[PHOTO] Young lilac, Havelock Street

[PHOTO] Seen on a late afternoon in socially distanced Dufferin Grove Park, Saturday

[PHOTO] Red poppies in the night, Concord Avenue

[PHOTO] Dufferin Grove after the first snow last Thursday

Last Thursday after the first snow of fall, I took a walk down to Dufferin Grove Park. The snow, already beginning to melt in the relative warmth, dressed the park up nicely.

[PHOTO] Moon over Dufferin Grove

[PHOTO] Twelve photos from a walk down from Dupont to Queen

Friday afternoon, I took myself on a leisurely walk south, down Dovercourt Road and then–above Bloor–down Ossington Avenue to Queen Street. It was a fine summer walk, taking me through an ever-changing string of neighbourhoods that is still familiar, ending with the Antikka coffee shop on Queen. The final photo was taken to the west of this, at the Lumber Loop where Queen streetcar passengers need to transfer to get to Long Branch, the towers of Humber Bay Shores always visible just beyond.

[PHOTO] Twelve photos taken in and around Dufferin Grove Park

Dufferin Grove, on Dufferin south of Bloor, is one of the most desirable neighbourhoods of Toronto, and the Dufferin Grove Park at this neighbourhood’s heart is a fine public space. This Wednesday afternoon, I enjoyed my stroll through the changing colours on a warm fall day.

[URBAN NOTE] Five Toronto links: Sidewalk, free mass transit, Dufferin Grove, MOCA, Jane Jacobs

• Saadia Muzaffar, a member of the advisory board to Sidewalk Labs, has resigned, expressing concern over the plans for the waterfront of Toronto. CBC reports.
• Edward Keenan is right to argue that making mass transit in Toronto free is a good goal, whether or not it can be implemented now. The Toronto Star has it.
• While I do not live in Dufferin Grove, this neighbourhood does neighbour me and I do visit it regularly. I’m glad that it has ranked so highly on one international ranking of neighbourhoods. blogTO reports.
• Toronto Life shares some photos from the inside of the completed Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art. I’m glad to see that the promise I glimpsed on Doors Open has been fulfilled. I can’t wait to visit!
• John Lorinc at Spacing >U>imagines what Jane Jacobs would do in Toronto now, faced with the Ford government. Certainly, he argues, she’d prepare for a long fight; certainly she would lead a civic resistance.

[PHOTO] Four photos taken on Dovercourt Road at night, from Hepbourne to Dupont

Last night after midnight, I found myself taking a walk north on Dovercourt Road, starting at College Street and heading up to Dupont Street at home. It took a half-hour in the light rain, giving me plenty of time to take in the street as it changed. The night, I was reminded, can be colourful, even if the colours are muted.

[URBAN NOTE] Three notes about Muslims, their haters and my neighbourhood and cats, in Toronto

• Daily Xtra‘s Arshy Mann and Evan Balgord report on how the Jewish Defense League plans on marching in Toronto Pride. Grand.
• Spacing’s Shazlin Rahman reports on the Jane’s Walk she organized around sites of significance to Muslims around Bloor and Dufferin.
• The Toronto Star‘s Nicholas Keung and Raju Mudhar reported earlier this month on the happy reunification of a Syrian couple with their cat.