Rainbow in the Notch

Today it was partly cloudy, but with extended periods of sun inbetween. Late in the day there was a shower over Goat Island backlit by the setting sun.

The rainbow started right in The Notch, a deep cleft in Goat Island's hillside. Wayne wrote about hiking part way up this very steep creek bed in Chapter 6 of Up the Winter Trail.

Excerpt from Up the Winter Trail by Wayne J. Lutz

 
The stream is still narrow but now rushing. I see a triple falls above me, and it seems there’s no way to go higher. So I veer off to the side, finding a boulder with a log wedged above it. I try to use the rock and log to climb up the cliff and out of the ravine.

My first attempt sends me back down to safer footing in the bed of the creek. Then, I find another route that leads up the opposite side. By kicking my boots into loamy outcroppings in the cliff, I use toeholds and tree limbs to heft myself up and out of the canyon.

I emerge from the Notch into an area covered with prickly blackberry vines – “nature’s barb wire,” as John calls it. The vines grab at my pant legs and boots, and I try to kick them away. This is hopeless, so I use my walking stick and gloves to tear the vines away. Some I drag along with me.

I walk along the top of several logs that criss-cross over the vines, leading to a huge, smooth boulder. It’s a perfect place to rest. I spread my whole body on the granite surface, lying down flat on my back. Sunlight filters through the trees as I relax in this placid spot.

Up the Winter Trail is available in print and ebook formats from Amazon and other online booksellers. Print versions are also available in Powell River at Coles bookstore. -- Margy

A Winter Ride Down Powell Lake, BC

A calm but cloudy day at Hole in the Wall.

When we travel to town during winter we always take the weather into consideration. That makes it hard to commit to a schedule, but being retired helps us not feel compelled to go out on the lake in dangerous conditions. However, when we leave the calm of Hole in the Wall we don't always know what the lower lake is doing.

Our ride to town was bouncy but safe. We watched a Powell River Kings hockey game and stayed overnight in town. In the morning we left for home with enough groceries for another week or so up the lake at our float cabin home.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoyed taking the boat ride along with us. -- Margy

Canning: Pressure Canning Potatoes

I grow potatoes in a hillside potato patch created from compost. I also grow potatoes in containers on the deck. I harvest in August or early September then store my crop in open plastic trays under the guest bed downstairs.

This year I got four trays of potatoes. We've eaten one and one I'm saving for seed potatoes.

Rather than letting them all sprout, I decided to preserve one tray full in my pressure canner.

I follow a Safe Canning Recipes Facebook page. They have a blog with links to safe tested canning recipes.

I've had a Presto pressure canner for months but have been afraid to use it. I was recently inspired to try canning potatoes. 

I used a recipe from National Center for Home Food Preservation and a link to basic safe canning procedures. Refer to them for full directions.

Canning White Potatoes

Procedure:

Wash, peel, place in ascorbic acid solution

Wash and peel potatoes. Place in ascorbic acid solution to prevent darkening. If desired, cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Drain. Cook 2 minutes in boiling water and drain again. For whole potatoes, boil 10 minutes and drain.

Cook and rinse.

Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart to the jar, if desired. Fill jars with hot prepared potatoes, leaving no more than 1-inch headspace.

Place potatoes in sterilized jars.

Cover hot potatoes with FRESH boiling water, leaving 1-inch headspace and covering all pieces of potato. (Do not use the water you cooked the potatoes in; it contains too much starch.)

My float cabin is less than 1000' in elevation so I processed the jars for 35 minutes at 11 pounds of pressure. Follow this link for detailed processing times.

I got eight pints from my tray of Yukon Gold potatoes. We'll keep these on the shelf to eat after the remaining basket of fresh potatoes is finished.

These will get us through several months while waiting for a new crop.

Do you use a pressure canner? What kinds of foods do you put up for your pantry? What are some of your family's favourites. -- Margy

A Snowy Day at Hole in the Wall

Even though we live in British Columbia, we don't get that much snow. Our location near the coast moderates our climate.

But when we do, it's an exciting event for me. I grew up in Southern California and the closest I came to snow was looking at it high on top of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Over the weekend we had a brief period of snow. But you had to be fast, it melted almost as quick as it arrived. Here's a short video Wayne took to share with you.

