First Friday Post in July ~ Skywatch Friday

The Broadway Subway project is a 5.7 km stretch of subway line being laid along Broadway Street in Vancouver and stretches from Arbutus Street in the west to Main Street in the east.  The project has been going on for years already and is finally set to be finished and open to the ridership in 2027. 

The project encompasses 6 underground stations. The photos below show the current state of construction at the intersection of Broadway and Main Street and what the area looks like in general. Much of the city is a construction zone these days and likely will get worse over time as I've read that we're slated for a significant increase in hotels. Our city is lacking hotels and lodgings for the many visitors we get. I honestly don't know where tourists stay when they come to town given the dearth of accommodations. Hopefully this will be corrected in the not too distant future.

 

Thank you for visiting in my Skywatch Friday post.  

Have a wonderful weekend.

Neighbourhood Eye Candy

I love my neighbourhood. It's a peaceful area and the people are friendly.

There are always lots of pretty things to photograph when out for a walk. 

After my errands I took a walk to a local park and to do some work at the community gardens.

Thanks for stopping by!

Fire in the Sky - Skywatch Friday

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you've all had a wonderful week. If not, the week to come is another opportunity for a turnaround.

I wanted to share the beautiful skies that greeted me early one morning after very heavy rainfall the day before. I'm not usually awake when the sun is rising.  But when I am it's an opportunity to see more colour in the sky than I normally get. Where I am located I don't get to experience the beautiful and colourful sunsets. I have to go further afield if I want to capture them.

 

Thank you for visiting my Skywatch Friday post this week. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Our Town ~ Tuesday 4

Hello!  This is Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we ask just 4 questions each week in an effort to get you blogging, thinking and learning about others.

Maybe we can discuss the town  you live in.  It might be nice to find out more about where you live and why you live there. Sometimes we just fall into a place and other times we choose. 

Here's a chance to sing the praises of your town or uncover it's faults.. have at it!

Michelle Byrne painting

1. What are the good points to living in your town? Could you interest us in moving there?

The best part about living here is the scenery and the somewhat mild winter compared to other places in Canada.  It rains a lot over winter but we get a little snow.  The rain helps keep everything nice and green and that is plus. 

There are many places to visit in the area with local sites and towns and villages that are within a short commute.  The city is also very close to the border of Washington State, USA if you wish to travel across the line though Canadians haven't been travelling south much since early 2025.

2.  Are the things you need convenient to your home? (shopping, library, schools, entertainment?)

I chose my neighbourhood because it's convenient to everything. It's reasonably close to downtown if you need to go there. It's close to the train station, city transit services and also convenient to get to the airport. All the necessary amenities are in my neighbourhood like schools, libraries and various community centres. If you want to shop you can find virtually everything you need close by although you have to go further afield to downtown or one of the larger malls if you're looking for a variety in clothing choices.  The neighbourhood also has a variety of churches, public parks, one small movie theatre within walking distance and several more theatres a short commute away.

3.  Did you choose your town or did you just end up there? 

I chose to live here because there aren't too many larger cities in my province and it's really only our larger cities that have everything I want and need.

4.   Is your town known for any special foods, activities, places or people? 

My city is known for having a very diverse array of restaurants featuring foods from all around the world. I notice every few years that the trends in popular restaurants changes. When I first moved to the city it was Italian and Greek foods, then it was health foods (as in Vegetarian), then it was Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Vietnamese & Mexican in that order. More recently there is a newer trend toward Middle Eastern restaurants and a few African restaurants, mainly featuring Kenyan & Ethiopian foods though in some nearby municipalities there is Nigerian food. I love all of it.

The city is also known for its beautiful parks, particularly Queen Elizabeth Park & Stanley Park, whale watching tours, beaches and spectacular mountain views.  If you like to ski in winter or like to go hiking we've got you covered.

My city is not perfect by any means. We have lots of issues with which to contend but it is home and it's where I choose to live. I hope you get a chance to visit if you haven't already. Most people who travel here love it.

Drama in Early June ~ Skywatch Friday

It's that time of the week again where we share what we've been observing in the skies. The clouds were so dramatic last Sunday that I simply had to share them with you. It rained so heavily on and off that day too.  I live in the rainforest region of the country but it seldom rains as heavily as it did that day. 

Thank you for stopping by my Skywatch Friday post.

