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I have discovered a raspberry patch on the property where I work. Look what I picked in just 10 minutes during my coffee break this morning!
I was thinking today about just how much bounty there is all around me these days; my garden overfloweth. If anyone in the Whitehorse area doesn’t have a garden and would like some produce, please let me know. Or if you know of a family that could do with a little extra help and you think they’d be receptive to receiving some veggies from me, let me know that too.
I was going to write today about the incredible summer we’re having, but Murray beat me to it. His post says it all.
The neighbours on the left of me have an orange cat. The neighbours on the right of me also have an orange cat. Both cats seem to like hanging out in my backyard. Unfortunately, the cats don’t like one another one bit, and I often hear them scrapping. They were at it before 7 o’clock this morning, with low growls and hisses. I poked my nose out the back door and caught them bickering on the fence. Play nice guys!
Joe just called from Toronto, where he’s been staying for the last month taking university courses. He gets home in a week though, so that’ll be good. When he called I could hear the sound of heavy rain and thunder in the background. Apparently Torontonians have been complaining about the summer weather, which has been pretty disappointing by most accounts, although Joe has been enjoying the fact that it hasn’t been stinking hot (especially since the garbage strike continues to drag on). By contrast, the Yukon has been having some of the nicest weather in the whole country. It’s been years since I remember a summer this sunny and warm and I’m lovin’ it!
My day started when I sat bolt upright in my bed at 6:30 a.m. and decided I wanted to can some jars of chocolate raspberry sauce to enjoy in the middle of winter. I’d seen such a recipe in a new home canning cookbook and I guess I must have been dreaming about it, because it was the first thing on my mind even before I opened my eyes. I figured it was just the thing for putting on ice cream or cheese cake.
Needing fresh raspberries for the job, and having frozen the last of the raspberries I picked a few days ago, there was only one thing to do…I splashed some water on my face, brushed my teeth, jumped into my clothes and grabbed an empty container on my way out the door. A half an hour later, I was in the raspberry patch. Note to Jozien: the notion to call you crossed my mind, but I realized no sane person would be up and about at 6:30 on a Saturday morning wanting to pick berries! Anyway, I spent the next hour gathering enough for my recipe, enjoying the sounds of the birds, and watching a family of chipmunks go about their business.
Then I raced back home and got down to canning. A short while later I had several jars cooling on my kitchen counter.
But it didn’t stop there. I had lots of rhubarb still in the garden so I decided to also make some orange rhubarb pancake syrup. My recipe was actually for orange rhubarb jam, but by leaving out the pectin it was runny enough that I think it will work for syrup.
Chocolate raspberry sauce on the left and orange rhubarb pancake syrup on the right. In the far left are some dilled carrots left over from last year.
Once I had that out of my system, it was time to get some exercise. It was such a beautiful day that I decided a short hike was in order. I went to the McIntyre Wetlands, a very special part of Whitehorse that is a major wildlife corridor for wolves, bears, coyotes and the like, and a bird watcher’s paradise. A group of citizens is fighting to have the area protected as a park but so far that hasn’t happened. It will be a crime if it’s developed.
Just as I was finishing my hike, Iris called. She and I arranged to meet up to attend the first ever b-boy battle in the Yukon. There were crews here from Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver, and one of the judges was Miles Faber who was a finalist in the last season of So You Think You Can Dance Canada. I was amazed by the strength of the dancers and by their ability to make their bodies move in ways you’d never think possible.
It is now past midnight and I am tuckered out. I am planning a much more laid back day tomorrow!
I decided to treat myself to a three-day week-end and take today off. My plan is to go on a hike today – maybe I’ll make another attempt to find those Saskatoon or huckleberry bushes (the jury is still out as to which they are) or perhaps I’ll hike up Grey Mountain.
I started my day though, as I always do, in my garden. I noticed that the wild delphiniums are going to seed. It always seems to happen so quickly. I’ll take the seed stalks with me on my walk and scatter them somewhere that seems receptive to new plants.
Thankfully in the garden, as in life, when one chapter ends another begins. This morning I harvested our first baby carrots. The radishes you see with them are my second crop. Shall I chance it and try for a third?
How much pizza can a newly-turned 16 year old, three 17 year olds, and two 20-somethings eat? Apparently, quite a lot! Every bit of this is gone now except for part of the round gluten-free vegan pizza on the end. I made that for Iris but she wasn’t too impressed. It was my first attempt at making gluten-free crust. I think it takes a while to get the hang of it. Anyone got any good recipes for this that I might try?
There wasn’t a whole lot left of the raspberry tart either, although the boys were so stuffed from eating all that pizza that they only had room for tiny wedges of dessert.
Pretty messy looking at this point but quite tasty nonetheless.
Here’s what I found out yesterday:
-that the local bakery here in town sells bulk organic dried goods. You can buy a wide variety of flours, beans, grains, dried fruit, etc. I purchased a 25 pound bag of whole wheat flour, which I used this morning to make pizza dough (today is Jamie’s 16th birthday and he’s requested pizzas for dinner). There is no comparison between this flour and the stuff you can buy in the grocery stores. No wonder Swat’s bread is so good!
-that the University of Saskatchewan has developed a cherry tree that survives in Zone 2 climate conditions! That’s the zone most of the Yukon falls under. A true lover of cherries, I must seek out one of these trees and find a place for it in my back yard!
-that there is a plant called the Egyptian Walking Onion. For entertainment value if nothing else, I am going to try to grow these next year, if I can find a source.
Later edited to add:
-I’ve found out that universities in both Saskatchewan and Alberta have been doing research on ultra hardy fruit trees. There are everything from apples to peaches and grapes that can grow in cold climates! There’s one apple species called Patterson’s Pride. Now how can I not go for that one?!
Last night I went picking raspberries with Jozien from Keeper of Wild Places. She so very kindly re-introduced me to an area that I used to pick in, but that I thought had been destroyed. Thank you Jozien! When I asked my daughter what we should do with the berries, she quickly said we should make a raspberry custard tart, so I guess that’s what I’ll be doing tonight.
Part of my back yard in the early morning light.
The corn is starting to develop ears!
And the tomatoes are finally starting to ripen. Sorry about the out of focus image…my old camera is pretty limited in what it can do.
Green carpet.
A visit from a neighbour’s cat.
Saturday was our annual staff golf tournament. Now that I’m 50, I figure I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to, so I opted out of playing and instead got to drive around in a cart snapping photos. However I did get roped into taking part in the putting competition. The photo below shows why I don’t play golf…note the lovely form!
