How do you like your apples? According to Ken Haddrell, operations manager for the Okanagan Plant Improvement Corporation, “Sweet.” Yes, it seems 95 % of the apple eating population prefer sweet to tart.

“Most consumers buy with their eyes,” Haddrell explains, “Texture is the most important thing they consider, it must be crisp and juicy.”

This past Sunday, the kids and I spent the morning at UBC’s Apple Festival, where we sampled more than 30 different varieties from Nicola, a new up and comer, to Belle de Boskoop, which originated in Holland in the late 1800’s.

Sampling so many varieties was a bit overwhelming to say the least, but out of the 127 that were on display, there were several that stood out.

My absolute favourite, hands down was SPA 493 - unfortunately this apple is not available for sale yet. It is still in the commercial development stages, but the neat thing about the festival is you get to try varieties before they hit the market.

My other two favourites were Ambrosia, and the Auroa Golden Gala. I’ve blogged about Ambrosia’s popularity in, “It’s Apple Season. Unfortunately there are only 250,000 of them produced here in B.C., so get them while you can because by February, if there are any left, they will be past their prime.

Another great apple, and clearly a crowd favourite, was the Auroa Golden Gala. It’s classified as a dessert apple, but it’s also good for cooking and salads. Apple producers like this one because it has a long shelf life, seven months and it’s flavour improves with storage.

The McIntosh is still one of the best selling apples next to the Galas. Recently while in the Okanagan, I ate a McIntosh right from the tree. Eating it, I could not believe how much better it tasted fresh. When I asked Haddrell about this, he explained that McIntoshes are picked in early September for storage, where they slowly mature. I apparently ate a “mature” apple, that was full of sugar and in it’s prime. This is the best way to enjoy a McIntosh.

Tomorrow’s blog will feature some of the apples recipes I picked up at the festival, Braised Chicken with Ambrosia Apples and Tunnel of Ambrosia Cake mmmmmm. Next week I will do Octoberfest recipes.

Cheers,

Julie

There are things at the cabin that I call “cottage essentials,” then there is everything else. The essentials are different from the survival items like, fridge, stove, boat, dock, propane fireplace and generator.

“Essentials” are those items that I don’t realize I need, until I have to go and borrow them from a neighbor. I often think, ‘Oh wouldn’t it be great to have a cottage registry gift service for cottage owners, particularly new ones.’

While some cottages come equipped with the previous owner’s hand-me-downs, most do not. The first couple of years as a new owner required a lot of trips to the local Home Hardware store (often several times in the same day).

Standing at the cash register waiting to pay, I often wished I’d remembered to ask for the particular item for Christmas. After all, duck tape makes a great stocking stuffer.

Below is my list of Nine Cottage Essentials. These are items that I cannot live without, and would love to receive as a hostess or cottage warming present.

Nine Cottage Essentials

1. Ladder - tall enough to reach the cabin roof and one that is light enough to carry by myself
2. Duck Tape - works great on leaky pipes
3. Traps - mouse, ant and anything else that is small and moves quickly
4. Floating key chains - very important if you have a boat and small children
5. Good Tool Kit
6. Big Flashlight
7. Cooler that has wheels - and can hold lots of beverages (smaller one for the boat)
8. Nut & Bolts set
9. Squeegee for washing window- we have glass decks all around the front of our cabin…

This is my list, now tell me yours.

Cheers,

Julie

When you focus on the problem, the problem gets bigger. When you focus on the solution, the solutions gets bigger.

Last week’s blogs focused on global warming and the retreating waters of the Great Lakes. While they inspired a lot of discussion (see blog comments) they left me feeling rather hopeless.

In Saturday’s Globe and Mail, the British Columbia edition, Gary Mason’s column is all about water shortages in Canada’s western lakes and rivers.

The story is the same regardless of where in the country, or world, we cottage in. The glaciers that feed our lakes and rivers are melting. It is occurring at an alarming rate, and Canada is no exception. Despite our heavy snow falls, the ground is no longer frozen when the spring run off takes place. The water is being absorbed by the earth before it gets to the lakes and streams.

Reading this article I had that sinking feeling again. I do not want to keep writing about global warming, yet it’s a problem that’s only going to keep getting worse.   I am aware that the sinking feeling I am experiencing is really my own guilt.

