Adopt Momcat!

Lisa Cuddy, Abbey Cat 3651, originally uploaded by monado.

The mother of the adorable kittens has retired from kitten-rearing. She is quiet, well-behaved, and good-tempered–and you can adopt her from Abbey Cats cat rescue society in Toronto.

The kittens have all been adopted to good homes.

Pages bookstore is closing

I hadn’t heard about this: after 20 years, Pages on Queen Street is closing.

Finch Avenue sinks again

Why doesn’t the city just admit that there’s a stream running under the street and put in a culvert? Or a bigger culvert? Or an actual bridge? There is a culvert, but flooding can overload it. It’s a remnant of the time when Toronto’s treatment of creeks within the city was to bury them.

“Son of the hole that ate Finch Avenue“

This is the second time in four years that the soil under the road has washed away. Some people called it the Finch Flood.

Live from the Pride Parade

In spite of the intermittent showers and predicted thunderstorms, Lizbot is watching the Pride Parade in downtown Toronto. She sent us a few pictures by phone.

The bike for AIDS riders:

Parents of gays:

Jack Layton, our Member of Parliament:

That’s equivalent to a Congressman in the U.S.

It’s Pride Week

Thanks to Benjamin Geiger for the image!

This is Toronto’s Pride Week (or Pride Fortnight, June 6 – 30?) Ah, it’s officially June 19 -28. The festivities will be “hotting up” as we approach the weekend blow-out, when part of Church Street is  closed to become a pedestrian mall and celebration space. There’s a Dyke Parade (Dyke Hike?) and a main parade, in which the Mayor and various Members of Parliament or Members of Provincial Parliament ride.

We’re also having a strike by city workers. The pools are closed and garbage collection is cancelled. But Pride Week is going on, aside from cancelling a flag raising — no one to operate the flagpole, I suppose. The organizers will pay up to $20,000 to have private firms collect their litter.

Events include a 5km run or walk, the Pride & Remembrance Run, which raises money for worthy, gay-friendly causes, such as the hospice Casey House. Of course, some people will be running in costume. The run is on Saturday the 27th at 10 a.m., with refreshments afterwards.

Last Saturday there was an inclusive shabbat service held by Shir Libenyu congregation. Remember when “inclusive” was LGBT? That stands for “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transsexual.” Well, now it’s LBGTTIQQ for “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual,Transgender,* Intersex, Queer, & Questioning.” Free childcare is available during services.

*Some people say, “Two-spirited.”

I expect that some of the many out-of-town visitors will use their trip as a chance to get legally married.

I’m Henery the Eighth, I am!

Bike ride, Leslie Street Spit

We biked along the north shore of Lake Erie Ontario to Leslie Street Spit. We avoided the gravel road at the tip. So we took the right branch out to the end of pavement, back to the junction, then up other arm of the spit, and then back home.

Looking across beaver pond and other branch of the Spit to Toronto

The weather was fine and sunny, but a little cold. First ride of the season for me: 14 miles. I’ve forgotten how to change gears on my bike.

Wanted: licensed bird bander

The research station at Toronto’s Tommy Thompson Park, AKA the Leslie Street Spit, are hiring a licensed Bird Bander.

Books to read

I went to Book City today looking for this week’s copy of Nature, which is a special edition on evolution. They didn’t carry it,  but I found a few books. I manfully resisted the Best American Science Writing 2008 and Best American Science & Nature Writing 2008. But I did pick up three books:

• a set of John McPhee’s essays on American geology, Annals of the Former World
• a history of evolution of the animal kingdom, Creatures of Accident by Wallace Arthur
• a raging controversy in evolution that could be legitimately taught, Dawkins vs. Gould by Kim Sterelny. That’s approximately “the selfish gene” vs. punctuated equilibrium.

I also have a few books from last year in my to-be-read pile.

• I’d like to re-read The John McPhee Reader, a set of mixed essays about people, places, and science.
• Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson, about the Galveston Hurricane in 1900
• Coral: A Pessimist in Paradise, by Steve Jones
• In fiction, there’s Irving Wallace’s The Word and The New English Bible (with Apocrypha).
• And I still have Carl Zimmer’s Soul Made Flesh to read. His writing is always a treat.

On my trip to the bookstore and back I gave away two children’s books even though I hadn’t got around to registering them with Bookcrossing.

Danforth Valu-mart

Fresh fruit: Honey Crisp apples

On the day before Christmas we needed a few groceries. I planned to go to a store north of us but the traffic was very busy in that direction. So I went east instead and ended up at the Valu-mart on Danforth Avenue. The store is right at Woodbine and Danforth, close to a subway entrance. There is some free parking behind the store. It was pouring rain, so I was glad to be able to park near the doors. From the parking lot, I descended in an elevator to the shopping level, which exits on Danforth at ground level.  The store is of modest size, so choices are limited, but good. You can get Loblaws’  President’s Choice brand. There is a range of basic products plus a sprinkling of special items. The store looked clean and well stocked, not counting the depradations of the pre-Christmas hordes.

In the produce department I was surprised to find Honey Crisp apples, which are hard to get anywhere because they are so delicious.

Then I discovered some unique vegetables: as well as the standard white cauliflowers, there were orange, green, and purple ones called broccoflowers.

Unusual vegetables

It’s an interesting store and I think I’ll go back again.