A Drive By Birthday Party

Posted on October 24, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….for five year old Winnie

I wanted to post this 10 days ago but with my father’s demise the day after these photos were taken I was ……well you can imagine how my blog was not my priority.

Now that things are settling down but nowhere near normal I’m trying to find joy again in the little things, like taking photographs of autumn leaves and flowers and taking walks with friends (with masks on). I’m on the phone a lot catching up with friends because COVID makes visiting in person difficult.

This year for my granddaughter’s fifth birthday we were suppose to get together for a birthday celebration in our backyard on Thanksgiving Monday but our daughter in Hamilton (Winnie’s Mom) received a COVID alert that she had been close to someone who has the virus. Out of caution they decided not to come to Toronto.

On Wednesday they decided that a drive by birthday for Winnie would be okay if we stayed apart and wore masks. Before they arrived I put out chairs on the front lawn and placed her birthday presents next to the chairs and her cake on the wall next to the driveway.

It was different. No hugs and kisses. We stayed on the porch while Winnie opened her gifts and then she dug into a piece of cake. She loved having cake at 10:00 in the morning. The whole thing took maybe 20 minutes. Then we blew her kisses through our masks and they were off to the Toronto Zoo.

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This last photo was sent to me by Winnie’s Mom. At the zoo they had these decorated hay bales and Winnie wanted to pose in front of every single one. This one was my favourite.

Friendly Friday Photo Challenge – Sea Creatures

Posted on February 28, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…..thanks to Amanda for hosting The Friendly Friday Photo Challenge this week

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Vanishing Point

Posted on February 11, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Cee for hosting The Fun Foto Challenge

The vanishing point is where the road ends at the horizon, or river, pathway, row of trees, or anything else that gets smaller the further away it is.

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Lens Artists Photo Challenge – Creepy

Posted on November 10, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Leya for hosting this week’s Lens Artists Photo Challenge

Many of these photos were taken at art galleries in London, England and here in Toronto. Others are from the Toronto zoo and from the Highgate Cemetery in London. The one of my son-in-law is a selfie he took because he knew he was being followed by that fox. Being followed by a fox is the creepy part for me not my son-in-law.

Friendly Friday – Fake

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…..thanks to Snow for hosting Friendly Friday this week

The first thing I think of when I hear the work fake is ‘fake news’. I promise I’m NOT posting any of that. These are reproductions of famous art sculptures and wax dummies to fake Christmas trees.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Stairs or Steps

Posted on April 2, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…thanks Cee for hosting Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge

Stairs and steps. We see them everyday and usually take them for granted unless we have to climb up to get where we’re going.

Silent Sunday – March 24, 2019

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Which Way Photo Challenge – Feb. 28, 2019

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Son of a Beach for continuing the Which Way Photo Challenge

My pathways, roads, stairs and signs are all from the Toronto Zoo that I paid a visit to last week.

In Honour of Fishy Friday

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….thought I’d continue the theme with fish photos from the Toronto Zoo

Birds at the Toronto Zoo

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….cold, grey and windy outside but warm and calm indoors

On Sunday, despite the forecast of high winds and rain, the Turners and I ventured to the Toronto Zoo. We had a lovely day and the rain never materialized to more than a mist and the high winds held off until we left.

One of my favourite places at the zoo is the Rain Forest Pavilion. For one thing it’s very dry and quite warm in there. It houses some beautiful greenery and some very interesting birds. One of the most interesting for me was the Hamerkop. This is a medium sized bird that lives in the wetlands of Madagascar, Africa and Arabia. It is famous for the large nests it likes to build and the one at the Toronto Zoo is no exception.

Homer is free to fly around the pavilion and the staff leave nesting materials lying around for him to build his dome shaped nest. These nests can be as big as 2 metres deep and 2 metres wide. Not only has Homer used the building materials that are left for him but he’s clearly found other objects, like mittens and pieces of paper to add to his structure.

Most of the other birds were kept in more enclosed areas to protect them from flying into the cold outside. They seemed pretty content with their surroundings where there were numerous trees, perches and resting areas.