You see, I am not really an environmentalist. Yes I live off the grid at my cabin, have solar panels etc., but that’s not because I want to live a simpler, more “environmentally friendly” life, it’s because I have too. I don’t have a choice. There is no power, and the Region of Nanaimo, along with the Horne Lake Cottage Association, have imposed building and water restrictions,  so that I don’t harm the environment. In short, I need to be regulated.

Left to my own devices, I would live the same way at the cabin as I do at home. I want things nice and I want them convenient.

There, my dirty little secret is out. I am a waster, and as long as I am a waster I am going to feel bad about this whole global warming business. I am totally focused on the problem.

I am making a public declaration that from this day forward, I am going to start focusing on the solution, halting global warming, and doing my part to reduce my consumption of water. I will do one thing a week for the environment, starting with my home.

There is a lot I can do right here - replace our single pane windows, change out my toilettes, install a clothesline, start composting, stop using plastic bags at the grocery store, etc. The list is endless.

Each Monday, I will report on this week’s goal. Please feel free to join me and let me know what you’re up to. I am open to any and all suggestions that don’t overwhelm me, and help me to stay focused on the solution.

This week’s goal - start washing all my laundry in cold water.

Here’s to alleviating my conscience.

Cheers,

Julie

While most of the cottagers in British Columbia endured one wet weekend after another this past summer, our neighbors to the east in Ontario enjoyed non-stop sun. Folks on Georgian Bay saw their daily highs go from 18 degrees Celsius to 26 degrees Celsius in early July where they remained for most of the summer and well into the fall.

As cottagers, we pray for sun. We want warm calm water so we can get out on the lake and play. But global warming and the extreme weather that accompanies it appears to be wrecking havoc on our summertime fun.

Sam Kohn, a cottager on Georgian Bay’s 30,000 Islands area, is experiencing this effect first hand. What used to be his boat house has now turned into a “garage,” and he’s not alone. The waterline on Lake Huron has receded anywhere from 12 to 18 feet, leaving boats high and dry.

The higher than average temperatures are producing a series of chain reactions:

• Lakes are becoming warmer resulting in more water loss due to evaporation
• The ground around the lakes are drying out, reducing the supply of ground water to streams that feed the lakes
• Large lakes like Superior are getting steadily warmer and not freezing over in the winter, resulting in even more loss due to evaporation

Last winter Ontario’s weather was two to four degrees above the norm for the province. Contrast that to British Columbia where we experienced Tsunami warnings, followed by heavy snows and bitter cold.

According to Canada’s Forth National Report on Climate Change, “The current rate of climate change is more rapid than what the earth normally experiences.”

Does this mean the weather is only going to continue to become more and more extreme? Will the east continue to dry out while the west battles storm after storm?

What do you think? Is there a way to stop these crazy weather patterns? Will switching to hybrid cars curb the current trajectory we’re on?

Cheers,

Julie

If you have been eating turkey for past three days, the following recipe might just put you over the edge. Chicken pot or turkey pot pie is a great way to use up those little bits of leftover meat.  Our family loves it, it’s easy to prepare, especially if you start with a rotisserie chicken.  It’s also a great dish to freeze and pull it out at the cabin for an instant meal.

Since my pastry lessons at my brother’s cottage this past summer, making pie crust no longer scares me. Using my Kitchen Aid Blender, (think Martha Stewart) I can whip up a pie crust in about 10 minutes. I mix the liquid by hand so the dough doesn’t get too tough. I also discovered I should be refrigerating my vegetable shortening or buying fresh. Stale Crisco will affect the crust’s flavour.

Chicken Pot Pie Filling

One rotisserie chicken - de-boned or 2 cups of cooked chicken or turkey pieces

6 carrots peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices

3 medium potatoes peeled and chopped

1/3 sweet onion chopped

2 stalks of celery

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 12 oz. can of chicken broth

1/2 cup of water

3 tbsp oyster sauce

Preparation

You can cook all the ingredients on top of the stove in a large pot, or you can throw everything into a crock pot and let it simmer on high for 4 hours (my preferred method)

Once the vegetables are tender, mix 2 tbsp of bisto with 1 1/2 tbsp flour and 1/2 cup of cold water, stir until the lumps have dissolved and add it to the chicken mixture. This will thicken the broth.

