day 557 - going up

the steps to where?

day 556 - all in a day's work

squeegee in action 35 floors above ground. what a brave soul.

day 555 - go and see if the water is cold

the lazy bums, just sitting around there.

day 554 - time to go

back to reality of the everyday life. like job, i suppose, to be able to afford getting this baby on to the waters the next time. ah, some people are so lucky.

day 553 - a father and son moment

nothing like a father teaching his son how to fish. taken early this morning at the toronto yacht marina by the beaches. i'm shooting the ducks, they were in the way.

day 552 - what the...?!? #2

now, i love ivy vines especially when they're climbing and covering the walls of a very old building; i think it is romantic. but this? i think this is where "cousin it" lives, you know that character in the adams family! i mean, don't the people who live there want to see any sunlight at all?

day 551 - what the...?!?

i have never seen this thing before, around here at least. i've been monitoring them, waiting what becomes of this 'fruit' or 'pod' and what it looks like inside, short of plucking it and cutting it myself just to see. it looks daunting and i won't even touch it as it might be poisonous or something.

day 550 - long legs

on my way back from taking pictures at lunch, these two young women

were waiting for the lights to cross the street. one was standing beside me, the other in front of me. and great god, they are so tall. how tall, you ask? the top of my head was at level with their boobs, i really had to strain my neck looking up to see their faces. i think that they are runway models.

day 549 - a stray lily

a lonely lily sits alone among dead grasses and other bushes on the side of the road going to the beaches.

day 548 - rain threatens

this is the west entrance to the eaton centre. you can see in the glass window the reflection of the national life insurance building as well as the dark clouds carrying so much rain it got me wet afterwards. well, as long as the camera stayed dry. because heaven knows there's no medication for a camera that's got a cold!

day 547 - the millstone

an old millstone on display at the distillery district.

day 546 - stray flower

not really a stray flower, it's just that it was sticking out like a sore thumb, it being so different in colour and shape amongst daisies and such.

day 545 - after the rain

the plants around the neighbourhood looked happy after several days of hot and humid weather.

day 544 - reach for that sky

the quirky sky serves as a backdrop for the church tower on danforth street, while everyone below are merry-making.

day 543 - window talk

a window reflecting the building opposite it. taken at the distillery district.

day 542 - yellow herbie

haven't seen this baby in a long time, in a decent shape (and of course this is quite new so it's more than in decent shape!) and this lovely pastel yellow colour. yay!

day 541 - seafood platter

ahh! lunch of champions: scallops and fish fillet, lightly battered, garlic shrimp, mashed potatoes and gravy and what's not shown are the freshly steamed broccoli. healthy lunch, i say!

day 540 - if you build it...

...perhaps they will come.

day 539 - and of course

there's the peach coloured kalanchoe flowers. i haven't seen the coral pink yet but it will show up. these babies are pretty sturdy.

day 538 - same but different

here're more kalanchoe i found going around the danforth, reds and pale yellows. i don't particularly like kalanchoe but they have beautiful flowers and they are easy to maintain.

day 537 - a flower that looks like a cat

doesn't it? meow!

day 536 - climatis

so, partner dragged me in here this morning to take a photo of this plant because he wants one and he's going to show the photograph to a nursery. i said, climatis. they come in deep purple, lilac, white, yellow even deep red flowers. amazing how a man who grew up in the farm could not name flowers. before i came to canada i've only seen these flowers in pictures. however, it just reinforces what i often tell him: that he needs me more than i need him. case close.

mind you, it may not be climatis after all. but the important thing is i got him off my back. for now.

day 535 - kalanchoe

i was going to use this for the seven dwarfs challenge - grumpy, to be exact because of its soft thorns. but changed my mind at the last minute. it's prettier posted in here.

day 534 - marygolds all in a row

can't resist bold colours like marygold's.

day 533 - bye, bye, blackbird

"pack up all your cares and woes, here i go, singing low. bye, bye, blackbird. where somebody waits for me, sugar is sweet and so is he. bye, bye blackbird."

day 532 - we're watching you!

two kitties in the window watching me as i photograph the beautiful garden in front of this house. i might be allergic to them, but as long as they stay put where they are, we are friends.

