day 305 - three lovely grape tomatoes

beautiful dinner we had tonight. this here, actually, are what remained of my salad which was made up of mesclun greens, candied pecans, grape tomatoes and shaved asiago cheese. food for the gods. or goddesses if you will.

day 304 - quiet in the cold

i took a picture of this street at the height of summer, and here it is now towards the end of the fall and verging into the winter, at minus 15 and the temperature is still falling below...

day 303 - the first snowfall

okay, it isn't, but it's a continuation from sunday's and yesterday. it's not much, plus it's dry so the winds just carried them off elsewhere and didn't stay long on the ground because when i came home tonight, the pavement's all clear. but holy camoley, it is blistering cold! what can we expect come the real winter period?

day 302 - a Christmas display

a Christmas centerpiece, all natural and live materials make up this elegant centerpiece, and the pines also emit some very pleasant aroma. it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, in fact it's 19 days more and it's the big day already. gotta buy those gifts!

day 301 - it's looking a lot like Christmas!!

we had our first real snowfall this morning - one that stayed on the ground for longer than two hours. in fact the sidewalks were quite icy when i went out to take pictures. the winds were bitter and really biting.

i saw this window planter at one of the townhouses in the block next to ours. i think the ball is made of some kind of leaves, but the rest are live plants, as well as the snow-ice that's collected on top. pretty little planter, i say.

day 300 - reflections

yay! i reached day 300! what a feat. i took this picture while waiting for the partner to come back to the car, he had a TV that stopped working so suddenly so we went to goodwill depot and gave it away, hoping some enterprising person can make use of it. back to the picture, i was sitting in the car waiting when i saw the reflection of a large old tree reflected in the side mirror from the window of the car cast by the light from the setting sun. it was a beautiful day today, despite the cold.

day 299 - surviving the cold

walking around the neighbourhood, yes, in temperature of minus one with a windchill of minus seven, i saw this in the front of a house, and quite surprised that the leaves are still green and actually clinging to the branches still, with fruits! or berries? i don't quite know what plant this was but i was pleasantly surprised to see such vegetation in this super cold weather.

day 298 - moon at noon

if you can believe it, there's the moon at almost twelve noon. quite faint, mind you, but still visible. it was a beautiful day today, although this morning it was snowing a bit, but they didn't stay long on the ground; then the sun shone and the clouds lifted for a while. but there's no mistaking that old man winter is starting to move in, luggage and all.

if you place your cursor on the picture and right click it, you will see that that faint white spot is the moon itself. go.

day 297 - danforth in the fall

remember this in the spring ? yes, that tree's completely naked now. "the trees are bare and everywhere the streets are full of strangers..."

day 296 - business signs

sign along the danforth - my little grandson asked: "when you give them cash they give you 4 gold?" good question, grandson. it seems that everyone now pays cash for gold. what would they do with all the gold, melt it and make it into a....?

bedpan, perhaps?

day 295 - creepers!!!

yes, it's a real live chilean tarantula. this will probably give me nightmares just looking at this picture but it i've never seen one of these in person. it was in a container/cage but still, for a little thing, it is quite intimidating.

day 294 - a box on top

it was my six-year old grandson who noticed this box displayed on top of the bus shelter at the corner of bay and front street. i told him i had to take a picture and as he kept an eye on the traffic lights, he told me to hurry up. i had passed by this shelter a number of times in the past week and i never noticed this. trust a six-year old's keen sense of observation to discover those small, irregular things around.

day 293 - the first snow of the fall

the first snowfall, the one that actually stayed on ground (at least for a reasonably long while and made me slip and almost fell, that's what), happened this morning. it came hard for a good several minutes but soon after the sun came out and melted most of the white stuff, and only this remained to remind us that yes, winter is just around the corner, like it isn't already.

day 292 - danforth on a cold november day

an almost clear sky. bright sunshine. don't be fooled, it's been so cold and today the windchill reached minus 5 celcius. the sure thing about winter: the bitter cold.

day 291 - birds on wires, the sequel

in post day 277 , i had the picture of birds on hydro wires. i had to go to the clinic again on broadview avenue and today, the wires were almost filled with birds. i noticed, too, that people wouldn't walk on the sidewalk right beneath those wires. good thing that there is a small parkette right next to it and the parkette has a brick walkway, kinda pissy having to divert for a few more steps, but if you're prone to bird doodying on you, it is but wise to take the extra steps, especially on a day when all the birdies are in there. bad birdies!

day 290 - nouveau sink

today i discovered a new japanese sushi restaurant on the danforth. it is called Sushi Friends . the interior is so simple - a long upholstered bench on the west side with about 8 tables and although the tables are good for four diners each, they are set up for two giving diners a lot of space. the dark wooden floors are well polished and the wait staff are so friendly and polite, and a tad overzealous with their jobs, but otherwise they're very good.

