If you’re looking to escape to wine country this spring you will have a full calendar of events and activities to choose from in late April and May at the Spring Okanagan Wine Festival.
Spring Okanagan Wine Festival
May 1st to May 11th, 2014 | Various Locations
Signature Events include:
May 1: Best of Varietal wines in British Columbia for 2014
May 2-3: The WestJet Wine Tastings
May 8: Comforts of Grilled Cheese and Wine presented by the Dairy Farmers of Canada
May 10: Blind Wine and Cheese Soiree presented by Valley First
Go to Bubbly Bootcamp May 1st, sample spring releases from May 1st to May 10th, book a spot at the Quail’s Gate Spring Release Dinner Series from May 1st to May 11th, and Sip Into the Sunset May 1st to May 10th at Summerhill Pyramid Winery.
Leading up to the Spring Okanagan Wine Festival there are a few events taking place the last week of April including: 2013 White and Rose Wines, and 2012 Red Wines New Releases; Budbreak at Crowsnest; and Celebrate the Season with a Taste of Heaven.
Throughout the season you can search events by region so whether you’re in Kelowna or Oliver, you can see what’s happening at one of the local vineyards and join in the fun. Follow the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society on Twitter and Facebook for more information.
During the month of April I will be featuring a Cherry Blossom Photo of the Day, sourced from the Miss604 Flickr Pool and/or the #Photos604 tag on Instagram. You can barely walk a full block in the city without encountering a photographer capturing this pink blooms — or stopping yourself — so it’s the perfect time to start this series. Enjoy!
The canopy is filling in at the Stanley Park Rose Garden. Blossoms lead you to forest paths and if you know where to look, just around the corner from here is a permanent tribute to Shakespeare himself.
View more photography posts on Miss604 along with the Vancouver Photos of the Week.
This post has been contributed by Ben Hill, Communications Volunteer with the Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”). I have been following SPES since I moved into the West End almost eight years ago and I recently became a member. I wanted to offer the team an opportunity to share their news, events, and work so I have created “SPES Saturday” where they will be contributing stories with my audience once a month.
Co-Existing with Coyotes
ere’s a common conversation in Vancouver neighbourhoods these days: “Did you see that? Was it a dog? No, I think it was a coyote!” Since they first arrived in the 1980’s from the deserts and grasslands of the Midwest United States, coyotes have successfully adapted to living in an urban environment. Vancouverites frequently spot them in parks, school grounds, golf courses and neighborhoods.
Photo by Robin Worcester
For the large coyote population that calls Vancouver home, spring is an important time of year. Breeding takes place between January and March and the female coyote will dig a den, or use a past den to rear her pups. Although you may encounter a coyote loping along your street, you’ll rarely come across their dens. They are well hidden to keep the pups safe. Ideal denning locations include secluded parts of parks and golf courses, behind blackberry bushes, and underneath abandoned buildings.
Photo by Mark T. White
The female gives birth to the pups in March and April and the coyote parents spend the next four months raising them. The average litter size is between four to seven pups, but this can vary depending on how much food is available. By the end of August the pups will be ready to start life alone. Usually one or two pups will remain in the family pack to assist with the next pup rearing season, helping to find food and train young coyotes to hunt. The rest of the surviving pups will start their lives alone in the city, searching for new territory and food sources.
Report a Den or Coyote Sighting
While coyotes are naturally afraid of people, during breeding season coyotes tend to be more territorial. Like most animals, they take the safety of their young ones very seriously and this can also make them defensive. If you come across an active den site or pups, please report it to the Stanley Park Ecology Society online or call 604-681-WILD and avoid the area.
What Else Can You Do?
There are several simple things you can do to make living around coyotes safe for you and the animals. It’s extra important at the moment because over the next couple of months, young coyotes will be learning the skills they need to survive in the city. If we aren’t careful, the young coyotes may learn to depend on people for food, rather than learning how to hunt for their own favourite foods like rats and squirrels.
Never feed coyotes: Feeding coyotes is bad for the health and safety of both coyote and community. Unfortunately when coyotes are fed, they lose their natural fear of people and will become aggressive. It is only a matter of time before aggressive coyotes behave badly and will have to be destroyed.
Keep your house and yard clean: Sometimes we feed coyotes by accident. Coyotes are generally scavengers and will take any opportunity for an easy meal.
Photo by Mark T. White
Garbage: Keep a secure lid on all your garbage, and don’t litter.
Compost or leaves: Keep compost covered and reduce food smells by adding newspaper.
Pet food: Do not feed pets or store food outside.
Tree fruit: Coyotes don’t mind a tasty fruity snack; pick your tree fruit before it falls.
Rodents: Clean up anything – including spilled bird feeder seed – that attracts rodents to your yard. Rodents attract coyotes as they make up at least 75% of a coyote diet.
For more tips on how to co-exist with coyotes, check out Stanley Park Ecology Society website.
Earlier this year there was a call out for design ideas for this summer’s Robson Redux that will close Robson to traffic between Howe and Hornby, engaging those who pass by.
78 entries have been received from designers and architects, including candidates from Japan and Spain. A jury will ultimately decide which project is both fitting and feasible, but the public will be able to vote for their favourite idea online and select a peoples’ choice winner. [Source: Vancouver Metro]
Robson Redux: Entries
I like concepts that combine unique design elements along with the ability to chill out, relax, and slow things down in the midst of the city’s hustle and bustle. Here is a small sample of the entries that have been revealed:
Colourain | The Rolling Hills on Robson
The Coves | Robson Crown
Urban Reef | Robson Rollax
Be sure to vote in the online gallery poll until it closes April 13, 2014. The winner will be announced on April 15th.
VIVA Vancouver is a public space program that specializes in turning road spaces into people places. Working with various community partners, the program is aimed at re-purposing road space to create temporary or semi-permanent public space. In doing so, VIVA Vancouver lays the foundation for a vibrant public space realm that fosters social connections between neighbours and encourages residents to engage in active modes of transportation like walking or cycling.
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is now open for 2014, running from April 1st until April 30th in Washington State around La Conner and Mount Vernon.
Our photos from Tulip Town, 2011
You can drive to various tulip, daffodil and iris fields and events or do a cycling tour. There are dozens of locations for activities with Tulip Town (15002 Bradshaw Road) and RoozenGaarde (15867 Beaver Marsh Road) being hubs.
Tulip Town and RoozenGaarde
RoozenGaarde will be open from 9:00am to 7:00pm daily through the end of April. Right now the early spring blooming tulips, daffodils, and other bulbs are coloring the garden at 15867 Beaver Marsh Rd. in Mount Vernon.
Tulip Town is opening early this spring, ready to greet visitors starting at 9:00am through the end of April. The growers at Tulip Town report they have early varieties blooming to greet visitors at 15002 Bradshaw Rd. in Mount Vernon.
Tulip Festival Info
There are several special events throughout the month, art shows, and even local museums, breweries, and wineries join in the fun with specials. Mount Vernon and La Conner are about 100km south of Vancouver and 90km north of Seattle just off the I-5.
Our photos from Tulip Town, 2011
Follow the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival on Facebook and Twitter for more information and stop on by later this month to see all of the beautiful tulips in bloom.
