17 Thursday Jul 2025
Posted in business, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
APC, big girl pants, blessed, koi, learning, moments, nature, pond, professionals, The Leaf, tropical biome, water, widow
had a lovely few minutes in the Tropical Biome watching one of the animal care professionals feeding the koi ;-)…
they check on the fish a few times each day to feed, as well as count, them and do a quick overview to make sure they are all doing well…
it is always great to spend a few minutes and learn something new at each opportunity;-)…
20 Friday Jun 2025
Posted in business, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
Ambassador, APC, Assiniboine Park Conservancy, big girl pants, blessed, Conservatory, feet, heavy horses, learning, mentors, moments, nature, The Leaf, volunteer part 2, volunteers, weather, widow, zoo
once orientation was completed, I signed up for my first of three (3 hour) different sessions…
the first session consisted of a tour of the zoo with a more senior volunteer and two other newbies… everyone we met was so helpful and provided us with lots of information…
I hadn’t been to the zoo for a while so it was a lovely refresher… the zoo is a very busy place…
and I left with my volunteer t-shirt;-)…
the next session was with a mentor, usually one-on-one, but it ended up with two newbies with our mentor… they know so much about all the goings on at the zoo, and were happy to share with us…
part of our training included time at the McFeeter’s Heavy Horse Centre… we got to watch the new Shire horses, Willow and Willy, move from the barn to the paddock…
I must say, by the end of our three hour shift, my feet were a tad sore, lol…
my last and final session was at The Leaf… the first half was touring the space and learning a few new things… one exciting thing was getting to walk out on the second floor balcony that overlooks the Tropical Biome…
it is reserved for those who rent the various spaces on that floor… and, that the floor on that level is sprinkled with the glass from the old Conservatory;-)…
then we practised in three different areas…
I learned that there are a few places between the zoo and The Leaf that have to have someone in attendance at all times…
so, if no volunteers are available, a staff member has to take over… it is clear that volunteers save time so staff members can focus on their important work…
I have now finished my first two shifts as a bonafide Volunteer Ambassador…
say hi if you spot me… most likely at The Leaf for now…
18 Wednesday Jun 2025
Posted in business, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
APC, Assiniboine Park Conservancy, big girl pants, blessed, learning, moments, nature, orientation, process, Technology, The Leaf, volunteer part 1, widow, zoo
for quite some time my family have been encouraging me to volunteer at The Leaf…
I considered it and eventually decided to apply… the application process begins in March and starts with an online form… I still find it difficult to talk about my qualities…
after a few weeks I was invited to register for an in-person meeting, which I did… I got a message two days before the actual meeting time saying they were expecting me that morning, about 40 minutes from when the email arrived… yikes… thankfully I called and was told the email was an error and my appointment was when I expected… took a few moments for my heart to settle down, lol…
I arrived for the meeting right on time and had a lovely half hour with a volunteer who shared information and also asked a few questions… it was interesting to learn about some of the opportunities that are available…
next was an email with four modules to review and then register for an in-person orientation…
the four online modules were informative and straightforward and once they were completed, I signed up for a three-hour orientation to take place somewhere at APC…
the first one was cancelled due to illness, so I ended up at one a few weeks later… we met in one of the zoo camp classrooms…
there were twenty of us in the class and we learned together in small and large groups… it was a great opportunity to meet with others who wanted to help out as volunteers…
after nine more hours of training, I will be an APC volunteer…
part 2 to come;-)…
28 Wednesday May 2025
Posted in business, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
arborist, big girl pants, blessed, cold, gardens, moments, nature, plants, Technology, The Leaf, tree, weather, widow
had a surprise visit to The Leaf last week…
I was supposed to meet my adventure buddy for a walk around the English and Leo Mol Gardens… it was cold and windy and I may not have had the warmest clothes on, lol…
I walked over and found a tree trunk down across the path between the walking bridge and the entrance to the Gardens…
reported it to one of the gardeners who was working close to the entrance and they were going to notify the arborist…
once we met up, we decided to walk around The Leaf instead;-)… got the tickets online as we drove over and headed in…
it looked as though the gardeners had done a big pruning job and made a bit of space around the Tropical Biome… views of the water had been trimmed up nicely…
I often take photos of the same things, lol…
fun time, as always;-)…
13 Sunday Apr 2025
Posted in business, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, butterflies, flora, flowers, koi, Mediterranean, moments, nature, plants, pond, solo, The Leaf, trees, tropical, weather, widow
had another solo visit to The Leaf on Friday as I’d read that the flowering trees in the current display area were nearly finished blooming due to the heat…
I was surprised at how many people were there as I expected everyone to be outside enjoying the 17° C gorgeous weather…
as I entered the Tropical Biome I had to stop and wait a minute for the fog to clear from my glasses, lol…
happy to see the tiny flowers on two of the three cacao trees…
everything looked lush amidst the cooling mist that seems to be keeping the flora happy… quite surprised at how much the plants have grown… just last week it was easy to see all the way to the waterfall and now it is blocked again…
fun to watch one of the zoo keepers feeding the koi as I don’t often get to see that;-)…
the Mediterranean Biome had many flowers and the Babs Asper Display area held lots of plants, flowers, small trees, topiaries, and a truck filled with tulips…
