Hello and welcome to Weekend Coffee Share #18! I’m glad you’re here. Please come on in, help yourself to a cup of coffee, or tea, or hot chocolate at my coffee station.
This past week has been fun and productive. A new month just began so I mapped out new cycling and walking itineraries, started a new body weight training program, and updated my reading list. Here are five fun finds from my cycling and walking excursions.
1. Purple Flowers
Jude at Travel Words blog asked “Have you any purples in your neighbourhood?” – Yes, I have many. Tulips and hyacinths are some of the common flowers in spring here and their blooms are beautiful. Here are my picks.
2. Heritage Churches
Continuing my visits to historic and surviving buildings in Toronto, I found two churches designed by the same architect Henry Bowyer Lane: Little Trinity Church on King Street East and the Church of the Holy Trinity at Trinity Square.
Little Trinity Church: The Tudor Gothic church was built in 1843 making it the oldest surviving church building in Toronto. The structure is red brick with accents of tan brick and stone. The 18 m (60 ft) square bell tower has contrasting octagonal buttresses at each of its four corners.
Click on any image in the following gallery to enlarge it.
Front view 
History 
Main doors
The Church of the Holy Trinity: The modest Gothic Revival structure was built in 1847. Like many Gothic churches, the Church of the Holy Trinity uses limestone for its foundation and window tracery, as well as sandstone, brick, and wood.
3. Henry Scadding House
While I walked around the Church of the Holy Trinity, I found the old Rectory and Henry Scadding House built in 1862 adjacent to the church. Henry Scadding was the church’s first rector and Toronto’s first historian. He lived here until his death in 1901.
History 
Old Rectory Door
Linked to Dan’s Thursday Doors.
4. Weather Beacon
Terri’s Sunday Stills Weather theme inspired me to share Toronto’s weather beacon at the top of the Canada Life building and its code.
The Canada Life building is a historic office building opened in 1931 in Toronto. The fifteen-floor Beaux Arts building stands at 97.8 m (321 feet) including its 12.5-metre-tall weather beacon.
Fun facts about the Toronto’s weather beacon:
- It’s Canada’s oldest weather beacon.
- It’s been keeping Torontonians abreast of weather conditions since 1951.
Employees at Canada Life’s front desk update the weather forecast four times a day in conjunction with Environment Canada’s weather station at Toronto Pearson International Airport. If you’re looking up at the tower, here’s how to read the code.
The beacon light on top indicates sky conditions:
- Solid green = clear
- Solid red = cloudy
- Flashing red = rain
- Flashing white = snow
The beacon tower lights explain the temperature story:
- Lights shooting up = temperature is warming
- Lights shooting down = temperature is cooling
- Lights steady = steady temperature
The time of day is also important:
- Daytime = signals the balance for the day
- Night time = forecasts for the following day
Sunny or cloudy or rainy or snowy, as long as it’s not extreme, I dress for the weather and head outside to explore. For my cycling and walking, the cool temperatures in Spring feel great.
Move the slider arrows to compare the following images.
5. Goose Diet
We had sun, clouds, wind, and rain this past week. I wondered how Lucy the nesting goose was doing on windy or rainy nights. I found her nesting and looking healthy. She got a new “wall” as the Empire Sandy tall ship has docked next to her nest. A flyer from Ontario Waterfowl Society, attached near the nest, gives interesting tidbit about her diet.
I’ve got more fun finds to share next week. Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday to those of you celebrating!
Linked to #LifeThisWeek.
How did your week go? I’d love to hear your comments.
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Natalie the Explorer 
Hi Natalie – that weather beacon is amazing – I’ve never seen anything like it before and I think we need a local one! I’m also very impressed with Canadian geese eating all those mosquitoes – definitely a service to mankind 🙂
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Hi Leanne, I really like how Toronto’s weather beacon communicates the weather conditions by code. I look up to the beacon whenever I’m in its vicinity. Canada geese are my outdoor pets and “mosquito terminators”. I don’t get mosquito bites when I cycle or walk along the lake shore where there are many Canada geese.
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I am amazed to learn that Canada Geese eat their weight in mosquitoes every day. That is incredible! Love those beautiful purple flowers.
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I thought that was interesting information to share. Now we like the Canada geese a little bit more.
