The Nectar Trail in Vancouver

In cities many bees have been pushed out of their natural habitat by urban development. The remaining bees end up living in "islands" within the city: meadows, naturalised parks and community gardens. They then have to move between these "islands" through trails of green space in which they feel comfortable. This is not easy.





Last year, a group called the Environmental Youth Alliance, partnering with the City of Vancouver, and local residents and schools, began to develop a plan to facilitate habitat for pollinators, and The Nectar Trail is happening in our neighbourhood with a corridor linking VanDusen Gardens to Queen Elizabeth Park.

On our regular walks the past year to VanDusen we've noticed a wild space of flowers along West 37th Avenue, near Oak Meadows Park, along with something called the Insect Hotel (a telephone booth re-used). Along with the off-leash area for dogs and a popular playing field, the park has been naturalised to the benefit of not just bees, but other wildlife too. One night we watched as two young owls learned to hunt.








The Nectar Trail project only began last year, though much advance work was needed to bring it to life. It is a fantastic example of what can happen when great ideas and good people come together for an even greater common good.

Photos by Jim Murray.
Copyright 2014.

Caffe Artigiano ~ Vancouver Coffee Shops part 12

Yet another coffee shop, this time in Kerrisdale and right next door to Faubourg, the wonderful French bakery-cafe that creates the best croissants in the city.

Caffe Artigiano is a local chain of ten coffee shops through Metro Vancouver and four, opening soon, in Calgary of all places. They are anchored by their own roasting facility in Burnaby.

I used to be an almost-regular to their store in North Burnaby and was always impressed by their artistry, as well as the sweetness of the roast.







The coffee here is good and it certainly has that sweet aroma I recall from several years ago. There was an distinctive hint of chocolate to my espresso, and they readily make a proper cappuccino and macchiato.





Compared to the place next door, Caffe Artigiano is a more relaxed and quieter space, which is often welcome in a coffee shop. Background music was subdued and there weren't any screens that I noticed; another plus to be sure.





For pastries it is perhaps impossible to beat Faubourg, but for coffee... we might have to come again to Caffe Artigiano.

Photos by Jim Murray. 
Copyright 2014.

Canada Day and World Cup futbol

It's Canada Day and what better way to start the day than with another World Cup game at nine in the morning.





Many of my comrades would choose to go to a coffee shop or pub along Commercial Drive but I chose to walk to my club: the Langara Golf Club. And why not? It's only a fifteen minute walk from home with great views and excellent sandwiches, and it's proudly owned by the citizens of Vancouver. On a serious negative side, beer and wine cannot be served until after eleven, given our strange liquor laws. If I had known that at eight in the morning...




The golfers were certainly out on this fine holiday morning and there was no sign of coyotes on the fairway today.

The futbol crowd had not yet materialized and I had a relatively easy time picking out a table. Well, in truth, the crowd never did materialize.

In the end los Albicelestes were the better team, though the Swiss, oddly perhaps, kept the game scoreless through the regulation ninety. Finally, and only moments before the end of extra time, and the dreaded shootout, Di Maria scored after a beautiful set up by Messi. One picture says it all.




But two or three say it much better.

And so it goes. One game closer to the final victory and another smile from Lionel.

Happy Canada Day!

Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2014. 
Game photos from La Nacion, Buenos Aires.

Stay calm. Messi on.

Game 2. Another difficult game for the Albicelestes and another brilliant winning goal by Lionel Messi. And a rare smile too.



We can all sleep well tonight.

Photo from La Nacion.

Crows ~ in our tree

We have a family of crows living in a tree just off our balcony. We started to see them in April as they began to build their nest. Twigs, string, bits of plastic and paper have all gone into the tree to build the nest. Often a family member will perch on another tree nearby to keep lookout.

The nest can't be seen, due to dense layers of leaves, but it is in there somewhere.
























In early spring, crows build large and bulky nests, messy affairs actually. The female lays three to six or seven eggs that are incubated for about 18 days. The eggs are apparently blue with brown splotches. Once hatched, and we think our babies have hatched, the young crows remain in the nest for six to eight weeks as they grow their feathers.

Sometimes, if we listen carefully, we can hear what must be the sounds of the future fledglings. Otherwise it tends to be rather quiet around the tree, especially when considering the otherwise highly vocal and often noisy nature of crows. Sometimes one of the adults will kick up a fuss, or maybe it's a celebration, but most of the time you would never know a family of crows was in the tree. The adults slip in and out of the tree almost secretively, as though we might never notice.





Crows are very interesting members of possibly the most intelligent avian group: the Corvidae. Members include magpies, blue jays and ravens, which Sherry and I saw during our three months in Dawson City, Yukon.

Crows mate for life, have over 20 different vocalisations, are devoted to family and friends and, like Jeem, tend to eat just about everything and anything. They are also curious about what goes on around them, as are we of them and their new family, yet unseen by Sherry y Jeem.

Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2014.