Summer Garden Highlights

Four raised beds on a cedar log float.

After a cool June, our weather has warmed with the long days of summer and my garden has taken off in leaps and bounds.

Right now it is hard to keep up with all of the produce coming from the raised beds on my floating garden and containers on our cabin deck.

I kicked off summer by inviting 21 members of the Powell River Garden Club to go on a boat ride up to my float cabin to visit my garden. It was my first "garden party." It was such a hit I plan to do it again next June.

Three tours of seven Garden Club members.

This is the first year I planted garlic in the fall. It made a huge difference in the quality and size of the bulbs. Some were hardneck, my first time trying that variety.

Preparing to hang my harvested garlic to cure.

My red currant plant growing in a large container started producing for the first time. The fruit was too tart to eat raw, but it made an excellent jam.

My Dracaena spike plants have grown from tiny grassy shoots to massive plants in about ten years. This year one plant flowered for the third time. The other plant (pictured) flowered for the first time.

Dracaena spike plant flowering.

I almost gave up on zucchini. After three years of blossom end rot, my plants have been producing well. I think the key has been increased bee action for pollination. I tried a yellow zucchini for the first time and love it.

Yellow zucchini growing in a pot next to a green variety.

How is your summer garden growing? What are some of your hits and misses?

Visit Garden Party at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olsen.

Shared with Your the Star at Stone Cottage Adventures. And Tuesdays with a Twist at Stone Cottage Adventures. -- Margy

Red Currant Jam

Last year I planted a small bare root red currant. This year it’s grown considerably and developed clusters of berries on previous year’s branches. I was surprised at how many. Last week they all started to ripen at once.

I’ve tasted a few and found them too sour to eat raw. The label said they make good jelly, wine and preserves so I thought I would try.

Removing seeds in a food mill.

Red currants contain a lot of seeds, they’re edible but I didn’t want them in my jam. I washed the tender berries then warmed them in a saucepan while crushing with a potato masher. Still warm, I processed them in a food mill to remove the seeds.

Half seeds, half pulp.

From two cups of mashed berries I got one cup of pulp and one cup of seeds to be discarded.

I added one cup of sugar and one tablespoon bottled lemon juice to my one cup of juicy pulp. Because the berries are tart, no pectin was needed.

Cook until jelled at 220 degrees Fahrenheit.

I heated the mixture to a rolling boil and kept it bubbling until reaching 220 degrees Fahrenheit (the jell point). Because I was using a small pan, it was hard to keep the thermometer away from the bottom so I backed it up with the cold-water test for jelly.

Result, one half pint of jam.

I prepared two half-pint jars and my small water bath canner, but in the end I only got one half-pint jar of jam.

I chose to use it as refrigerator jam. Maybe next year I’ll get a bigger crop to make enough to put up for the pantry.

I'm pleased with the taste. It's a tart tang, but not sour like the raw fruit. The label on the bare root stock was right. The fruit does make a good jelly or preserve.

Do you grow red currants? How do you like to use them? -- Margy

Float Cabin Reflections

Summer is a wonderful time to live up the lake in a float cabin.

Heading out early in the morning I ltook a picture. When I looked at the result I was pleasantly surprised how the sunshine, calm water and boat wake ripples made a lovely image. -- Margy

Coastal BC Animals: Chipmunks

Chipmunks

Joining the birds for a snack.

Up the lake at the cabin we have a pair of chipmunks that visit our float cabin almost daily.

If there is food in the bird feeder they stop by for a try to get their share. Consequently, the Juncos have to go without for a few days between fillings.

If the feeder is empty, they boldly come on the deck to see why we aren't attending to their needs. Many forest critters like to eat my crops growing in pots and containers on the decks. At least the chipmunks are polite about not digging into our growing food supply.

Visitors from Powell River report that there are few chipmunks left in town. They surmise that the growing gray and black squirrel population may be pushing the cute little guys farther into the bush.

Chipmunks can be distinguished by the stripes on their face and back. Their colouring is yellowish to brownish gray with black and white stripes. Often there is a reddish cast to their sides.

Chipmunks are very energetic and agile. We see them climb the nearly vertical granite cliffs next to the cabin.

There are four varieties listed for BC. I'm not sure which kind come to visit us. It might be a Red-Tailed. Can you help?

Here's a link to a good (and free) manual for identifications: An Identification Manual to the Small Mammals of British Columbia. -- Margy

References: BC Adventure (online) and Nature Canada (online).

Cabin Cooking: Chocolate Chip Muffins

Making my own tulip muffin cups with parchment paper.

Wayne and I will be going on quad camping trips and boat cruises this summer. I like to prepare foods in advance to make meal preparation easy. Here's a recipe for yummy muffins from Kraft Canada that pack well and eat even better.

CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

Mix dry ingredients first.

• 2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Mix wet ingredients and sugar.

Heat oven to 400ºF.

Combine first 3 ingredients in large bowl. Stir in the semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Whisk the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl until blended. I will increase the sugar to 3/4 cup next time because I like a sweeter muffin.

Adding the wet to the dry mixture.

Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and stir until moistened. Don't over mix or the muffins will turn out tough. The batter should be lumpy not smooth.

Spoon into muffin pan cups coated with cooking spray. I also used squares of parchment paper in each cup.

Filling the muffin cups.

Fill each cup until it's three quarters full.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire wire rack and cool completely.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

The recipe is for a dozen muffins, but with my smaller pan I got fifteen. Store in a sealed plastic bag or container for best results.

Muffins ready for our quad camping trip to Goat Lake.

Do you have any favourite foods to take on vacation trips to make meal preparation easier? -- Margy

Float Cabin Living: The Series

Wayne and I purchased our float cabin home in 2001 while on a flying camping trip that landed us in Powell River, British Columbia.  That camping trip brought us to a new Canadian home on Powell Lake. It also brought us to life in a new country when we became Canadian Permanent Residents in 2008 and citizenship applicants in 2017.

Wayne and I were both raised in the city and lived in the Los Angeles area. Moving to the small town of Powell River was a big step, living in an off-the-grid float cabin was a huge leap. But it was the best thing we could have ever done.

We get lots of questions about what it's like to live in a float cabin. This series will answer some of the most frequent ones we get. 

1. Does the cabin move around the lake?
2. What is the weather like?
3. What happens during storms?
4. How do you stay warm?
5. How do you get power? Propane, Solar, Alternatives
6. Do you have a telephone, television and the Internet?
7. How was your cabin built? Float, Cabin
8. Why did you choose to live in a float cabin?
9. Can you have a garden?
10. How can you live in such a small space?
11. What do you DO with all your time?

People don't always ask about the bathroom, but I'm sure they're thinking about it. And how we handle all of our waste. Most people do. I'll answer all these questions, but I won't try to do it all at once. Each week on Tuesday I'll post a new installment. Stay tuned.

If you can't wait, you can read more of my posts under the topic of Float Cabin Living in the sidebar. You can also visit the PowellRiverBooks.com website to get information about my husband Wayne's Coastal BC Stories series of books. Many include chapters about cabin life and Powell Lake.

If you have other questions, please leave them in the comments section. I always enjoy writing about our life up the lake. -- Margy

Float Cabin Living: Does it move?

Our float cabin soon after we purchased it.

One of the questions we often get is, “Does your float cabin move around the lake?” People think it's like a houseboat, which is understandable. Float cabins aren’t something you see every day.

Before we discovered float cabins on Powell Lake, we knew about the fancy floating homes in marinas such as Sausalito, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. You may have seen a float home in the movie Sleepless in Seattle. Tom Hanks and his son lived in one.

Cedar log float with cabin floor installed.

Floating homes typically use steel and concrete float structures (yes, they float) rather than lashed cedar logs like the ones on Powell Lake.

Floating logging camp from BC Archives.

Float cabins were originally used for housing and buildings in remote logging and fishing camps. Coastal British Columbia is known for its fjords with steep cliffs plunging right to the sea. Building land structures would have been difficult, if not impossible. Also, floating camps allowed the operations to move easily from one area to the next.

Old timer still in use.

On Powell Lake, float cabins were originally built by paper mill workers from the Powell River Company. Powell Riverites were heading “up the lake” to fish, hunt and just get away. Powell Lake is fjord-like (see "Ancient Sea Water in Powell Lake"). The huge cedar logs for the float structures were plentiful. Wood to build the cabins and shakes for the roofs were right at hand. Floating cabins were a natural.

Stiff leg and cables to shore at low water.

Float cabins on Powell Lake are much the same today. They are typically no frills cabins used by locals as weekend getaways. A few are available for rent. The cabins are attached to shore by steel cables (preferred) or heavy rope. Cement anchors often serve as extra stabilization. As the lake rises and falls during the seasons, the cables or ropes may need to be adjusted.

Towing a float cabin down the lake.

While a boat can tow a cabin fairly easily, they usually remain in the same place throughout their life in a leased water lot. On occasion, you will see a cabin moving up or down the lake for repairs. Since the cabins are almost exclusively boat access only, it can be easier to do major upgrades at the marina or along the lake shore near town.

In "Weathering the Wind," you can read about how our friend John created an ingenious system to dampen the strain on the cables during wind and waves. After major storms it is important to check to make sure your cabin is still attached properly.

If you want to travel around the lake and take your house with you, a houseboat is what you need. But if you love your location and want a permanent home, a float cabin would be for you. It sure is for us. -- Margy