day 531 - a pink vespa

saw this pink vespa as a showpiece for a flower-cum-coffee-shop on the trendy part of the neighbourhood after driving around at lunch. yes, pink scooter with a bunch of white daisies. i'll ride that baby if i knew how.

day 530 - sky over downtown toronto

the financial district on this very hot day under quirky blue skies. predicted temperature is 35 degrees celcius. my old joints are certainly very happy!

day 529 - the patisserie on the corner

i swear that just a few weeks ago, that tree had more leaves than it shows here. i think the cold days are coming. yaiks!

day 528 - a cyclist passes by

my attempt at an action photo. sat on the car's bumper (in the driveway) with the nikon coolpix off. timed when i should turn it on using cars (which would be faster than the cyclist) from half a block to the point where i was and when i should press the shutter. two cyclists passed by before i could get this shot of the third one. of course, he was cycling much slower than the other cyclists. but it is an action shot. now, i'll see what my new fujifilm can do so i can ditch that bloody nikon which screwed me on the dates of my photos last weekend - bloody thing's set at 2010. crap!

day 527 - on a glorious sunday

port credit river, five geese and a pair of ducks.

day 526 - summertime and the living is easy

hazy, lazy day today. went for a long drive through cities and countrysides; past fields and rivers and ponds and lakes. and yet i could not feel romantic. something in me has died and will never come back.

but he said he doesn't want us to be just friends. what's wrong with being friends?

day 525 - at the beaches

on a scorching hot sunday afternoon; wouldn't an airconditioned indoor place make for a more pleasant venue?

day 524 - blue flower

found a pretty blue flower! i love it.

day 523 - another sailboat

glorious day to go sailing and kayaking.

day 522 - the lunchtime crowd

on the way to the st. lawrence market along front street. those condos on the left looked like drawings. note the beautiful blue sky. my city is so beautiful!

day 521 - of planes, boats and kayaks

i don't know, i just have a thing for an in flight airplane hovering around sailboats (and in some cases, kayakers, too) and the waters. one day, i will get the perfect shot, as long as i don't have to do it in the winter.

day 520 - kayaking lessons

what a glorious day to learn how to kayak. at the harbourfront, early evening.

day 519 - kayaks for rent

kayaks rented to those who want to learn how to. at the harbourfront.

day 518 - bee and flower

"honey is sweet, but the bee stings."

day 517 - a snippet of a rainbow

sitting down at the waterfront watching the world go by; a lazy saturday afternoon just sitting around and finding a little bit of good luck with this partial rainbow.

day 516 - clear as day

today my camera decided it will give me one beautiful shot. just one. and this was it.

day 515 - purple

i love seeing purple flowers or any blue-ish flowers for that matter. i believe they have a calming effect rather than the bright reds or orange. i don't know what these flowers are, they are so tiny and they grow in large clusters.

day 514 - flying refined

quietly, a porter airlines plane lands. if you ever find yourself wanting to go the fastest and smoothest way to boston or chicago or new york, you should fly porter.

day 513 - reaching for the sky

another reject for the 365 project. weh, one man's reject is another man's treasure?

day 512 - mom, there's a camera in my wine!

staging shots for 365 project's seven deadly sins, this is one of the rejects.

day 511 - drowning

i was taking pictures of the bouquet i got for my birthday yesterday and i accidentally knocked off the vase and almost fell (would have been a big disaster - wet and shards of glass, fun wow!) but i caught it just in time at the expense of one of the beautiful carnations. so i put it in another vase full of water. well, it's holding up quite good.

day 510 - birthday flowers

what do you expect to get as gift when you turn 58? a car? an all expenses paid vacation? a new boyfriend perhaps? well, no one in my family or my inner circle of friends has much clout to afford any of those. because those are the only things i don't have. not that i'd want a car, i don't want the hassle of maintenance. i'd like an all-expenses paid vacation but i know i will have to come up with that myself. a new boyfriend is out of the question, and no, thank you very much. peace and quiet, are those too much to ask for? apparently not, because the hooligans kept calling since early this morning and ex-partner who lives across the hall 'had' to take me to lunch. next year, i'll have my birthday changed to a different date.

day 509 - door to the hockey hall of fame!

literally! and what beautifully opulent door it is.

day 508 - fire rescue

this the the boat fire truck that serves the islands. a lot of the members of toronto police are gorgeous eye candies you'd almost want to be in a fire....almost, not quite 'though.