Autumn Arrived ~ Skywatch Friday

Hello everyone, 

Welcome to my blog. I'm sharing a few photos taken near the end of September showing some of the autumn foliage. The weather had been quite hot for some time but autumn arrived suddenly with lots of rain and colder weather.

I feel the chill in the air as I sit and write this post.  The cold air blows through the vents in the hallway and in the apartment.  It happens every year when the heat of the summer turns to the chill of autumn.  I always have to remind the caretaker to adjust the air flow.  I don't think it bothers too many people.  There are really only 2 or 3 units that are most affected because of where the vents are located and I'm often the one bringing the issue up at this time of year. 

Anyway, I took the following photos when I exited my class at the community centre from a different door from where I'd entered earlier in the day.  I was surprised to see how the leaves have turned from green to the golden colours of autumn.  You can see in the photos that a lot of leaves have already fallen because it got quite windy and rainy over the past few weekends. 

The white bags and the umbrella have been set up by a local group that was organizing a community clean up.  Many people had signed up to help out and they were waiting around for things to get underway.

This building with curved windows was built quite some time ago.  It was one of the tallest buildings in the general neighbourhood at the time.  However there are now multiple building projects awaiting development in the neighbourhood and they'll be 25 to 30 stories high.  

Part of the City's plan is to mandate developers to build residences in the immediate vicinity of the new sky train and subway stations in the neighbourhood.  One of the new stations is about a block west from where this condominium building is located.  The details are in a document called The Broadway Plan which I've read.  It gave me good insight into the plan for how high the buildings can be built and where they will likely be located.  There isn't any land left to continue building single family dwellings.  Such an expansion of high rises will definitely change the nature of the area.

By the time this post goes 'live', our weather may well have changed. It will be nice to see the sun again but at this time of year we begin seeing much more rain.

Take care and thanks for stopping by my Skywatch Friday post.

A Thing of Beauty ~ 2

 The setting sun and the early autumn flowers makes for a thing of beauty.

More recent photos show that fall colours are well underway in some parts of the city. Things turned very suddenly it seemed and the temperatures also cooled suddenly and quickly.

In the Park ~ Skywatch Friday

It was over a week ago now when I made my visit to our small community plot at a local park.  I was there to cut down the majority of the sunflowers in my garden.  There was an awful lot going on in the sky that evening as well.

I left one rather tall sunflower plant because it's still blooming nicely.

Thank you for stopping to visit my Skywatch Friday post.  Enjoy your 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.

Sky in Mid- September - Skywatch Friday

I took these photos on a sunny day.  

The air is now cooler during the day and especially at night despite the sunshine. Sometimes our hot weather can last well into Fall but it's a bit too early to see how things will play out this year.  

Rain was expected for a day or two shortly after I took these photos.

Overcast skies and rain did, in fact arrive in time for Car Free Day. I didn't actually attend the festival so these photos were taken at the very end of the day when stalls were being taken down and many people had left for home.  There seems to have been a good turnout despite the weather.

I did a bit of food shopping then went to the J.J. Bean coffee shop to have a coffee and read. It was a good way to end the weekend.

Thank you for visiting my Skywatch Friday post.

A Beautiful Day ~ Skywatch Friday, September 12, 2025

Hello folks, A good friend and I have been trying unsuccessfully to get together for months to celebrate our birthdays.  It didn't work out because she's had to work so much overtime but we were finally able to get together last Friday.

Here is a photo of her wearing the cardigan I crocheted for her over the summer.  I was pleased that it fit her perfectly and she liked it a lot.

It was very hot and humid and the sky was full of smoke though the air didn't smell so bad. We took our time and had lunch at the Granville Island Public Market. I didn't take any photos of the market area or our lunch because it was so busy and hot that day and I was feeling pretty tired.

After a long chat, we took an aqua bus to the Vancouver Aquatic Centre and walked along the waterfront until we got to the intersection of Denman and Davie Streets.

 

The gift at the end of the day was this beautiful sunset.

After these photos we ended our night by going out to dinner at a Greek restaurant where I had a wonderful Moussaka dinner. I haven't had one for years.  Besides a nice visit with my friend, the thing I enjoyed most was the beautiful sunset.

Thank you for visiting my Skywatch Friday post. Enjoy your weekend.

Skywatch Friday, September 5, 2025

Welcome to September and welcome to another Skywatch Friday post.

Today I'm sharing a few photos taken on two different days.

Our sky has been a solid mass of gray and the air has been smoky since Wednesday. After a summer free of smoke in these parts, we are now having a week of bad air.  

Wildfires have also come closer to home with a fire jumping across the Coquihalla Highway which  remains closed since Wednesday.

Thank you for visiting and stay safe wherever you are.

Autumn is Near ~ Skywatch Friday

In a few days I'm sure I'll feel the distinct chill in air when nature lets me know that summer is over and autumn is here.  It happens each year, immediately after Labour Day.  Summer goes by very quickly and autumn even more so. I hardly caught my breath all summer as I was so busy catching up with decidedly 'unsummerlike' activities.  But I'm feeling good about it all and happy to see the backside of many small projects which never seemed to get done. Most of it was paperwork related and that kind of stuff is always good to get out of the way as soon as possible.

I'm enjoying the skies above me as always and I'm grateful for the surprises and gifts offered each day if we look up.

This summer I grew sunflowers in the patio garden. 

Normally I only plant them at the community garden but thought I'd do something differently. I noticed the leaves were turning black.  I think it was some kind of fungal disease. I just tried to pluck them off and add diatomaceous earth.

Sunflowers always make me happy with their big, yellow faces.

Thank you for visiting my Skywatch Friday post today. Enjoy your weekend.