When visiting the Allan Garden, my daughter and I got down at the college station. An enormous mural on the high story building caught our attention on the way towards the garden. I can't resist the temptation to capture it with my phone.
Later, I used Google lens to find out about the photo. This enormous one was created by Spanish street artist Okuda San Miguel in 2018 on a 23 storied building, The Parkside Student Residence.
The colourful art is called "Equibrilium Mural".To represent Toronto's gay community, the artist added the Pride Flag on the top. I was searching and found the meaning of each image online. you can see some information here
Many things about Toronto, where I transplanted my life, are not known to me. This colourful one really captures our attention. Glad I took the photo and used Google lens to search for it.
I know, my photo is not great. So I am sharing the following image from https://okudasanmiguel.com/.
Great talent, right? Have you used Google lens to find out information about your photos?
It has been over a year, I wanted to see the Allan Garden Conservatory.
This month, I visited the conservatory with my daughter.
It is a park and a conservatory in Toronto. The park has a leash-free area for dogs. Then there is a plan area for kids. The garden has several trees. We saw some tents in the park (maybe they belonged to homeless people).
The greenhouses are open year-round for free.
There is a pond with turtles. We stood there to enjoy the water feature.
The fish pond with beautiful fish and a fountain statue of "Leda and the Swan". The Greek god Zeus transformed as a swan near the lovely Leda, queen of Sparta. The swan seduced Leda, according to the story
The greenhouses will take you out of the city to the dreamland of plants and flowers. There are tropical plants as well as cactuses.
People were looking at the plants and drawing on their iPads. (artists, maybe?) Then there was an older woman sitting near the fish pond and relaxing.
The entrance to this place is free. I hope you enjoy the photos here. I really want to come back to this place.
I wish they were selling plants and flowers too. Don't you want to too?
I was getting curious when a family friend called about visiting an alpaca farm.
So we booked a guided tour with Kickin'back alpaca ranch. Our time slot was at 10 am. Markdale is about 2 hours away from Toronto.
The first thing we saw on the parking lot was their car with this registration!
That vehicle can transport two alpacas together. Their alpacas are trained to get in the van!
Alpacas were walking on the farm. Our guide took us to that area. There we were able to feed them from our hands. They don't have any upper teeth in the front. When they chew, we can see their lower teeth.
Their poop looked like that of goats. But, unlike goats, they go to the washroom in a fixed place. No, they were not trained to do that. It is their natural instinct.
Then we headed to see the pregnant girls and baby alpacas kept in the barn. Baby alpacas are called "cria". It was fun to have them munching treats from our hands. The fur is very soft and warm.
Alpacas are herd animals. We have to buy 3 together if we do not already have an alpaca farm! So, the farm won't sell one as a pet.
These cute animals fight with each other for no particular reason. We saw them spitting on each other. The tour guide explained that they fight by spitting on each other. They have bad aiming, so we're careful to not get spit on. We were told they have 3 chambers in their tummy. When they are outraged, they can spit the half-digested food, which will stain and stink your clothes.
That white mama got a cute black baby! The gestation period is 11 to 12 months. They usually give birth to one offspring. Our guide told us, if there is more than one baby, they will ignore one.
We saw one baby was going to a mama, and the mama was kicking it away. The guide explained that they won't feed babies other than that theirs. That was what happening there.
I can't finish this post without mentioning Marble, the barn cat.
Marble was with us from start to finish of the tour. . She is so cute and cuddly. We pet her as well. Alpacas love Marble, don't you see it?
I have never been to Algonquin park before. Since most Canadians are doing camping and staycation this year, it was hard to get reservations there. So, to view the fall colours we decided to go for a day trip. We got booked for Monday.
My husband and I both have knee problems. We wanted to have more accessible trails to hike. The Spruce Boardwalk trail fit well for us.
The parking lot there still had space. Most people finish this one in half an hour. Maybe because of that, we got parking fast.
Thousands of years ago, it was full of trees. Beavers made a dam in the Sunday creek, and the water made trees fall down, turning it into a lake and then a bog. The water in the Algonquin bogs lack oxygen and is acidic.
The trail is only 1.5 km.
That is on the trail. We saw water dripping from it.
The trail has boardwalk sections. Easy for people with mobility issues. I got hubby in this photo.
We saw mushrooms on the trees and on the ground.
Isn't it an artwork by nature?
Let me show a colourful fall view:
The photos remind me of the fun family time.
Have you been to any of the national parks recently? What was the most memorable thing about it?
I visited Ripley's aquarium before with my family. It was way too crowded at that time. Last week, I was there with a friend. She wanted to go there for some time. Because of the pandemic, we had to postpone it. Finally, I booked tickets.
At six in the evening, on a Friday, it was not busy. We wandered around for almost two hours. We were really got ourselves lost in the world of fish!
We saw a fish like this below. Was it dead???
Most were pleasant though. The sharks over your head were amazing! We happened to see a group singing "Happy Birthday" to a kid.
I started taking that video because I wasn't sure what happened to it. Everyone was happy to watch his dance!
Years ago I visited one of my friends at home. She has so many plants in the house. I never tried to grow anything before.
So, I bought a leafy plant and a miniature rose.
But, they both died after a month or so.
I thought I could not have plants in the house.
Then I happened to see an article about air-purifying plants. That is when I started to think about having houseplants. Pothos are air-purifying plants.
I got a pothos cutting from my husband's colleague. Then, I got some advice from google to keep it in water to get rooted. Once it did, I planted it in soil.
They can live in lowlight conditions. I usually water once a week in summer and biweekly or when the soil feels dry in winter. I use the water-soluble fertilizer once in a while.
The second one is my Jade plant. They have these shiny green leaves.
I found they are easy-care plants as well. I was searching online about plant propagation. We can propagate Jade Plant very quickly from plant cuttings or just leaves!
The third plant I have tested is Wandering Jew. It is interesting to have such a name.
It's purple and green striped leaves. They are easy to care for and propagate. It is adding a bit of colour to the indoor too.
All these three plants can be easily water propagated.
Do you have indoor plants? What type of plants do you love?
