first volunteer days

Saturday I had my training day at Wildlife Rescue. We (there were 5 of us) were given a little more detailed tour of the buildings and what's what. Then we were shown some of the many duties that we get to perform while there.

We learned how to prepare meals for differnt birds following the "cookbook" I'd call it. There's no actual cooking, but just a detailed list of specific diets for each bird. We were each assigned a bird to prepare a meal for. I got a gull. Guess what? The gull does not get a seed mix like the other little birds. The gull gets chopped salmon & herring. Fortunately,  I didn't have to chop the fish...this time. That will be a learning experience since I've never cut up a fish before. An unlikely experience for a vegan, but it's all for the benefit of the birds.

Tuesday I started my first shift, working with a mentor. It was pretty exciting since it's all a big learning experience for me.

The walk from the main road into the park and to the sanctuary was nice. It's a beautiful park in the middle of Burnaby. The highway is on one side so there is some noise, but the deeper into the park you go, the less of that you hear. As I walked along the road I saw a great blue heron and (I'm pretty sure) a red-tailed hawk. I thought that was a good sign.

The first hour I spent stuffing envelopes since my mentor was out doing some releases. Then, when she returned we got to work cleaning out the pigeon aviary and getting them fresh food, grit & water. My first lesson was always wear rubber boots!  My old running shoes were great for comfort, but were pretty damp by the end of my shift.

My second lesson was bring disposable gloves for the aviaries since there's a lot of poop on everything! Gloves will also keep my hands dry while I hose everything down. Yup, it is glamourous work.

We also cleaned 2 other cages (a crow & a thrush), and prepared fresh meals & water for them as well.

Then it was more cleaning & tidying. As my shift is at the end of the day, we are expected to do all of the dishes, sweep up, and do the mopping for the next day's shifts. It is fairly busy even though this is considered a quiet time of year.

Just before we left, a woman was dropping off a heron with a broken leg (not the one I saw earlier that day). When we were leaving the attending vet was trying to work on a splint of some kind. Poor heron.

So far so good. I'm learning and loving it. 

doe a deer a female deer...

Actually it was a buck. If my father or brother were here (both former hunters) they could tell me the weight and points of the buck.

I ran a bit later last night, putting it off, putting it off and putting it off until I finally went out and ran. I was walking the last bit of hill at the end of my run and heard the SUV that had just passed me screech to a halt. When I looked back I saw a buck trot across the road and head toward the path that runs along the power lines (it's called the power crunch here because of the pebbled path that climbs up the mountain). I walked back down the hill a little to see if I could catch sight of it walking up the path, but lo and behold it was standing in the yard next to the path, munching on the new young foliage in someone's garden. It didn't seem to care about me or the traffic going past.

I sprinted up the hill (proof that I did have a little left in the tank after all -- I had no idea I could run up that hill so fast) to fetch db. He had to see this. db said, "the camera, where's the camera." I said, "I don't know, it doesn't matter anyway. Let's go."
I was just hoping the deer would still be there by the time we got back. Just five or six houses down and there it was. It stopped munching to look at us. We crossed the street so we could be directly across from it and watch. It was very aware of us watching though. A man and his son crossed the street, following the crunch path up and walked right past the deer without even noticing it. db and I finally left the deer to continue it's dinner.

Plod, Paddle and Grizzlies

Wednesday's "Plod and Paddle" had enough people show up this week to include the plodding part of the journey. We walked the lovely Port Whoody inlet. It's a gentle little trail that traverses around the inlet with soft trail, a few stairs and some boardwalks over the boggy areas. This was a nice way to begin because it actually gave us a chance to chat with our friends a little more.

Once at the beach we met up with the paddle group and switched roles. I had a smaller kayak this week so it was a much better fit for me and while I found it to feel even more buoyant than before, it was easier to paddle since I was more comfortable in the boat. We headed out. I had the camera this week to give db (*note: D. will now be referred to as db -- hope this doesn't confuse anyone) a break and I knew he'd be taking the camera anyway.

I have to admit that I'm not much of picture snapper. I went on a long hike last week with a friend in this beautiful park in Whoville with many trails and small lakes and when I told db (*remember D. is now db) about the spectacular views and trails, he asked "do you have any pictures?" I didn't. I didn't even think about taking the camera. When we were in Italy on our "honeymoon" (thanks again sis!) db took all of the pictures. I had to remember to take the camera from him so we'd at least look like we'd both been to Italy. I think the only picture of the two of us together in Italy was taken in Scido, Calabria when visiting some of his family who insisted on taking a picture of the two of us together. It's a nice photo. We are, however, next to a statue of Jesus at the top of the mountain which is odd because let's just say that it's the closest db and I have been to Jesus prior to and since.

Okay, back to the kayaking. All of that is just leading up to the spectacular paddle we had. Those who had done the first leg of the paddle journey had departed the beach with excited stories of seeing seals and they saw a bald eagle out of the log drift. Ha, "newbies" I thought (now that I was on my second paddle adventure I felt like a seasoned plod and paddler).

It was a gorgeous night as you can see.



We headed across the inlet and knew we'd see seals since they hang out on the logs that seem to be anchored out in the inlet. There was little wind and we paddled into the sun.

The university team was out rowing and we got a good view of them heading out for their training. I was lagging behind because I'm the slowest paddler, but also I was taking the photos.


