Yikes, I was spotted by this Red Tail Hawk eyeing me.  The bird was visiting Toronto’s Tommy Thompson Park during bird migration season. The park is a 5 kilometer long spit made of construction waste  over the last 50 years or so.  It is (luckily) a wild park and undeveloped, which has now become home to a wide array of creatures, including wolves, coyotes, beavers, hawks and all manner of birds.  As well, it is a globally significant migration site, where birds nest or rest on their long journeys north or south.  Actually, Mr. (or Ms.) Red Tail was there as part of an educational program from a wildlife center that assists injured animals.  I can see why mice scurry into their bolt holes when they are caught in this bird’s sharp laser-like gaze.

p.s. the reflections in the eyes are of the world out there, including yours truly.

This image is part of Weekend Reflections.

The remains of a crab shell on the shores of the mighty Pacific Ocean in Olympic National Park, Washington.

I am standing at the intersection of Yonge and Dundas Streets (the heart of Toronto, like Times Square in NYC) and saw this bright white sports car waiting at the red light.  The light was just right, and the bright white car just stood out screaming for attention.  I fumbled for my camera before the light flipped to green and snapped this quick shot; just an instant in time.  Bike versus car – who do you think will take it?

This image is part of Monochrome Weekly.

Just hanging out at the Dundas Street Station on the Yonge-University line of Toronto’s subway system.

If you are curious about the previous post “One Red Bike”, please click here.

This image is part of Weekend Reflections.

I spied this gent with his gaze fixed upon the heavens while out photo hunting on groovy Queen Street West in Toronto recently.  Could he have been looking for Superman?  Or, was he just in a daydream not realizing he was becoming part of this image?  Anyway, this truly was a snapshot and I like that “snapshotty” feel of it.  Yes, the crop is higgeldypiggeldy and the composition is all awry, but I did it on the fly and that sense of quickness, and not thinking is what I like about this one.  The wires you see overhead are a ubiquitous sign that you are in Toronto – they are the electrical cables for the streetcars that ply many streets as a real part of our transit system, not a tourist attraction.  Yes, the big auto giants did not snuff out our electric-based public transit as they did in some American cities so they could sell more cars.  I guess Toronto isn’t that bad after all.

Oh, and if Superman was flying around up there, he better be careful making a landing at Queen and Bathurst if he feels like zipping into Johny Banana for a burrito because he may get zapped by that rat’s nest of cables.

This image is part of Skywatch Friday.

I spotted this Silver Elvis doing his thang at Toronto’s Eaton Centre, which is a major tourist shopping trap mall in the heart of the city.  Now, I know what you are thinking of saying to me: this isn’t the real Elvis, stupid, he’s an Elvis impersonator.  Oh yeah, that is probably true.  But, what better way for the King to lay low than to hide in plain sight?  Huh?  Plausible eh?  See, it isn’t so stupid after all.  Now that you have that in your head, go ahead, ruminate, chew, reflect on it this weekend.

Thank you, thank you very much.  This image is part of Weekend Reflections.

“Jubilant Man” is a bronze sculpture in Ireland Park on the shore of Lake Ontario in Toronto.  The park was opened in 2007 and it commemorates the 38,000 Irish who came to Toronto in 1847 fleeing the Great Famine in their native land.  Toronto, at that time, had only 20,000 residents but Torontonians welcomed the newcomers to their community.  Today, many descendents of these early immigrants have made significant positive contributions not only to Toronto, but to Canada.  The sculpture is one of a series in the park that were made by Rowan Gillespie and they are similar to a set of figures made by him in Dublin called “Departure”; the Toronto sculptures are known as “The Arrival”.  The Great Famine claimed approximately one million people and one million others left Ireland – the result was a significant drop in the island’s population (approximately one quarter).  The famine was caused by a disease in the potato crop, which was key in the diet of many Irish.  However, many observers and historians say that England was culpable in some measure for the magnitude of the famine either through neglect, incompetence, wilful blindness, or, more controversially, clear intent to commit genocide.  The sad fact is that while many Irish were starving, food grown in Ireland was being exported to England.   The famine had a significant impact on Irish nationalism; one nationalist noted that “The Almighty, indeed, sent the potato blight, but the English created the Famine.”  As always, I invite you to do some more research on your own and make your own mind up.

This image is part of Monochrome Weekend.

A scene from the epicentre of Toronto’s busy Chinatown on a stormy day recently.  This image is part of Skywatch Friday.

I spotted this pair of mittens on the sidewalk along Queen Street West on the first (cold) day of spring this year.  I wondered whether they were lost, abandoned or placed there by someone.  It could be any of those, or something entirely different.  What I did know for sure – there was a pirate out there with cold hands.

This image is part of Monochrome Weekend.

I spotted this Celtics player frozen in flight on Queen Street West in Toronto and could not resist snapping this shot.  Does anyone follow the NBA?  Who is this mysterious #7 captured mid-flight?

This image is part of Weekend Reflections.