Pie Crust

Line a deep dish casserole with pie dough (I use the recipe featured in the blog, How to Make the Perfect Pie Crust, and divide the dough in half if I am using a large casserole dish. Use the remaining dough for the topping)

Pour the chicken mixture into the pastry lined casserole dish, roll out the second ball of dough out and place it on top.

Trim any excess of the edges and using your fingers, crimp the pie dough together. Take a sharp knife and cut little holes in the top to let the steam escape. Bake at 400F for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

If you want to spice up your pie dough, you might consider adding 2 tbsp very finely chopped (use food processor) fresh parsley and 1 tbsp very finely chopped fresh rosmary to the flour and crisco just before you add the liquid.

Next week in honour of Octoberfest we will be featuring some German recipes.

Cheers,

Julie

The Globe & Mail ran a very disturbing article, The Great Lakes Disappearing Act, Monday Sept. 24, 2007, describing how all five bodies of water are shrinking at an alarming rate. Most of the blame for the decline is being attributed to global warming.

I recently joined a cottage forum where the participants, all from Ontario, are discussing climate change and the impact it is having on their lakes.

Cottagers on Georgian Bay estimate their water level is down three feet in the past seven years. Shorelines that used to be 50 metres from homes are now more than 150 metres.

Today’s photo was posted by Kegfridge Commander. It was taken at friend’s cottage on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron. He describes how the water used break over the rocks at the shore. The folks who own the property used to have docks along the shoreline, now they have a 400 foot pier to an island then 300 feet of dock to float their boat. The boat seen in the photo is an aluminum paddle boat - it only needs four inches of water.

Families who are hoping to pass their cottages down to their children are worried that it is only going to be a mud hole by the time they inherit it.

Marine operators are struggling to to keep open because boats don’t have enough clearance to navigate the shallow waters.

According to the Globe & Mail, government forecasters are projecting that Lake Superior, the largest of the five, will fall to it’s lowest level for September since modern record keeping began nearly a century ago.

But not all of the declining lake levels can be blamed on global warming. Extensive dredging done near Sarnia in the 1960s, is causing them to lose about an extra 10 billion litres of water a day. (Sarnia is located at the tip of Lake Huron) This giant leak is being blamed for the disappearing shorelines of Lake Huron.

On Friday, we will turn our attention towards the weather, and examine how the 80 plus degree highs for October are further contributing to the vanishing lakes.

Cheers,

Julie

So if the cougars on Vancouver Island are the most aggressive in North America, according to Ron Heusen, field supervisor for Central Vancouver Island’s Conservation Authority, what do you do if you happen to run into one, perhaps while out jogging on Horne Lake Road?

My first inclination would be to keep on running, but that is just the thing that would likely get me killed (besides, I’m not a very fast runner). Running triggers the attack response in a cougar. Imagine a kitten spotting a rolling ball of yarn, like a cougar, their natural instinct is to pounce on it. When I run, I become that rolling ball of yarn.

I also leave my neck exposed, which is exactly how these large cat’s take down their prey - they break their victim’s neck, severing the spine in the process.

So what do I do when staring down the face of a killing predatory machine?

According to Heusen fight tooth and nail. If I am going to defend myself, I have to be very, very aggressive. Cougars are 100% fit. If they suffer a broken leg, hip, or become injured in any way, they are done; they will starve to death. Because of this strong survival instinct, they will not put themselves in jeopardy. If they think they might get hurt they will back off.

The best thing to do is to make myself look as big as possible - opening my jacket and fanning it out and making a lot of noise. Exactly what Lori Macfarlane did when she encountered a cougar while walking a friend’s dog on Horne Lake road, see Cougar Attack for the complete story.

With regards to cougars on Horne Lake, Heusen says to relax. Our odds of getting attacked are 1 in 17 million. He also stated that these big cats are territorial. Their habitat spans about 20 square miles. One cat will keep others out, depending on food availability.

For more information on cougars and safety precautions, click here to visit the Ministry of Environment’s website.

Here’s to a healthy deer population.

Cheers,

Julie

Sharing a cabin with bears in one thing. I have been well educated regarding these big black creatures.

