Latest / Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam / A Coffee with Alana Tollenaar, Owner of Backyard Birds Nature Shop!

Transcript

A Coffee with Alana Tollenaar, Owner of Backyard Birds Nature Shop! · Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam

0:01
Hi, I'm Alana Tollenaar, and you are listening to Coffee in the Park with Jennifer and Cam.
0:27
Jennifer, what a weekend! Your Seahawks won the Super Bowl! Come on, Seahawks! Unbelievable.
0:35
It was.
0:35
It was, unbelievable.
0:36
Okay, but the question that I want to know, Cam.
0:39
Yes?
0:40
Is, what was your Super Bowl meal?
0:42
Oh, my Super Bowl meal was Wing Snob wings.
0:47
You did get the Wing Snob.
0:48
I got the 50-pack Super Bowl special from Wing Snob.
0:52
It was amazing.
0:52
50 wings.
0:53
50 wings, it was unbelievable.
0:56
Sitting there, eating my favorite wings, my favorite wings, watching the Super Bowl, and most of all, watching the Seahawks win.
1:02
Unbelievable.
1:04
What a game.
1:04
What a game.
1:05
What a day.
1:05
That's right.
1:06
It was great.
1:07
And then we had some, like, queso with dip and those kinds of things.
1:10
So, you know, it was well-rounded.
1:13
It was a good Seahawks meal, and it was an awesome day.
1:16
What are you going to do now the football's over on your Sundays?
1:18
I was actually, that's a guy I was thinking about that Sunday, or yesterday, actually.
1:23
Yesterday, Monday night, I was sitting there going, now what am I going to do?
1:27
Trying to think back to subsequent years of what I did when Super Bowl was over, and I couldn't remember, so I don't know.
1:33
Hockey, there's still hockey. There's the Olympics.
1:35
Hockey's good.
1:35
Oilers, there is the Olympics right now.
1:37
Yes, there is.
1:37
The Winter Olympics are on.
1:39
The Winter Olympics are on.
1:39
Yes, and I have some friends who are in the Olympics, the Women's Olympic Curling Team.
1:46
So I'll be cheering them on and doing that.
1:49
But yeah, I don't know.
1:51
Football will start again in probably like June.
1:57
Not a lot, right.
1:59
Yeah, and then like August, the games will start.
2:01
So I'm very, you know, that's not that far away.
2:03
That's true.
2:04
But anyway, so we have hockey to get through, go Oilers, make it to the Stanley Cup, then we're good.
2:09
Then there's a small gap.
2:10
But yeah, anyway, I'm very excited.
2:13
I'm very happy that my Hawks won.
2:14
Yeah, you should be.
2:15
Leading up to it, I was just, well, you know, you were around me.
2:18
So yeah, it was good.
2:19
It's true.
2:19
Anyway, tell people where we're coming from today.
2:22
Today, we are coming once again live from the Wall Coffee Roasters in the heart of beautiful downtown Acheson.
2:30
That's right.
2:30
So if you hear some noises in the background, people talking, coffee machines whirring, children, no children today.
2:37
It's because we're live from the Wall Coffee Roasters.
2:39
If you've never been to the Wall Coffee Roasters, you need to come because it's an awesome place.
2:44
Located at 27717 Acheson Road, in beautiful downtown Acheson.
2:48
That's right, beautiful downtown Acheson.
2:50
So come check it out and have a coffee and a latte or a chai.
2:55
They have new drinks.
2:56
I forget what those are.
2:57
The Strawberry Matcha.
2:58
Strawberry Matcha.
2:59
And the Strawberry Mocha.
3:00
Strawberry Mocha.
3:01
I have not tried either.
3:02
No, me neither.
3:03
So I can't give a review.
3:03
So I can't give you a critique on those Wall Coffee Roaster drinks, but I'm sure they're good because they're from the Wall Coffee Roaster, as Michael Wall just walks by us, the owner of the Wall Coffee Roasters.
3:16
Anyway, yeah, come on down and check us out.
3:18
And we need to also tell you that Coffee In The Park, we've already mentioned the name, but Coffee In The Park is brought to you by Wing Snob Canada.
3:27
Where the wings are fresh, never frozen Cam.
3:29
Fresh, never frozen.
3:31
And I can attest to that.
3:32
My wings were fresh, fresh, fresh.
3:34
That's right.
3:35
They were amazing.
3:36
16 flavors and four rubs.
3:38
That's right.
3:38
You can get cornbread, you can get fries, you can get veggies.
3:41
It's awesome.
3:43
If you've never been to a Wing Snob, I suggest you check it out.
3:45
Hey, maybe, maybe for the Olympics, you're watching the Canadian team play, hockey team play, McDavid and the people. Go after it! Pick up some wings! Get some wings.
3:54
Ten locations in the city of Edmonton.
3:57
Calgary's opening, or is it already open?
3:59
I think Calgary's open.
3:59
Calgary's open and then they're opening one up north.
4:02
And I'm telling you folks, I'm not even kidding you, the wings were great on Sunday.
4:06
Wing Snob does an amazing job and I just loved them.
4:09
So check it out, www.wingsnob.ca for Wing Snob.
4:14
Also, we want to mention...
4:16
Our friends over at Mprint Sign and Print Solutions here in Acheson.
4:21
They are the best printers you will ever find for all of your printing needs.
4:25
That's right, all of your printing needs, whatever it is, business cards, brochures, booklets, whatever you need, even if you need a vehicle wrapped.
4:34
They wrap vehicles. They do! Decals, all that kind of stuff.
4:38
They do amazing work.
4:39
Jan and Don are amazing people right here in Acheson.
4:41
And they're just growing by leaps and bounds.
4:43
They sure are.
4:44
Because they're becoming so popular, because they do amazing work.
4:48
Mprint www dot.
4:51
Mprint dot ca.
4:53
dot ca.
4:53
Check them out, folks.
4:54
I'm very excited about today.
4:56
I have to be honest, Jennifer, it's a little bit mixed for me today.
5:00
A little mixed.
5:00
Well, it is a little mixed for you.
5:02
Yeah.
5:03
But I know it's going to be a great podcast, and I'm going to learn a ton.
5:07
But I have some apprehension.
5:09
Well, hopefully this will quell your fears.
5:11
Do you like that word?
5:12
Quell your fears.
5:13
That's a good word.
5:14
Thanks.
5:14
Okay. By the end of this podcast.
5:15
Before we start, though, and I appreciate the quelling of my fears, there's a word you wanted to use.
5:21
Thank you for reminding me.
5:23
Yes, because you wanted this to be your word of the year.
5:25
I did.
5:26
The word of the year, and I'm calling it people, is levity.
5:29
Levity.
5:30
We need a little levity in our lives.
5:31
Jennifer came into my office not long ago and looked at me and said, we need a little levity.
5:37
The world's a little ehh, so we need a little levity.
5:40
We need levity.
5:41
All right.
5:41
If you don't know what levity means, go to ChatGPT and look up levity, and it'll give you like 50 definitions.
5:48
I'm calling it.
5:49
It's the word of the year.
5:49
Jennifer's calling it.
5:50
So you may hear, I'm just saying, you may hear that word a lot on the podcast this upcoming year.
5:57
But it's a good word because we do need a little levity.
5:59
We sure do.
5:59
But getting back to today, because today it's not really levity, although there is, but it could bring levity to people's lives.
6:09
I think it does.
6:10
It brings joy.
6:11
It brings joy.
6:12
That's right, joy.
6:13
And so, let's get on with it.
6:15
Why don't you introduce our guest?
6:16
I'm so excited for our guest today because... You are so excited. I am.
6:19
I love her store.
6:21
We've been talking about this for so long.
6:23
It is so cool.
6:24
Okay.
6:25
So our guest today is Alana Tollenaar, who is the owner of Backyard Birds in Spruce Grove.
6:32
Yay, welcome, Alana.
6:34
Backyard Birds.
6:36
Yes, indeed.
6:37
You don't sell hamburgers.
6:38
I don't.