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As someone who is fascinated by the weather, I enjoyed learning about Toronto’s largest beacon. Beautiful photographs, Natalie!
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Thank you, Jill, for your compliment about my photos. I thought it would be interesting to share how Toronto’s weather beacon communicates the weather conditions by code, and it’s been doing that for 70 years.
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I have always hated the Candian Geese that camp out on our lawn making messes, hissing at us and chasing our cars around the driveway but now… knowing they eat so many mosquitos??? I think I might just love them! LOL. Those flowers are so pretty and I just love the old churches.
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I like how the Canada geese eat so many mosquitoes. I see many Canada geese along the lake shore here and yep, no mosquito bite on me.
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Thanks so much for catching us up on your week and what a lovely set of floral photos. I loved reading about the weather beacon. A great city for stories to share. Today I am sharing the “last” of the posts from Telling MY Story. I have caught up. Yay. Only took 4 years. See you again soon for more commenting. I am off to bed. 11 pm here. Denyse PS always grateful for your link up.
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Yay, Denyse, for all caught up with your story. It takes time, patience and good memory to write down your eventful years. Thank you for linking up with #weekendcoffeeshare.
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Thanks so much for linking up for Life This Week, reading the post on Knowing by my husband Bernard and for your kind words. He tells me, despite earlier thoughts, that he would like another go at this blog thing sometime this year. Looking forward to seeing your post for Share Your Snaps (optional of course!) next Monday, 17 May 2021. Denyse
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Glad to hear your husband enjoyed blogging. See you at the link-up.
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I love the doors and the history. It was sad to read about the church being destroyed by fire. I am so glad it was restored. I also didn’t know about geese eating mosquitoes- that’s pretty cool. We had a building in Pittsburgh that had a weather beacon at top. I think it still does. I like the idea.
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Dan, These old and surviving buildings sure have interesting history. I was impressed that Henry B. Lane was 25 years young when he designed Little Trinity Church. I was also glad that the church was restored after the fire in 1961. Canada geese are my outdoor “pets” for their big mosquito appetite. I like how Toronto’s weather beacon communicates in code and it’s been doing it for 70 years.
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I’m fascinated by the beacon light. That’s cool. As for 5 fun finds of my week… not much to tell here. Cannot tell you how happy I’ll be when I can answer a question like that off the top of my head. Soon…
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Ally, I’m glad you’re fascinated by the beacon light. When I wrote this post, I wasn’t sure if anyone would find a weather beacon interesting. I love its code and look for its message when I’m in the vicinity. I hope the weather is nice in your area and lots of fun come your way.
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Those tulips and hyacinths are fabulous colours. I particularly like the combination of flowers in the first photo.
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Jude, I like that combo, too. The different spring flowers appear to be in harmony.
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I am glad the geese eat mosquitoes. We get Canada geese here in the desert too. The hyacinths and tulips are lovely.
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When I saw that flyer, I thought it would be interesting to share. I’m glad you like the flowers.
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Yes, it is interesting.
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I really like the seasonal contrast photographs! And the lovely flowers to open. The historical buildings…this area was settled and townships formed around 1871, when the railroad system got to this area of North Dakota/Minnesota. That was close to the time that my father’s people arrived here from Norway and Ireland. I did enjoy walking around Washington, D.C. and New York City, my few ventures East..So much change over the centuries!
Again, thanks much for the topic selections! I do so enjoy the variety and quality of your posts.
Lizl
In case my ping-back doesn’t show up:
https://straycoffee.wordpress.com/2021/05/07/poetry-and-me/
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Lizl, I’m glad you enjoy the variety and quality of my posts. I take that as a compliment, thank you. Your ping back worked fine. I like flowers, colours, history, art, architecture, nature, etc. so I’ll share more of them in my coming posts.
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WOW, again the purple!! beautiful. thanks for the picture show.
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Thank you, Ruth, for your comment. I greatly appreciate it.
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😊
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Wow snow upon flowers… Need to see it once at least
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Yes, that was our spring snow. I went outside to take pictures after the snow stopped falling and before the sun melted all of it.
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Lucky u..here where I live we hardly get snow so it’s v wondrous for me
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Yes, I appreciate the four seasons where I live.
