The Eagle Has Landed

Bald Eagle at High Park.

I was listening to CBC Radio 1 last week. They were interviewing a fellow who had seen a bald eagle at High Park not long ago. My friend, Justin, read something in the Metro paper online saying the same thing. He suggested we grab our friend Gabe to go look for it Saturday.

They picked me up near my place at 12:30 in the afternoon and we drove down. Incredibly it was Justin's first time there ever.

We parked at the café and headed down to the pond. Though people had been skating on it as recently as week or two ago, it had been quite warm the past few days. Ice still covered the water, but it was thin. Signs warned people not to go out on it.

We first headed southward along the eastern bank. At the bottom we made a U-turn and returned the same way. Along the way we saw chickadees, sparrows, mallard ducks and a downy woodpecker, but no eagles. After an hour and a half we gave up and retreated to the Grenadier Café to grab a bite.

After we ate Gabe suggested we head over to the "zoo". I have to say, it's more like a petting zoo with llamas, sheep and bison. Even the infamous capybaras were in hiding because of the chilly temperatures. Expecting to see nothing of interest, Justin left his camera in the car.

It was only as we were about to leave that we saw a group of people standing at the top of the hill by the zoo staring skyward. Up in a tall pine tree was the bald eagle we were so eagerly searching for. Gabe and I started taking pictures right away while Justin ran back to his car to grab his camera.

The bird was in no hurry to leave so we were all able to shoot to our hearts content. Such luck. If we hadn't decided to have something to eat and also go to the zoo, we would have missed the very thing we made the trek down to see.

Cherry Blossoms @ High Park

I made my annual pilgrimage to High Park to see the cherry blossoms last Friday. According to their website peak bloom this year was supposed to be Wednesday, May 6th.

With a week of above average temperatures they pushed the date ahead three days from their original prediction. For me, I used the cherry blossoms at Mount Pleasant Cemetery as a gauge to when the ones at High Park might be ready.

I have to say, the blossoms at Mount Pleasant Cemetery are much nicer. They're a lovely pink hue, while the ones at High Park are plain white. It makes a huge difference when taking pictures. Really.

Still, I went down to High Park to see the ones there. Mostly because I had made such a big deal about pushing others to go, so I sort of felt obligated. I couldn't really hype it up and not show now, right?

I decided not to take so many macro shots as I normally would. Just because those were the kind of pics I took at the cemetery. Instead I used my wide angle lens to capture as much of the scenery as possible. To show the throngs of people enjoying the blossoms more than just shooting the blossoms themselves.

Cherry Blossom Walk

Like my early trip to Sunnybrook Park to see the trilliums on Friday, I dropped by High Park on Sunday to check the progress of the cherry blossoms after visiting the boarding home.

I parked at the furthest lot located in the park. It's the one off Parkside Drive off Lakeshore Boulevard. I didn't mind parking so far away. I was out for a walk after all.

Since it was so nice out there were a fair number of people in the park even though the blossoms weren't all fully open. Some people were fishing, others riding their bikes. There were a number of photographers like me. But most others were just walking around.

I didn't go straight for the cherry trees on the side of the hill by Grenadier Pond. Instead I walked along the path on the south side of the park (following The Queensway). I wanted to try to get some shots overlooking the pond looking towards the hillside.

It was a really nice day out. The sun was shining and the skies were blue. It was quite good for pictures. I took a number around the pond before heading towards the hill with the cherry trees. Even though only about half the blossoms were open I still took quite a few pictures. Less open blossoms means less people. So I tried to take advantage of that.

I plan on being back the following week. Hopefully the weather will be as nice.

Update: I went to High Park the following week. We had wet weather and wind during that time. Many of the blossoms were blown/knocked off the cherry trees unfortunately.

Cherry Blossoms 2013

I went to High Park again to check out the cherry blossoms. I had gone the week before (on April 27th) and the buds were barely beginning to appear. So I didn't actually think I'd see much progress in only one week. But, I think the warmer than average temperatures spurred the blossoms along and by May 4th they were in full bloom.

I parked on the local streets west of the park. It was a big headache driving down. But, I had gotten a flat the week before while riding my bike home (from High Park) and hadn't had a chance to fix it, so I drove.

The weather was great. Of course that encouraged the throngs. The place was crawling with people. I bumped into a friend of mine, Lily. She was walking her dog when I first entered the park. We chatted briefly before I went on to go take pictures.

As usual I took quite a few shots. I'm very happy with how they turned out. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon just relaxing, enjoying the scenery and taking pictures.

