If you’d like to enjoy the outdoors this weekend, I have lots of ideas for you, including a corn maze, birding sites, all sorts of boat cruises, and two urban spots where you can visit farm animals. If all that sounds too sedate, I also have the scoop on a couple of ziplining sites, as well as the drive-in version of RBC Bluesfest. And if you’d rather enjoy the world from your home computer, I’ve suggested a few ways to do that, too. If you’re heading out, bring your mask and travel safely!
Tour a garden and shop for soap in Vankleek Hill
On Sunday, August 2, you can take a socially distanced tour of the gardens at Garden Path Homemade Soap in Vankleek Hill, to find out how owner Tara MacWhirter transforms the herbs and flowers she grows on the heritage property into lovely soaps and other products. You’ll also learn about the benefits of organic gardening and companion planting. At the end of the tour, you’ll receive a small takeaway and a voucher for 20% off products in the garden’s charming boutique. The one-hour tour starts at 10:30am and will run rain or shine. Spaces are limited, and tickets are available on Eventbrite.
Enjoy a drive-in or online version of Bluesfest
As every music fan in the capital knows, this year’s usual version of RBC Bluesfest fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic. In its place, we have the RBC Bluesfest Drive-In, taking place at Place des Festivals Zibi in Gatineau (July 31 and August 1, 7 and 8). As at a drive-in movie, fans will sit in their vehicles to watch performances by Kellylee Evans (above), Shad, the Sam Roberts Band, Silla and Rise, and many other Canadian acts. Tickets are sold by the car and are still available. If you’d rather stream the shows from home, you can do that, too, via the National Arts Centre’s #CanadaPerforms website.
Zip through the air in Val-des-Monts or Fort Coulonge
In response to a reader question, I did a little digging to find out which ziplines in our area have re-opened for business. You can test your nerve by whizzing along a cable stretched high above the ground at Arbraska Laflèche in Val-des-Monts or Chutes Coulonge in Fort Coulonge. Reserve in advance.
Note that several other ziplines in the region remain closed, including those at Skywood Eco Adventure near Mallorytown (the entire park is closed) and at Camp Fortune in Chelsea (note, however, that the hiking and cross-country mountain biking trails at Camp Fortune are open).
Learn about birds and go birding
Long-time readers will know that I’m slowly developing my knowledge of birding. To that end, I spend a lot of time on All About Birds, a website run by Cornell University. And this week, I’ve discovered my new Favourite Thing on the Internet: a live webcam of a feeder at the Cornell ornithology lab in Ithaca, New York (see video above). Feeling blue about the whole pandemic situation? Switch this on and it just might cheer you up. The site also includes lots of free resources and affordable courses for new and experienced birders alike.
You can also get lots of great tips on birding in our region from the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club.
Once you’ve brushed up your birding knowledge, where can you take your binoculars to look for some new feathered friends? Popular birding sites in and around Ottawa include several spots in Britannia in Ottawa’s west end, the Mac Johnson Wildlife Area in Brockville, and the Mississippi Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary near Innisville. Trails are open, but please keep your distance from your fellow bird lovers.
P.S.: The City of Ottawa is currently looking for feedback on its proposed Bird-Safe Design Guidelines, which aim to keep birds from colliding with glass. The deadline for submitting comments is Friday, July 31.
Visit a farm in Ottawa
In what I’m sure will be welcome news for many families, the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum at the Central Experimental Farm is re-opening this weekend. The first two days (July 30 and 31) are for museum members only; as of August 1, it’s open for all. You’ll need to buy a timed ticket online in advance, so the museum can control the number of people on the site at any one time.
Also of note for barnyard fans: the Log Farm on Cedarview Road is re-opening for visitors this weekend, too. (Its farmers’ market has been running for a few weeks now, but this new opening is for visits on other days of the week). Beginning August 2, the farm will be open on Sundays and Wednesdays from 9:30am to 3pm. You can visit goats and other animals, use the play areas (which have been spread out for distancing), and bring a picnic to enjoy at one of the farm’s dozen picnic tables. Note that you need to buy timed tickets in advance.
Get lost in the corn in Vankleek Hill
Ouimet Farms in Vankleek Hill is opening its seven-acre corn maze for the season on August 1. The maze will be open on Saturdays and Sundays only this year, with COVID-19 distancing protocols in place. There are three different routes to the exit, so good luck!
Take a sightseeing cruise in Ottawa or the 1000 Islands
In areas of the province that have entered Phase 3, sightseeing cruises have been allowed to resume (with social-distancing rules). That means Ottawa Boat Cruise‘s tours of the Rideau Canal and the Ottawa River are up and running again. So, too, are 1000 Islands cruises offered by 1000 Islands and Seaway Cruises in Brockville, Rockport Cruises, and Gananoque Boat Line.
Shop outdoors in Carleton Place
Businesses throughout downtown Carleton Place will be offering deals during the Fresh Air Shopping and Dining Event, happening on Saturday, August 1, from 10am to 4pm.
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2 comments
If you need any bird photos to go with your articles, please check out philcolwillphotography.ca. All I ask for is recognition of any photo you use.
Birds Canada has used a few of my photos.
That’s very generous, Philip–thanks so much!