• Don’t leave garbage laying around
• Always clean the barbecue after every use
• Avoid having bird feeders or fruit trees on my property
• Always make lots of noise when walking in the woods
• Never get between a bear and her cubs.

Enough said.

Cougars are another story. I know these creatures have attacked people on the Vancouver Island, usually children. Given the recent encounters on our lake, I wanted to find out how big a threat they posed to our safety.

I spoke to conservation officer, Ron Heusen, who is the field supervisor for central Vancouver Island. During our phone interview, one thing became very apparent, Ron has had a lot of experience with these big cats.

The first thing I wanted to know is, how big is the cougar population on Vancouver Island, and where do they live, i.e. how many are there on Horne Lake?

Ron explains, if you drew an imaginary line right down the centre of the Island, the majority of mountain lions can be found to the right of that line or on the eastern side. Campbell River, Courtney, Comox, Bowser, Qualicum, Parksville, Nanaimo and on down to Victoria, all have healthy populations.

Curious as to why the concentrations centred around populated areas, and not on the west coast coast, Ron states that deer are the cougars’ primary food source. These areas have huge deer populations making it easy for them to hunt and feed. This also explains why there have been no attacks on people in these areas.

Overall, the cougar population has been declining on Vancouver Island. While they no longer keep data on their numbers, conservation authorities are not seeing the kills (on livestock) like they used to. Cougars are showing up starving to death.

Ron attributes their decline to the extensive logging that is taking place. Wolves are the cougars primary competitor when it comes to deer, and even though there are very of them on Island, they are very efficient hunters. The logging corridors have enabled the wolves to hunt deer twice as fast and after they leave an area, the deer population has been decimated, leaving little food for the cougars. This massive loss of prey has hit the cougars hard.

When I ask Ron about cougar attacks on Vancouver Island, he says they average one a year, usually children. He also notes Island cats are the most aggressive in North America. We have the highest concentration of people killers resulting in the most of fatalities of anywhere in North America. That’s the bad news.

The good news is the likely hood of being attacked by a cougar is 1 in 17 million.

Tomorrow, I will review what to do and what not do when confronting a cougar.

Cheers,

Julie

One of the reasons Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday is because it is a simple celebration. Oh sure, we get a little carried away with the food, but we get together, we eat and you give thanks.

One of our traditions involves going around the table during the dinner and saying what we’re grateful for. It’s always fun to hear what people have to say. I would like to share with you some of the things I am thankful for. I hope you will tell me some of yours.

What I’m Grateful For

• I live in Canada, specifically, Vancouver. I enjoy the rights and freedom of being a Canadian.
• My family - my children, my husband, my sister and brothers, their spouses, my mom, my nieces and nephews.
• My husband’s family
• My neighbours at the cabin - they are the best, fun loving bunch of people I know
• My friends from Toronto to Vancouver, we might not see each other often, but we always seem to pick up where we left off.
• Our health care system -I love being able to go to a walk-in clinic, and all I have to do is show my Care card.
• Charles - the fantastic web developer who keeps CottageDaily online and bug free
• The great food and wine our country produces
• People who volunteer their time to make other people’s lives better

Ok, these are just some of the things I’m grateful for. The things I value most are not my home, or car or even the cabin, it’s the people I get to share my life with.

Here’s to friends and family.

Cheers,

Julie

CottageDaily is changing with the seasons. You will notice we’ve put away the deck chairs and are now enjoying the fall colours.

Dockside has some new features too. Otis, this week’s “Top Dog” is just one of several items we have added to the site. Our pets enjoy cottage life as much as we do. We invite you to share their moments with us. Email your digital pets to julie@cottagedaily.com along with his/her name and lake area. We will post them as we receive them.

We have also added advertising to the site. Maintaining CottageDaily is a lot like owning a cabin. There is always something that needs to be fixed or “renovated.” While CottageDaily is a labour of love, there are costs associated with hosting and web development. It is my goal to keep the ads relevant and useful to you, the reader.

A lot of people have expressed an interest in finding cottages to rent. Over the next couple of months, we will be adding a cottage rental directory to the site, specifically for British Columbia properties.

I always enjoy reading your comments and am especially interested in hearing what you think about the new changes.

If you are heading out to the cabin this weekend, I wish you a safe trip with lots of sunshine.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Cheers,

Julie