I bring the bicycle down to Toronto to see what is new with the Big Smoke. I start from one of the Lakeshore parking lots east of the Humber River and ride east to the Distillery District, returning past Dundas Square and Queen Street and finishing on the bike path along Lakeshore. The CNE, or the EX, opens in Toronto on Friday August 17 and I take a tour through the grounds as a massive army sets up for the event. A gaggle (swarm?) of mounted police gather at the Princes' Gates for a quick conference.

CNE workers prepare for the opening of the fair, rides and concessions are still being set up the day before the opening. Squads of workers wash and clean and await the massive crowds that go to the EX. When we lived in North York I would go every year to the EX, now I return every couple of years to see what has changed and what has stayed the same. We always love to hear the great jingles that they come up with for promoting the event like "Let's go to the EX" and "Like always, like never before."

Continuing my treks into nature I find Tiffany Falls in Hamilton. The creek has cut a steep path through the escarpment's shale and limestone layers - fascinating details of the composition of the Niagara Escarpment can be found here. The summer weather with a decided lack of rain has reduced the flow considerably. I leave for another waterfall - Borer's Falls, but it only has a trickle of water falling down it's face. Spring flow and Autumn colours are the best time to take pictures of waterfalls.

Dynamike gets some help from Tina as she throws him his juggling knives while he is perched high atop a tall unicycle during the 2007 Toronto Buskerfest. Mike kept calling Tina his girlfriend even though she was reluctantly picked out of the audience and helped out for a large part of his show. The shows going on were fantastic but the crowds made it difficult to see if you did not get a good location early on. Sitting on the ground was painful but necessary in the first couple of rows. The event ran for three days along Front Street in the St Lawrence Market area of downtown Toronto.

Kromatik was back to paint some faces with their graphic and colourful designs. A member of Les Walkyrie (The Vikings) group puts flame to her chain of death in the picture below.

The musical ride on a shoestring budget - The Renfrews, brought along their trusty steeds for precision riding without the need for pooper scoopers (I hope).

You have to get to a show area early to watch the performances by the talented street acts as thousands of people have come for the great entertainment. They were many acts to watch and the rain did not slow us down for too long. You can watch some of the short videos of the great shows I made with the following groups - Les Walkyrie, The Russian Bar Trio and The Sprockets.

With the CNE on in Toronto and our family visit to the Band cottage done we can't help but feel the end of summer. It hasn't rained much this year (except when we go to festivals!) but the clouds have been pretty dramatic anyway. This is the old beach area of Fairy Lake. There were quite a few family groups out fishing along the banks of the lake on this quiet Sunday.