traffic in the window

It was a rainy commute home for many people last night.  Not too miserable though, just enough drizzle to bring out a few umbrellas and create some wonderful reflections to play with.

woman with umbrella in the foreground, traffic on a rainy night in the background

two white cars in front of a stopped streetcar, 514 Cherry, new streetcar, in front of the Elephant and Castle bar on King Street, people sitting on the streetcar are visible, dark outside, wet and rainy evening

city street on a rainy night, pedestrians on the sidewalk, traffic, trees with autumn foilage, dark blue sky, lights in highrises

lights reflecting on a wet street, crosswalk

anti-Trump rally

Posted: November 20, 2016 in events
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Nathan Phillips Square, Saturday 19 November

A cold wet day.

people at a rally protesting against Donald Trump as President of the USA, a wet rainy day, looking out over Nathan Phillips Square with city hall, the 3D Toronto sign and many umbrellas

below: Stop the Fascists

a woman holds the American flag upside down. The words stop the fascists have been added to the flag with tape . a protest rally at Nathan Phillips Square on a rainy day

three women at a protest against Donald Trump as American president, each with a protest sign, dressed for the rain.

people at a rally protesting against Donald Trump as President of the USA, a person in a mask like a mardi gras mask, and holding a green sign that says Georege Soros move on

a mother helps her daughter by holding an umbrella over her while the daughter holds a protest placard that she's made herself.

below: Make America Love Again

three women at a protest rally at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto, protesting against the election of Donald Trump as American president, each holding a sign, Still with her, no, and make america love again.

below:  We all share one atomosphere, one ocean, one earth

people at a rally protesting against Donald Trump as President of the USA, two people holding a banner with a 3D model of the earth with a sign that says We all share one atmosphere, one ocean , one earth, fossil fuels imperil all

below: Demand accountability from elected officals – stand up for the disempowered.

people at a rally protesting against Donald Trump as President of the USA, a young couple in clear rain ponchos each holds a brown cardboard sign

below: Greenpeace

people holding a large greenpeace banner at a rally to protest against Donald Trump

below: We are the Storm and we will leave light in our wake.

people at a rally protesting against Donald Trump as President of the USA, a man holds up an orange sign with black letters that say We are the storm and we will leave light in our wake

below: “Not fit for president, wake up America!”

people holding protest signs, talking to the police on duty at the rally to protest against Donald Trump

below: Nathan Phillips Square during the rally.

people at a rally protesting against Donald Trump as President of the USA, a wet rainy day, looking out over Nathan Phillips Square with city hall, the 3D Toronto sign and many umbrellas

below: Canada rejects bigotry

people at a rally protesting against Donald Trump as President of the USA, a woman in a yellow raincoat holds two signs, one says Trump FYI Canada rejects bigotry and the other says Trump no to you divisiveness, sexual assault and racism

below: Nastywoman hashtag in action

people at a rally protesting against Donald Trump as President of the USA, a woman wears a sign around her neck that says Love trumps hate #nastywoman

below: Can’t comb over sexism and bigotry

people at a protest rally a woman holds a sign that says You Can't comb over sexism and bigotry

below: Trans Lives Matter and Love Trumps Hate

people at a rally protesting against Donald Trump as President of the USA, a young couple with placars. One says Trans lives matter and the other is painted in rainbow stripes with the words Jove Trumps Hate written on it.

below: One giant step backwards

three women at a protest rally against Trump and US politics, holding a sign that says 1 giant step backwards. Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto, rainy day

below: With butterflies, hearts and sparkles

a person wearing a v for venegence mask with little red hearts, a buttefly and some sparkly bits added to it.

below: Bersih demonstrators join the rally. This group is calling for the resignation of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak

a small group of people posing for a picture with the Malaysian flag and some protest signs that say berish.

below: Trump Election: Byproduct of Obama/Clinton Neoliberalism – Bolshevik Tendency

bolshevik tendency group with signs at a protest rally

#trumprally | #lovetrumpshate | #nastywoman

it rained on the parade

Posted: June 29, 2015 in events
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

Pride Week 2015

Most of these photos are from the Dyke March on Saturday, both of the people walking in the parade and the people who came out in the rain to watch the parade.  And rain it did.  But there were still lots of smiles and lots of laughter. 

 

Three young women standing in the rain as the watch a Dyke march parade. One is wearing a red poncho and one is holding a sign that says " Can't rain on my parade"

Three women are holding a large banner that says 'Dyke March Toronto 2015' that has been crocheted and sewn together.