6:39
No, no.
6:40
Sometimes chicken, though.
6:41
Chicken.
6:43
Okay, we'll save that for down the road a little bit.
6:46
Okay, I like that.
6:47
All right.
6:48
Okay, we're going to start it off like we do each and every one.
6:51
We need to know, Alana, where did you grow up?
6:55
Where were you born?
6:55
Where did you grow up?
6:56
Yeah, I was born just south of Spruce Grove on an acreage.
6:59
My parents have a 10-acre property there.
7:03
I have been there my whole life, and now we're building a house on the acreage as well.
7:07
Awesome.
7:08
I've never really left.
7:09
I just love it so much in this area.
7:10
Right.
7:11
So your life has been Spruce Grove.
7:12
It has.
7:13
So did you go to high school in Spruce Grove?
7:14
I did.
7:15
So I went to elementary all out at Graminia School, which is kind of right between Spruce Grove and Devon.
7:19
Oh, Graminia, yeah, yeah, yeah.
7:22
And then I went to Spruce Grove Composite High School, and then I went to the University of Alberta.
7:28
Did you live at home or live on campus?
7:30
I lived at home for a little bit, and then I lived with my husband near campus for a little bit too.
7:37
And then we decided we wanted to be out on the acreage, so now we're building our home on the acreage too.
7:43
Now, I read, and you have to correct me if I'm wrong, that your dad was a zookeeper.
7:48
He was, yeah.
7:49
What? Yeah, cool life.
7:50
Your dad was a zookeeper? It was a cool life.
7:51
Okay, tell us a little bit about that.
7:54
Yeah.
7:55
I mean, we grew up with animals for sure, because how can you not?
8:00
So he was a zookeeper at the Edmonton Valley Zoo for almost 30 years.
8:04
Serious?
8:04
Yeah, yeah.
8:05
Yeah, I'm super excited right now.
8:07
Because as a kid, I always went to the Valley Zoo.
8:10
Perfect, yeah.
8:11
I'm sure you saw my dad.
8:12
Wow.
8:13
Yeah.
8:14
The day when they had the train that drove around.
8:16
Storyland Valley.
8:17
It was called Storyland Valley Zoo.
8:20
That's what it was.
8:21
It was amazing.
8:22
I love Storyland Valley Zoo.
8:24
They had Humpty Dumpty.
8:25
I was just going to say, they did.
8:26
They did an auction or something for him.
8:28
Did they? Yeah.
8:29
Why didn't you bid on that?
8:31
If I had known, because I would have pushed Humpty Dumpty off the wall and then put him back together again, just like it goes.
8:37
So that's what your dad did. He did.
8:38
He was at the zoo.
8:39
And his specialty was actually birds of prey.
8:42
Okay.
8:43
So I think that's kind of where the bird thing came from a little bit.
8:47
So if you ever saw the flight demonstrations at the Valley Zoo, he ran that whole program.
8:51
He ran that whole thing.
8:52
Wow.
8:53
I remember when I was about, I don't know, 10 or 11, I would say.
8:58
He brought home two baby snowy owls to hand raise.
9:01
No! Really?
9:02
Yeah.
9:03
So we had snowy owls in our living room, our kitchen.
9:06
Do you know what the worst part about having a snowy owl roommate is?
9:10
Well.
9:10
I just want to let you guess.
9:12
I can think of a lot of things, but I don't know what the worst would be.
9:16
Don't they like, doesn't their whatever they eat, doesn't it come out like whole?
9:22
Yeah.
9:23
So yeah, you're right.
9:23
So they eat things whole, like their favorite thing is like mice.
9:27
They'll eat the full mouse and then they do, their body can't digest like anything, like bones or fur.
9:34
So they do like puke up owl pellets, which is very cool.
9:38
But that's not the worst part.
9:39
The worst part is like the pre owl pellet part.
9:41
Okay, so like, I'm 10 and I'm opening the freezer to find an ego waffle.
9:47
And beside the ego waffle, there's like a bunch of dead mice, right? For the owl?
9:51
Yeah, not for her.
9:53
No, I was going to say, the family didn't like to have dead mice kicking around.
9:58
Here's the thing, we weren't going to buy a separate freezer for the dead mice.
10:00
Well, no, that's a big investment.
10:02
Suddenly I didn't want ego waffles anymore.
10:04
No, I guess not.
10:05
Or anything from the freezer.
10:07
Did these touch the mice?
10:09
Right, honestly.
10:10
It was really great, though.
10:11
And did they make a lot of noise?
10:13
Did they like?
10:14
So they thought my dad was their mom, which I think is the funniest thing ever.
10:17
That's so funny.
10:18
So when they saw us, not as much, but when they saw my dad, they got really like, oh, hello, mama.
10:24
Wow.
10:25
Now, because your dad was the zookeeper at the Storyland Valley Zoo, did you get to go to the zoo for free?
10:31
Oh, yeah.
10:31
All the time?
10:32
Oh, yeah.
10:33
Okay, that right there.
10:34
You go in the staff entrance, they know.
10:35
That's like a childhood dream right there.
10:38
If somebody, if you were from Edmonton and somebody said, you can go to the zoo for free, you'd go crazy, that would just be the best.
10:44
Yeah.
10:44
It would.
10:45
He would make you work for it, though.
10:46
Oh, would he?
10:47
Yeah.
10:47
You didn't just get to go and hang out.
10:48
You have to help out, yeah.
10:49
Well, wasn't a freebie.
10:50
No.
10:52
Unofficial volunteers.
10:53
Did they have? I don't know if I should bring this up.
10:54
Did they have the elephant?
10:55
Oh, yeah.
10:55
Yeah, they had Lucy?
10:56
Yeah, my dad worked with her for a while.
10:58
Yeah?
10:59
I loved Lucy.
11:00
Yeah, she, he worked with her for a while, but then he decided that elephants were not quite his thing.
11:05
Right.
11:06
Birds really were.
11:07
So you come by it honestly.
11:09
I guess so.
11:10
Like when did you, like going through, say high school, what did you think?
11:14
What were you going to do?
11:15
No, in high school, I thought I was going to be an engineer.
11:17
And then in grade 11, I did an internship, and I was like, if I do this, I think I'll hate my life forever.
11:26
No offense to engineers.
11:27
No offense.
11:28
You're good people.
11:28
My brother-in-law is an engineer.
11:30
Super great guy.
11:31
Absolutely.
11:32
I couldn't do it.
11:33
Thank you for those who can't, you know?
11:36
What were you thinking then?
11:37
Like, I don't want to be an engineer, but...
11:39
I didn't know.
11:40
I was like, I'm good at science, good at math, started at the University of Alberta, just in general science.
11:46
And then I took one class in environmental management, and they were like, okay, we're going to do some calculations to count caribou in a field.
11:53
And I'm like, oh, this is it.
11:56
Folks, I wish you could have seen her face.
11:59
She just lit up! She just lit up on the counting of the caribou.
12:02
Like, I'm not even kidding.
12:04
Like, it's just like, are you kidding me?
12:07
Like, this is the best thing that could ever happen.
12:09
Right there.
12:09
If you're that excited about that, you know that's your future career path.
12:12
So did you go count caribou?
12:14
Well, we did the math calculations to do it.
12:19
And then I was like, I don't know about caribou.
12:20
How about birds?
12:21
Yeah, how about birds?
12:22
Yeah.
12:22
All right.
12:24
Yes, I finished my degree there.
12:26
I'm doing a degree now, actually.
12:27
I'm doing my master's degree right now. In?
12:30
Environmental education.
12:31
Okay.
12:31
So I like to teach people about nature.
12:33
Yeah.
12:34
I've got one for you.
12:35
Did you know a seahawk is actually an osprey?
12:37
I did know that.
12:38
Do you know why?
12:39
Because that came up on Sunday.
12:41
Somebody in the room, I'm not going to mention who, thought they were really smart.
12:46
And they're like, do you know what a seahawk is?
12:48
And I'm like, he's a seahawk.
