The waning days of summer

This is it. The last day of summer. Autumn officially begins tomorrow.

I spent the last three weeks of summer visiting friends and family in Vancouver. While friends Ian and Elizabeth vacationed in Portugal and Spain, I stayed in their 12th-floor apartment with a balcony that faces east. I became obsessed with photographing the sunrises and how they highlighted the clouds above.

Although I have a few photos of family members, they prefer to remain anonymous on-line, so I’ll respect those wishes and keep those images for my own enjoyment.

The apartment overlooked a soccer field, school and community centre that was a busy spot throughout the day. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that things were remarkably quiet at night as it was warm and I kept the windows open.

I’m not a “city” person at all, but I must admit the vistas from the balcony were lovely. What utterly amazed me was how much construction there was – everywhere. Vancouver and its environs are a very expensive place to live and yet the buildings continue reaching skyward to accommodate the ever-growing population.

For the entire time I was there I enjoyed daily sunrises and warm days to wrap up the summer season while enjoying exploring the city via Sky Train, Sea Bus and buses.

One of my “duties” while house-sitting was to try and keep their plants alive. I have the reputation of being the Kevorkian of house plants so I was a little stressed by the responsibility. Nevertheless, they were still surviving when I left, including the lovely orchid!

On my second to last morning, the sun high lit the neighbouring buildings and one of the numerous construction cranes in the area reminding me of how much I enjoy space, nature and peace and quiet. It was time to head home!

My buoy and I were ready to come home to hubby, cat and dog!

Signs of the impending seasonal change are everywhere at home. After recovering from the flight and 4-timezone shift, I headed out to catch the last rays of summer.

Tomorrow is the first official day of autumn. Enjoy the crisp, fresh air, the changing light of the season and, in another week or two, the brilliant colours of the leaves on the hardwood trees.