The nice thing about living in the suburbs (now my Toronto friends will say that St Clair is not the suburbs, but it feels like it many days) on a quiet, deadend street is that there are birds.

This week alone I've seen a big fat robin hopping along the ground - is it our robins or the British ones that hop? - anyway it was on the grass, not at all disturbed by the war zone of children's toys left by my neighbours' children - and a very large blue jay. Maybe they stood out being so colourful in what is still a very dark and grey "spring", but anyway it was a treat for me in this city to see them.

There is also another bird of some sort that I hear every morning that sounds something like a car alarm going off. I've not been able to identify this bird, but I have determined that it is in fact a bird and not a car alarm - but it's that loud and consistent in its song. Wakes me up for sure...