12:49
And they like Googled it or ChatGPT or something.
12:52
It's an osprey.
12:54
Can I tell you something else about that?
12:55
I'm ready.
12:57
At the stadium in Seattle, because I used to live in Vancouver, and we used to go down to watch the seahawks play.
13:03
Matter of fact, the very last seahawks game I went to was with Michael Wall from the Wall Coffee Roasters, who just walked by again.
13:08
There he is.
13:09
Anyway, whenever the seahawks in Seattle, whenever they scored a touchdown, there was a guy and on his arm, he had a seahawk and he would let the seahawk go.
13:20
And the seahawk would fly all around the stadium, and then he'd come back and land on his arm.
13:25
And at first, I was a tad worried, because if the seahawk sees me, he might decide to pluck my eyes out.
13:33
But he never did, and I always thought that was so cool.
13:36
So yeah, he's an osprey.
13:37
They are an osprey.
13:37
Because some people think, I'm just saying this, some people think that seahawks, because they're from Seattle, is a fancy word for a seagull.
13:45
It's not a seagull. Not correct.
13:47
No, which I don't like seagulls.
13:49
I could tell you, I'm not going to tell you.
13:51
I'll tell you off air some stories about seagulls.
13:53
But anyway.
13:53
Did you know there's actually not a species in the world called a seagull?
13:56
They're just gulls, like ring-billed gulls, California gulls.
13:59
See, this is good to know, because when I go to Costco in the parking lot, there's seagulls flying around. Eating the fries that people tossed.
14:06
And I'm like, there's no sea around here.
14:08
No, there's not.
14:09
You're right.
14:10
We're in Alberta, we're in Edmonton.
14:11
I know, you're probably seeing ring-billed gulls.
14:13
Who gulls?
14:15
Ring-billed gulls.
14:16
Well, they're French fry gulls, because they're looking for the dropped French fry.
14:21
Okay, so far, this is amazing. You're learning a lot.
14:24
I know.
14:25
So far.
14:26
I know.
14:26
Okay, so you finished your degree.
14:30
Yes, and that was COVID.
14:31
At the end of my degree, it was COVID.
14:34
And I had applied to work at a bunch of places to do nature interpretation, but that wasn't really happening.
14:42
People weren't gathering.
14:43
No one was hiring.
14:45
It was terrible.
14:46
So I remember sitting with my dad in the loft above Sandyview Farms in Spruce Grove.
14:54
You like the loft.
14:55
I miss the loft so much.
14:57
They had the very best, breakfast, it was like a cheesecake, pancake, anything delicious.
15:03
We were sitting there and I was like, I don't know what to do.
15:06
This was going to be my career to interpret nature, kind of work maybe in parks, something like that.
15:12
And he's like, why don't we start our own business?
15:14
And I was like, you're actually kidding though.
15:16
This was in COVID.
15:17
Oh yeah.
15:17
Yeah.
15:18
Yeah.
15:18
I was like, have you lost your mind?
15:19
Like he had just retired too.
15:21
Right.
15:22
So I'm like, you want to go back to work?
15:23
Like what is happening?
15:26
And he's like, no, I think we should do it.
15:28
Really?
15:29
So I spent the next, well, I spent almost a year and a half building a business plan.
15:34
Right.
15:36
We did our own research, which consisted of driving around Spruce Grove, seeing how many people had bird feeders in their front yard.
15:43
Okay.
15:44
That is brilliant.
15:45
That is brilliant.
15:47
Like, okay, so you decided you're going to open a business.
15:52
What kind of business?
15:53
Well, we knew it was going to be bird feeding and nature.
15:55
Yeah.
15:56
Because bird feeding is the second largest hobby in North America behind gardening.
16:00
So, did you know that?
16:02
I did not know this.
16:03
Yeah.
16:03
I didn't.
16:04
This is amazing.
16:05
Yeah.
16:05
This is truly amazing.
16:06
Yeah.
16:07
Okay.
16:07
Bird feeding is the second largest hobby behind gardening.
16:10
Yeah.
16:10
All right.
16:11
And the two kind of, that's interesting.
16:13
Okay.
16:13
So you're going to open a bird store.
16:15
Yeah.
16:16
So you're driving around Spruce Grove.
16:17
Looking to see how many people have bird feeders in their yard.
16:20
And?
16:21
Really good outcomes.
16:22
We're like, look at all of these bird feeders.
16:24
This is great.
16:25
This is clearly something that this community already values.
16:28
Right.
16:28
And if they're needing bird seed to fill up their feeders, great.
16:32
We can provide that.
16:33
Right.
16:34
So we took our business plan to ATB, and ATB gave us some funding, and we opened our business in May of 2021.
16:40
Really?
16:40
2021.
16:41
Yeah.
16:41
Okay.
16:42
The absolute worst time to open a business.
16:43
In the middle of COVID.
16:45
Here's what's cool about this is, last week's guest.
16:49
Yes.
16:50
Rachelle, from Dani and Madi.
16:51
Was clothing store.
16:53
Opened in COVID.
16:54
Yeah, she's also a COVID baby, yeah.
16:55
That's right.
16:56
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
16:56
And how many people have we had on our podcast?
16:59
A lot that started their business.
17:00
Dan Cote-Rosen, Flat Boy Burgers.
17:02
So many.
17:03
All of them during COVID.
17:04
Yeah.
17:04
And I know, I will get back to it, but I just want to say, I think this is pretty cool because for all the negatives, we hear about COVID and it was, I'm not, trust me, I'm not, I'm, it was a terrible time.
17:16
But some amazing success stories.
17:17
This is amazing.
17:18
Yeah.
17:19
And we're hearing more and more of them.
17:21
You, you definitely, I like how you say it, COVID babies.
17:24
Yeah.
17:24
You are a class, you're like a graduating class under yourself.
17:28
Yeah, exactly.
17:29
And you're surviving.
17:30
And that's incredible.
17:31
Okay.
17:31
So you're going to open a store.
17:33
Yeah.
17:33
We opened a store in May of 2021.
17:35
We did our opening ceremony all masked up.
17:38
It was hard.
17:39
Yeah.
17:40
Because all I wanted do is smile at people.
17:42
Right.
17:42
Right.
17:43
And you know, tell them about.
17:44
You have a great smile.
17:45
About ospreys.
17:46
Like, and vultures.
17:47
Right.
17:48
I've got another one for you.
17:49
Okay.
17:49
Vultures.
17:50
Yeah, vulture.
17:50
So we get turkey vultures here.
17:52
Yes.
17:53
Pinkheads.
17:54
Yes.
17:55
Often we see them over, like, Chickakoo Lake and things.
17:58
Like, there's lots of them out there.
18:00
But did you know, vultures, to keep themselves cool, will defecate on their own legs?
18:06
The reason I, no, the reason I knew this, you're looking at me like, how did you know this?
18:10
How do you know this?
18:11
It's because, no, because there's turkey vultures in Cypress Hills in Saskatchewan.
18:15
And we went to an interpretive program in Cypress Hills and learned all about turkey vultures.
18:19
And it was so cool.
18:21
This is just another reason for me not to like vultures, other than the fact they scare the...
18:26
But now they poop on themselves.
18:28
Yeah, you can say it.
18:31
They poop on themselves, on their legs.
18:33
To keep themselves cool.
18:34
I see.
18:35
Okay, anyway, do we have them here in Acheson?
18:39
Oh, yeah, I'm sure you can see them here.
18:41
Here?
18:41
Have you ever seen them here?
18:42
No, I've never seen a turkey vulture here.
18:44
Yeah.
18:44
No.
18:44
I mean, we have them on my acreage just south of Spruce.
18:47
You do?
18:47
They're around.
18:48
They're wild.
18:49
Oh, yeah.
18:49
And they fly very high.
18:51
They do.
18:51
Very high up in the air.
18:52
Vultures are known for the kind of wobbling wings.
18:54
I remember vultures from the old Western movies.
19:00
When the guy would be in the desert. Someone would die.
19:02
Yeah, that's right.
