by Leslie Cox; Saturday; September 29, 2018
Well, the weather turned warm again after nearly a whole week of rain. I got to enjoy some of it as I harvested the Aronia melanocarpa (chokeberry) shrub of its wonderful bounty. Almost 8 lbs (3.6 kg) of berries this year! All from a shrub roughly 3.5 ft high by 5 or 6 ft wide (1.0 x 1.5-1.8 m). I am certainly thrilled as that will keep me in smoothies for the year with some left over to try some new recipes…like Triple Berry Relish to go with our Thanksgiving turkey. Sounds yummy!
This week I really need to get on the ball and bring the last of my houseplants inside. Should have done it last week but with warm sunny weather, we were lured into packing up the cameras, readying Sadie’s backpack with water bottles, treats, and poop bags and heading off to hike some of the wonderful trails in our region.
We started with the suspension bridge at Elk River Falls. An easy hike in with the glory of the tremendous falls. The only down side are the metal grates used to build the stairs down to the bridge and the actual suspension bridge itself. Not a problem for us, but very uncomfortable for Sadie to walk on, poor girl.
I had forgotten to pack her little red booties which have a thin rubber sole on the bottom. She does not like to wear them but they offer a little resistance to the sharp edges on the grates, at least. Thankfully, there is a bench on the other side of the bridge and I let Sadie up on it to save her feet while John was getting his photographs.
Next day, we tackled Nymph Falls. Nice, easy hike in to those falls too. You are allowed to let your dog off-lead in this park which was a treat for Sadie…and even more of a treat for me. Being a mix of golden retriever/yellow lab/border collie, she likes to go. And I mean go. After 5 years, I swear one of my arms is longer than the other.
We visited Nymph Falls earlier in the heat of summer when the river was running pretty much at its lowest. This trip…after some rain…all of the Inuksuit (see note) that had been erected on the various ledges in the middle of the river had been washed downstream. The power of running water…and lots of it.
Our third adventure for the week was a drive up to Mt. Washington for a hike around Paradise Meadows. This is always a lovely hike with the incredible views, the alpine plants…including wild blueberries, and there were still some for the picking even though the leaves on the plants had changed to the vibrant fiery red of their autumn colour.
Much of the hiking loops around Paradise Meadows, Helen Mackenzie Lake, and Battleford Lake are raised boardwalks…so easy to walk and your feet stay dry. Snow can last quite a while up there…well into May some years…and there are a few swampy areas on the various routes.
There are maps and sign posts marking the loop walks and their distances so you can gauge your ability and time. We did not do the full loop around Helen Mackenzie Lake this trip as John had specific spots he wanted to photograph. Definitely okay with me because by this third day of hiking, my leg muscles were really beginning to make themselves known. Even Sadie was beginning to slow down a little and that is hard to accomplish with her border collie high energy streak.
But as I mentioned…it is now back to reality and getting the last of the garden chores done before the weather turns really nasty.
Note:
Inuksuk (also spelled inukshuk, plural inuksuit) is a figure made of piled stones or boulders constructed to communicate with humans throughout the Arctic. Traditionally constructed by the Inuit, inuksuit are integral to Inuit culture and are often intertwined with representations of Canada and the North. A red inuksuk adorns the flag of Nunavut. In Inuktitut, the term inuksuk means “to act in the capacity of a human.” It is an extension of the word inuk meaning “a human being.” Inuksuit have been found adjacent to archaeological sites dating from 2400 to 1800 BCE in the Mingo Lake region of southwest Baffin Island. While stone figures resembling human forms are often referred to as inuksuk, such figures are actually known as inunnguaq. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/inuksuk-inukshuk