Moon Through the Clouds ~ Skywatch Friday

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you had a great week. Mine has been busy so I haven't had a chance to do a lot of sky gazing. But I did capture this moon shot through the clouds on my way back from a bit of gardening.

 

Take care and thank. you for stopping by my Skywatch Friday post. Have a wonderful weekend.

The End Has Arrived - Skywatch Friday, March 27, 2026

Hello friends & fellow bloggers,

I hope you are well this Friday and that you have little glimmers of joy to keep you going through these turbulent times.

I'm late with posting today.  I wasn't sure I'd even get to post because I've been ill for awhile. But I'm slowly recovering and the weather is slowly improving in these parts now that the spring season is here. 

I haven't done much this week due to illness but I did get out one day to capture a few photos.

We've come to the end of the month and I'm glad that a new month is around the corner.

Thank you for stopping by my Skywatch Friday post today.

Night Views ~ Skywatch Friday

I like snapping photos of tree branches, bare or with leaves. 🍃  I took these photos on a walk to the local thrift store recently.

I'm very much looking forward to the spring equinox which is on March 20th this year.  It's when I  feel free to say we are in spring season.  Hopefully warmer temperatures arrive too though I can't complain too much about the winter we've had.

Thank you for visiting my Skywatch Friday post. I hope you'll come again soon. 

Scenes From My Night Walk

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

It snowed today but mostly at higher elevations and it melted quickly thereafter. For us, it was mostly a little rain. I went out for a walk after dinner. It was noticeably lighter than it has been for months due to the time change on Sunday where we set out clocks forward by one hour.

The provincial government announced that this past weekend is the last time we will be needing to change our clocks. I'm very happy about that as it's been a long time coming. We'd been told that we were waiting for our southern neighbouring states (Washington, Oregon & California) to also make the change so we could all be on the same time.  That no longer seems to be an issue and the decision has been made so now we are on permanent Pacific Daylight Time. 🎊🎉🎊

 

It took a turn the last 2 nights toward colder weather.  Even so I spotted these daffodils on my walk.  Daffodils always make me smile.  I remember years ago when I was in university. I travelled with a group of fellow students in April to a different city in Canada each year for a conference. Each time, one of the Vancouver program directors would arrange to take bucketfuls of daffodils to where ever we were congregating.  As he handed out spring flowers to people who were still in the depths of winter he'd gloat about the weather back at home.  It was all in good fun and people took it well.

It's just one of many lovely memories I have of university years. Those years were a lot of fun.

The Month Marches On ~ Skywatch Friday

It's rare for me to spot a great variety of  birds around where I live. The ones I tend to see most often are seagulls and crows.  In summer there are a lot of little brown jobs, sparrows and wrens among them and the odd robin. If I go to the parks I will see more geese and ducks. I know there are a lot more bird varieties but you have to go to where they congregate and I don't do that but I do like to see some when I'm walking about. Having said that, every now and then I get a real treat and spot an eagle or two. Usually it's when I'm out at the University of British Columbia which is situated very near the ocean but sometimes I see them in the city as well.

The other day, I saw quite a number of crows in the bare branches as I walked to the library.  As I mentioned, I often see crows but it's rare for me to see a lot of them in any one place.

I passed by this small park located near the library in my neighbourhood. A friend used to live very close to the park but she moved to Alberta some years ago to be closer to her siblings.  I thought I'd send her some photos of her old neighbourhood.

This next photo was taken on East Broadway. I was coming from a dental appointment. This shot is facing westward on Broadway Avenue.  In the background of the photo you can see some construction cranes. This is where the final stages of work is happening to get the new Main Street Subway Train station ready.  This work has been going on since 2020.  Completion was delayed due to a strike and completion and opening is expected in 2027.  This very long timeline has been most difficult on the businesses that are located along the street.  Construction has interfered with the flow of traffic to their businesses and impacted their livelihoods.   Many businesses have moved elsewhere or closed altogether.  Even more are struggling to stay afloat.  The government has not given any compensation to the businesses despite numerous appeals over the years.

I was on my way to the doctor's office when I spotted what looked like an eagle flying overhead.  Soon I saw 5 eagles flying in my direction from the southwest.  Then coming from the northeast, there were two more eagles. They congregated almost right above me but were high overhead. I couldn't stop to watch them for long because I had an appointment but I hurriedly snapped a few photos and hoped they turned out.  It's rare for me to see eagles so far from the waterfront and it really made my day!

Thanks so much for stopping by my Skywatch Friday post. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.