19:03
The guy in the desert, he was like, you know, and he gets so hot.
19:07
And they always show the shot of the vulture circling.
19:11
Like they're just waiting for the guy to keel over.
19:14
But they did a study that said that vultures alleviate, like, it was millions of dollars.
19:19
I think it was like $4 million a year in health care costs because they, like, absorb all of these diseases and infections and things that would be passed on through, like, dead body, like animals, carcasses.
19:31
Okay, this is way too much information.
19:35
Wild, right?
19:35
This is unbelievable.
19:36
Vultures are great.
19:37
You have to love them.
19:38
Well, they scare me.
19:39
They just scare me.
19:41
Because as I was telling you earlier, I was in Africa and they have marabout.
19:45
Is a marabout considered a vulture?
19:47
Because he looks like a vulture.
19:49
They're big vultures.
19:50
They're like giant.
19:51
They're like my height.
19:53
And they scare me.
19:54
Okay.
19:55
Oh, wow.
19:56
This is unbelievable.
19:57
So really, in the western movie, that was a good thing that he was circling the guy in the desert who got shot or whatever. 100 percent.
20:04
All right.
20:04
No diseases carried out.
20:05
No diseases.
20:06
No diseases.
20:07
So you opened during COVID.
20:11
How was that?
20:11
How did the store do?
20:13
When you first opened the store, I mean, I've been to your store.
20:16
I love your store.
20:17
It's amazing.
20:20
Have you changed what you first started to bring in?
20:23
Was it initially just bird seed, bird houses?
20:29
What was the initial thoughts around that?
20:31
So at the beginning, it was a lot of bird seed, bird houses.
20:36
Now we've really ventured into supporting local businesses and local vendors.
20:40
And I have over 150 vendors from across Canada.
20:44
So I work with woodworkers in their backyard in Spruce Grove all the way to glassblowers in Ontario.
20:52
So it's really, really important to me to support other people that are creating beautiful things.
20:58
At the start, it was really like meat and potatoes is bird seed, bird feeders.
21:03
That still is.
21:05
That's what keeps our business going, is the bird seed, because it's a consumable product.
21:10
People keep coming back to fill their feeders.
21:12
But branching out has really, really been wonderful.
21:15
How it went in COVID was excellent, because no one could do anything else.
21:20
They could hang out in their yard.
21:21
That's right.
21:23
Watching the birds and decide, let's feed the birds.
21:26
Exactly.
21:27
Okay.
21:27
So tell us everything you sell, like not everything, but what all do you sell in your store?
21:32
Oh gosh.
21:33
Now, so much.
21:35
So we have kind of our bird seed corner, and that's where most people beeline to.
21:40
So you've got your bird seed, it's almost all grown in Alberta.
21:43
Yeah.
21:43
And then you've got your suet products.
21:45
So that's like a rendered beef fat mixed with nuts.
21:47
And that's good for like your woodpeckers and things like that.
21:51
And then you've got your logs, which you have here.
21:54
I brought you some logs.
21:55
Yeah, you brought us these.
21:56
Now, you said that your husband.
21:58
My button.
21:59
These are amazing.
22:00
Your husband made these.
22:01
Yeah.
22:02
So my husband and I developed this system to make these logs that are held together using gelatin.
22:10
Yeah, that you can hang out in your yard.
22:11
Yeah.
22:12
And it really reduces the mess quite a lot.
22:14
Because the birds are just taking.
22:15
Oh, this is why I love it.
22:17
This one that you gave us here.
22:18
Birds can be very messy.
22:19
Right.
22:20
This one that you gave us here has shelled peanuts, dried mealworms.
22:24
Oh yeah, I can see them in there.
22:27
Sunflower kernels, sunflower kernels, dried cranberries and gelatin.
22:34
Yep, indeed.
22:35
So, this looks really, except for the little wormy things, this would be like good to eat.
22:40
It's like a giant granola bar. For birds.
22:41
Yes.
22:42
You can eat the worms, it's fine.
22:46
You can hang this in your office, and just every now and then, just take a chunk.
22:49
You could, you could.
22:50
This is cool.
22:51
Okay, and you guys make these. The birds love it.
22:52
We do.
22:53
We were getting them brought in from the States for a long time, and with all of the exchange rates, and the brokerage fees, and everything like that, it was just becoming.
23:05
Maybe bird tariffs, seed tariffs.
23:07
Yeah, it was hard.
23:08
So the cost that we were paying, it was just unreasonable to ask customers to pay those things.
23:16
So now, what we were paying is what we charge for these products that we make in house.
23:22
I think that's great.
23:22
I do too.
23:23
Do you also, do you bag bird seed?
23:25
Or just?
23:26
So most of it, we get pre-bagged from our supplier who's in Taber.
23:31
And sometimes we'll break it down ourselves.
23:32
But it's nice because we can use those mixes and create our own products like this one.
23:36
So we kind of make custom blends for this.
23:38
Listen, we're going to take pictures of these and put them on our Instagram page.
23:41
Yeah, we're going to put them on our Instagram page so you can see them, folks, and you can go get your bird seed.
23:45
Now, I take it for different species of birds.
23:49
There's different kinds of seed or food that is better for one or the other. Totally, yeah.
23:54
So you're catering to that.
23:56
If you have vultures in your backyard, you're going to have vulture seed or whatever.
24:01
You're going to have dead creatures.
24:03
Dead creatures in your yard.
24:05
You don't want that.
24:06
No.
24:07
But feeding like, when I even look at my own backyard, Yeah, what do you got in there?
24:11
Well, lots of, what do we have?
24:14
Well, your chickadees, your sparrows, the crows, the magpies come along.
24:19
We have had woodpeckers though.
24:21
Woodpeckers.
24:22
Yes.
24:22
Okay.
24:23
So I work for Genics right here.
24:26
And Genics, we manufacture wood preservation products for power poles.
24:32
Most people don't know this.
24:34
Do you know, so our products help to preserve a power pole, give it a longer life.
24:40
But do you know what the number two reason why power poles fail?
24:45
Woodpeckers.
24:46
Woodpeckers.
24:46
Yeah, 100%.
24:48
Yeah.
24:49
And like, this is a big deal, folks.
24:51
Like, woodpeckers destroy a lot of power poles.
24:54
And the problem is, and I'm being dead serious about this, it's an epidemic, and nobody can find an answer.
25:00
There are universities.
25:01
Nothing will deter them.
25:01
No, there are universities in Canada, I won't mention who, that are spending like a million dollars to try and find deterrence for woodpeckers on power poles.
25:11
I mean, they think they're standing dead trees.
25:14
Can you blame them?
25:15
Well, this is what I was told.
25:17
You can tell me if I'm wrong.
25:18
A woodpecker will come and he'll do his hole, get his bugs, build his little chalet in there, and then in the winter he flies away.
25:27
He comes back, woodpeckers come back to the same tree, but not the same hole.
25:35
They peck another hole.
25:36
This is why the power pole fails, because eventually it's weakened.
25:41
The integrity of the pole is by a number of holes from the woodpecker.
25:44
Yeah, yeah.
25:45
And nobody can...
25:47
I've had linemen tell me they attach little things to the pole that screeches.
25:53
And the woodpeckers don't care.
25:54
They still come.
25:56
I mean...
25:57
So if you can figure out a way...
26:00
I'm telling you right now, you'd make a billion dollars.
26:03
I'm not even kidding you.
26:05
Our R&D team is looking at ways to detract, deter woodpeckers.
26:09
And woodpeckers come in all sizes.
26:12
I mean, good for them, right?
26:13
Little ones, big ones.
26:14
They're working hard to give you work.
26:16
I know.
26:16
I don't know if they're the smartest because one day...
26:19
Oh, I think they are.
26:20
Well, one day, when I was in Vancouver, my office, we were in a big cement building, and I heard this, and I couldn't figure this out.
26:30
I walked outside.
26:31
Here was a woodpecker trying to, on the cement, on the cinder block, trying to get into the cinder block.
