Sand circles on the beach

I found evidence of unexplained sand circles on the beaches of Toronto, circles reminiscent of crop circles placed, in popular opinion, by visitors from another planet. I do not recognize the tracks or what possible equipment could have made the marks. The area is away from the nearest road - in fact the route is blocked by an insurmountable elevated walkway, and the shallow waters of the harbour seem to limit what could approach from Lake Ontario.

No these circular tracks must have been made from UFO's dropping down from the sky. Maybe they trail their resource stealing tubes in a pattern to extract gold and silver (or other rare resource from their home planet) from the water's edge.

I mean, look close at the marks above, I have never seen anything even remotely resembling the patterns pressed into the sand (confirmed unknown after extensive work with Google Images). We may never know the origin of the signs, most surely from outside the Earth's atmosphere, so we can only surmise that it is for some horrible purpose. I hope that we can prevail in the upcoming fight, hopefully the birds will keep watch and alert us to any invasion.

Update: I thought I heard that sightings of extraterrestrials has occurred. They have been described as slightly portly giants - I think they may have even caught one, they certainly have tried to tie it up, but in fury and desperation the giant pulled free and stomped on people. Run people, run!

Beachin' volleyball

I think there were a lot of pro volleyball players out on the hot sands of Ashbridges Bay Beach. I am not sure, they might have even been Brazillian. They may have been practicing for next weekends Not So Pro Beach Volleyball tour on August 12-14, 2011.

See more pictures after the jump.

Toronto hits 37.9 degrees C on July 21, 2011

At the Toronto Airport - and humidity makes it feel close to 50 degrees Celcius today- booyah! The temperature in Toronto peaked at close to 5pm. It's summer now so find a beach, an umbrella, sunscreen and a wobbly pop and enjoy Mother Natures' blast of heat. If you can't find a beach look for a pond or fountain - like the one found in the Toronto Eaton Centre.

Sometimes you have to give in to the weather and find fun wherever you can cool off. Time for watersports, beach volleyball and walking around in bikinis.

The Weather Network reports this weather warning from Environment Canada.

Weather Warning

Issued at 9:35 PM EDT Thursday 21 July 2011

Summary

Extreme temperatures and humidex values will continue this evening. The humid tropical air mass has arrived as expected. The strong July sun has caused the mercury to soar well into the middle and upper thirties. Combining the record setting temperatures with the high humidity in this tropical air mass has resulted in oppressive humidex values in the low to mid forties across all of Southern Ontario. The situation will continue into this evening. Current indications suggest that a weak front will slip through tonight. However in the wake of the front it will continue to be hot on Friday with temperatures in the low to mid thirties but somewhat less humid. Well above normal temperatures will continue into the weekend for most of Southern Ontario with temperatures reaching the low thirties again on Saturday. It will be the combination of the duration of the high heat along with warm overnight conditions which makes this heat event particularly significant. During times of high heat and humidity, it is critical to stay properly hydrated by drinking Plenty of fluid like water or juice. Strenuous outdoor activities should be scheduled during the early morning or evening hours. Wear loose fitting, light weight clothing and spend as much time as possible in air conditioned places. Stay out of the sun and never leave elderly, children or pets unattended in a car.

Cherry Beach kite surfing

Bright kites were in the sky above Cherry Beach as the kite surfers were enjoying the strong winds found down along the lake today.

Lonely Cherry Beach

The past weekend fickle weather kept many away from the beaches of Toronto. At Cherry Beach the line of lifeguards looked out into the empty water, rowboats and flotation devices at the ready. Sadly only birds swam in the cool waters of Lake Ontario.

So, let's take a gander at the weather that is upcoming for the Canada Day long weekend fun. So far they tend to say the weekend will be beautiful, then at the last minute they forecast cool temps and cloudy skies, with more than a little chance of disgustingly large amounts of precipitation. As of right now the forecast calls for sunny and warm temperatures from Thursday to Sunday - except for some rain on Saturday (isolated showers, less than 1mm). 

The beaches should be crowded this weekend but if you want a guarantee of bikinis I suggest you go to the Ms Chin Bikini contest this Saturday, July 2, 2011 at noon in Exhibition Place.

Beaches of Toronto

Sunday is just what summer should be - sunny and warm. The blue skies were out to bless everyone with a little kiss of sky and some exposed skin. Early morning sun fought off the fog and later in the morning rising temperatures started to warm up the sand and brought out the sun worshipers to beaches along Lake Ontario. There were also tons of boaters out, including teams of Dragon Boats practicing for a big race. Sunnyside Park has beach volleyball courts set up and there is a large patio which is just perfect for viewing the action.

This sculpture looks exactly like what you find at the bottom of a drain

Parking lots along Lakeshore are easily accessible and if you bring your bike you can travel from site to site to find the perfect combination of sand and beach. See more beaches after the jump.

The inner harbour near Ontario Place

HTO Park

Cherry Beach and their weird beach trees

Beach on Centre Island and wharf below

Entrance to Hanlan's Point clothing optional beach - there was a large turnout at the beach

Cherry Beach in the fog

Cherry Beach was lonely in the early morning spring fog. The lifeguard towers and rescue stations were empty, thongs were still packed away. You could hear the loud squawks of birds that fill the Leslie Street Spit   just across the way.

The leash free dog zone had scattered canines and isolated groups of dog friends, you know friends that get to know each other walking their dogs in the same place at the same time. The bugs are starting to come out but not really biting yet, just large clouds of bugs floating in the air - probably bug friends, you know flying in the same area at the same time, looking for targets to bite and keeping away from birds. Besides the dogs you could find dragon boats practicing for some upcoming races and some kayakers getting in a nice workout.

small droplets of dew gather in a pesky fluffy dandelion

See more of Cherry Beach and Cherry Street after the jump.

Dew filled the early tree growth and their were craploads of yellow snails climbing in the bushes and getting their slime over stuff.

Ontario Volleyball at Ashbridges Bay

Ontario Volleyball had a large competition down at Ashbridges Bay/Woodbine Beaches as players started in the light mist and heavy fog of yet another beautiful Toronto weekend. I didn't even see any visible sunscreen and the typical beach volleyball swimwear was replaced with winter parkas.

The competitions looked pretty fierce with mens, ladies and youth games on the massive beach - it looked like a colourful net farm and the crop was doing good (probably all that rain).

Don't forget Hope Volleyball: Toronto's Largest Charity Volleyball Tournament on the Toronto Island on Saturday June 18, 2011.

See more pictures after the jump.