Floating Christmas Tree

 

Location: Brookfield Place, Front & Yonge
Date photo taken: 28 November 2013

One of my favourite indoor spaces, Sam Pollock Square in Brookfield Place, is even more beautiful right now, decorated with a stunning floating Christmas tree. Designed specifically for Brookfield Place, it has over 40,000 LED lights, and lots of amber and crystal ornaments. I clearly wasn’t the only one impressed with the display – while I was setting up this picture, people were constantly stopping to pose with the tree.

Christmas Windows

Location: Holt Renfrew, 50 Bloor St. W.
Date photo taken: 10 December 2013

Despite the fact that most Christmas windows these days are much like windows at any other time of the year - filled with product - I still have a fascination with them. While the just-for-fun displays with animatronic Santas or Christmas-at-the-zoo scenes are largely gone, some of today's windows are beautiful, and some are quirky and fun. This is one of the Northern Noel series from Holt Renfrew on Bloor, one of the better efforts this Christmas.

If you're craving a good old-fashioned window experience, The Bay on Queen Street has a number of windows featuring miniature scenes, complete with animation. They're not new,  having been on display for the past several years, but they're still fun.

Snowflake Tree

Location: Berczy Park, Front & Church
Date photo taken: 28 November 2013

While many people complain about how early darkness falls in December, I don't mind for the simple reason that December is a month filled with lights. Decorations go up all over the city and one of my favourite displays is the snowflake tree in Berczy Park.

Normally I prefer my Christmas trees on the traditional side but something about this tree, made of 36 snowflakes and 58,000 individual LED lights, is simply enchanting. It's been a fixture in the park since 2008 and is accompanied by 16 other snowflakes placed in nearby trees. It was created by Blachere Illumination and commissioned by the Old Town Toronto Business Improvement Association, the same people responsible for the carolers who can be found wandering the area between here and St. James Park. And if energy woes are making you feel a little Grinchy this year, rest easy - thanks to the energy efficient LED lights, it costs only about $4 per month in electricity to light this wonderful tree.

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