26:36
A lot of times when they're pecking on something that is clearly not wood, it's just territorial.
26:41
They're just trying to be loud and establish their dominance in that area.
26:44
Well, I felt bad for him, because I thought he's going to have a headache, because that's pretty, cement's pretty hard.
26:48
Okay, here's a fun fact, a headache.
26:50
Okay.
26:52
The way woodpecker tongues work, their tongue comes out like really, really far, but when it's in their head, it wraps all the way around their skull.
26:59
So it helps, it's kind of like a, like a built-in helmet situation.
27:03
Yeah, helps absorb the shock.
27:05
So.
27:06
That's amazing.
27:08
It's like a helmet, a little helmet through their brain.
27:11
Yeah.
27:11
Because you got to think, like, doing that.
27:14
Oh, like Advil City right there.
27:17
Yeah.
27:18
But this helps it.
27:19
It helps.
27:20
Do you know the other bird that I have that, and I'm going to ask you about this, and they're so noisy, they're beautiful, but they're noisy is the blue jay.
27:26
Oh, the blue jay.
27:27
And boy, do they make a mess.
27:28
They squawk.
27:29
They can.
27:29
They can.
27:30
You know what?
27:30
If you befriend them, they usually make a mess in your neighbor's yard and not yours.
27:36
Your neighbor is listening right now.
27:39
Don't you make friends with that blue jay.
27:41
Deb, if you're listening.
27:41
Yeah, don't make friends with that blue jay.
27:45
She's going to go, oh, you're in trouble now.
27:48
She's going to come over and get that blue jay out of here.
27:50
Okay.
27:51
So what do you feed them?
27:52
Their favorite thing is nuts, peanuts.
27:53
Yeah, I was going to say, and that's what you find, because they stash them, don't they?
27:56
They do.
27:57
They'll put them in your gutters.
27:58
I know.
27:58
I've noticed that.
27:59
Okay.
28:00
In my planted pots, they're- Holy smokes, this is just like- The blue jays have a special pouch in their throat.
28:05
It's called the Guler Pouch, and they can store, we've counted, full peanuts in the shell that you would get at five guys.
28:13
We're talking full nuts.
28:15
They can fit eight of those in their little pouch.
28:16
Come on.
28:17
It's wild.
28:18
They're not even that big.
28:19
Oh, I know.
28:20
Yeah, their throat just- Man, do they squawk.
28:23
Yeah.
28:24
I've been woken up by a few blue jays, and they're just like- Yeah, they're loud.
28:27
But eight peanuts.
28:28
I know.
28:29
Unbelievable.
28:30
Be so uncomfortable.
28:31
Okay.
28:31
All right.
28:32
So you sell seeds.
28:34
We do.
28:34
You sell bird houses.
28:36
Feeders, houses.
28:37
Yeah.
28:38
A lot of people don't realize that the houses, the house, the little hole, you don't put food in that.
28:45
That's just for their nesting.
28:47
I liken it to like you wouldn't put food in a baby's crib, so don't put food in the bird house because that's where they lay their eggs.
28:55
So yes, we do sell the feeders and the houses, and then we really branched out into like nature books.
29:02
We have jewelry, we have art, everything nature related.
29:07
I just got in some really great mugs that have owls on them and say nice hooters.
29:13
So those are good.
29:15
I should have brought you one of those actually.
29:18
All right.
29:19
The store is growing.
29:23
It's branching out.
29:25
Okay.
29:25
Yeah.
29:26
I like all the nature puns we're doing here.
29:28
It's great.
29:30
I love it.
29:32
It's levity.
29:34
It's levity.
29:35
It is.
29:35
If you need a little levity, head over to the bird store because it will be levity.
29:41
So I think one of the, because I follow you on social media as well, and your store is just so community minded and you've done such great things.
29:51
Now, this is a bit of a bit of an oxymoron, but you have to tell me the story about Sweets the cat because a cat in a bird store.
29:59
You have a cat in your store?
30:01
We do have a cat in the store, yes.
30:03
Okay, but just for clarification, do you have any birds in your store?
30:06
No.
30:06
No live birds?
30:07
It's not a bird store.
30:07
It's not a bird store.
30:09
It's not a pet store.
30:10
Right.
30:10
No, no live birds.
30:11
But you have a cat.
30:13
We do have a cat.
30:14
And aren't cats considered?
30:15
The irony isn't lost on me, I know.
30:17
Yeah, I was going to say.
30:18
They're actually the number one predator of songbirds.
30:20
They are.
30:20
So it's actually a great conversation starter about protecting songbirds.
30:25
But Sweets the cat came to us after a paint night.
30:30
We do lots of workshops and classes at the store.
30:33
All sorts of things.
30:34
So acrylic painting on canvas.
30:37
We have like a willow basket weaving class coming up.
30:41
We have like fused glass.
30:42
There's all sorts of classes that we offer to just bring people together and connect with nature in a different way.
30:48
So anyways, we had a paint night one night, and funny enough, in the paint night, I was telling the instructor, oh, we've been thinking about possibly getting a store cat.
30:57
Like it would be really nice to just like have a cat around.
31:00
That'd be great. At a bird store.
31:01
I know.
31:02
It's awesome.
31:03
I love cats.
31:04
That's my thing.
31:05
Well, no, birds are my thing.
31:07
Cats are great.
31:09
Anyway, so we go outside and there's this cat that we see in the bushes.
31:14
She's just hiding kind of in the bushes.
31:17
We talked to some of the other shop owners and they said, oh, did you see the guy that came in and drove in in a truck and pushed her out of the truck and left her behind?
31:23
I said, absolutely not.
31:25
I did not see that.
31:25
Yeah.
31:26
So anyways.
31:27
A homeless cat.
31:28
Yes.
31:29
Now homeless.
31:30
Yes.
31:30
So sad.
31:31
So anyway, she wouldn't come out of the bushes at all.
31:34
We had to wait for everyone to go home.
31:35
It was about 11 o'clock at night.
31:37
My paint night instructor happened to have a can of dog food.
31:41
We put some dog food out and after everyone had gone home, Sweets the cat came running over.
31:46
Well, actually, we literally called her Sweets the cat at that time.
31:51
We're like, come here, Sweets, come here.
31:52
That's just a term of endearment.
31:54
And sure enough, she came running.
31:55
Came over.
31:56
And we're like, okay.
31:57
So brought her in and got her taken to the vet.
32:02
No ID, even if there was, and then someone dumped her.
32:04
Right.
32:06
Then my dad comes in and as you know, he's a zookeeper.
32:08
He was.
32:09
He feels her because he sees an animal.
32:11
He's like, let me inspect this animal.
32:14
He feels her up and he's like, Alana, do you want to feel the babies kicking?
32:17
And I was like, dad, that's not a good joke.
32:20
And he's like, it's not a joke.
32:22
Two weeks later, four babies.
32:24
Four babies, little baby kitties.
32:26
Little baby kitties.
32:28
Sweets was very starved.
32:30
Like whoever had her before was starving her for sure.
32:34
So unfortunately, one of the baby's spines didn't fully develop.
32:37
He didn't make it.
32:38
But the other three live with our customers.
32:41
And sometimes they come to visit.
32:42
Oh my goodness.
32:44
Sweets the cat says, I am no longer your mother.
32:46
Why are you here?
32:48
Get out of the store.
32:50
I gave birth.
32:51
Go away.
32:51
She's like, I'm done now.
32:54
But yeah, one of them is a pet therapy cat now.
32:56
Wow.
32:57
Yeah, they're really sweet little kitties.
32:59
So if you come to the store, you can see Sweets the cat.
33:02
Yeah, she has her own business card.
33:05
Does she have her own Instagram?
33:07
No, no.
33:08
She should.
33:09
She should.
33:10
Like Felix.
33:11
Yes.
33:12
One of our very first guests on the podcast was Felix the shop cat who has his own Instagram page.
33:17
He's huge.
33:18
What shop?
33:19
Over here in Acheson at Bushell Transport.
