Thursday, May 26, 2011

Where in the World?

Last May, I left Canada for another continent. Perhaps you will recognize where these videos were taken.

1. The first video was taken at night. This city has a huge population, so it has streets full of high rises on busy streets. In Toronto, I live in a house and beside me are other houses. There are no high rises on my street. There are no buildings over two or three stories high.

It was very different for me to stay on the 37th floor and walk down a street with tall apartment buildings beside each other. Also, at night, this city is full of lights. In Toronto, my street only has street lights beside the sidewalks and some neighbours leave on their front door light.




2. This is further south in the same country. Again, this city has a large population. This is Saturday night in an area full of restaurants and a bizarre. Look at all the lights! It must be expensive to pay for all this electricity. Bright signs and people are everywhere.




3. This video is in a smaller city in the south. At night, many people joined activities in the parks and other open spaces. Here, couples are dancing outside. I also saw people participating in exercise classes. One exercise class met under a bridge and there were hundreds of people exercising together.




So, did you decide what country I visited? China? The first place is Shanghai, then Hong Kong and finally, Meizhou.

When you think of your native country, is it different than Canada? How is it different than Canada? How do the people live? What do they do?





Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Ontario:Trivia and Facts


Yes, it's spring and I am a gardener, but these are wild flowers. In fact, this is Ontario's official flower, the trillium. It grows at the edge of the woodlands in May. These photos are from High Park near Grenadine Pond. If you are in any big parks or in the Ontario countryside, look into the forest. You will see these small white flowers scattered under the trees. If you are really lucky, you will see a dark red trillium which is rare. One warning! Please don't pick the trilliums. It is illegal to pick our provincial flower.

To celebrate this Ontario flower, here is a trivia quiz about the province. Are you an Ontarian? Then you should know the answers to most of these questions.

Remember, if you do not understand a word, double click the word. Then you will get the meaning and more information.

1. The capital of Ontario is
a) Toronto b) Ottawa c) Kingston

2. Ontario is between
a) Alberta and Quebec
b) Nunavut and Manitoba
c) Quebec and Manitoba

3. Ontario is beautiful, but is does not have
a) Niagara Falls b) Rocky Mountains c) Algonquin Park

4. Toronto is the biggest city. Tourists will not find
a) CN Tower b) Casa Loma c) Banff

5. The premier of Ontario is
a) Dalton McGuinty b) Stephen Harper c) Jack Layton

6. The large body of water to the south is Lake Ontario and to the north is
a) Atlantic Ocean b) Lake Erie c) Hudson Bay

7. Which Canadian singer was not born in Ontario
a) Shania Twain b) Celine Dion c) Justin Bieber

8. This Canadian actor or actress was not born in Ontario
a) Jim Carrey (The Mask, Dumb and Dumber)
b) Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future, Stuart Little)
c) Ellen Page (Juno, Inception)

9. The official bird of Ontario is the
a) Canadian Goose b) Loon c) Blue Jay


I have lived most of my life in Ontario, so the first questions are easy for me to pull from my head. The next questions are Ontario statistics and I got some help from "Ontario Travel". Try these questions. Then check your answers below.

10. Ontario has 250,000 lakes or
a) 20% of the world's fresh water
b) 1/3 of the world's fresh water
c) 1/10 of the world's fresh water

11. The population of Ontario is 12 million or
a) 1 in 5 Canadians
b) 1 in 10 Canadians
c) 1 in 3 Canadians

12. Spring is from March to May. The average spring temperature is 8 Celsius (46 Fahrenheit) to
a) 18 degrees Celsius (64 Fahrenheit)
b) 22 degrees Celsius (72 Fahrenheit)
c) 15 degrees Celsius (59 Fahrenheit)



Would you like to learn more about Ontario? Try these sites.





Answers: 1a, 2c, 3b, 4c, 5a, 6c, 7b, 8a, 9b, 10b, 11c, 12a





Sunday, May 8, 2011

Spring in Toronto:High Park



Picnic season is starting. One of the best places for a picnic is under a cherry tree in High Park,Toronto. Better yet, if you go at the end of the cherry blossom season, the pink flowers will fall of the tree and float down around you. Cherry blossoms fall off rather than fade away.

This photo is from the weeping cherry tree in my backyard. For a spectacular show, see the rows of mature cherry trees in bloom at High Park right now.

Where are the blossoms?


What's at High Park?

High Park is a huge park in the west end of Toronto. I've taken a bike on the subway to the High Park stop. You can bike in the park. There's a children's playground, a free zoo, a swimming pool, a dog park and a restaurant. In the summer, there's an outdoor theatre. Watching a play under the stars is a lot of fun. For more information, check out the official High Park site.




Related Posts:


April Buds Open

April showers bring May flowers.

Yeh! The flowers are blooming. The last photo (below) shows the buds in rainy April. Now look at the colour in May! It's just starting.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Expressions of Spring

April showers
Bring May flowers

This year, we got a lot of rain:( When you look around the world, I think our weather isn't that bad. The cloudy days affect us all, but we live in safe dry homes.

In a few days, the flowers will blossom on this bush. Maybe, I will be able to photograph this plant in bloom. It usually blooms around Mother's Day which is the second Sunday in May.

I was walking the dog in the rain and thinking of the many English expressions that use weather vocabulary. Here are ten sayings or expressions. Most of these use words from spring weather. Can you guess the meaning of these expressions?

1. I feel under the weather:(

2. Don't rain on my parade.

3. Get your head out of the clouds!

4. It's raining cats and dogs.

5. I'm going to my friend's bridal shower.

6. He showered me with gifts:)

7. He is no spring chicken.

8. It never rains but it pours.

9. Could I take a rain check?

10. The calm after the storm.



Related Post: