Krave-ing the good stuff

A giant chocovore roamed around promotion central (Yonge and Dundas) in #Toronto - it was a giant cereal stuffed full of chocolate escorted by a park ranger. Maybe the mutant cereal was going to eat people and the ranger was there to keep everyone safe.

I know that I was wondering why there wasn't more chocolate in my daily diet - Canadians are wasting away, you know. Now I can start the day right with chocolate cereal. This guy is the chocolate cereal, there is also a double chocolate cereal available. I will probably skip this breakfast treat and just eat a Tobelrone bar, keeping that pesky fibre out of the dietary mix.

 See more of the new cereal after the jump.

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Birds of Prey at Mountsberg @RaptorCentre

Enjoying summer weekends in parks around the Greater #Toronto Area is a pleasant way to get close to nature and get some exercise. The lure of raptors from the Birds of Prey centre brought me to Mountsberg Conservation Area in Halton Region.

You can actually go into the flight enclosure where handlers work with the birds to inform and bring a personal connection to the beautiful creatures that you see up close in the centre with their cousins in the wild. In the enclosure the birds fly right over the crowd and in one case they even touched my head as they passed by. Mountsberg is home to three species at risk in Ontario - the Bald Eagle, the Barn Owl and the Peregrine Falcon.

"Tucked within Mountsberg Conservation Area, the Mountsberg Raptor Centre is currently home to 15 different species of native birds of prey. Many of the Raptor Centre's resident birds of prey have permanent injuries that have left them incapable of surviving on their own in the wild. In many cases, these injuries were caused by human activity. With the help of these feathered ambassadors, the Mountsberg Raptor Centre teaches the community about the native birds of prey that share our environment and how to reduce the negative impact we can have on them."

The conservation area is also very popular in winter with 'Christmas Town' and in the spring with the 'Mountsberg Sugar Bush' and maple syrup festival. You can see the draft horses that pull the wagons at these events munching on the grass during the summer months. These horses are very friendly and they come up to the holes in the fences so you can pet them.

The 472 hectare site includes a reservoir and dam that regulates water flow and protects against floods. Right now the lack of water has depleted the water in the reservoir and the wetlands have shrunk considerably. An Osprey nest rests high on a pole out in the reservoir - you can see one of the adults perched above the nest.

A small herd of bison join goats and bunny rabbits that can be found in the park. In the barn, which you can explore and play in, some baby chicks gobble up food under a heat lamp and wild barn swallows nest in the rafters of the barn, continuously flying in and out of the barn with food for their babies.

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#Toronto Fountains

Well if we can't have waterfalls we can surely enjoy the many fountains found throughout our city. Plus we have Lake Ontario and the Islands. One of the new fountains called Sherbourne Common South is located down at the Harbourfront just east of Sugar Beach and Corus. The fountains come on around 10am and jets of water spray in the air. Across the road is the sister park named Sherbourne Common with a focus on water.

Part of the Sherbourne Common storm water treatment centre's release ponds

Berczy Park

Every time I turn a corner in Toronto I find more fountains in parks, big and small.

See more dancing water after the jump.

Freedom Arches over the reflecting pond at Nathan Phillips Square

Exhibition Place fountain

College Park

St Lawrence Market

Woodbine Park

Kensington Market

Yonge-Dundas Square

Cloud Park

The McMurtry Fountain

More of the Sherbourne Common South fountain

And across the road is Sherbourne Commoun Park

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Summer @Olympics 2012: Go Canada Go!

Flag makers are churning out flags as people get into Olympic fever and the #Toronto @TOeatoncentre has a giant Canadian red and white maple leaf flag hanging high above shoppers.

The summer Olympics bring out the nationalistic pride of all countries as so many gather around TVs and watch the competitions. Watching sports you never thought you would watch as you root for your country to take the gold. There is a large TV screen near Sears where you can sit on a couch (or gather around in crowds) and watch the Olympic action free of charge.

See more after the jump.

Watching the big screen

The flag is visible from one end of the mall to the other

Canada is poised to overtake all in the medal competition - even though we are currently in 27th place. With just a few more wins we are destined to crush China and USA. We own the podium! Go Canada Go!!

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Sharp building in #Toronto Distillery District

The building along Mill Street comes to a sharp point as it hits Parliament Street. So sharp it could cut like a knife. It makes for a scary passage through the brick lanes of the historic, bricky neighbourhood. 

If this building is sharp like a steak knife, the Flatiron Building in the St Lawrence Market area is a little more like a butter knife at its point, a little more rounded and far safer to pass by without being cut.

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Ashley Shares a Couple Jeff Rassier Pieces

Earlier this month, I spotted Ashley in Penn Station. She has quite a few tattoos and, after speaking with her, learned she is the piercer at Revolver Tattoo in New Brunswick, NJ. (Work from Revolver has appeared here previously, as seen from this tag.)

She offered up two small pieces for our tattoo-viewing enjoyment:

She credited this work to Jeff Rassier at Black Heart Tattoo in San Francisco with these pieces.

While out visiting the shop in California, she spotted these pieces on one of Rossier's flash sheets and just dug it. She said her father even got the same tattoos because he liked the work as well.

Thanks to Ashley for sharing some of her ink with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

You have read this article Black Heart Tattoo (SF) / cyclops / envelopes / flash / Jeff Rassier / Revolver Tattoo with the title July 2012. You can bookmark this page URL http://chriswiggin.blogspot.com/2012/07/ashley-shares-couple-jeff-rassier-pieces.html. Thanks!

Occupy Gardens in #Toronto

Queen's Park had a little protest going on during the July 28 weekend as some gardeners were planting some vegetables in the dirt in the large park north of the Legislature building. There were plenty of gentle protesters with some banners and some free food as the protested for World Peas during an event called Summer Jam.

The growing collective of plot farmers are taking over small sections of land and planting crops to share with all that are hungry. They celebrated Summer Jam with an edible and musical community potluck picnic in the park.

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Canada International Children's Art Festival

The 10th annual Art Festival for children from all backgrounds takes place from July 21 to August 3, 2012 in #Toronto. "The Festival hopes to encourage children to develop an interest in the arts by providing a public outlet through which they can express themselves. Art is a global language, and it is through this language that children can better engage with the world around them."

In Nathan Phillips Square on Saturday July 28 there was live painting and an awards ceremony for children as excited parents gathered around the elevated stage. The event was promotion of their green living ideals to the children. "This year’s festival theme is “Green Life, We create together”. The goal of the live painting event is to educate kids and their families on environmental issues, make them aware of available resources and opportunities, and also to promote, encourage, and reward new innovative ideas."

Teachers win some awards as well

The CICAF has been organized by the Canada-China Council since 2007 and children from ages 3 to 17 years old are the key to this Festival. See more photos after the jump.

An award winning singer

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