33:22
So maybe you could follow and then you could start one for Sweets and you guys could get together and you could have like a shop cat reunion.
33:31
This is amazing.
33:33
Yeah.
33:33
Okay.
33:34
So you got, okay, you were saying about your classes that you do.
33:37
Oh yeah, tons.
33:37
Do you do, here's a question.
33:39
Do you do bird house making classes?
33:42
Lots of people ask about that and we offer it now and then, but most people have the bird houses already.
33:48
Right.
33:48
So they're not usually the most popular classes.
33:51
I can do them anytime.
33:52
When I retire, see maybe I'd like to make bird houses.
33:55
Really?
33:55
No.
33:56
But I just thought like that would be something to do.
33:59
I know him too well, there's no way.
34:04
I have a friend who does that. Well yeah, but you're not going to.
34:06
He's really retired.
34:07
And he makes these like multi-level bird houses. That's rad, send him to me.
34:11
Really?
34:11
You'd buy them and sell them?
34:13
We have all sorts of local vendors.
34:15
Yeah.
34:17
Dave Kipke's brother.
34:18
Sweet.
34:19
Yeah.
34:19
How do you feel then that the community kind of wrapped around you and really supported your store?
34:26
Yeah.
34:26
I mean, it's been amazing.
34:28
It is my community.
34:29
Like I grew up here.
34:31
I do everything in Spruce.
34:32
It's my home.
34:34
And so I knew that that's where we needed to open the store.
34:37
Right.
34:38
That was never a question.
34:41
And like the entire time that we've had the business, it's always been about community.
34:46
So, you know, we go to every event we can, whether it's, you know, the library's anniversary celebration, Canada Day every year.
34:55
We go to all the little markets.
34:57
Like we just really wanted to get out there and show people what we could provide them.
35:04
And that didn't look just like products.
35:07
It also looked like the knowledge of birds.
35:09
And then, you know, things like nature walks.
35:12
Like we just want to share that passion and love for nature with other people.
35:16
And I think that other people really needed that and want that.
35:20
Like we're, we are super disconnected from nature.
35:24
And yes, we are.
35:25
One of my favorite quotes is, we are a part of nature.
35:30
So when you say that you're disconnected from nature, you're actually disconnected from yourself.
35:33
Right.
35:34
And so it's really beautiful to be able to kind of like share that with other people and them see the beauty in their own backyard.
35:42
Like there's nothing.
35:43
I agree with you.
35:44
Urbanization has taken away, especially for kids.
35:48
And I'm a city boy.
35:49
You're a farm girl, but I'm a city boy.
35:52
But I believe that urbanization has taken away from kids.
35:55
Well, and that and devices.
35:56
That and devices.
35:57
But urbanization has taken away from kids, the understanding and the love of nature.
36:03
Because when you live in the city, and we're shutting down zoos, and this isn't the podcast to go into any of that.
36:11
They're shutting down aquariums, all of those kinds of things.
36:14
And it doesn't allow urban kids to experience animals, fish, birds, whatever, close up.
36:22
And that's heartbreaking.
36:24
Like we had the penguin.
36:25
I don't know if you know that.
36:26
We had the penguin on from West Edmonton Mall.
36:29
I have one of the eggs from the penguin.
36:30
Do you?
36:31
Yeah.
36:31
Well, we had the trainer and the penguin.
36:34
Rocket.
36:34
Rocket was on our podcast.
36:36
Yeah.
36:36
And the thrill of my life was to be able to touch Rocket.
36:40
It is.
36:41
Like just all I got to just touch him.
36:43
And that was the thrill of my life.
36:44
See, and that's what I like about bird feeding, is you can do it anywhere.
36:47
You don't have to be on an acreage.
36:48
You can be right in the middle of the city.
36:51
So, I think that the hobby does help urban kids as well.
36:55
And, you know, not even just kids, adults.
36:57
Everyone needs to be connected to nature in their own way.
37:01
And one of the thrills of my life is taking people out.
37:06
And this can even be in the middle of the city, like Whitemud Ravine, where Snow Valley Ski Hill is.
37:12
Down in there, if you take sunflower seed out and put it in your hand, you can have a chickadee come and land on your hand.
37:17
It's like Snow White for a second.
37:20
And it's like the most magical experience to see people's faces, just absolutely light up.
37:25
I know you're horrified right now because you're afraid of the birds.
37:28
He runs screaming.
37:30
Listen, I would freak out when I lived in Vancouver at Stanley Park when the seagull would come and steal my french fries off the table.
37:39
Anyway, yeah, I didn't like it.
37:41
But no, that's cool.
37:42
It's beautiful.
37:43
Like just seeing their faces go.
37:45
Yeah.
37:45
Oh my gosh.
37:46
Like this little thing.
37:48
Yeah.
37:49
We had two years ago.
37:53
Was it two years ago here in Acheson?
37:55
We had a bird, a large bird fly into our warehouse right behind us here.
38:01
Oh, yeah. What was it?
38:01
And he actually was injured.
38:03
OK.
38:03
And he was sitting up on one of the steel beams and he wouldn't come down.
38:07
And the guys were trying everything.
38:09
They were leaving food out for him, but he wouldn't come down.
38:12
And you could see his claw, his paw, is it paw, claw?
38:16
His claw was dangling, so it had been injured.
38:19
So anyway, one of our guys here, Greg, our maintenance guy, he called in the area there's a bird rescue.
38:25
The Wild North.
38:25
The Wild North.
38:26
Yeah.
38:26
And they came and they looked out and said, yep, he's injured.
38:29
And he is a...
38:32
Argentinian Falcon, right?
38:33
Argentinian Falcon.
38:34
What?
38:35
Yes.
38:35
Really?
38:36
And...
38:36
That's bizarre.
38:37
He comes every year from Argentina to Acheson.
38:42
What?
38:42
Has his babies, and they fly back to Argentina for the winter.
38:46
Anyway, the guy from the rescue place, he was able to get him down.
38:50
Oh, good.
38:51
And they took him to his rescue place, and they restored his claw.
38:56
And then they phoned Greg and said, hey, we're ready to release him.
39:00
Would you like to have the honors?
39:02
And Greg got to go and release him. And so now every...
39:05
Did they release him back here, like this area?
39:07
Yes, they did. Yeah, usually they do.
39:08
Because it was still summer.
39:10
So we now, every spring and summer, we see them, they fly around, and they have their babies here, and then they're gone.
39:18
Oh my gosh, that's beautiful.
39:19
It was amazing.
39:20
That, to me, that's amazing.
39:22
That's pretty cool.
39:23
All the way from Argentina comes here to Acheson.
39:26
Beautiful downtown Acheson.
39:28
Checks us out.
39:29
I think that's just the coolest.
39:31
Stuff like that I find really cool.
39:32
Totally.
39:32
Yeah.
39:33
I mean, I was recently down in Mexico, and the birds down there are incredible.
39:37
But there's lots of species that are down there right now that will migrate back in the summer.
39:42
And I think to myself, when I see those birds, like a Baltimore Oriole or a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, I think to myself, do you think I've ever seen that exact individual?
39:50
But in Canada, I wonder, maybe.
39:55
Well, I lived in California for a while, and I remember going to Capistrano and seeing the swallows of Capistrano.
40:01
And that was, I wasn't thrilled with it, there was too many of them.
40:04
But it was like, okay, this is what they talk about.
40:06
This was it.
40:06
It was pretty cool.
40:08
Or the Eagles in Breckenridge in Squamish.
40:11
Pretty cool.
40:12
Yeah.
40:13
We have owls that come back to the farm and nest every year.
40:16
That's right.
40:17
At your farm.
40:19
Those nice hooters.
40:20
Yeah, that's right.
40:25
Okay.
40:27
All right.
40:29
So is your husband as into birds as you are?
40:33
Okay.
40:33
Here's the thing.
40:35
He's a physiotherapist.
40:37
He works at the Tri-Leisure Center in Parkland Rehab.
40:39
Okay.
40:40
And wonderful physiotherapist.
40:42
They are.
