Category: photography
East End Outing
Riverdale Farm Fall Festival, Cabbagetown Art and Craft Show, and Cabbagetown Festival on a lovely Saturday afternoon.
Clouds over Parliament Street Cow at Riverdale Farm Really, farm-raised beer? Nearby there was a licensed daycare called Buds and Blossoms. Are they serious? There was a lineup there. So many beautiful gardens in Cabbagetown Greyhound tush – his mom fixed his PJs right after I took this photo Horse – probably pony – at Riverdale Farm with his City of Toronto high visibility leg wraps A man checking out the art with his dog in a backpack Pickleball court in Cabbagetown – who knew? Riverdale Farm ponds
Eclipse From Presqu’ile Provincial Park
Well, it was cloudy, but we did see some cool stuff! When it went dark, the horizon out on Lake Ontario was glowing a beautiful pink. After, we stayed around and waited to see the chunks of the sun returning. Unfortunately, Val didn’t get to use his fancy filters, but he got some great shots of the pac man sun.
See video below.
Montreal Trip of a Lifetime – World Figure Skating Championships
Pairs were first up! All the pressure was on Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek (age 40, yes, you read that correctly!) and Maxime Deschamps, who live and train in Montreal. They had two great skates. Their fellow Canadians Lea Pereira and Trennt Michaud and Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier also had great short programs! The crowd went crazy. I had my “Go Canada” sign at the ready. The other two Canadian pairs didn’t have the greatest free programs but still did well. I didn’t take any pictures of Deanna and Max’s free program because it was just too tense and exciting an atmosphere. The Japanese pair of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara (who train in Oakville) put up a great defense of their gold medal from last year despite not skating most of this season. Unbelievable excitement in the final flight. Go Canada!!!
I was really there for the ice dance!!! The rhythm dance with its 80s theme was very exciting and loud. Since it was almost a home competition for so many (the Canadians plus the 13 teams that train in Montreal) the crowd was immense and intense! I didn’t take pictures of everything – just too much excitement – but here are some highlights. I have so many teams I love, but Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are of course my MOST favourite. I had my “Piper and Paul Gold” sign ready to go! They finished in third place after the rhythm dance – not a surprise. Their program to “No More I Love Yous” and “Addicted to Love” is still the best, in my opinion, at catching the 80s ethos. There was WAY too much Bonnie Tyler for my liking.
For the Ice Dance free dance, the competition was incredible. The crowd was crazy loud! Again, I have so many teams that I love. Piper and Paul came out and skated so well under such intense pressure. They won the free dance and finished second overall. That’s one place higher than the last two years. And that is huge in ice dance. Their Wuthering Heights program is a masterpiece. I was far too nervous to take photos. Thanks Val for subbing in!
I didn’t take many photos from the men or women but they were both fantastic. I love Kaori Sakamoto!! Ilia Malinin is not my favourite skater but his technical prowess is unmatched. Seeing Yuma Kagiyama skate in person was sensational!
Speaking of Trains
A train weekend: we went to Doors Open Toronto at TTC McCowan Yard. We took the Scarborough RT. It was kind of sad since it’s slated to cease operations in November.
We also finished watching Tripping: Train 185 on TVO. It’s the 480-km journey of the flag stop VIA train from Sudbury to White River, Ontario. It is a beautiful trip through the boreal forest. I don’t want to take it though: I’m not into fishing camps.
