Canoe Up North

For those of you who are getting tired of postings about jam and/or blueberries, scroll down. Otherwise, I'll just share my second attempt at making freezer jam. Of course, I used some of the fantastic wild blueberries that I slaved away picking, sacrificing relaxing afternoons and a pain-free lower back. It was worth it. Even after two seasons of picking, I'm still amazed by the bounty of the fruit so packed full of antioxidants and flavour! In fact, as long as I'm Up North I refuse to buy berries at the grocery store. It's just not the same.

I wanted to make freezer jam because by not cooking the berries you don't kill off as many of the healthy benefits. Plus it's a lot easier and quicker than traditional canning methods, although the jars can tend to overload the freezer instead of the pantry. You wouldn't even have to use the canning jars; any glass jar or plastic container would do. The only special "equipment" needed is the freezer jam gelling powder which should be available at most grocery stores.

I followed the instructions on the package exactly, using a pastry cutter to "chop" the fruit. You can eat the jam right away, but I found that letting it freeze for awhile helped to set the flavours. I made the jam a few weeks ago, and found that the jar I took out today for my toast tasted better than the stuff I ate right away. It was almost like eating fresh berries, which will be great for the winter months to come. 

Winter may be on it's way, but let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Not long ago we tested out our new canoe, and, more importantly, how the dogs would fare in our new canoe.

It's a Mad River beauty made out of Royal X, which is a combination of plastic, foam and kevlar. It's meant to take a bit of a beating from rocks, which we considered important given the fact that a large percentage of the shoreline is rock. It's also got a bunny on it :o)

We decided to get life jackets for Reina and Nanuq. Partly because we know that the Churchill has a pretty strong current in places. Also partly so that if they jump out of the canoe we can try to lift them back in using the handy handles on the back of their jackets, or at the very least we can tow them from a rope if we can't get them back in and they won't get tired out. It seems kind of silly to see them like this, given that dogs are naturally very good swimmers, but better safe than sorry, no?

It was a gorgeous day out, so calm that the river mirrored the sky. Pictures like this make me wish I was a painter and could re-create this scene on canvas. But I'm not. 

The dogs were a bit unsure at first but settled down after awhile. Nanuq even fell asleep, which is consistent with his behaviour during long-distance truck rides. Reina, also in keeping with her normal habits, wouldn't lie down but needed to stay alert to see everything. 

We got a little nervous when we saw a black dot on the shoreline in the distance. What would the doggies do? Should we avoid it? We decided to go nearer to test the reactions.

I only got this one shot of the black bear. He seemed to be fishing or rooting around in the reeds for some other tasty treat. He either didn't care about our presence in his vicinity or he didn't see us, although I have trouble believing the latter because the dogs sure made a ruckus. Luckily, my fellow paddler was able to grab Nanuq by the lifevest as he was trying to jump out of the canoe towards the bear. We had tied a tow rope to him already so he wouldn't have been able to swim away, but I was also worried that if he got into the water he would be able to lead us toward the bear! Reina didn't quite look like she would jump, but I had her by the collar as well just to be sure.

Eventually we drifted far enough away from the bear that the dogs settled down again. We paddled by that spot on the way back and at first I thought he was gone, but then I saw two little ears stick up out of the reeds. The dogs must not have noticed because they didn't stir at all. We continued along quietly enjoying such a breathtakingly beautiful day in a beautiful part of our country.