40:44
He was never into birds.
40:45
We were high school sweethearts.
40:47
Right.
40:48
And so for a long time, he was like, you are such a bird nerd.
40:51
I don't know.
40:51
Right.
40:51
Like, now.
40:53
I love it.
40:53
He is more of a bird nerd than I am.
40:55
Oh my goodness.
40:56
You've converted him.
40:57
It's crazy.
40:58
Yeah.
40:58
Yeah.
40:58
Brought him in.
41:00
He will.
41:00
Okay.
41:01
We call like really intense bird nerds Twitchers.
41:04
Okay.
41:05
And that's because, that's because, okay, there's a thing it's called the eBird Rare Bird Alert.
41:12
Right.
41:12
So every, it's an app.
41:14
Yeah.
41:15
You record all of your bird sightings.
41:17
Uh-huh.
41:17
My husband is number 24 in Edmonton.
41:20
I know.
41:20
I'm not.
41:21
I'm like number 200.
41:22
Okay.
41:23
Yeah.
41:24
So anyways.
41:24
So you take the picture of the bird and upload it?
41:26
You don't even need a picture.
41:27
You just say I saw it?
41:28
You just need to prove that you saw it.
41:29
Yeah.
41:29
Somehow.
41:30
Like, yeah.
41:31
And he's number 24?
41:32
Yeah.
41:32
Out of how many people?
41:34
Like thousands.
41:35
Oh my shattered nerves.
41:35
Whoever birds.
41:37
That's unbelievable.
41:37
Yeah.
41:38
So anyway, every, every day, every single day, we get an email that says all of the rare birds that are spotted in the Edmonton region.
41:45
His is set to like all of Canada.
41:47
Okay.
41:47
So he gets a rare bird alert that there is a goose that's from Europe that was spotted in Cochrane.
41:55
And like he's at work and he calls me and he's like, hey honey, I'm going to go to Cochrane.
41:59
And I'm like, are you out of your mind? He's gonna drive to Cochrane?
42:01
To see a goose.
42:03
To see a freaking goose.
42:04
Yeah.
42:06
So I said, well, what is this goose?
42:07
Oh, it's a tundra bean goose.
42:09
I'm like, well, that sounds cute.
42:10
All right.
42:11
All right.
42:11
So I say, you can't leave work.
42:13
Like, we can go on Saturday.
42:16
We can go on Saturday.
42:18
So sure enough, yeah.
42:19
Saturday morning, we drive down to Cochrane.
42:21
Yeah, and in the middle...
42:22
That's a four hour drive.
42:23
It is a, I know.
42:25
Yeah.
42:26
I would never have done it.
42:27
Right.
42:27
But Jordan was very excited about this.
42:29
Okay.
42:30
So we drive down and sure enough, in the middle of a freaking field, there are like 20 other birders with their spotting scopes.
42:37
Okay.
42:38
Yeah.
42:39
Looking at the goose.
42:40
What does the goose look like?
42:41
Is it very exciting?
42:42
No.
42:42
It's a brown goose.
42:44
It's a brown freaking goose.
42:46
Yeah.
42:47
And how long did you stay there?
42:49
20 minutes and then we drove back home.
42:52
20 minutes to see the goose.
42:53
And then you drove home.
42:54
Yeah.
42:54
See, that's why it's called a twitcher.
42:55
But you saw the goose.
42:56
That's why it's called a twitcher because like, you hear about this and you like twitch and go.
43:00
Okay.
43:01
It's wild.
43:02
I could understand if there's somebody said there's like a leopard or a lion in a field.
43:08
That's the equivalent for birders.
43:09
For birders, yeah.
43:11
That is unbelievable.
43:12
Okay.
43:12
I know.
43:13
Tell me about it.
43:14
Folks, listen, I'm telling you.
43:16
It's crazy.
43:18
I didn't know this was like this.
43:19
There's so much.
43:20
It's a world unto its own.
43:21
Have you seen the movie The Big Year?
43:24
No.
43:24
You got to watch it.
43:25
I've only seen the movie The Birds with Alfred Hitchcock.
43:28
No.
43:29
I think The Big Year will change your opinion of the birds a little bit.
43:31
It's quite cool.
43:32
It's like people traveling the world to see birds.
43:34
I'll watch it.
43:36
But I still had to get over Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.
43:39
Anyway, the whole story behind that, we won't go into it now.
43:42
But that was what started it.
43:43
That was traumatizing.
43:44
But I have a question because she is a birder.
43:46
Alana, what is your favorite bird?
43:48
Yeah.
43:49
Good question.
43:50
The answer changes depending on where I am.
43:54
But I always talk about my favorite Alberta bird because anyone could see it and or hear it, mostly hear it.
43:59
Okay.
44:00
So my favorite bird is the Sora.
44:02
S-O-R-A.
44:04
It's a type of rail.
44:05
So some people say the Sora rail.
44:07
And I like them because they're at pretty much every wetland around Alberta.
44:11
They're just so common.
44:13
But most people have never seen them before.
44:15
They're a little chicken like bird.
44:17
They have a little yellow beak.
44:18
I'll show you a picture after.
44:20
And they have really long legs and giant feet.
44:24
They're so cute.
44:25
Kind of like a mini road runner.
44:27
Yeah, they're just little guys.
44:28
They're, I would say, a little bigger than a robin.
44:30
Right.
44:31
And they just kind of run around in the reeds.
44:34
They're one of my favorites because they're everywhere, but really no one sees them.
44:39
But you may have heard them.
44:40
So they do like a little laugh.
44:44
It goes, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.
44:46
Come on.
44:47
It's the cutest thing.
44:49
That's amazing.
44:50
Yeah.
44:51
I just love them because I feel like everyone should know them, but they don't because they're just, you don't see them really.
44:56
Yeah.
44:56
Okay.
44:56
Yeah.
44:57
They're my favorite.
44:57
Wow.
44:57
That's incredible.
44:58
I know.
45:00
I have a really dumb question.
45:01
It's not.
45:02
No, it is.
45:02
I hear all sorts.
45:03
Because just you mentioned it.
45:05
Why can't chickens fly?
45:07
Oh, yeah.
45:08
Well, there's lots of birds that can't.
45:11
Yeah.
45:11
Like turkeys don't fly.
45:13
Yeah.
45:13
Your penguins.
45:14
You're right.
45:15
The penguins don't fly.
45:16
Ostriches don't fly.
45:17
That's right.
45:17
I know.
45:17
There's lots of them.
45:18
They just can't fly?
45:19
Yeah.
45:20
They got wings, but they can't fly.
45:21
Yeah.
45:21
They're just adapted for different things.
45:23
Right.
45:24
So, running, like ostriches running, scary.
45:27
I've always wondered that.
45:28
You know, why does a chicken not fly?
45:29
It's true.
45:30
We had ostriches and emus when I was growing up.
45:33
Yes.
45:33
On the acreage, right?
45:34
You did?
45:34
On your acreage?
45:35
Yeah.
45:36
Yeah.
45:37
I'll say that, you know, emu eyes in the night are scary.
45:42
Yes.
45:42
They are.
45:43
Yes.
45:44
My brother and I would walk around the acreage looking for stars and like you shine your flashlight and then there's this big eye.
45:52
I know.
45:52
And the way emus run.
45:54
Yeah.
45:54
Holy.
45:55
I know.
45:57
Yeah.
45:57
See, I could see if that's your exposure to birds, that's frightening.
46:00
I can hear they're a little mean.
46:01
Is that true?
46:02
Yeah.
46:02
They're not very friendly.
46:04
The same with ostriches.
46:05
Ostriches are not friendly birds.
46:08
No, they're not.
46:09
But you know what?
46:09
Their eggs are beautiful.
46:10
Yes.
46:11
So the emu eggs we have, like they're giant, right?
46:13
They're kind of like a bluey green color.
46:16
We actually had a whole collection of them that there was a lady who painted Pysanky like Ukrainian Pysanky that got our whole collection of emu and ostrich eggs.
46:26
Yeah.
