A Little Sparrow Up Close

Our outdoor space has been atwitter these days. Based on the level of chirping, there is no doubt that there are nests filled with baby birds all around us.

I am quite certain that one such nest, that of some sparrows, is tucked safely somewhere in the streetlamp pole that is in front of our place. The last photo is of that spot, being guarded by a male. Although he was quiet, the sound coming from his roost was quite busy indeed. There must have been some babies in there somewhere.

Since I am no expert I can't say exactly what this sparrow is but I think it is a young one. And because it is more of a buff colour than brown and black, I am pretty sure it is a female, but she could also be a baby 'he'. No matter what, I so enjoyed watching this little sparrow feed in a maple tree, and I hope you do too.

A Nice Night Out : The Royal Occasion at The Royal Conservatory of Music

Our friend Izzy works at The Royal Conservatory of Music and invited us to attend a nice event they hosted on Wednesday night, called The Royal Occasion.Dating back to 1887 the mission of the conservatory is 'to develop human potential through music and the arts'. This particular event was to honour three Canadian artists, the soprano opera singer Adrianne Pieczonka, music producer Bob Ezrin who has worked with Lou Reed, Jane's Addiction, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, and the list goes on, and rock song-writer and performer Randy Bachman. If you grew up in Canada you inevitably can sing along to at least one of Bachman's songs. (In fact, as I type Nick is singing 'Let it Ride' to himself.)The event, held at a place to which neither of us had previously been, called Koerner Hall, began with some music performed by the honorees, plus some extra guests including a terrific 13 year old classical piano player who blew my mind playing a Mendelssohn piece, and two cello players visiting Toronto from Croatia. The music was excellent, in spite of my envy of anyone who had attended the event last year when Feist performed.These first pictures were taken in the corridor going in. I love how they connected the old building with the new one, with this glass roofed structure.

What is Black, Grey and White with a Little Bit of Pink?

Seems that Eddie is just too sleepy to visit today. He did raise his head briefly but couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. So very tired (and somewhat rude). Sorry about that.

Something Old and Something New

You just never know when you're going to come upon an interesting sight as you go about your day, right? And so it was that I saw this neat old truck during the most innocuous of outings. Nick needed a new pair of rubber work-boots and I tagged along for the ride. The truck was parked outside the store we went to called Mark's Work Warehouse.

It is a Mercury and would be from sometime in the late 40s, making it about 65 years old. I so would have loved to hang around and see who got into it, but Nick was a man with a mission so was moving right along. In fact, you see the tiny figure in the distance at the top left of the first shot? Yup, that's him.

Game Playing : Tomb Raider

After I opened the paper-wrapped package Nick handed me with a wink last month, I did a little happy dance. Now, I am a happy person but can't say I dance a little jig of joy all that frequently. Yes, I do so in my mind after finding an excellent item at the thrift store (which I did last week ... new Thrifting Finds post coming up next week!), but an actual arms-in-the-air-yahooing kind of thing is not my norm.

Why this happy dance then? Well, the package contained the newest Tomb Raider game for X-Box. I've played a couple of these games, featuring the brave adventurer and explorer Lara Croft, so I knew that I was in for a whole lot of fun with this new game.