It took an entire day, but the Great Sorauren Pumpkin Patch is no more. Starting at 7:30 this morning, seven men loaded five trucks with pumpkins left in the park on Saturday night. The combined weight, equivalent to about eight tonnes, will be taken to a City of Toronto compost facility tomorrow morning. Pumpkins are heavy, slimy, and after at least a week left out in the air, kinda smelly, so I didn't envy the men as they threw jack-o'-lantern after jack-o'-lantern into the truck. And though it may be faint, I thank you for the long day of lifting and throwing... after all, those pumpkins made for one spectacular evening.

Last night I discovered where pumpkins go to retire. A gathering of hundreds of carved Halloween pumpkins lined the paths of Sorauren Park in Roncesvalles. The sheer volume and diversity or pumpkins was incredible and throngs of pedestrians slowly strolled through the glowing orange spheres.

Today, almost all of the pumpkins remain - which is amazing, because with them all lined-up like that, it's a smashing-pumpkins fan's dream. I can't tell if they will all be lit up again tonight, but I think I'll return to the park with a few tea lights to revive a few.

It may only be a day before Halloween, but Christmas lights are already going up. A small crew of men are covering every inch of tree after tree on a long stretch of King Street West just West of Spadina. The decorations are sponsored by the property managers along the road and began about two weeks ago. With so many trees to cover and so many lights to go, the crew said they might need another couple weeks to get them all up. Why now? It's a lot easier to hang lights twenty feet up in the air when it's not absolutely freezing.

Sandra Tarantino, No. 73, acrylic, shaped canvas, 2008, 14.5" x 16" x 5"

Opening tomorrow at the XEXE Gallery is a solo exhibit by Toronto artist Sandra Tarantino. The new works continue to use Tarantino's sculptural canvases and a dynamic use of positive and negative space. In three works particularly, an almost colorless canvas contrasts chillingly with isolated subjects, traversing silently across a vast snowy landscape. I couldn't help by respond the works, especially with full knowledge that winter (read: snow) approaches so inevitably.

Early today I stumbled upon Cal Partridge quietly sitting with his remote controlled sail boat, a light breeze, and the few remaining ducks of the season at Humber Bay Park East. The motor-less boat, named Little Bird, was surprising fast. Looping long and wide, never too far from shore, the boat sailed at the mercy of the wind and two leather clad thumbs controlling rudder and sails.

A funny thing is going on with stuffed animals around Queen and Ossington. For one, Pikachu has been spotted climbing a tree on Queen St. West near Dovercourt.

There are more occurrences North on Ossington outside of C1 Art Space.