Cherry Blossoms @ HIgh Park

I rode down to High Park last Thursday to see the cherry blossoms again. It was a decent day; cool and partially overcast. But, the sun snuck out from behind the clouds every now and then. That added a bit of punch to the colours when I was taking pictures.

Since I went on a weekday the crowds weren't too bad. I was able to take photos with relative ease (without having to wait for people to pass by). There were still other photo enthusiasts (like me) and people having picnics, but not enough to be a real bother.

Anwar Knight from CTV News and his TV crew were there filming a bit with a group of people practicing Tai Chi in the park. That attracted a bit of attention from curious onlookers.

All in all it was a good day to get out and get some fresh air and enjoy the city.

First Ride of the Season

Cervélo R3 similar to what my friend bought

I went for my first ride of the season last week. My friend, Jenny, called me up and asked if I wanted to go out. She had bought a new bike over the winter from Wheels of Bloor and was going to take it in for a bike fit. They were going to adjust it to fit her body and riding style.

I have to say I was quite jealous. Jenny had bought a Cervélo R3 road bike. It was beautiful. And she got a great deal to boot. Cervélo, a Canadian company, had a manufacturer's deal where if you bought two bikes from them you got $1000 off each! So she bought one and so did one of her friends. If I had only known...

The store is located near High Park. It was a lovely day as I rode down to meet her there. We've had some record-breaking temperatures in Toronto over the past week or so. It got to at least 26C this particular day when the normal daytime high is only supposed to be 5C.

On my way across Bloor I bumped into a former colleague of mine from Trader, Shawn Belzner. He left the company a few years ago to work in New Zealand where his ex had found a job. They lived out there for three or four years and he's been back for about the same amount of time. So it's probably been close to eight years since we last saw each other in person.

Shawn was heading across the street from his small office near Christie Pits to get a slice of pizza for lunch. We stood by the road for 15-20 minutes and caught up on the latest gossip.

Afterwards I continued over to the bike store. Surprisingly I beat Jenny there even after stopping to chat with Shawn. She left slightly before me and she had driven her car. But, she had parked at High Park and half walked/half rode to the store.

The guys there made a few adjustments and we went out for a ride.

We rode around High Park for a little while. Unfortunately it's not a very big place when you're on your bike. So we went south to the trail along the waterfront and rode a bit longer.

Since it was my first ride of the season and I still had to ride back I didn't want to stay out too long. So a short time later I cut the ride short and headed back.

There were two body parts I knew would hurt - my butt and toes. For some reason my shoes feel way too tight now. And my saddle seems to be hard as a rock. Either that or my skinny ol' rump has no padding.

Still it was great to get out again. It was an amazing day to ride. And it was nice meeting old friends again.

Cherry Blossoms at High Park

I went to High Park on Saturday to see the cherry blossoms. They're finally blooming. I think it took a little longer than normal because of the cool weather we've been having lately. Usually they would have blossomed the week before.

As expected the park was packed. I knew this would be the case so I rode my bike over to avoid the hassles of trying to find parking. Besides, it was relatively nice out... a perfect day for a spin.

I got there a little earlier than I would normally go because I had some census work to do afterwards. I believe I was there from noon to 1:30 p.m. Not as long as I would have liked, but I think I got some decent photos nonetheless.

It's lucky I got there at that time because I was able to see the A Thousand Paper Cranes display. A few people had gotten together to make origami cranes to raise money for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Their goal was to make 1,000 cranes, but as of the this past Saturday they only had about 450. They only stayed until about 2:30 p.m. I heard. But, they're planning on returning next Saturday, May 14th (hopefully with the rest of the cranes completed).

I had a good time down there taking a lot of photos. The cranes were pretty and so were the cherry blossoms. There were many others, like me, taking pictures and just as many having picnics with their friends or walking around enjoying the day. A couple of people even brought their brushes, easels and canvases to spend the afternoon painting. What a great idea.

My Toronto - High Park

This is a shot of the cherry trees blossoming on the hill overlooking Grenadier Pond at High Park in Toronto. Every spring the trees blossom for just over a week at the end of April/beginning of May. It's a very popular spot for people to visit at this time. The side of the hill is normally filled with people picnicking or just hanging out with their friends enjoying the scenery.

As well as viewing the lovely cherry trees by the pond there are many trails and roads throughout the park for people to hike on or ride their bikes. They even have a small "zoo" with bison, deer, llama, peacocks and other non-exotic animals. It's not that impressive, but the upside is that it's free. You can go for a nice walk there then head over to the Grenadier Restaurant for an afternoon bite.