Life in Bloom

Taking a break from the drama of forest fires and cooking disasters, I thought I'd simply share with you some of the beauty of a Northern Summer. I've captured some of the gorgeous wildflowers that can be found in Northern Saskatchewan in early-mid summer. Of course there are many more than these few, for example we get our fair share of dandelion and ragweed, and many tiny little flowers, but I just didn't feel the need to share these burdensome or miniscule plants here. Enjoy what I've pegged as the cream of the crop so far:

Some of the first blooms to appear are the Wrinkled Roses (Rosa rugosa), which showed themselves in mid-June and remained for about 1 month. They mostly flooded the roadsides, making the drive to and from town even more beautiful than it already was.

The Bunchberry flower (Cornus canadensis) reminds me a little of the trillium, which is the provincial flower of my home province, Ontario. The white flowers both like to grow in the shade of the woods, but the obvious difference is that the flowers have four petals instead of three.

This very common prairie flower is called Yarrow (Achillea millefolium). It also reminds me of home in that it makes me think of the experiments I did as a kid with Queen Anne's Lace; once plucked, the stems can be placed in water infused with dye and the white flowers slowly turn the colour of the dye. 

Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) seems to spread like, well, wildfire. It can be found dotting most landscapes, especially meadow-y areas and roadsides. Update: after a few heavy rains the forest fires around here seem to have petered out...for now).

Here's a cluster of Fireweed at a bend in our walking trail. I love how it brightens up the greenery.

You won't find the lowly Alsike Clover (Trifolium hybridium) in any bouquets or vases, but its soft pinks lend a romantic hue to the lush meadow scene.

These fragile flowers are called Smooth Aster (Aster laevis). They have a lovely purplish/blue colour and I think they're really cute. 

  

I have no idea what these little plants are; they're not even flowers, I know, but I simply had to include them here because I liked the look of them so! It's like a tiny forest in the meadow.(Update: I have since identified these weeds as Horsetail (Equisetum Arvense) thanks to a  beloved and knowledgeable Aunt).

Northern Hedysarum (Hedysarum boreale) are vibrant pinks, blues and purples. I've only seem them on the side of the road, so they must like open air and slanted, gravelly banks. 

I'm not sure about these yellow flowers; they seem more like weeds than flowers but they line the road so beautifully and intermingle with the Hedysarum so nicely that I couldn't ignore them. As to their name, your guess is as good as mine.

These little daisy-like flowers grow easily in my backyard and around fences and roadways. The Scentless Chamomile (Matricaria perforata Merat) has become a nuisance to many, but I don't mind it's sunny little heads poking around the yard a little.

This stalk looks a bit like Lupin (Lupinus argenteus), but I'm not convinced that it is. Not only did it have the audacity to remain nameless, it was also swaying in the wind on the day that I saw it, so I couldn't get a clear shot of the thing. (Another update thanks to Auntie; these are actually Purple Fringeless Orchids (Platanthera peramoena), just so you know!)

I've saved my favourite flower for last. It grows on the Canadian Shield right beside the water, apparently happy with trading spacious soil for a spectacular view. It looks like some sort of Bellflower, possibly the Wilkins Bellflower (Campanula wilkinsiana). I think they're absolutely beautiful and I hope you have too!

Where There's Smoke...

It's that time of year again!

As summer has begun in earnest so have the forces that have the greatest potential to destroy a gal's Northern Summer...Forest Fires. Last October I wrote about a couple of fires that came within a few dozen kilometres from town. A few pieces of ash fell and I got a slight whiff of campfire for a couple of days. At the time it seemed scary, but after this past week I realize that my initiation into the world of forest fires was a mild one. Now we're in the big leagues.

This was the site that I beheld while taking the dogs for a walk the other day. Where I stood to take the photo is about 5 kilometres from town. I'm not sure how much further the fire is, but it's close. Too close. Last year I was disconcerted by thick smoke blanketing the sky, but I was still much to far away to actually see it billowing.

In the past few days there have been at least three separate forest fires burning close enough to town to require constant monitoring and combative action. In fact, there have been enough helicopters and water bombers buzzing above our heads to make the area surrounding our little Northern Town seem like a war zone. Which, I suppose, it is. One morning was particularly smokey like I'd never seen before. The most perturbing blaze was next to the only road out of town; this one was reported quickly and largely stifled. Or so I hope.

It's an eerie haze that subdues the sun in such a way. Interestingly, depending on the wind, a lot of the smoke over our heads is actually from a forest fire in Alberta (or several, perhaps, I'm not sure). Whatever its origins, this smoke has mirrored an experience that I had while being a tourist in Buenos Aires, Argentina. You see, whatever it is that they use to fuel their cars gets into one's nose and...well...some of its residue seems to stay there and...comes out in one's tissue. What I'm trying to say is that I had some sooty snot in my kleenex yesterday. Sorry. But it's true (oh like you don't look at your kleenex before you throw it out!).

The sun goes down on another day and we are still Up North to see it. There has been talk of evacuation, but nothing to serious at this point. A few years ago the entire town was flown out to Prince Albert and Saskatoon. Many stayed at the Univeristy of Saskatchewan campus, others with friends and family. In the end, the fire stayed away and residents were able to return to their homes, although not all were still intact. Sadly, some hooligans stayed behind and broke into multiple homes, which I suppose is inevitable during natural disasters.

 

Speaking of disasters, I once tried to make pasta without a pasta roller. I thought of blogging about it but it was pretty nasty so I didn't. I couldn't get the dough thin enough and the resulting ravioli was thick and gummy. I've included a picture, but I'm sure as hell not enlarging it like the lovely and successful pasta pictures included below. After a meal that was a little hard to swallow, I learned my lesson and vowed never again to make pasta until I had a pasta roller. Well...I got one! I found a great deal on a roller and two cutter attachments for my KitchenAid and didn't waste any time clicking "Buy".

Homemade Fettuccine and Alfredo Sauce

 

I decided to ease into pasta making after my overly ambitious ravioli, so I stuck to something simple like Fettuccine Alfredo. I found a recipe for the pasta from this link on the Food Network site. I had a few bumps along the way, including not making my flour well big enough for the eggs and they, well, my Eggs Ranneth Over! No worries, I eventually kneaded them into a workable dough. Rolling said dough was more difficult than I thought it would be simply because I didn't realize how thin the dough has to be flattened with the rolling pin first. The initial piece of dough got quite smashed and torn on its first few passes through the rollers, but after I got the hang of it, the pasta rolled smoothly from there.

I didn't use the alfredo sauce recipe from the webpage, instead I simply sauteed 4 minced garlic cloves in some butter, maybe 1/4 cup, then added about 1 cup of heavy cream and simmered, then turned down the heat and added almost 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese. A liberal sprinkling of freshly cracked pepper and a bit of salt finish the sauce. I've gotta say, freshly made pasta tossed in a from-scratch sauce and topped with some backyard parsley (fresh, of course!) was the best Fettuccine Alfredo I've ever had. Maybe I'm biased because I made it all, but I doubt it. And it didn't take as long as it would seem. Most importantly, cooking distracted me from the Smoke; not just in my kitchen for once, but in the Great Out-of-Doors. 

Now if making rain were as easy as homemade fettuccine!