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bluffer's park

july 2013

find your mantra

scarborough bluffs

july 2013

if you squint, you might think you're somewhere else...

scarborough bluffs

july 2013

kookooroo

Bloor West Village

May 5

a walk in the park

There they are.

The cherry blossoms.

I didn't understand the signage initially

 (I actually thought someone had made these signs for their friends.)

but then I figured it out.

pretty cute.

I cannot believe how many people were at the park.

Blame it on timing if you wish
or perhaps just Mother Nature herself
(the heat, the sun. the early summer-like breezes)

but there were hundreds and hundreds of people there.

Posing at the trees

pointing at the trees

photographing the trees

It was chaos.

But they were still beautiful.

And I'm glad I was there to capture them

in their brief visit 

to our neck of the woods.

my city

i wanted every colour.

west queen west

buds still closed (Update!)

i did not take this photo.

I am determined to not miss the cherry blossoms in High Park this year.

Determined!

Did you know there's a website (more than one, actually) that tracks the progress of the blooms?

Thank goodness there is!

Latest updates:

March 26: Buds still closed.

April 2: Buds still closed

April 12: Buds starting to turn green.

And on the High Park site it says:

No blooming expected for the weekend of April 20-21.

Check back April 23 for updates.

Sigh.

As soon as I get wind of blooms,

I'm hightailing it to the park, camera in tow.

Gotta love life in the big city.

Update: April 22 - buds are swelling!

Maybe this weekend!

cakebench

trinity bellwoods park

trinity bellwoods park

oh february

your stark beauty does not escape me

but I am ready

for the green of spring.

love affair

You don't often (ever) hear people say they are having a love affair with Toronto.

It just doesn't sound right.

But the truth is, I do love Toronto.

It's a great city.

But why?

I have a new co-worker who is from Vancouver.

She grew up here but had to move back to care for her mother.

It was a bittersweet decision.

She came back to care for her mother who is ill

but she pines for "her city".
Her beautiful Vancouver.

I am from Nova Scotia.

It is really beautiful there too.

When I tell people I'm from there, they almost always say

"oh I love the east coast!"

It's worthy of their love.

But do I want to live there?

Not at this point in my life.

I miss the ocean.

It makes me ache when I think of it

but I don't want to live in such a small place

At least not now.

People may not think that Toronto is beautiful.
It may not be obvious
there are no mountains or ocean.

But the beauty is there - you just have to look for it.

I'm going to try to photograph some of the beautiful bits
and share them here.

I'll call them
"my city"
because I think it's high time
for a little hometown pride.

This is an old photo 

but it's one of my favorite statues in the city.

Peter Pan

Glenn Gould Park

St. Clair Avenue West

"To the spirit of children at play"