The chill in the air

Sometimes, one counts his blessings, knowing it will not last. We had one dreadful heatwave and another one is forecast, starting this weekend. But since the end of the last one, we had surprisingly cool weather. With lots of rain, but not only rain: I actually had to wear long sleeve shirts and light jumpers to stay warm. It struck me a few days ago: my wife had opened the bedroom windows, it made the whole place feeling chilly and cool, and oh so fresh, it truly felt wonderful. Almost autumnal, although not quite (my favourite season has a different smell). Still, it made me forget that summer has only started. I'm really enjoying this.

Un vrai orage

 Bon, il ne se sera pas trop fait attendre: nous avons eu droit à un orage électrique en bonne et due forme la semaine dernière. J'ai pu prendre une photo, mais elle lui rend pas justice. Bon, je dis ça à chaque fois que je partage une photo d'un orage, mais c'est difficile de montrer quand il tombe des cordes, encore plus de saisir les éclairs. Ce que je n'ai jamais réussi jusqu'ici. Mais bon, c'est le plus orageux des orages que l'on a eus depuis le début de l'été.

More Thunderstorms?

 I blogged last Thursday about the stormy weather we had then: wind, rain, hail, and finally some thunder in the afternoon, followed by heavy showers. Well, they are forecasting more storms today. I am actually really happy about it, as I love storms. May is not particularly a month for storms, it's a tad early for stormy weather, but like I said I don't mind. I hope it's a proper thunderstorm, with plenty of lightning... And I hope I will be inside and dry when it happens. If it happens. Because it wouldn't be the first time a storm is forecast and doesn't happen. Anyway, I am keeping my fingers crossed.

First Thunderstorm(s)

So far this year, the month of May has been, well, weird. Weather-wise, it has been downright schizophrenic, worse than April. It has been hot last week, but suddenly temperatures dropped dramatically. Like, beneath 15 degrees Celsius.And stranger than this: we've had our proper thunderstorm(s) yesterday. Usually, storms happen when it is hot and humid. In the morning, around 11:00, we started having rain, wind, and finally hail, then it got sunny again. Not warm, but sunny. As we were waiting for Wolfie to get out of school, we suddenly heard thunder. It then started pouring down. It was surreal. But I'm not complaining: I far prefer this to warm weather. I find it way more comfortable. And it's very atmospheric.

Devious March

 Since the vernal equinox and even before (see this post for instance), this springtime had been rather idyllic. For those who love when it gets warmer during spring, that is. Because I am not one of them. I far prefer cold weather and when it gets warmer, I start dreading the hot days of summer to come. Thankfully, March is a treacherous month and he proved himself to be again: since yesterday, the temperature dropped, it's overcast and sometimes rainy, furthermore it gets quite windy. Oh I love when March gets cold and windy! I know it will not last, but I am feeling oh so comfy right now and I am making the most of it.

Latest Train Travel

I took this picture last year at the National Railway Museum in York. As I mentioned in this post, they have a balcony where you can do trainspotting. It's great fun. But there is an activity even more fun: traveling by train. I did just that a few days ago: I had to go to a near(ish) city. Not a very long journey, about forty minutes by train. I hadn't traveled by train since September 2025, so a train journey was long overdue. On the way back, it was pouring down, sadly I did not take a picture, that's why I am sharing this one. It has no rain, but you can see the clouds. People may think heavy rains makes everything miserable, but in the comfort of a train, that's charming and atmospheric.

Arc-en-ciel (2)

Autre photo prise par on père de l'arc-en-ciel sur Chicoutimi, il y a quelques jours. Je la partage parce que.

Arc-en-ciel

 Mon père m'a envoyé des photos d'un arc-en-ciel qu'ils ont eu récemment. C'est drôle, parce qu'on en a eu un aussi il y a quelques jours, à peu près à la même date. Enfin bref, c'est joli.

Promesse d'orage (on peut rêver)

Tout d'abord, je me permets d'utiliser cebillet pour proférer une nouvelle fois un calembour atroce: "il y a rage dans orage." Voilà c'est dit. Je sais que ça vous fait mal rien que de le lire. Donc, aujourd'hui, on annonce de l'orage. J'espère que ça se produira. Cette année, il y a eu beaucoup, beaucoup, beaucoup d'annonces d'orages, il y a même eu des avertiseements d'orages violents, mais ils nous sont pour la plupart passés par dessus la tête. Comme à chaque année. On ne les a pas tous manqués, mais c'est décevant, pour ceux qui comme moi aiment les orages d'été. Justement parce que c'est un des seuls aspects de la saison que j'aime. Alors voilà, j'espère me réveiller ce matin avec un orage tonitruant.

Orage (et un calembour atroce)

 Bon, enfin, on nous annonce de l'orage. On a eu droit à de la pluie, quelques bonnes averses même, la semaine dernière. Mais jusqu'ici, pas de vrai orage estival. Sauf que ça ne devrait pas niaiser aujourd'hui: alerte jaune d'orage, puis alerte orange pour plus tard, donc ils risquent d'être violents. Je l'espère un peu, j'ai toujours aimé les orages. Et j'aime ceux qui sont violents. Parce qu'il y a rage dans orage. Oui, je sais, c'est un calembour atroce. Un tout nouveau en plus, enfin je crois. Avoue que ça vous fait grincer des dents.

