What Happened in 1917?

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….in Canada

1917 is often referred to as the worst year in Canadian history. In that year we saw the highest casualty figures for Canada during WWI. The death toll at Vimy Ridge alone was 3598 with another 7000 injured.

The city of Halifax was destroyed when two ships collided in Halifax Harbour, killing 1900 civilians and injuring 9000 in a town of 50 000. It was the worst man-made destruction of a city until 1945.

The conscription policy divided the country in one of the most bitter elections ever in 1917 but on the upside some women were granted the right to vote if they had a husband, father or brother who served in the war.

It was also the year that the Nation Hockey League (NHL) was established but not until an American team won the Stanley Cup for the first time earlier in the year. Tom Thomson, a famous Canadian artist, also died that year under mysterious circumstances.

Today I went to Montgomery’s Inn to sign up as a volunteer. While I was there I happened upon a wonderful art display of paintings depicting what happened in Canada in 1917.

Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge – May 19, 2018

Posted on May 19, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Cee for hosting the Which Way Photo Challenge

One of my favourite places to walk is through High Park. It doesn’t matter if it’s through the more natural area, the gardens, the zoo or by the pond, I love them all.

Celebrating the Cherry Blossoms

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Mama Cormier

…..the cherry blossoms in High Park have bloomed but won’t last much longer

The blooming of the cherry blossoms in High Park is a big deal. Every year hundreds of thousands flock to the west end of Toronto to take in the cherry blossoms. In 1959 the Japanese ambassador to Canada, Toru-Hagiwara, presented 2000 Japanese Somei-Yoshino Sakura trees to the citizens of Toronto on behalf of the citizens of Tokyo. The trees were planted in appreciation of Toronto accepting re-located Japanese-Canadians following the Second World War.

Sakura is the Japanese name for flowering cherry trees and their flowers – often referred to as cherry blossoms. The Japanese traditional custom of hanami or “flower viewing” dates back to 710-794 when the Chinese Tang Dynasty influenced Japan with their custom of enjoying flowers. Today when the Sakura trees bloom, Japanese people and people from all walks of life and cultures continue the tradition of hanami, gathering in great numbers along the pathways on the eastern shore of Grenadier Pond in High Park.

Thanks to the High Park Nature Centre for the information about the history of the Cherry Blossoms in High Park. If you get out in the next couple of days you can still catch some of the blossoms before they fall to the ground.

I Guess I Didn’t Win

Posted on March 30, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….but just being able to admire all the beautiful work made me a winner

What am I talking about? Well a week ago I went to Neilson Park Creative Centre in Etobicoke (close to where I live) to take in the annual quilting show. At one end of the hall there was a table of prizes consisting of quilted items that had been donated by the members of the quilters’ guild. I purchased 10 tickets and chose where I wanted my tickets to go. Seeing that I haven’t received a phone call I can only assume that none of my tickets were pulled. Oh well, it doesn’t matter because I went there to see the beautiful hand and machine quilted blankets, coverlets, table runners and wall hangings. Here are a few selections that I managed to photograph.

Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge – March 23, 2018

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….I know I’m a bit late on this one but today seemed a good day to post photos from last week

Thanks to Cee for hosting the Which Way Photo Challenge. It’s been dreary and wet all day today and what a better time to post my sunny photos from last week when my husband, daughter and I took Olive for a walk to High Park. We walked along Bloor Street, past fruit markets, through tunnels and down a descending sidewalk towards the park entrance.

Once in the park we headed towards the off leash area where we could let Olive run free. She loved it. I love the off leash area in High Park because it is made up of fenced in trails and if you’re a walker it’s a great way to get in some steps and fresh air.

It was a great day. On the way back we walked down hill, then up hill, back through the tunnel and then we took a short cut up a flight of stairs which took us up the the rail path. All in all I clocked over 15 000 steps that day.

Thursday Doors – March 29, 2018

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Mama Cormier

…..I love red doors

Thanks to Norm for hosting Thursday Doors. I haven’t participated in awhile. It seems like I haven’t been anywhere exciting or interesting enough to take photos of doors lately. Walking home from the library the other day I started to notice some beautiful red doors in the neighbourhood and I had recently taken a photo of a red door in my daughter’s neck of the woods.

With that in mind I decided to focus on the colour of doors and with that in mind I could have a different theme each week for quite some time. So that said here are my first photos of RED doors.

Square Within a Square

Posted on March 24, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Becky B for hosting March Square

Yesterday I went to a Quilting show at the Neilson Park Creative Centre. I could easily finish off this challenge with nothing but quilting squares but I’ll try to be more creative than that.

fullsizeoutput_6d24

Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge – March 11, 2018

Posted on March 11, 2018 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Cee for hosting the Which Way Photo Challenge

Anything with signs, bridges, pathways, roads, stairs and sidewalks qualifies for this challenge. Yesterday’s trip to the Royal Botanical Gardens was a photographer’s delight.

Reflections of the Past

Posted on March 3, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….fond memories of the High Park Zoo

When I was very young, about three to be exact, I remember going to the High Park
Zoo with my parents and little sister. I loved feeding the ducks and seeing what I thought at the time were exotic animals. Those exotic animals would have been bison, deer and camels. I remember bringing bags of carrots and I can still feel the pull that the deer exerted when nibbling on the these treats as I held them through the wire fence. fullsizeoutput_6c52

I recall going there quite often because we lived fairly close by. I loved walking on the stone ledges pretending to balance on a precarious cliff. In the warm weather my parents would dress us in our Sunday best and we would walk down by Grenadier Pond and around the beautiful gardens. It was also a favourite place to take visitors.

Last Sunday my husband and I drove to High Park (it’s a bit far to walk to now), parked the car and started to walk along the pathways. When we got to the top of one hill I made a request to head down towards the zoo. I felt like a kid again. The camels are no longer there but the deer and bison still reside in this zoo. Feeding the animals is now completely forbidden.

Do you visit a place that brings back fond memories from when you were a child?

Weather for the Dogs (and their owners)

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Mama Cormier

…..spring like conditions continue in the Northern Hemisphere

The sun has come out and the temperatures have climbed well above freezing for more than a week now and it looks like will continue for another week or more. On Sunday my husband and I drove to High Park and took a nice long walk in the off leash area where dogs and their owners can walk, run and play. Earlier in the day I walked in the neighbourhood, where I also came across some dogs and lots of swans.

In High Park there were a lot more people and dogs and the walk was quite challenging due to the steep hill at the end of the walk. When you start downhill you know that at some point you have to go up again.