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Your posts are always a feast for the eyes and put a smile on my face, Natalie. You will likely see my personal message to you. Spring is beautiful throughout Canada, and in many places on our planet. New information for me about Toronto’s weather beacon. This is great information to share with my husband. Interesting and fun with the comparison photos. Thank you for sharing and always a bright moment in my day. 🌻
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Welcome back to blogging, Erica/ Erika! I got your personal message, thank you. I was typing a reply then got interrupted. I hope you’ve been doing well.
I like Toronto’s weather beacon a lot and look for its code when I’m in the vicinity. When I wrote the section about the weather beacon, I wasn’t sure if anyone would find the weather beacon interesting but I like it so much, I decided to write it for me 🙂 I hope Chuck finds it interesting.
I use WordPress “image compare” option for the comparison photos. It’s a neat feature.
Thank you for stopping by. Have a great weekend!
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Very cool about the weather beacon!! And those purple flowers are absolutely glorious. Here it’s the season for bluebells, but I’m not sure I’m going to get any photos this year, it’s very cold and windy and just not pleasant to be outside. Hope you get a good weekend!
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I hope the weather improves soon so you can enjoy being outside and your garden. Spring flower blooms are beautiful and colourful around here. Have a wonderful weekend!
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I really feel like I am exploring Toronto through your posts. And those flowers are stunning.
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There are many flower blooms in May here and they all look beautiful. I hope you enjoy exploring Toronto through my posts.
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A lot of interesting facts this week, Natalie! That Weather Beacon sounds fascinating and fun to watch. Have you been there in different conditions and seen some of the different weather forecasts by looking up? So cool! So, whenever the geese are around the mosquitoes are as well? 🙂
Thanks for hosting another Weekend Coffee Share. I’ve linked back to it from my blog now.
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Oh yes, Liesbet, that weather beacon is my friend. I look at it whenever I’m in its vicinity. Used to be more often before the lockdown. I’ve seen the codes for various weather forecasts. I think mosquitoes are everywhere but there are less of them where the Canada geese are. Thank you for linking your blog to Weekend Coffee Share.
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Another fun post Natalie and I loved what you did with the slider and images. Those purple tulips are beautiful and as always your walks around your city are informative and enjoyable. Thanks for another #weekendcoffeeshare. I’m running in the Mothers’ Day Classic tomorrow. An annual tradition with my daughter in memory of my Mum. Have a lovely weekend. x
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Sue, Your annual tradition with your daughter is fantastic. Have a great run at the Mother’s Day Classic! All the races here have been cancelled since March 2020 due to covid-19. Hopefully they’ll resume next year.
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They all said what I was thinking (lol), appreciated the picture of Trinity Church and the plaque. How wonderful to see they found a sense of purpose in changing times. I liked the slider picture, had never seen such a thing and your pictures always make me want to visit Toronto! Perhpas one day. Thanks for hosting. Best and blessings, Michele
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Thank you, Michele, for your comment. I use WordPress “image compare” option for the slider picture. I’m glad you like my photos. I’m fond of Toronto and enjoy sharing my city with my blog readers.
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It was good to see some bright splash of purple this morning. Thanks for sharing those beauties.
Regarding your passion for exploring historic places, it would be nice to see VLOGS from your end in the long run. As your posts are quite informative, people will love to visit your channel. Just a thought 🙂
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Moumita, Welcome back! Thank you for your Vlogs suggestion. I may experiment with it one day. I’ll visit your coffee share this weekend.
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As always I love to see the photos of old buildings. The purple tulips are stunning and the information about the weather tower is fascinating. That would be cool to see. I just googled a video so I could see it in action. So cool
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Kirstin, When I wrote about the weather beacon, I wasn’t sure if anyone would find the weather beacon interesting but I like it so much, I decided to write it for me. I’m glad you viewed it in action.
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That’s a lot of mosquitoes being devoured by the geese. I had no idea!!
Hasn’t this been a crazy spring weather-wise? I love forsythia – I remember its fragrance from childhood. Can’t find it here but have some sweet broom growing that reminds me of it. Those daffodils and the purple tulips and hyacinths are gorgeous. What color!! I took so many pictures of flowers when we were in Kentucky and Ohio last week. Just can’t find the same beautiful plants here in the desert and I miss them.
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Forsythia yellow colour is cheerful. When I see them, they make me smile. I’m glad you photographed flowers in Kentucky and Ohio. The photos bring them close to you when you don’t have the same beautiful plants in the desert.