How has your winter weather been? Or are you one of the lucky ones south of the equator enjoying warm summer days? -- Margy

Canning: Carmel Apple Jam

I’ve been saving apple skins and cores in the freezer. My plan was to make Apple Peel (Scrap) Jelly but I didn’t want to waste the flesh clinging to the skins. I found a recipe for Carmel Apple Jam at Canning Homemade through the Safe Canning Recipes Blog that looked more interesting.

Carmel Apple Jam

Preparing the apple.

Ingredients:

6 cups diced peeled apples
½ cup water
1 package powdered pectin
2 cups granulated sugar
1 ½ cups light brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Making apple sauce from frozen skins.

Directions:

Preparing the sugar and spices.

Cook apples and water over low heat until soft. Stir in pectin and bring to a full rolling boil stirring constantly. Stir in sugars, cinnamon and nutmeg. Return to a full rolling boil and boil for one minute. Remove from the heat and skim off any foam. Pour hot jam into hot sterilized jars leaving ¼-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath. Yields 7 half-pints.

My Approach:

Cooking the jam with pectin.

Each time I peel apples (all types) I soak the scraps in a solution of citric acid powder and water to prevent browning. Before freezing I remove any seeds.

Filling the sterilized jars.

When I had enough, I put the peels in a saucepan with half a cup of water. I let them simmer on low for an hour covered and then uncovered until the water evaporated and they were mushy.

I processed the softened scraps in a food mill. The result was a thin applesauce. I added one diced cooked Granny Smith apple for texture.

Using my single jar water bath.

I made a half batch following the recipe except I increased the cinnamon. I love cinnamon.

I’m very happy with the results. The taste is rich and not overly sweet. Next time I’ll use two diced apples to go with my scraps. I’ll also cook the apple cubes longer and mash them to a smoother consistency.

Carmel Apple Jam topping on my yogurt.

Carmel Apple Jam is good on biscuits, toast and as a topping for yogurt and ice cream.

Do you have any favourite recipes for apples or apple scraps? -- Margy

Winter Garden Wonders

This is the first year that I've actively done winter gardening.

Winter crops in the floating garden.

I've cleaned out all of the containers on the decks, but the raised beds on the garden float are still producing.

Some sections are resting until spring.

Yesterday there was a break and I had some sun and dry weather to go out to work in the soil. After being stuck indoors for almost a week, it was wonderful.

I cleaned out the hoop tunnel and worked up the soil.

At the back of the garden I still have carrots, beets, Brussels sprouts and kale.

In the front are broccoli, thyme and rosemary.

And there are signs of spring. The garlic and daffodil bulbs are starting to sprout.

We haven't been to the grocery store in over a week due to stormy weather and lingering winter colds.

These fresh winter garden vegetables make our meals from storage staples healthier and more appealing.

Do you winter garden? What are your favourite plants to grow? -- Margy

Winter Power Solutions

We use the sun as our primary source to generate electricity.

Winter Solstice sunrise and sunset.

During winter, it can be problematic. On the shortest day we only get two hours of direct sunlight.

A foggy sunset at Hole in the Wall.

On top of that we get stretches of cloudy weather. Even when the weatherman promises sun, it often turns foggy. So we use several winter power generation alternatives. One is wind. When we get storms it helps charge our battery bank.

Thermoelectric power generation is common in industry. On a small scale, it's more experimental. We tried a unit made in West Virginia, but there was limited success. I still think it's a great idea for woodstove heated homes.

A thermoelectric generator using woodstove heat to create electricity.

Our fallback is a 1000 watt Yamaha generator. It's fuel efficient and relatively quiet. On cloudy days we run it in the evening for five hours to directly power electric devices such as computers and a small television to display movies. 

A fuel efficient and quiet Yamaha 1000 watt gas powered generator.

At the same time it tops off our two battery banks to keep them in good shape and provide us with power for the following day.

The cabin battery bank in its protective storage box.

Our most important winter power solution is to minimize our use of electricity. We monitor our batteries carefully, and switch everything off when levels become low. Being off the grid means we are responsible for meeting our own needs. It also means there are no unexpected power outages during winter storms. I like it that way.

You can read more about float cabin living by selecting Float Cabin Living and Float Cabin Construction in the topic list on the right side of this page.

You can also read about our off-the-grid lifestyle in Wayne's Coastal BC Stories series books including Up the Lake, Farther Up the Lake, Off the Grid and Off the Grid: Getting Started. All books are available in print and e-book formats from most online book sellers. -- Margy