Monday Mural - 75th Anniversary

Oshawa, Ontario - Artist: Tony Johnson. Incorporated as a City in 1924, Oshawa celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1999. This mural is a collage of important people and places in Oshawa's history including: Donald Jackson, world famous figure skater; Lloyd Chadburn, WWII war hero; Honourable Colonel Michael Starr, former Oshawa Mayor and Federal Labour minister; Robert Attersley, former Oshawa Generals hockey player; and Colonel R. S. and George McLaughlin, co-founders of General Motors of Canada, who, along with their wives, Adelaide and Annie, were patrons of Camp Samac, Memorial Park, Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, and the Canadian Automotive Museum. I'm linking to Monday Mural.

Sunset

A colour display with geese flying over heading to their resting spot for the night.

Wishin You A Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

On Strike!

This photo was taken on December 12, 2013. As of today the employees of Red Cross Care Partners, including 800 from the Greater Toronto Area, are still on strike. These home care workers help keep ailing seniors out of hospitals and long term care homes by assisting with such task as bathing, dressing, taking medication and preparing meals. Most of them whom are women, make about $15 an hour and have not had a wage increase in more than five years. The workers recently rejected a tentative deal which would have given them an 11 cent an hour wage increase. Red Cross Care Partners is a for-profit company and is the largest home-care agency in Ontario.

On Strike!

This photo was taken on December 12, 2013. As of today the employees of Red Cross Care Partners, including 800 from the Greater Toronto Area, are still on strike. These home care workers help keep ailing seniors out of hospitals and long term care homes by assisting with such task as bathing, dressing, taking medication and preparing meals. Most of them whom are women, make about $15 an hour and have not had a wage increase in more than five years. The workers recently rejected a tentative deal which would have given them an 11 cent an hour wage increase. Red Cross Care Partners is a for-profit company and is the largest home-care agency in Ontario.

On Strike!

This photo was taken on December 12, 2013. As of today the employees of Red Cross Care Partners, including 800 from the Greater Toronto Area, are still on strike. These home care workers help keep ailing seniors out of hospitals and long term care homes by assisting with such task as bathing, dressing, taking medication and preparing meals. Most of them whom are women, make about $15 an hour and have not had a wage increase in more than five years. The workers recently rejected a tentative deal which would have given them an 11 cent an hour wage increase. Red Cross Care Partners is a for-profit company and is the largest home-care agency in Ontario.

Winter Begins

According to the calendar December 21, is the first day of winter.
Mother nature has her own calendar and she picks any date she wants.

Night Shops

Me and my camera playing in the dark.

Graffiti Tag

The still water and the reflection caught my attention.

Doors

Sometimes I don't know why I stop and photograph something like these doors. My eyes say to me... "Andy, get that camera up to your face and photograph what you are seeing." This following quote from Elliott Erwitt, photographer, helps me understand what is going through my mind.
"Good visual sense probably can't be taught, not at a profound level. It’s eye, but it’s also heart. I believe I have a good visual sense of other people’s pictures yet sometimes I don't really see my own pictures right away. Years later, after I've passed over stuff and thought nothing of it, I look again and see that some of it is pretty good (or that some of what I thought was good is pretty lousy.) I just hadn't recognized it yet. Boy, I wish I knew why that was. Did I change? Did the pictures change?”

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

Snow storm coming and he's ready.

Wind

Why do they call them weathervanes when they don't predict the weather?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind.

Sassy Ducks

Don't look now sweetie, but there's a goof ball human with a camera standing behind us.

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Let's show him what we think of him.

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Come on honey... get that butt up higher.

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Do you think he's smart enough to know what a double moon is? Hee, hee.

Light

I am proud of the fact that I never invented weapons to kill. Thomas Edison.

The Waiting Game

People waiting for a commuter train.

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Birds waiting for a green light.

Monday Mural - Colourful

Toronto, Ontario - You can find this colourful mural on the Big Fat Burrito Restaurant in Kensington Market.

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Moving in closer brings out the details and the bright colours.

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I moved to the end of the building and I was surprised when I found the artist drawing the stencil for his mural. Alex Currie also known as "Runt" or "Al Runt". He draws influences from comic books, and inspiration from the art works of Dr. Seuss.
I'm linking to Monday Mural.

