Well the blackberries keep coming. We've now decided to send half of what we pick to market and the rest has been set aside for jams, jellies and cordials. This week, our best picker (Christine) had a set back. Her productivity was greatly impaired when she came face to face with a snake! It turned out to be a Brown Snake. These are usually quite small; this one was rather large for its species (...but still a small snake :))
Reptiles and amphibians we have plenty on the farm. In fact we have more frog species than I can identify (perhaps one day I'll get on it).
This week our crops were not limited to Blackberries. It turns out that one of our vines (next to the barn) has been highly productive. Christine discovered these and quickly got half a bushel of fruit. I believe these are Niagara grapes (a local sweet table grape). Since there is more than we can possibly eat before they go bad...I think it's time for us to get a juicer.
I know many who see this blog are from many places around the world and are typically not familiar with beavers. I thought it would be amusing for everyone to see what this Canadian emblem does on his spare time. We've uploaded the following video on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTyMJGi3QcU ; it shows two playful beavers (yes we have more than one ...in fact up to three have been sighted in our middle pond).
Now, you may be wondering why I would entitle this post "Indian Tea". Over thirty years ago while trekking through Alqonquin Park, an avid outdoors man told me that the Sumac makes a great trail food. This stuck with me since I could not see how this furry cone could be good for anything. Like most I have always considered it a weed since it is so pervasive in Ontario.
It turns out he was right. This week, I decided to introduce the family to Sumac lemonade or Indian Tea (as the early settlers referred to it). The Native American knew how to use this bush to generate an amazing and refreshing drink.
What we are referring to specifically is the Staghorn Sumac (identifiable because of its furry shoots). All you do is dip a few cones in cold water (squeeze them with your hands once or twice) and in the matter of no more than an hour just filter the furry fruit and you have "Indian Lemonade"!
With some trepidation, everyone tasted the brew (it can be had with or without sugar)...the result five thumbs up out of five participants! In fact we like it so much it has become our quenching drink of choice (no one is even adding sugar to it). The taste is similar to a lemon ice tea (but much easier to prepare). So would I do this again?....absolutely. Better, easier, cheaper than lemonade....and incredibly abundant.
I believe that these things can be sun dried and preserved for future use...other use include hot tea (once the acid is extracted with cold water) and jellies. I've come to the point where I now harvest them (we can't keep enough of this lemonade in the fridge).
I will close the post this week with some photos of an enchanting part of the farm, our little piece of Carolinian forest. This type of forest is very rare in Canada and in fact limited to a thin stretch of the Niagara Peninsula. What makes it odd in a Canadian context is the fact that it contains not one single pine tree! The trees are all old hardwood like Hickory, Black Walnut, Maple and Oak. It is always a joy to just walk the paths that traverse our little forest and just marvel at these magnificent trees.
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