Farm Markets and Great Blue Herons

We saw a number of other interesting things while we were in B.C. now nearly 10 years ago, so here's a motley collection before we finish.  We visited several local farm markets, as our daughter preferred to 'buy local' when possible.  We also visited, more than once, a Great Blue Heron Sanctuary which was fascinating.  And of course there were the waterfalls.

Among the three farm markets we visited, this one was interesting for its educational programs.  This store not only had live animals but also an operating dairy with robotic milking you could watch.

Outdoors there were turkeys, a goat, a pony and pigs.  Inside was the dairy operation.  

And for each there was information provided in the hopes you would learn a little about where your food came from!  These farm stores operated by bringing together crops from numerous farms in the Fraser Valley.

The Great Blue Heron Sanctuary on the banks of the Vedder River, east of Abbotsford, was a popular destination.  As you can see by the map, there are several trails you can walk, including the observation trail (the purple one) where you can see the herons from a safe distance.  The heronry is the lighter patch of green forest.

And this is what we got to see, since we were not there during nesting season.  Great Blue Herons are colonial nesting birds, building huge nests high in the branches.

And again there was some educational info provided.

Right outside the interpretive centre were some hummingbird feeders.  This was an Anna's Hummingbird, known only from the west coast, so I had never seen one.

And finally I'll leave you with another waterfall, Devon Falls, located right inside the subdivisions of Abbotsford.  One more history lesson and then we'll move back to Ontario.