Cows go moo, ducks go quack, peacocks go “???”. These are some of the things we learned as we took a trip to Maplewood Farms in North Vancouver.
Born out of the COVID19 Pandemic, this guide is here to serve as information of some places to consider going if you’ve binged all your Netflix, played all your games, baked all that sourdough bread and maybe just want to get out (or find things to do to stay in). As a family man myself and also a photographer who likes to explore, I found it difficult to find things to do to keep myself and my little one busy at home (there’s only so many times you can listen to "Baby Shark") so I thought that as I discover some of these experiences and places and shared them through my photography, it would help you generate some ideas to get out of the house and (following the proper social distancing and health protocols) get some fresh air.
You, of course, are responsible for taking the proper precautions and doing your part in social distancing and self-isolating if you aren’t feeling well. Always follow the BC Health Guidelines and do your part in keeping yourself and others safe. You can find the info here.
Maplewood Farms requires a reservation in advance to book a time slot and I believe you only get an hour. I’m guessing this is to control the amount of people going into the farm and thus allow for proper social distancing… which it did as there were only a few other families at the time that we went (a weekday morning).
Buckaw?
Ducks and people.
As it was early in the morning, we were greeted by ducks and chickens roaming around the entrance. My daughter, having been supremely fascinated by said ducks, was in awe of them and soon reached out her hands to try to hug them in the same way she hugs our cat. They of course did not reciprocate these same feelings and walked/waddled away.
My little one wanted to hug the ducks in the pond.
The Farm has a number of animals and, in contrast to the Safarmi that we did while in pandemic lockdown months earlier, we were allowed to roam around and see the animals from a distance (with a few exceptions). Social distancing was easy to do as it was all outdoors and there was enough space to be able to stay far enough away from people.
My daughter wanting to hug a duck while I showcase the fact that there are washroom facilities.
OK.
I’ve never seen a peacock this close. I think I was more excited than my little one.
This was so much better than Plizzanet Earth.
Oh hi there!
While not a humongous facility, it was still a large enough to facilitate a number of sights and sounds to fill your entire hour time slot. There was a range of ducks, horses, cows, chickens, goats… and peacocks as well (and a few other animals we probably missed). We later found that we were able to enter the enclosure where the goats were in but most other areas were closed off.
This horse was quite friendly and open to having his photo taken really up close.
For my little one, it was an amazing experience as this was one of her first close encounters with farm animals outside of the books that she had read. The word “WOW” kept popping out of her mouth. She was a bit apprehensive with the larger animals (the horses and the cows) but was generally comfortable with goats and smaller.
While we continue to navigate this COVID19 pandemic, I want to encourage you all to still stay safe and follow the safety protocols as set out by BC Health. It is my experience that (as of writing) you can go outside and still enjoy yourself while maintaining social distancing, wearing masks as applicable and not congregating in huge crowds. If things change, let’s follow the guidelines so we can get back to a new normal quicker. We can do this… together.
And if you can’t go outside, there’s a ton of shows on Netflix and Disney+ available!