On Roncesvalles in T.O.

Toronto,like much of Canada, has had to suffer what might be passed off as the slings and arrows of Global Warming. More variable weather with greater swings and extremes. The following pictures tell the story:

Even the trees and powerlines are filled with snow.

Its on days and weeks like this in the WinterTime – I wait for a a less blustery opportunity to take a walk down Roncesvalles. With a name like that, one would expect the street to be crammed with Portugese, Spanish, or even Italian stores and shops. But Roncy has gone Eastern European, particularly Polish for the past 30-50 years. True, there is still a mix of Latin and East Asian residents, but Polska is the dominant lingual riff.

Thus one cannot help but see the various Catholic churches dotting the main way. Even in winter they have ther own drama.

But equally of interest is the colorful murals and exotic paintings adorning the shops and stores. It is as if the community has supplanted graffiti (thriving just up the way on Dundas) with communal murals and shop decoration.

And although the big banks and a few major chains line the street, predominately its the butcher, the baker and the coffee maker that thrives on Roncesvalles. Oh and not a few a corner grocery stores.

This is what makes walking and shopping along the street so engaging in the dead of Winter.

It is the sweet

and colorful

promise of Spring.

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