Black Squirrels

Location: Lawrence Park, Yonge & Lawrence
Date photo taken: 21 November 2009

I love squirrels at this time of year. While entertaining to watch at any time, the bounty of fall and the approaching cold weather combine to transform your everyday squirrel into a pudgy ball of adorable fuzziness. And as squirrels don't hibernate, winter still provides lots of opportunities to watch them.

Ever wonder why so many tourists stop to take pictures of our squirrels? Other than being cute, our black squirrels are a bit of an anomaly. They are actually a small subgroup of the more common eastern grey squirrel and while black individuals can occur in any population of grey squirrels, it is not very common for large percentages of the population to be black.

Fun squirrel fact: they're tricky. Squirrels have been known to pretend to bury their food if they think they are being watched. They dig the hole, make a placing gesture, and then fill the hole back up. Meanwhile, the food is still safely hidden in their mouth.

Lovebot

Location: Outside 9 Trinity Street, Distillery District
Date photo taken: 16 November 2013

This is a Lovebot, one of many that can now be found throughout the city, and with luck, soon to be joined by many more. It's part of a project by artist Matthew Del Degan which, according to the website, is intended "to encourage Torontonians to reflect on their surroundings and become thankful for the small, good deeds that constantly go unnoticed."

This particular Lovebot is dedicated to Nikki Fotheringham, founder of Green Moxie.

To learn more about the Love Invasion, including the location and dedications of other Lovebots, visit lovebot.com.

Bell Box - Emilia Jajus

Location: Berkeley Street, just south of Gerrard
Date photo taken: 15 September 2013
Image #7 in the Bellbox Series

2013 was a busy year for the Bell Box Mural Project, with 30 new murals being painted across the city, and in partner location, Essex, Ontario. The new murals in Toronto are concentrated in four downtown neighbourhoods: Cabbagetown, St. James Town, Regent Park and St. Lawrence Market. This one, by local artist Emilia Jajus, is located next to the Parliament branch of the Toronto Public Library, which helps to explain the theme.

The Bell Box Mural Project is a project of The Seeds of Hope Foundation.

Hartman Jones Memorial School Cairn

 

Location: Outside Westwood Middle School, 994 Carlaw Ave.

Date photo taken: 15 August 2004

Image 2 in the Remembrance Series

This simple cairn pays tribute to 21 former students of Hartman Jones Memorial School who gave their lives during the Second World War. The school, built in 1931, later became Westwood Junior High, and is today Westwood Middle School. 

The names of the fallen are:

James D. Allan

Donald Allen

Johnny Brooks

Earle Chase

George E. Clarke

Jules De Baeremaeker

Edward Hood

Thomas Hunter

Alex Johnson

Donald McAulay

Martin McAulay

Jack S. McIver

Jack McKinnon

Walter Mercer

John Munro

Gordon Phillips

Howard A. Smith

Jack Stevenson

John Wardman

Ernest Watson

Gordon R. Yeates

Toronto's Tallest Mural - 200 Wellesley

  

Location: South side of 200 Wellesley, at Bleeker

Date photo taken: 20 October 2013

Image 7 in the Mural Series

This shot of colour on 200 Wellesley may just be the tallest mural in the world. At 32 storeys, the artists are hoping that it qualifies for a spot in the Guinness record book. A community project, the mural took 2 months to complete and was done with the help of lots of teenage artists under the direction of lead artist Sean Martindale. The upper portion of the mural, depicting a phoenix, was done by Jason Rouleau and Ryan Dineen of Toronto Muralists. The colourful phoenix was chosen as a fitting symbol for both the building, which suffered a six-alarm fire in 2010, and for the resilient spirit of the neighbourhood.

Groundhog

Location: Milliken Park, Steeles Ave. & McCowan Rd.
Date photo taken: 5 September 2013

When you think of urban wildlife, raccoons and squirrels are usually the first critters to come to mind, but groundhogs (or woodchucks if you prefer) are common urban dwellers as well. This one was strolling along the lawn next to the lake in Milliken Park. I may go back in the spring to try and spot some kits. And here's an interesting fact: apparently, groundhogs can climb trees.

Hav A Nap Motel

Location: Kingston Road at Brimley
Date photo taken: 5 September 2013

The Hav A Nap Motel is one of the many vintage motels lining this strip of Kingston Road. A throw-back to the days when Highway 2 was a main route in and out of Toronto, the construction of the 401 signaled the start of hard times for these motels. There continued existence owes quite a bit to the city's practice of renting rooms to house overflow from the city's shelters. Now that the city is focusing on the revitalization of Kingston Road, these motels might go the way of their western counterparts, replaced by condos. If this happens, I like Dave LeBlanc's idea, expressed in a Globe & Mail article in 2009: "...save a few of the old motel signs and gather them up in a new public park... Electrified once again, they'll remind us that 'amenities' along here once meant massaging beds, colour TV, kitchenettes, heated pools and air conditioning."