the washroom is located downstairs, the stairs with the same dark wood as the restaurant floors. the washroom, surprisingly, is very spacious, even the stalls. and there are three sinks and the above is one of them. wow! i am terribly impressed! so impressed i took a picture. i know for one thing, my measurement of a good restaurant is the cleanliness of its washroom. if they are maintained well, you can bet they do the same care in the kitchen and most probably more.

and, yes, it is wheelchair accessible from the sidewalk. sweet!

day 289 - onions

a truck unloads its cargo: sacks and sacks of white onions. that's a lot of tears if you have to peel all of them. but if you just use one or two on pepper steak, that would be AWESOME, i say! AWESOME not to mention delicious.

day 288 - for this, too, will pass

today, it's miserable, windy and wet. and this tree at the coxwell parkette still has a few leaves hanging on. just like some people i know, no matter how much you encourage them to leave, they just won't. either they don't understand what i'm trying to tell them or they are just plain dumb (hahaha, i'm venting on my blog!)

day 287 - lighting fixture

we were at the pickle barrel tonight and they have this light fixture that looks so weird; if you have an active (make that crooked) imagination like me, you'd think this is something out of some smut magazines.

day 286 - good morning, toronto!!

i was up early today to go to wal-mart first thing, then we went downtown to the st. lawrence market. the sunrise is reflected on the buildings and the buildings, including the CN tower, look like they are rising from slumber. so, good morning to you!

day 285 - the danforth village

one of the banners promoting the danforth, this one on main street by the bridge.

day 284 - autumn flora

outside one of the shops on danforth, there is a little planter garden with very sturdy autumn plants and this is the end part of it. i don't know what kind of plant these orange thingies are, but they are very attractive and colourful. i should go back and take a picture of the whole planter.

day 283 - remember us?

on day 229 , i took a picture of these four young trees on the danforth when they still sported their golden leaves. since then, rain and wind had battered them and this is how they look now. pretty soon, there will be the snow.

day 282 - berries (again)

this is an intriguing plant, for me at least. i wonder if they are edible? i wonder how they looked like before they go to this stage? i think maybe i should take some lessons in plants and trees as my next goal.

day 281 - the last leaf

"the last leaf clings to the bough, just one leaf that's all there is now..." that is a line from the the last leaf, a song made popular in the 1960's by a group called the cascades who perished in an airplane crash. apparently they only had made one album and i used to know all the songs in that album.

there is this massive tree on one of the major routes of toronto's streetcar system; it is so ancient that i can only take a picture of it from half a block away to take a full picture, which isn't feasible since, as i said it is on major route which makes it busy with people passing by (which is fine) but also a lot of cars and buses ply the route. but the other thing that caught my eye was this one leaf hanging by a thread, which brought to mind that song by the cascades. ...and my last hope is with that lonely leaf...

day 280 - autumn leaves

these are leaves of a very young maple tree i found in the back alley of the townhouses near my building. the leaves were a tad diseased but i managed to find a few that were not which still looked good for photographing. the red colours really capture the essence of autumn's changing colours and i love this shade particularly.

day 279 - dew drops

it was foggy last night until this morning and the grounds were wet. at the little parkette on coxwell avenue, i noticed the reeds were the colours of faded gold. the bonus was they had beads of water hanging from their leaves.

day 278 - remember this?

i took a photograph of this tree 26 days ago when it still held so many golden leaves. this is how it looks now, nary a leaf on it. the next time there'll be snow on it!

day 277 - birds on wires

on my way to the clinic, i would have to pass underneath hydro wires with all these birds perched on it. having had "trouble" in the past with these birds, i refuse to walk on that side of the street even though the clinic is just two buildings away so i have to cross the street then cross back again to get to the building. in fact today, there are not a lot of them, the first time i saw this, there was no space between the birds at all. shiver me timbers!!!

day 276 - unknown writers

tonight, the totally unknown writers festival was held at the rivoli on spadina. i can qualify it as a success as the venue was quite full with people, with standing room only at the back. i introduced one of the new writers featured tonight and plugged my little radio show, life rattle.

day 275 - ivy-covered window

the window of an old house on sherbourne street is covered with this large ivy leaves that are turning into fall colours. in fact, the whole house is covered with the red tinged leaves and in the middle of a busy section of the city, with run-down houses around it, this was a sight to behold. proof that there's always beauty where you least expect it.

day 274 - shadows

it looks like the shadow is wearing sunglasses, non? this picture was a surprise because i didn't notice the shadow on the leaves as i was just focused on the leaves on the ground.

day 273 - good morning!

the sun shone brightly this morning and i walked down to eastlyn park so i could take pictures of the leaves on the ground. of the many i took, i think this speaks more of autumn.

day 272 - under a canopy of autumn leaves

at eastlyn park, there are still a few trees that haven't shed off their leaves. this one was just all golden with some tinges of red on the edges on the leaves facing east. there were people standing beneath it so i couldn't take a picture of the whole tree the leaves are just a beautiful yellow.

