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.

Road Trip - Part 1

Hello friends,

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas  Day however you spent it.

I love Christmas but I always feel good when the day has passed.  I can take time to relax and catch up on some rest.

These photos are taken on our road trip from Vancouver to Kamloops for a Christmas  visit with a loved one. I thought it would be interesting to share the scenery along the way. 

First up is a map to orient ourselves.

Our drive begins in Vancouver (near the top of the yellow area on the left). We are driving along the 'green line' (Highway 1) past Surrey, Langley and Abbotsford to Chilliwack and beyond.

Here is a map of the entire province British Columbia on the left and Alberta on the right with cities like Grande Prairie, Edmonton, Calgary and world famous parks like Jasper and Banff 

We left around 7 a.m. and it was still dark.

As we reached and passed  Chilliwack, there was a lot of low lying fog.  The entire southern coast and Fraser Valley have been experiencing a lot of heavy rain (atmospheric rivers) in the coastal areas of British Columbia (like the states of Washington and California).   There has also been a lot of flooding and evacuations and you could see that the fields still have a lot of water in them.

I'll be sharing more photos of the scenic drive in future posts. I apologize in advance as I did not get photos of the actual towns and cities for the most part. It's rather hard to do that without stopping and we were trying to beat the bad weather.

Thank you for stopping by my Skywatch Friday post. I hope to visit yours soon.

Skywatch Friday - Speeding Through December

The month of December is flying by!  The weather here has been heavily raining for much of the month so it's been a bit of a challenge to get photos when it hasn't been raining. I did manage to get a few.  (Note:  I'm sorry to those of you who visited through the Skyley blog because my photos upload sideways no matter what I do!).

Tuesday was exceptionally wet but I had to go out for a medical test.

I love these lights from Saturday night in the neighbourhood.

A Wild Sky ~ Skywatch Friday

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my Skywatch Friday post.   We've been getting an awful lot of rain so I really haven't gone out much to take photos.

I took the photos in this post earlier this week.  The sky to the north was heavy with dark and ominous looking clouds.  However the sky was bright and sunny on the other side with a smattering of light clouds.

Look how dark and foreboding the sky looked.

However on the other side the sky was so lovely.

A few moments later, I noticed the sky to the north started changing and attempting to clear.  I thought it looked very interesting.

I don't know if you can tell from the next photo but I was trying to capture the light as it hit the trees. located to the north of me. The light was coming from the clearer and brighter skies behind me.  It was altogether a lovely few moments of sky watching.  These are the kind of moments that make my day.

Thank you for taking time to visit and comment. Have a wonderful weekend.

A Cloud 'Blob' ~ Skywatch Friday

I found this weird cloud (photos 1 & 3) in my neighbourhood the other day. I stopped to take a couple photos but they didn't turn out well. I've never seen such a cloud before. Does anyone know what it's called?

It was a beautiful, sunny day and still quite warm. I understand we're supposed to get rain on the weekend, possibly even Friday night.   I can't complain about our weather as it's been quite nice.

Thanks for stopping by my Skywatch Friday post. Have a wonderful weekend.

The Northern Lights Visit the South ~ Skywatch Friday

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I took the following photos on August 12th. I saw this glow in the sky which I'd not seen before so decided to take some photos. The next day I read that the city had experienced the aurora borealis or the northern lights but that was on August 8th.  I think what I captured was the tail end of it. I thought the sky looked pretty cool.

I actually grew up seeing the dancing northern lights during the winter months.  They look a lot different which is why I didn't know what I was looking at. I enjoyed seeing them because I missed them when they visited earlier.

Thank you for visiting my Skywatch blog post today. I hope you enjoyed.  I hope you will visit again soon.

Goodbye Sweet Trees ~ Skywatch Friday, July 18, 2025

It was with a great deal of sadness that I awoke on Monday to a great commotion.

Later on I realized it was city crews working to cut down several trees immediately on the north side of the building I live in.  The beautiful trees you see in the photos below are no more.

Not only does it feel very bare but it now feels very sterile without the greenery.  I will miss these trees for many reasons. There's no longer a place for birds to come and roost, make their nests & sing.  There's also no more shade for the building or for the people walking on the sidewalk.  Last, but not least, I've lost the trees that were subjects in so many of my photos over years and years.

Here are just a few of the recent ones to mark their passing.

I'm certain that new trees will be planted but they're going to take years to mature. Earlier in the year we also lost many trees on the street to the east that fronts my building.  Altogether the local neighbourhood is much barer than it was just a year ago. 

The trees that have been cut down were all old & brittle.  During wind storms their branches would sometimes snap off so it's likely the city deemed them a hazard.  I'll miss them anyway.

Thank you for stopping by my post for Skywatch Friday. I hope you have a great weekend.