Promesse de pluie

 J'ai pris cette photo il y a une semaine seulement, juste avant que la canicule nous tombe sur la frippe. Nous sortions d'une canicule et la température avait soudainement baissé de manière dramatique, à mon plus grand bonheur. Il a fini par pleuvoir, assez pour nous rafraîchir, mais pas assez pour faire verdir la nature: partout l'herbe est encore très jaune. Ils prévoient encore de la pluie dans quelques jours, mais je ne retiens pas mon souffle: je sais que je risque d'être déçu. C'est trop long l'été...

La rivière au Parc Urbain

 Je partage une autre fois une photo du Parc de la Rivière-du-Moulin, en fait de la rivière du Parc Urbain, donnons-lui le nom que je lui donne depuis l'enfance. Détails ici  sur les circonstances où elle a été prise par mon père.

Le Parc Urbain après la pluie

Mon père a pris cette photo au Parc Urbain (ou Parc de la Rivière-du-Moulin qui est son nom officiel) à Chicoutimi. Il a plu des cordes récemment, quasiment un déluge(et je sais de quoi je parle). Je m'ennuie des moments passés au Parc Urbain d'ailleurs. Je ne l'ai pas vu depuis des années. À Chicoutimi, c'est peut-être mon parc préféré pour marcher.

La pluie, presque l'orage

Bon, la BBC l'annonçait, nous avertissait à son sujet avec une alerte jaune, nous le promettait presque: un orage s'en venait. Il a plu, des cordes, mais il n'a guère tonné. Je le dis sans aucune ironie, je préfère cette température à la canicule.

Cold May

 Well, what do you know. It turns out, May can sometimes be as treacherous and unreliable as March or April. If it wasn't for the greenery, one would think we're in autumn: it's been cold and rainy for the last few days. This should change in the next few days, but it has been really cold. And, as you probably guessed, I am not complaining. I find rain particularly relaxing and I don't mind staying indoors and just being comfy. I recently read an article about how the bad weather affected people negatively, people feeling bluesy because it was so wet. Sometimes I feel like I come from another planet: I feel theexact opposite. Am I the only one?

L'orage perdu

Je bloguais lundi sur un orage annoncé par la BBC (et d'autres) sur notre coin du pays. Nous avons entendu le tonnerre, nous avons vu au loin les nuages gris foncé, quasiment noirs, mais ils ne se sont pas rendus jusqu'à nous. Le premier orage de l'été (même si officiellement, ce n'est pas encore l'été) est passé à côté. Et j'avoue que ça me fait suer (au sens figuré, peut-être au sens propre): j'aime les orages, maintenant c'est l'un des rares aspects de l'été que j'aime. Alors voilà, un orage de perdu.

First Thunderstorm Today?

They are forecasting thunderstorms today on BBC Weather. An actual yellow warning of thunderstorms, from midday until 22:00. If it happens, we would have our first thunderstorm of the year. Recently, it has been feeling like the weather is getting ready to provide storms. It's been properly hot, and we've had no rain in a long while. So we are due to one. It feels like summertime, which I don't really care about. Thunderstorms are the one thing I still love about summer. So I am looking forward to this one.

Ironic Weather

 It's been kind of stormy these last few days, because of, well, this. So yeah, Herminia has given us rain, wind and even a bit of hail. On Monday, during the school run, it was pouring, windy and hailing when I walked with Wolfie to school. At the moment he walked it, it suddenly stopped and everything went calm. The parents were all dumbfounded. One of the mothers said how typical it was that now the weather was calm. I said: "Don't worry, when it is time to pick them up in the afternoon, of course it will get stormy again." She laughed. And I think it deserves to be a great new unknown line. That said, in spite of my pessimistic views, the afternoon school run was much quieter: no rain, no hail and barely any wind to speak of. Still, walking to the school felt like an epic journey that morning.

Dark and Stormy Times

 You know the phrase "It was a dark and stormy night". It is a phrase often mocked as silly, that said this is what we have been having recently. These last weekend, day and night, to be precise. Rain, sometimes heavy rain, and very windy wind. They even gave us some weather warnings. And I must say, as long as we experienced it from the comfort of our home, I found it extremely enjoyable. My wife does not like it one bit, but I find it relaxing. Anyway, we had typical November weather and I am not complaining.

A Proper Thunderstorm

Well, I had been hoping for one, for months, but it did show up. Then last night, around ten o'clock, unpexpectedly, it started storming. I had not experienced one like this in ages. We have had a short outburst of thunder on Sunday, but it had been short lived. I mean last night was a proper thunderstorm: lots of lightnings and thunder, rain falling heavily, the lot. I remained there, in the dark, listening to it with delight. Just when summer is finishing, after a few days of hot temperatures, far too humid and sticky for my taste, it stormed. I don't want to sound like everything is better in Montreal, but yes, my city delivers, even weather wise. Thunderstorms are among the very few things I sitll love about summertime. I'm glad I experienced one this year.