Lumberrrrrr!

7:30am... the sound of heavy machinery outside. I look out of the window.... 4 trucks, an army of burly men in hard hats, and a scruffy little guy in a bandana carrying a massive chain saw.

They're here to cut down the dead maple tree. The trees lining this street were planted when the houses were built. This one must be at least 100 years old.

The cherry picker lifts the skinny chain saw guy to the top of the tree and he starts cutting the main limbs, which are lowered to the street by a mobile crane.

The branches are fed into a shredder that chews them into sawdust instantly.

The final trunk is cut and lowered onto the flatbed with the rest of the wood.

The chain saw cuts through the wood as if it was butter, or jello.

No problem.

And less than 90 minutes later the crew is ready to move on to the next tree surgery.

They have trimmed the dead top branches of one 75' high maple, and completely removed another. They have swept and vacuumed the street, and there's not a twig or a grain of sawdust left to show that they were there.

Just a stump remains.

Chip 'n' Dale

I was relaxing under the patio umbrella, reading, and suddenly I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.

I grabbed my camera and a handful of bird seed mixture.

There were two of them. Filling their pouches for winter. Little greedy guts.

They live behind the downspout in the flower garden.

St. Lawrence Market

In 1803, Governor Peter Hunter issued a proclamation, following recommendations made as early as 1796, that all the land north of Front, west of Jarvis, south of King and east of Church Street in Toronto (then known as York) was to be designated officially as the "Market Block."

The City of Toronto was incorporated from the Town of York in 1834 and for the first eleven years, city council members met in temporary quarters in a market building which once stood on the south-west corner of King Street East and Jarvis Street. This brick structure, the second market building to occupy the site, was built in 1831 but burnt down during a great fire in 1849. It was replaced in 1850 by the St. Lawrence Hall which still stands today.

The St. Lawrence Market building was the site of Toronto's City Hall from 1845 to 1899.

Toronto City Hall in 1899. In 1899, Council offices were moved to the "New City Hall" on Queen Street. Renovations were made in 1899-1901, and the building was transformed into a farmer's market. The market is open all week, but Saturday is it's busiest day.

I don't often shop here as it's quite a distance from my home. But it's great for a day out enjoying lunch at one of the many restaurants and snack bars in the market, and some sightseeing.

Tea Party Time

There was a Tea Party and Wedding Shower in the back yard this weekend.
Raspberry Mousse White Chocolate cake from the Italian Bakery.... need I say more?

Gifts, laughter, friends meeting friends, a celebration of the happy couple. Less than two months to go until The Big Day.

And one of the Guests of Honour slept right through all the fun!

Well, you can't blame her, Wendydog had her 13th birthday a couple of weeks ago. Far too much excitement for an old lady.

Ripening

Look what's growing at the end of the garden.....

.... tomorrow's breakfast.

Markham Jazz Festival

There's nothing like strolling along the street on a warm summer night, listening to fabulous jazz played outside. (Note: it wasn't really a WARM summer night, it got quite chilly, I was glad I had my jacket. The singer looked frozen.)
This is the tenth year for the Markham Jazz Festival.
The highlight of the evening was the Hilario Duran Big Band playing in the Unionville Millennium Bandstand.
Cuban Jazz with a decidedly Latin outlook.

Great stuff.... Encore!

Putting a lid on it!

Remember all those little wedding favour jars of Strawberry Jam?
The Bride (in pink) and The Bridesmaid (in blue) spent a sunny afternoon adding fabric tops to the jars, and embellishing each one with a ribbon and a label.

Brown and gold and contrasting ribbon with an autumn theme.

They look gorgeous, even though I say so myself. I hope I get one!

Baby Robin Update: I haven't seen the baby robin since the previous post. His leg injury, and his boldness made him an easy target for predators, so I hope he found his mother.