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I love your “slidey” photos! They are so cute! and show contrast so very well!
Thank you for the burst of purple flowers – it is my favourite colour!
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I used the “image compare” option in WordPress. I’m glad you like my “slidey” photos and my share of purple flowers.
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Ah yes! I’d tried “image compare” once before after seeing it on someone’s post. After seeing yours, I will definitely try it again!
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I look forward to seeing your image comparison. WP block editor has some neat features.
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Hi, Natalie – That Weather Beacon is very, very cool. And I had no idea just how much a single Canadian Goose eats each day. (I seriously need to pay better attention).
Thank you for another great Weekend Coffee Share.
Wishing you a very Happy Mother’s Day!!
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Hi Donna, I think it’s amazing that the Toronto’s weather beacon has been operating for 70 years. Thank you for stopping by. Happy Mother’s Day weekend!
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Hi Natalie, that weather beacon is fantastic, I’ve not seen or heard of it before! I love the purple tulips too. Have a great weekend.
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Hi Debbie, Isn’t it amazing that Toronto’s weather beacon has been operating for 70 years with a simple and useful code? Thank you for stopping by. Have a great weekend!
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I loved your explanation of the weather beacon. I always learn something new when visiting your blog.
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Thank you, Astrid, for your comment. I took it as a compliment 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed reading the code of Toronto’s weather beacon. It makes me feel connected to my city and local weather conditions.
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Oh yes, I meant it as a compliment indeed.
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Hi Natalie. Who doesn’t love checking out an old church and these were magnificent. I too had not heard the story behind the weather beacons. Surprising because I normally catch those kind of things, but that’s the beauty of blogging, right?
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Hi Gary, Yes to the beauty of blogging. I’m glad you liked the churches and weather beacon that I shared in my post. Have a great weekend!
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There are some beautiful historical sites in Toronto. I always enjoy your posts about them.
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Thank you, Regina, for your comment. I’m interested in historic and surviving buildings in Toronto. I share what I find every week so I’m glad you enjoy my posts about them.
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Some great discoveries – old architecture is always interesting. Nice to know the goose’s diet – I like geese and knowing they are eating mosquitoes makes me even more fond of them! I try to get out every day, no matter the weather.
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I thought I’d share good words for the geese 🙂 It’s great that you stay active no matter the weather.
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Geese get a bad reputation, so nice words are needed. Agreed, we need to stay active, no matter the weather.
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Hi Natalie, Your post had so many interesting facts. Many of us didn’t know about the mosquito diet of geese. They are a welcome bird everywhere! The weather tower interested me, also. Do you know how it works? Is it done manually or is there some kind of weather magic going on up there? Your church information is always interesting for architectural interests as well as the religious side. Have you read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet? “The Pillars of the Earth is a historical novel by Welsh author Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. Set in the 12th century” Wikipedia. If you haven’t read it, I know you would enjoy it. My post this week is my interview with John Steiner – PhotosbyJohnbo. I had a great time interviewing him via Zoom.
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Hi Marsha, The weather beacon and tower lights are operated manually by Canada Life building employees. The original switches are at the “switchboard” on the 1st floor. They still work after all these 70 years. The lighting and wiring were updated to LED lighting in 2019. Before the pandemic, the building was open to the public as part of Doors Open event in May. It’s a beautiful building to visit.
Thank you for suggesting The Pillars of the Earth. I’ve heard of the book but haven’t read it yet. To add to my to-be-read list. You’re fab with your interviews and how you conduct them. I’ll hop over to your blog next.
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Thanks, Natalie. You will love the book. It fits in with the buildings you’ve been sharing. It puts you into the mindset of the builder – different era, but I can imagine that the thoughts were similar. 🙂
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Those are some great finds. So very cool. Love the churches. Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
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Thank you, Patrick, for your comment. I greatly appreciate it. Have a nice weekend!
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Love the two slide shows that are same, same but different. I’ve never seen it done like that before.
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Great to hear from you, Inspiring Max. I hope you’ve been doing well. I used the “image compare” feature in WordPress to compare the two images. Just need two photos of the same size. Easy-peasy.
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Thanks I will look into it some time in the future.
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Love the purple flowers! And I really like the contrasting images of the sunny and cloudy views and the flowers with and without snow! So clever! Hope you have a lovely week ahead, Natalie!
