Things worth stepping out for

What they are, when to look, and how to catch one. Some are on the calendar, some come with the weather, some come back every year.

• Rainbows

  Sun behind you, rain in front, and a bow of colour in between.

• Meteor showers

  A few nights a year, the sky throws shooting stars on schedule.

• The northern lights

  Curtains of green and pink when the sun’s weather reaches us.

• Sunsets and golden hour

  The daily show. Some nights the clouds turn it into fireworks.

• The full moon

  Once a month it rises orange at sunset, right on cue.

• Eclipses

  When the sun, Earth and moon line up exactly.

• First blooms

  The first flowers of spring, arriving earlier or later each year.

• Autumn colour

  A few weeks when the trees go gold, red and orange.

• Frost

  The first cold, clear morning that turns every leaf silver.

• Morning fog

  Valleys and rivers filled with cloud at first light.

• Solstices and equinoxes

  The four turning points of the year.