Group of women riding bikes in a parade on a rainy city street as part of a dyke march, pride week event.

motorcycles in the rain, dyke march parade, down Yonge St. in Toronto

A group of women walking in a dyke march on a rainy city street. Two of the women are carrying a banner that says "Fifty + Toronto"

A couple in blue garbage bags as rainwear are standing in front of a billboard on which there is a picture of a woman.
pride dyke march, dykes on bikes, woman in bright yellow raincoat rides a bicycle that is pulling a trailer

pride week, dyke march, woman on a bike is holding a sign with a red AIDS ribbon and the words 'friends for life'

motorcycles in the rain, dyke march parade, down Yonge St. in Toronto

Two men watching a parade on a rainy afternoon. One is holding a camera and is standing behind a concrete barricade. The other man is standing on the barricade and cheering and clapping.

A group of women on bikes are riding in a dyke march, pride week. The march has temporarilty stopped and three photographers are standing in front of the riders taking their picture. The woman in front is topless and she has drawn a picture of a bike on her breasts.

pride week, dyke march, a grey haired woman is carrying a pink sign that says 'G'day from Australia' and behind her is a couple of young women sharing a gren umbrella

Three people on a sidewalk. A man in a black and grey hoodie who is looking at the two women beside him. One woman is in a multicoloured tutu and an orange sweatshirt. She is looking at her phone. The other woman is wearing an ornage skirt and a yellow sweater

Two men in colourful and glamorous drag are standing on a sidewalk in the rain. They are each holding a clear umbrella. A girl is standing beside them with an astonished look on her face.

A line of people walking in the Dyke March, pride weekend. Two women are holding a rainbow flag. antother woman is pushing a stroller. Two of them are holding rainbow umbrellas.

motorcycles in the rain, dyke march parade, down Yonge St. in Toronto
A group of people standing on a sidewalk in the rain as they watch a parade. They are standing in front of a Mind Games store .

Pride week, Dyke march, a woman is carrying a pink sign that says "womens strength and courage has nothing to do with mens balls"

a woman in a red jacket with a red purse and a pink umbrella

Rear view of two well built men who are wearing just their briefs. they have words painted on their backs, "Hero fit" and "be a #diesel hero". They are standing in front of a Trojan booth, pride week display.

A couple is at an ATM on the side of the TD Canada Trust bank. A large rainbow has been painted around it for pride week.

Two women, both smiling. One is holding an umbrella and has a bow in her hair. The other is also under the umbrella.

red umbrella day

Posted: November 4, 2013 in abstract, general Toronto
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

umbrella, parapluie, paraguas

red, rouge, rojo,

Grey, damp days always need a touch of colour.

Yesterday, as I walked from Dupont subway station to Kensington I made use of my red umbrella.  It kept me dry.  It brightened up a few photos!

.

A red umbrella is open and sitting on the wet pavement beside a grey painted wall.

Every rainy day needs a splash of colour.

.

A red umbrella is wedged between two poles beside a purplish brown garage door in an alley

caught in the alley

.

A mural on a garage door shows a girl reaching out her hand. The umbrella is placed by her hand.

When this mural was first painted, there was a downspout for the eavestrough running down the side of the wall. Her hand was painted to look like it was reaching for, or holding onto, the downspout. Because that downspout is no longer there, I decided that she needed something else to hold on to.

.

A red umbrella is lying on a wet sidewalk beside a large puddle. There are lots of leaves on the sidewalk as well.

left in a puddle

.

Whatsoever

‘Whatsoever you do’, a sculpture by Timothy Schmalz.  It is also referred to as ‘Homeless Jesus’.  This installation is outside of St. Stephen-in-the Fields church on College Street. It was installed on 14 September and was originally scheduled to remain there until 6 October. According to the description of the sculpture, it is a fiberglass cast of a silent, huddled panhandler. A person that people walk by and ignore. But if you look at the outstretched hand, you will see the stigmata (the wounds of Christ).
When we first placed the umbrella over her, we worried about the appropriateness of such an action but as I took the photo, a passerby commented on how people have been known to place cheeseburgers and other food in her hand.
The statue was stolen at the end of November. More information

.

A close up photo of the red umbrella's reflection on the roof of a black car. There are lots of rain drops on the roof as well.

car roof reflections

.

A red umbrella is beside a stone and brick wall that was once painted yellow. The yellow paint has started to wear off.

red and yellow

.

A white line drawing of a man with a top hat (upper body only) on a dark grey wall. On the ground beside the wall is a red umbrella

top hat, umbrella…. where are my dancing shoes?

.

A man is crouching beside a brick wall that has been painted purple and grey. He is holding a red umbrella over his head.

Toronto siesta

.

A red umbrella in front of a wall made of different coloured bricks - yellowish, orange, brown, and purple

.

A red umbrella on the ground beside a gate made of weathered wood

something old, something new

.

The red umbrella is wedged between the top of a chainlink gate and a wood door.

The End

Special thanks to Sasha and David who played along and made the day even better!

Also to Michael for crouching against a purple wall!

.