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Sanch, I was getting creative to demo the weather conditions, hehe. WordPress “image compare” option makes it easy to do. I’m glad you liked the results. Have a fantastic week ahead!
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The purple is gorgeous. Thanks a bunch for the tour.
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Thank you, Antoinette, for your comment. I greatly appreciate it. Have a wonderful weekend!
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Wonderful post and another fun tour of Toronto, Natalie! I really enjoyed seeing your weather image compares. What a difference in the weather, both so beautiful in their own ways. The weather center is so interesting with the different codes for types of weather. Hope you’re enjoying some great outdoor weather this week!
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Hi Terri, The weather forecast is good for today and next week. It’s great for cycling and walking outside. Thank you for hosting Sunday Stills. Have a wonderful weekend and upcoming week!
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I love purple tulips! I should plant some more. Mine are mostly red. Love the slider effect on the cloud photo! Thanks for another amazing tour!
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The tulips are gorgeous here in May. They come in so many colours, too. Thank you, Kathleen, for stopping by. Have a great weekend!
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Purple flowers are my favourites! I love Toronto 🙂
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Thank you, Nikki, for your visit and comment. I’m glad to hear you love Toronto and purple flowers. I blog weekly and host the Weekend Coffee Share link-up from Friday to Sunday. You’re welcome to join my link-up any and every week. I hope to see you again next week.
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That box verandah is gorgeous. #Lifethisweek
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Thank you, Lydia, for your comment. I greatly appreciate it.
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Beautiful photos Natalie, I just Love tulips and the hyacinth is gorgeous too! I always love having coffee with you and catching up. I’ve been traveling, last weekend to my daughter’s, this weekend to my son’s house so it’s been difficult to share coffee on my blog. I’ll see this evening if I can make it before the cut off. I’m just drinking in this precious family time. ❤️ ~Diana
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I love hearing from you, Diana. So glad you’ve been to your daughter’s and your son’s. Definitely drink in the precious family time. Blog when you can. Have a nice weekend and a great week ahead!
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Tulips are my favourite flower and those purple ones are amazing.
I love Henry Scadding House but – as someone who’s already started planning their final (retirement) home – I’m conscious of getting something on one level without steps. My mother has had two hip replacements and a knee replacement and though she’s pretty active she struggles with steps. It makes me wonder how they coped (once upon a time) with so many stairs as people got older?!
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Deborah, We have lots of tulips in different colours in May here. This year there seems to be more purple tulips than last year.
The Henry Scadding House is tall IRL. I didn’t get to see the interior. I think older people would just live on the main floor and leave other rooms untouched if they didn’t move to a one-level before they got too old. Scadding was the church’s rector so he could walk over to the church in the same square.
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Hi Natalie – I love the purple flowers you’ve shared (especially the tulips – I adore tulips) and the beautiful churches and the weather beacon and its explanation and its code is especially intriguing! I’ve never heard of any such thing before – so interesting! I also never knew that geese ate mosquitos! I’m always learning – so thank you! Hope you have a wonderful week. xo
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Hi Min, I’m glad to share interesting or intriguing stories with you. May is the peak month for tulip blooms here and they come in many colours. Thank you for linking with Weekend Coffee Share.
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Purple is my favorite color. Those tulips are beautiful!
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Julie, I’m glad to my choice of colour for this post is your favourite colour. Have a great week!
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As well as great images there were fun facts galore in this one. Love the weather beacon and the nesting goose, but the idea of rental charges on pews? I never knew they used to do that! Have a great week. (And sorry I missed linking up this week…)
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Things we learn from reading history! Thank you for stopping by, Jo. I hope your week is going well and hope to see you at the upcoming Weekend Coffee Share link-up.
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Natalie, a treat of a tour and thank you so much for sharing your fun facts! Love the purple of the flowers, the tulips are particularly gorgeous! As for the weather beacon, wow! At first I thought what was all the fuss about but yeah, I love its way of signalling the weather far and wide. Your explanatory notes are brilliant! Hope you’re having a good start to the week! xx
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Thank you, Annika, for your comment. May is prime tulip time here and there are so many beautiful tulip varieties. The weather beacon has been sending its code to local residents for 70 years. I feel a connection to it. I hope your week is going well. Enjoy spring!
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