day 271 - window

window of an old store - something nostalgic about the way the window valance is hung, the crude painting of the window's frame, the dirt accumulated through the seasons, the toys for sale inside, and the yard that is reflected in the glass panes. makes you long for the old days when life was simple and easy.

day 270 - burning bushes

the morning sun on these bushes makes it look like moses' burning bush. nature never ceases to amaze me. the birds are still around, too many of them, and the leaves haven't all fallen yet. a lot of trees on the danforth are holding out. maybe the snow's never coming, just the uncomfortable cold every now and then. that wouldn't be a bad idea eh?

day 269 - a bit of nostalgia

look, a rotary telephone! this is that heavy stuff which if you drop it on your toe, you will be on at least a short term disability. i used to use a pencil or a pen to dial the numbers. there were no 'redial' buttons so if the number you're calling was busy, you just have to re-dial the same number, again and again and again, until you get to memorize the number. so different from what we are used to now. and then there was the thing called "the party line". no, young ones, it's not a party party. hahahaha! in those days you share the line with another number. you get to snoop on your party line or they get to listen in on your conversations. well, in fact it's no different today. you sit on the train and all the people around you are on the phone blabbing as if they're alone, then you get to have the scoop on a lot of people you don't even know.

day 268 - berries

these berries (i don't know exactly what kind of berries these are, or even if they are edible or anything at all) are thriving in the cold, the only colour in the rather drab gray slabs and withered leaves. there were many of them, but i wouldn't dare touch them, lest they give me some allergies or somethin'.

day 267 - a pretty autumn sight

this is one of those beautiful sights you get to see if you can manage to get around the city. the tree is almost bare but for a few leaves, and this vine that turns to fall colours and consequently decorates the trunk of the tree. nature is so lovely!

day 266 - carved pumpkin #3

i swear this one looks like that despicable beetlejuice (but i was promptly corrected by my niece that it is jack skeleton from "the nightmare after christmas") who is more an annoying character than scary (in my personal humble opinion). or maybe it is just one of those non-descript cartoon characters, which is also more annoying than scary.

day 265 - carved pumpkin #2

another entry in the pumpkin carving contest, this one needed only a minimum of scraping, not carving, to give it a scary look. i suppose to attain this sinister look, you have got to carefully choose the pumpkin.

day 264 - carved pumpkin #1

today, our building had a pumpkin carving contest. here's one of the entries called "roasting marsmallows". i wouldn't be surprised if this was the winner, because this was a show-stopper. the pumpkin is supposed to be a fire where the marshmallows are being roasted. brilliant, i dare say, especially that i know nothing about pumpkin carving!

day 263 - more pumpkins (or gourds, for that matter)

and these, i wonder if these are the same as the bitter gourds i know. these look ugly, like warty toads or something. the green/yellow one on the centre right looks like a crocodile or wolf or some damned thing. i am told these are edible (or eatable). well, so be it.

day 262 - that is so weird!

this is suppose to be another kind of gourd. which or what kind, i don't know. maybe it's an albino gourd?

day 261 - pumpkins again

these are supposed to be some kind of pumpkins, or gourds. they look funny, more like oversized acorns. i must admit i have never seen these before in my life. i was told they're also edible, just like any other gourds. ah, isn't mother nature really amazing?

day 260 - could've been perfect

yes, this picture is almost perfect - the worn out evergreen tree, the battered walls of the barn, the pumpkins, the discarded broken cart wheel, the makeshift fence, the mums on their way to withering, the old slabs of wood on the ground. almost a perfect rural scene. and then there's the friggin' plastic basket. i really really wanted to get that plastic basket off but it's not my place so i couldn't. on the other hand, i could photoshop it but that would make the picture not genuine. oh, well, i guess one can't have everything that's good.

day 259 - pumpkins

the hallowe'en just a week away, there is of course almost like pumpkin invasion in the city, perhaps the country. pumpkins of all sorts, which i took pictures of and shall be the subject this week on this blog. today, it's this jack-o-lantern type pumpkins, and my little grandson still insists on me baking him a pumpkin pie. maybe i should visit the grocery store, get one nice looking pumpkin pie and present it to him, just so he'd get off my back. i won't dare tell him again that i hate pumpkin.

take note of that old cart in the background.

day 258 - driving around the 'burbs

we passed by this beautiful scenery of a soy field fenced on one side with large trees that displayed beautiful brilliant colours. my camera may not have captured the true colours of the scenery but it was a really awesome sight to behold.

day 257 - a hallowe'en garden

walking around the neighbouring streets on the danforth, i found this wonder fall garden. the colours i think are really attractive, so autumn...so...hallowe'en!

day 256 - autumn colours in full force

how i managed to take this picture from inside a speeding car is beyond me. it baffles me though that one side of the highway is almost red and yellow, nary a green leaf, and the other side is still a mix of colours, still with lots of greens. but with the winds being as they are today and yesterday, next week, when i take pictures again, i'd bet all those trees would be semi-bald. brrrrrr! it's getting colder.