A Week of Skygazing ~ Skywatch Friday

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope your week was a good one and that you have something to look forward to over the weekend.

I'm looking forward to taking in the annual Pacific National Exhibition in the the coming days.  I don't go every year but I like to go now and then and enjoy a bit of food, people watching and taking in a few shows.  Sometimes I go with a friend or family member but most often I go alone so I can zip in and out of displays and shows.

Another thing I like doing is showing a week of skies for Skywatch Friday.  Over the spring and summer the weather and the skies can be so variable. In winter the skies are mostly cloudy or rainy with the occasional day of sunshine.  In summer the skies are mostly sunny with occasional rain. 

This weekend is a long weekend ending on the statutory holiday on Monday September 7, 2026.  Labour Day falls on the first Monday in September each year.  It's meant to celebrate the achievements, contributions and rights of working people. For most people, it's the last day to rest or to get ready for back to school the next day and back to regular scheduling with work and other activities.  Thankfully the sun is expected over the weekend.
 

August 27, 2026

August 28, 2026

From my patio

August 29, 2026

Brighton Beach looking east

Brighton Beach looking north to North Vancouver

 

The Second Narrows Bridge

August 20, 2026

The steeple at the condo building (formerly a church)

First high rise in the neighbourhood. More coming.

August 31, 2026

September 1, 2026

In the neighbourhood.

Popular coffee shop.

Thank you for stopping by my Skywatch Friday post today.  I hope to see you again soon.

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.

St. Patrick's Day - Tuesday 4

It is St. Patty's Day here at Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4.

1.  Do you celebrate in any significant way?   

No I don't.

2.  Is it religious to you or secular?

Secular. Where I lived as a child, it was always synonymous with wearing green and little leprechauns.  I don't think we had many Irish people living in my town.  Later in the city, the day had more to do with wearing green, going to pubs and drinking green beer.  There are more Irish people in the city, in fact quite a few but I've never heard from them as to whether and how they celebrate.

3.  Is there any green in your wardrobe ? Your home? Is it a good color for you?

I've never had much green in my wardrobe even though I like the colour. I once owned a beautiful, emerald green dress.  For some reason I never wore it even though I took the trouble to get a seamstress to line it so I wouldn't have to wear a slip with it.

I'm currently expanding the colours of my wardrobe and moving away from the jewel tones and black I love and wear so often. I'm trying to incorporate more neutral colours and colours in nature's palette: gold, brown, beige and now green. I have 2 clothing items in green. One is like the winter, crew neck sweater you see in the photo. The other is a lightweight summer top in white with green and navy dots.

I really don't have green in my home either except for plants which I love.

The colour green does suit me but for whatever reason I have never developed the practice of wearing it.  I love green in nature and in my home, when it comes to plants, both artificial and real.

4.  March has a lot of things associated with it... The Ides of March on the 15th, St. Patrick's Day and the old saying that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.

How is your March going thus far? Is it quiet? Is the weather good, bad or ugly? Is it a lion or a lamb?

It's been good but busy and also quiet.  I thought it was going to be an early spring with garden and patio work to do because we had some beautiful,  sunny days and some blossoming trees.  Instead it has been raining so much and it's still too cold for me to put away my winter jacket and winter bedding.

I bought a cotton-linen bedspread to use once the weather gets warmer. In summer here, it can be too hot to use covers but this one is very light for those nights when a light blanket is needed. I was just trying it on the bed to make sure it fit so the pillow cases you see are the winter, warmer ones.

Thank you for visiting today. Have a wonderful rest of your week.

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.

Beautiful and Rainy ~ March 5, 2026

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

Happy March to all of you.

At this time of year in my world, the weather continues to be unstable with bright, sunny days, alternating with very heavy rain. The weather is a few degrees warmer on a regular basis and as you can see in the photos, at least some of the trees are in bloom.

The sky looks so dramatic at times.

For me that's a time to have soup either at a restaurant or at home.

Vietnamese Pho soup.

Homemade chicken, rice soup.

Yesterday was sunny but today it is clouding over again in preparation for rain. I hope you are keeping warm and dry wherever you are in the world.

Thank you for visiting my submission for Skywatch Friday this week.

Sky Post ~ Two Faces of February

Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

We've had tumultuous turns of weather throughout February. Some days are raining heavily, some days misty (light fog), other days sunny. 

I'm happy to see that the longer term forecast for us is more sun than not. Yeah, I'm so happy. 

With the improved weather, I'm starting to think about what needs to be done to prepare the gardens.

Thank you for stopping by my Skywatch Friday post. Take care and enjoy your weekend.

Skywatch in the Middle of the Month

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope this day finds you well and looking forward to the weekend. I am definitely looking forward to the break from 'things I have to do' and to spend a little time outdoors.

Our weather here has been erratic but quite warm for this time of year and I can't wait until spring when all the greenery comes out in full force.  I also have 2 small gardens I must plant. Though gardening really isn't my favourite thing, I absolutely love when things are in full bloom.

Today I'm sharing a few photos taken on a spectacular day this week. You might be able to see that some fresh snow has fallen on some of the mountains. I don't mind snow high on the mountains. I can look at it from down below.

Thank you for stopping by my Skywatch Friday post today. Have a wonderful weekend.

The Last Skywatch of the Month ~ Skywatch Friday

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

This was the scene as I stepped out to run errands late Thursday. It was raining earlier in the day but when it stopped I dashed out. The weather forecast includes a lot of rain which is usual at this time of year.  We recently ended a week of fog and sun, usually both on the same day.

I'll take the rain over the ice and snowstorms that are affecting much of Canada and the USA right now.  I hope the weather is fine in your part of the world. Thank you for stopping by on Skywatch Friday this week.  Stay warm and stay safe.