46:26
So she does like giant Pysanky.
46:29
It's so cool.
46:31
I will say this, that I've been fortunate in my life that I've been able to travel all over the world, and I've been to many countries and continents, and I do have to say in each place I've gone, there always was very unique birds.
46:47
Yes, there are.
46:48
Like the maraboustas, but other birds that you would not have here, you never heard of, you never read about, and there they are, and you're just like, wow, this is, and not all of them were tropical.
47:00
No.
47:00
They were, like I say, there were places like Russia and places like that, that were very unique, and I have to say, it's one of the things that kind of stood out sometimes was the birds.
47:09
People would say, look at that, we've never seen a bird like that.
47:12
I mean, worldwide, there's 11,000 species of birds.
47:15
11,000?
47:16
Yeah, which is incredible.
47:17
That really is.
47:18
With all the traveling you've done, you could have seen them all.
47:20
Well, no, I don't know.
47:23
I have to say the cat pin was the penguin for sure, but yeah, it's just everywhere you go, and you don't even have to travel far.
47:31
No, you don't.
47:31
No, so actually, that's a good segue.
47:34
Yeah.
47:34
Because that brings me to something that you brought for us.
47:37
This brochure is amazing.
47:38
The Edmonton and Area Birding Checklist.
47:40
Yeah.
47:41
How many species of bird can we see in and around this area?
47:45
So on this checklist, there's 215 species.
47:48
Wow.
47:49
My husband and I have seen almost all of them.
47:51
Actually, to tell the truth, he's seen all of them.
47:54
He's seen them all.
47:55
If he's...
47:56
He's more intense than. He's going down to see the goose.
47:58
He's going to listen to this after, so if I don't tell the truth, he's seen all of them, he'll be angry.
48:02
Good for him, by the way, good for him.
48:04
Yeah, so 215 species there.
48:08
There's all sorts of pictures, so you can see what you're looking for.
48:11
You need to go to the Backyard Birds Nature Shop to get one of these.
48:14
We give these out for free even.
48:16
You can come and visit us.
48:17
See Sweets the cat, get your free brochure.
48:19
Say hi.
48:20
We're good.
48:21
Well, I agree.
48:22
I think that you need to stop by and get one of these because it's amazing.
48:27
I would never guess there's this many birds around here. I wouldn't have either.
48:29
No, like unbelievable.
48:31
Like we're talking everything here.
48:32
We're talking like sparrows, blackbirds, finches, chickadees, woodpeckers, nuthatches.
48:41
What are those called?
48:42
That is very cute.
48:42
Nuthatches.
48:43
Nuthatches.
48:45
Owls.
48:46
But don't make the joke.
48:48
Hawks, hawks, eagles, vultures, falcons, jays and crows.
48:53
It goes on and on folks.
48:54
Like seriously, like again, I'm not the biggest bird fan in the world, but this has really intrigued me.
48:59
I don't think I would drive to Cochrane to see the goose, but I was very intrigued by the falcon that came here, comes here, and a few other things.
49:10
The woodpeckers, they're amazing to me because of what we do.
49:12
You know, one day birding hits you like a truck.
49:14
It doesn't matter who you are.
49:15
Like sometimes it takes until you're 65.
49:17
For me, it happened when I was 20.
49:19
Yeah.
49:20
I know for me, it'll just be one bird flying at me and that'll be the end of it.
49:23
But nonetheless.
49:23
Nonetheless.
49:24
It'll literally hit you like a truck.
49:26
This has been amazing.
49:27
I know.
49:27
Okay.
49:28
This has been amazing.
49:29
So Alana, we have one final question that we ask every guest.
49:33
I love it.
49:34
What is the best piece of advice you've been given either personally or professionally that you carry with you to this day?
49:41
Oh gosh.
49:43
That's a tough one.
49:49
I think, man, it's hard.
49:55
I did archery.
49:56
I was a competitive target archer in high school and a little bit beyond.
50:02
I went to Worlds twice for archery. Wow! And archery is a beautiful world.
50:07
We could have a whole separate converation about archery.
50:09
Yeah, no kidding.
50:10
But when I was doing that, I met an Olympic cyclist, Lori-Ann Muenzer.
50:17
Oh, yes.
50:17
Okay.
50:18
She's really wonderful.
50:20
Our worlds collided again recently last year because I won an Alberta Business Awards award.
50:25
Wow.
50:26
Yeah.
50:26
Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
50:28
Right.
50:28
Right.
50:28
And she was up on stage and she didn't know it was me until I said, do you remember me?
50:33
I'm the archer.
50:35
And she's like, oh my gosh.
50:37
Like it had just been so long.
50:39
And I think my time with her is the like, it's something she said that carries with me to this day.
50:49
And it's funny because it was different worlds.
50:51
I saw her in the archery world and then in the business world.
50:54
But it's kind of like, I can't even say the exact words that she said, but it was really, she's got a book, One Gear, No Breaks.
51:08
And I'm trying to think of the exact quote that she said, that's really stuck with me, but something to the effect of like, basically like, anything that you put your mind to, you can achieve kind of thing, but less, less, you know, cliched than that.
51:29
Just more about like, you know, she was an Olympic cyclist, and like a little bit later in life, like she wasn't, she didn't do it right out of the gate.
51:42
So basically like, it's not too late for you, you can kind of do whatever you set your mind to, kind of thing.
51:47
And so for me at that time, I thought like archery was my life.
51:50
But then when I started my business, I really started to think about like, the advice she gave me where it was like, it's not too late for you to do this, you can do something beautiful, like now.
51:59
And that's how I opened a business at 22 years old.
52:02
Like her voice just echoes in my mind, and it's not even necessarily one particular like, piece, like just sentence, just like her confidence in me.
52:12
But not only did you open a business at 22, you opened it in COVID.
52:17
Yeah, yeah.
52:18
It was your dream.
52:19
And your passion.
52:20
And your passion.
52:21
Yeah.
52:21
And you're living your passion.
52:22
Exactly.
52:23
And it was a lot about passion.
52:25
For Lorianne, that was kind of like her thing too, is like you can kind of do anything if you have the fire.
52:30
Where is Backyard Birds?
52:31
Give us the address.
52:32
15, 100 King Street in Spruce Grove.
52:35
All right.
52:36
And the website is?
52:40
www.backyardbirdsnatureshop.ca Awesome.
52:42
Fantastic.
52:42
You have to check it out.
52:43
Whether you are a birder or a non-birder is a great store.
52:47
We don't just have bird stuff.
52:49
People come in all the time and they're like, we expected you to be like a seed mill.
52:54
We got nice hooter's mugs, guys.
52:55
That's right.
52:56
Right.
52:57
Yeah.
52:57
Things are changing in the bird world.
52:59
So anyway, yeah, that's pretty awesome.
53:01
So check it out, everybody.
53:03
I think we're going to check it out.
53:04
Yes.
53:05
We're going to go.
53:06
We're going to ask if we can shoot a little video there. Beauty! But anyway, yeah.
53:09
So we're going to go there and check it out.
53:10
And I think this has been fabulous.
53:12
I didn't know where this was because of my relationship with birds.
53:17
But this has been absolutely fascinating.
53:19
I've loved it.
53:20
And so thank you very, very much for doing this.
53:23
Hey, I want to remind everybody, don't forget, www.wingsnob.ca, best wings in the city.
53:29
And www.mprint.ca for all your amazing printing needs.
53:34
That's right.
53:35
And make sure you tell people about the podcast.
53:38
If you love this one, you're going to love all of them.
53:40
Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your co-workers, tell your enemies.
53:43
If you don't have any friends, take them to the bird store.
53:47
Take them to the bird store and now you'll have a friend.
53:49
And they'll love you and they'll love the podcast.
53:51
And also, we need you to subscribe.
53:54
Because then you won't miss a new episode.
53:57
So subscribe, subscribe, subscribe.
54:00
And hey, thanks for listening, everybody.
54:03
We hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed it today.
54:05
And we'll see you next week.
54:07
See you next week, everyone.