the Butterfly Garden was busy with butterflies flitting about happily as they enjoyed the sunlight… the misting machines were also busy adding to the humidity and it felt very warm, lol…
so lucky to have this amazing place to visit;-)…
22 Saturday Mar 2025
Posted in business, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, biomes, blessed, butterflies, cacao trees, fish, flowers, koi, moments, nature, nursery, on my own, orchids, plants, The Leaf, weather, widow, zoo staff
had a lovely wander around The Leaf on Wednesday…
I went on my own for the first time and for anyone who knows me, that is pretty good…
the cacao trees are looking a bit sad, but most of the Tropical Biome looked good…
I spent quite some time watching the fish… they were very active swimming around the pond and a number of plants have been trimmed back so they are also much easier to see;-)…
the orchids in the Mediterranean Biome are still doing very well, with tons of blooms on them…
and the biggest surprise was the Butterfly Garden, which had more butterflies flying around than I’ve ever seen here…
zoo staff were letting a good number emerge from the nursery and there were many people admiring them as well… it is always fun to hear what the keepers have to say about the butterflies… they record each one as they release it…
then I took one last walk through the biomes as I waited for my ride…
21 Friday Feb 2025
Posted in business, health, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
1200, amaryllis, arches, Babs Asper Display, big girl pants, blessed, Blooms in Winter, family, flowers, garden, grandson, moments, nature, orchids, plants, Technology, The Leaf, widow
as you enter the Mediterranean biome there are dozens of amaryllis in various stages… some nearly done, while others are fully open… many with multiple petals…
absolutely gorgeous…
and then you step into the Babs Asper display area… twelve hundred orchids in one place;-)… heaven…
the Blooms in Winter display is so lovely, a perfect place to enjoy the beauty of orchids…
there are a number of arches to walk through and benches to sit on and enjoy the views…
orchids everywhere, beautiful shapes and sizes…
what a delight;-)…
can’t wait to go back;-)…
20 Thursday Feb 2025
Posted in business, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
banana, big girl pants, blessed, card, changes, flowers, garden, koi, moments, nature, orchids, plants, registration, The Leaf, thinning, tropical biome, widow
had a wonderful time at The Leaf on Tuesday…
first I spent time at the registration desk where they had to make me a new card as mine had stopped working… apparently the website has been misbehaving a bit, so hopefully the new card will solve that issue;-)…
then we went through the biomes… there were a number of baskets of orchids throughout the Tropical biome…
very humid, and it was obvious that there had been a serious trim and thinning of many of the plants…
the cacao trees had been cutback and all the pods have been removed…
the koi were very active… while we were there one of the zoo keepers came along and fed them… clearly the fish were waiting for them, lol…
the dwarf banana is just starting with a new set of banana fingers…
my housemate pointed out the difference between the dwarf and regular bananas… the dwarf has the banana fingers coming out of the flower, whereas the full-size banana has a flower at the end and the fingers below…
there are always subtle changes in the Tropical biome each time I visit;-)…
25 Saturday Jan 2025
Tags
artists, big girl pants, blessed, butterflies, coat check, designers, displays, family, FDV, Fleurs de Villes, flowers, gardeners, gather, koi, lunch, moments, nature, orchids, The Leaf, violin, widow
on Wednesday, my daughter and I spent six hours at The Leaf…
upon arrival we were surprised and delighted to discover a coat check for members… my coat was free and we paid $2 for my guest…
we were a bit early and shared a Rice Krispies square and hot chocolate while we waited for our entry time to the Biomes…
we had a great time in the Tropical Biome where we came across the head gardener and had an excellent conversation about the cacao trees and chocolate…
we visited the Mediterranean Biome to see the Fleurs de Villes displays and met and talked with at least four of the designers…
lunch at Gather was a delicious tomato bisque and grilled cheese focaccia for me, and duck poutine for my daughter…
for dessert she had the honey cake and I enjoyed the squash creme brûlée, which was delicious, lol…
back to visit both biomes where we learned about orchids from a regular gardener talk in the Tropical Biome, talked with two of the zoo staff who shared lots of information about the butterflies and the 52 koi in the pond…
we also got to hear a few violin pieces by Gwen Hoebig, who was one of the models for the FDV displays… my daughter took this photo…
it was hard to pick a favourite, but this time I chose the hoop dancer…
21 Tuesday Jan 2025
Posted in business, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, birthday, blessed, details, display, exhibition, Fleurs de Villes, flowers, friends, memories, moments, nature, plants, Technology, The Leaf, treat, widow
Monday was another delightful day at The Leaf…
our group went to view the Fleurs de Villes display after our birthday lunch at Gather…
as always, a walk through the Tropical Biome is rejuvenating…
we had such fun as each of us shared different points of interest as we wandered through the lush vegetation…
we visited the cacao trees, saw coffee beans, enjoyed new vistas of the fish, chatted about the banyan tree, spotted many heliconias, and got dripped on a few times, lol…
we moved on to the Mediterranean Biome for the Fleurs de Villes exhibition…
all of the mannequins (that represent the arts in the city) were very nicely done… we met two of the designers and spotted things we liked at every display… it was amazing to see the details that had been included…
after we’d been around once, most of us went around one more time, as we each made a decision on our favourite and filled out the ballot which we received as we entered the space…
the Fleurs de Villes exhibition is always stunning and such a delight to have had here two years in a row;-)…
one more visit to the exhibition in a few days…
herbiggirlpants 