What to do with Tilly

Did you ever get a chance to visit Tilikum when he lived at Victoria's SeaLand? I remember visiting the facility as a child, a few years before it closed.  I remember the seals and the dolphins and I particularly remember how shocking the cold water was that hit my face after, I along with the crowd, was hit by a gigantic wave caused by one of the killer whales.  The large orca to soak the crowd that day was Tilikum, a bull Orca, that has since gained quite the track record with his human handlers.  

My latest article, Here the killer whales roam free, discusses the recent events surrounding this particular orca and my thoughts on the very controversial topic, please visit the link to read on.

Stargazing in the Okanagan

The Okanagan Valley of British Columbia has got to be one of the best places in the world to go camping and to go stargazing, along with the many other great activities that can be found hidden throughout the beautiful region.  During the warm months of the spring, summer and fall nightly temperatures sometimes seldom vary from those of the day making a trip out of the city to higher elevations or cool lake breezes extremely welcoming when the city nights turn muggy.  As most of our cities are located in the valley bottoms, stargazers here so not need to go far as our beaches, mountain rises, and vacant valley bowls create some perfect view points for stargazing.

Apollo the spirit bear, now online!

I remember how exciting it was as a young adult when we first got to view the famous eagle nests that are visible online over a webcam feed and located at different points along North America’s pacific Coast.

Now, children and nature watchers all over the plant can also see British Columbia’s rare Spirit Bear up close and personal as he hibernates away the winter.

The white Black Bear, named Apollo by a pair of B.C. hikers who found his den last year and are responsible for the live feed in his den, looks comfy and cozy in his winter home, for now anyway. Apollo watchers should be ready though, as the warm weather continues in British Columbia, he may soon be considering his spring stretch.

Would you like to read more about British Columbia’s Spirit Bear? Find more information, links to the Spirit Bear website and video footage of our new online friend at Watch the Spirit Bear as he sleeps, my newest article for the Vancouver Headlines Examiner and at BCSpiritBear.com.

Linger, a morning poem of inspiration

Happy Monday to all my readers,

I thought it best to start the week on a happy note.  Below, is an excerpt from one of latest poems from Helium.com and Poems of Time. If you have an extra minute, check it out!

Linger - by Jessica A. Tucker - Helium:

"As days pass by, by hours

Speeding mindlessly down the road

Before we know it, life as we see

Is gone like a summer’s warm breeze..."

Tips for watering your garden

Sitting down to my afternoon of work today, I looked out the window for a moment to find the last remnants of snow surrounding my house, be washed away by the first spring rain. I found the moment almost amusing as I looked down to find the first article on my list revolved around the watering of gardens. As this subject wholly applies to the Okanagan, I have included a link to the article below. If you have a minute, take a look!

Tips for watering the vegetable garden - by Jessica A. Tucker - Helium

"In the day and age of global warming, climate change, or what ever name you wish to put to our changing nature of our environment, water is not accessible as it once was in many areas of the world. This has created a situation were all of us must reevaluate our water usage habits, especially during the warmer months of the year. Several tips exist for watering outdoors and a vegetable garden, in the following will be discussed the most efficient of these watering tips when watering a vegetable garden. Practices such as water usage, time of day and waste prevention will be examined..."

Excerpt from Tips for watering the vegetable garden.

Fresh snow for South Okanagan mountains

Well, I had a great weekend, the first I have taken off in many. I hope you all had a great one as well. Drinking my first cup of coffee of the day, I thought about what I would post about today. Then, Mother Nature seemed to answer the question for me. Looking out the window small flakes could be seen beginning to accumulate upon my deck. Within a hour or so, it began to dump snow. So, today's post is largely directed to our snow lovers out there and anyone planning on driving in the higher elevations of the South Okanagan.

If you have to drive anywhere today, be prepared to take your time! If you have the day off, get out those skis, boards, or sleds and head up the mountain because...

Winter isn't over yet!

Poems of Time, Torn

Another poem has just been added to Poems of Time and seeing as it is very much about nature and the current state of our planet I wanted to also make note of it here. A brief excerpt and link has been included below.

Poems of Time: by Jessica A.Tucker: Torn, by Jessica Tucker:

"A world torn, people divided

Giants rip and tear at our planet.

A river here, a lake there

Another species bites it..."

Please visit Poems of Time to view this and other poems.