A buster of a blue sky day.

Yesterday was a beautiful, blue-sky, gift of a day.
Alberta specializes in big blue skies and yesterday's was a buster.

I took a walk round the funky neighbourhood of Kensington and stopped for a while in one of my favourite cafes to sip coffee and watch the world go by.

Parts of the city are still wrapped in winter - like these bushes swathed in burlap against the intense cold we had up until a couple of weeks ago. These plants on the shady side of the street probably won't be unwrapped until May - we often get late frosts in May.

The May long weekend is the date that we are (unofficially) allowed to start gardening in this city! Before then you dice with the probable death of your precious seedlings at the hands of fierce winter storms.

But not being able to garden means that there's plenty of time to sit on benches in the sunshine and enjoy chatting with old friends while you watch the last of the river ice melt.

And as soon as there's warmth, a true Canadian's thoughts turn to the great outdoors.

There were plenty of big toys out from their winter hibernation today - urban toys like these bikes...

...and other toys better suited to the wilds - like this canoe.

I must have seen at least eight canoes strapped to cars today - the spring runoff from the mountains makes the rivers fun for confident canoeists right now. Blue Sky Days...I love them.