Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Sunset, last sunrise of 2013

These are two photos that different people posted to my facebook at about the same time - one was taken in Brazil and the other in Japan, both at about the same time!

Monday, December 30, 2013

Crystal Beach 2013

 Gated community where the amusement park was
View of Buffalo skyline
Still in Fort Erie!
Buffalo newspaper box - many of the people who own or rent here are from the Buffalo area
One of the old cottages, probably built by the carnies who worked at Crystal Beach Amusement Park, which closed in 1989, being crowded by new condos!
Property development protest sign in front of one of the older cottages

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Deer on island

These are on a small island in the St. Lawrence - really it's just a reed bank - will check tomorrow to see if they are still there.

  • Dec 30 - still there - ice is forming and hopefully they'll keep still until they can walk back to shore.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Opium Bed, Penang, Malaysia

Opium Bed, museum, Penang, Malaysia - These were made for the purpose of smoking opium in the 19th Century - the little block is a sort of hard pillow.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Street Art

I saw the tree painted on the side of this building in Fort Erie, November 2013 - I thought, hmm, interesting folk art:

Here's how google saw it in 2009:

(Images copyright google, for reference only) - It was an art gallery that had closed!

Niagara Falls 2013 part 2

Pulp Comics store in Niagara Falls, Ontario - I'd guess this Wonder Woman is based on someone else besides DC's character! Artwork by Robert "Hairball" Taylor
Birds flocking to be fed, Dufferin Islands

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Metro Toronto Zoo, December 1, 2013

Reindeer
Panda sleeping in the rain
Monitor Lizard
Coral
African Bonytongue
Polar Bear
Arctic Fox
Gorilla. Their habitat is quite dim - I wonder if they need sunlight to synthesize vitamin D?
Tiger. The zoo was deserted and I thought the part I was walking through might be closed for the winter, but this cat was still out.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Johnny on the spot's in love!

"I Love You XOXO", magic marker crudely duct taped to a porta potty toilet, by Highway 417 near Vankleek Hill.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Niagara Falls 2013

 4410 Queen Street, Niagara Falls, Ontario
This puzzled me when I saw it - the style of the sign is at least 100 years old, but it wasn't faded - the building was a bakery that closed in the 1950s but was restored last year as apartments - the restorer painted the old sign again, although there is no bakery there now! http://www.keeferdevelopments.com/Queen-St-Village-Apartments.html

 Panoramic view of falls
 View with padlock on railing - the Niagara Parks people try to take these padlocks off as soon as they can.

Korean paper lions






 Tesla in the snow - statue shows him with stick in hand, drawing out his ideas for generating electricity with AC current that could be sent a great distance - according to the story the idea just came to him when he was walking with a friend and he asked his friend to bring him a stick so he could sketch it out on the ground. He is standing on a generator - the statue is near the power station on Niagara Falls he helped build with George Westinghouse.
People still stand on the railings
Aero Car above the whirlpool, downstream from the falls
Floral Showhouse in snow


ER, standing for Elizabeth Regina, for the Queen Mother,  on a light standard at the Niagara end of the Queen Elizabeth Way. These used to be along the entire length of the QEW. The QEW was one of the first modern highways in North America, but they still carried with them the old idea of public works having lots of decorations - there were 'gateways'  with statues of lions at both ends in Toronto and St. Catharines.