Pay Phone

It's unusual to see a outdoor pay phone that is exposed to elements and not in a booth.

Small Forest

Consisting of only a few acres this conservation area is located beside an industrial district.

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The only sign of animal life was this little squirrel on a big tree.

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The conservation area has no trails so I wasn't expecting to see any human activities until I spotted this mystery.

Frozen

A drop in temperatures last Saturday night helped to form a thin layer of ice on Frenchman's Bay.
It has along way to go before it will be able to support people.

Colourful

A rainbow of colours.

Texting

At the flea market. They do it everywhere.

Monday Mural - Travel

Located on the side wall of a travel agency it's a simple mural with no credits for the artist. I'm linking to Monday Mural.

Christmas

Yesterday I took a short drive in a rural area and came across this Christmas display.

Raccoon

Normally this guy would turn around and head away from me. Right now he is in transition almost ready for winter hibernation. So now he is a bit dopey and just watches me.

Rob Ford

It's a caricature of Rob Ford. He's the mayor of The City Of Toronto. I took this photo last September 4 and I have been holding back posting it until the right occasion occurred. Now that he has become the most famous mayor (for all of the wrong reasons) in North America, I thought that now was the right time. It's interesting how the artist picked the backside of a stop sign under a do not enter symbol.

Blu-ray

My favourite booth at the flea market.

Cormorants

Drying out the way nature intended.

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Hundreds of Cormorants flying over the lake. They are still here but soon will be making the trip south to warmer climate.

Monday Mural - "Canada Remembers"

In Canada, today is Remembrance Day. It's a time when people recall and show respect for the sacrifices that Canadian military personnel have made in armed conflicts. The military action in Afghanistan took it's toll on Canadian troops. Those killed in the line of duty had their remains flown to Trenton, Ontario military air base. The highway between the air base in Trenton and the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto has been renamed the "Highway of Heroes" in honour of the fallen soldiers. Emergency Service workers and Citizens line the route to pay tribute to these men and women who died in the service of Canada. The mural painted in a back alley behind the coroner’s office near Yonge and College streets marked the final stop for hearses carrying the remains of fallen soldiers from Canadian Forces Base Trenton. Dozens of families who lost loved ones in Afghanistan have made that journey, ending at the coroner’s office. Unfortunately on September 10, 2013 the original mural was vandalized with black paint sprayed on it. The two main artists, Kedre Brown, who inspired the design and Jessey Pacho, who mentored the youth group who painted it, made quick work of restoring it. I'm linking to Monday Mural.

Forest

This is a manmade forest where all of the trees are planted in perfectly straight rows.
The maple tree in the foreground is an after thought by Mother Nature.

Grainery

It's in the way of the next stage of urban sprawl.

Monday Mural - The Ride To Conquer Cancer

The ride for cancer was held in June 2013. This mural is painted over another mural that was here for 2012's ride. You can view it here. I'm linking to Monday Mural.

Hospital Demolition

Women’s College Hospital building, completed in 1935, is currently being torn down on Grenville Street, Toronto. With the recently built first phase of the new Women’s College Hospital facility now completed to the east, this aging hospital structure on the western edge of the property is being cleared to make way for a future second phase of the hospital. There was concern whether the building could be saved or reincorporated into the new hospital, but the aging facility was considered no longer viable in an age where health care has become high tech,
and where programs are changing significantly.

Power Shovel

I'm from an older generation and I think steam shovel was a much more romantic name than power shovel. This one is working on a new subdivision in Ajax, Ontario. Even though everyone here seems to agree that the governments of all levels have failed to build  a proper transportation infrastructure, urban spal continues.

Halloween

His and her's matching outfits.

Shadows

Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you. Walt Whitman.

Dark Skies

This was the scene yesterday morning. Mother Nature was playing a trick on us.
These clouds passed over without a drop of rain falling.

Sunny Days

I open my eyes
I look to the sky
it's a sunny day.

the world is looking so bright
what a surprise
it's a sunny day.

Sunny Day Lyrics

Bring In The Crop

The bare field on the left and the fodder on the right. I'm Linking to Weekly Top Shot.

Pumpkins

A favourite of the fall season.