We paddled close to the seals and one came out to check us out. He trailed quite close behind db and I and even popped up between our kayaks at one point. It looked like Prima to me, something about the whiskers I guess.


Then our friends ahead caught sight of the eagle and we paddled towards it. Closer and closer and I kept wondering if we'd get a good look at it. Would it take off as we neared? There was an angry crow dancing in front of it making quite a racket. Would s/he frighten it away? db just caught sight of the eagle.
We kept moving towards it.

Our friends were already rounding the log drift. Now we were close and I could see it in profile and make out better details. It was thrilling. I've never been so close to an eagle.

Then we rounded right before it. I kept taking photos. As I moved to the far side of the drift I could make out its talons and feathers in detail. It truly is a regal looking bird, the king of the skies in this part of the country really.

We drifted a little and then it took off. The wing expanse carried him over to the next set of logs where he stayed for a bit. We headed back to landing. The whole journey was quite thrilling.

I'm so glad we moved here. Enduring the months of rain through the winter has been worth it all. I've been hiking, biking, running and now paddling like never before.


***

"A fed bear is a dead bear"

So keeping on the wildlife theme....
Grizzly bears in Squamish? Apparently there hasn't been a sighting here in ten years. I didn't even think of Grizzlies being in the coast mountain area. Great. I'm concerned enough about my inevitable encounter with a black bear, but now this? How long before a Grizzly is spotted in Whoville? This poor ol' Grizzly was seen getting into some garbage which is bad news for a bear (sorry about the pop culture reference there). The plan is to trap and move the bear away from town, but I fear the worst. If this bear returns and looks "aggressive" (term chosen by the police, but as to how one decides what that means I don't know) they will "destroy" it (that means kill. I don't know why people think the word "destroy" is a more appropriate word for "kill").
I hope the Grizzly realizes how boring and pointless people are and moves far away from the town back into the mountains and valleys that are less populated.

***

In the garden

Remember these photos?






















Now look what we've done. I'm just adding the final touches to this afternoons work.

While D. was laying out the stone for our future sitting/eating area, I went to work on the planting of a few perennials. I put a blue flowering hydrangea closest to the compost bin because I tried this in our last garden and the effect of blocking the view of the black plastic bin worked quite well.
I also put in a pink bleeding heart since this is quite a shady spot and then the hosta next to that. The larger rocks in the foreground here are just temporarily there while we decide where they are needed. But this next shot shows more of what we're aiming for. I put some irish moss (that someone from work gave me) and some creeping charlie at the front of this newly bedded area so that should fill in nicely to cover the front with some greenery.

While the rocks on the left here aren't necessarily staying, you can get a view of our new patio and where the garden will continue on down past the watering can.

Then I felt that I didn't want the path to end at the compost bin (not a great end to a walk really unless you're getting finished compost) so I opted for a smaller path leading to the grass where I'm taking the shot. The reason for the placement here was that once you cross the lawn there are more stone steps leading to the lower leve and play area so I wanted the two areas to connect and that way you can just cross the lawn and go look at an area of the garden if you wish.
No the pink bucket and yellow trowel don't belong to us. They belong to the 2 and half year old (Gigi) who lives upstairs. She's been digging in the sand here. I'd leave it for her, but her parents are putting in a sandbox on the lower level near her pool. I guess that makes more sense so they can sit on their deck and keep an eye on her and she can run freely.

So between the path and the patio, who knows? If we owned the place I'd invest in a water feature or extend the patio and make it more permanent, but we don't own the place so something else...maybe just some planters with some tasty edibles that can grow in a shadier area (kale, spinach, chard).

To the right of the path in the above shot I expect I'll add more soil and continue planting. The rock wall is just further right so I'd like to get some lilies and ligularia in there, maybe some rudbeckia and cranesbill. Sounds like I'm already making the plan. I'm starting to like the planter idea along the path. Hmm?

We also moved a hosta from a very sunny spot in the front to a side shady area with two other hostas. It's a sad looking little bed, but I'm not sure what I can bring to that right now. No one sees it and it's very dark. Sis will probably have an idea for it.

Finally, I planted some lilies on the downslope in a sunnier area. They will line the path as long as they make it and they're yellow so that could be quite inviting as you walk up the steps to the newly gardened area or to drop off your kitchen waste.

***

In other news today in whoville...

the big run!
I did 32 k. Phew. The last 4 was tough. We went for flat and paved today, none of this hilly, and pebbly shite. We took the trans Canada trail briefly and it was firm, flat ground, like a narrow country road.























D. took some photos of me running because who knows if I'll ever train for this distance again. We may as well get some images from our Sunday distance tours together.

As we ran (or I ran and D cycled), we were admiring the horses grazing in a field and then lo and behold we surprised a coyote. Yes, another one. It darted into the horse pasture away from us and watched us until we were out of sight.

I am completely taken with these animals. Coyotes are quite beautiful. I saw another one (total count 3 since March) while biking to work Saturday. While pedaling through the rolling grounds of the R. hospital I saw a coyote standing on a lawn looking into the tall grass. S/he was clearly hunting for something tasty.

It's funny how for the second time the coyote is aware that I'm there, but doesn't look directly at me. Her/his head turned and followed me as I passed as if sensing me, but not seeing me, being also aware of all it's surroundings.

Wild and confident I definitely feel like these coyotes own the land and we are merely in its way to roaming freely. However, they seem to be doing just fine.