Toronto Canada alternative health natural medicine green living - Viki Mather

Dreaming of Daylilies

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:44:35 -0400

By Viki Mather

As summer draws to a close, memories linger of the magnificent meals prepared with fresh gifts from the garden. A summer full of flowers made the meals beautiful to look at as well as delicious and nourishing.

Adopt a Monarch

Fri, 4 Jul 2008 13:39:12 -0400

by Viki Mather

The monarchs are back! Monarch butterflies have returned to our neighbourhood for another summer. We love to watch them flitter about, sipping nectar from the wild flowers in the yard. Over the next few weeks, they will lay their eggs on the milkweed plants in our orchard. We keep watch for the tiny stripy caterpillars, then watch them grow quickly as they munch upon the growing leaves of the milkweeds.

Wild in the City

Mon, 2 Jun 2008 14:36:54 -0400

By Viki Mather

I don’t often stay overnight in the city, but when I do, I make an effort to get out for a walk in the cool of the morning, or for a break in the warmth of the afternoon – just to keep my sense of sanity.

Hidden Trails

Fri, 2 May 2008 13:22:31 -0400

By Viki Mather

Spring is a wonderful time to get out to explore in the forest. A soon as the ice melts off the lakes, we take some time to search for old, forgotten trails.

The Hundred-Mile Diet, Thoughts for Earth Month

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 15:31:31 -0400

By Viki Mather

One of the easiest ways that we can help reduce our impact on Earth’s resources is to be mindful of the food we eat. Over the past year, the “Hundred Mile Diet” has gained a lot of interest. The basic theory is to buy food that grows near where you live.

Sunny March

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 17:33:31 -0500

Living with solar energy means much more than having solar panels in the yard. As we climb out of the dark days of winter, the sun rises earlier each morning. We gain a couple of minutes each day, and these quickly add up. Add to that the hour of pre-dawn light, and our mornings are now bright every day.

Up North Off The Grid

Fri, 1 Feb 2008 00:16:00 -0500

All About Snow

by Viki Mather

Snow! Don’t you just love it! In case you hadn’t noticed, I do. Snow in February is perfect. Snow is also good in late November, all of December, January, March and into early April. All the creatures that stay in the forest for the winter have adapted to snowy winters. Including me.

Snow is quiet, snow is warm, and snow blankets the forest floor, keeping the frost from going too deeply into the ground. When temperatures plummet to the low -20s in the middle of February, we can crawl into a snow cave to find the relatively warm temperature of –5 C.

Individual snowflakes hold an endless fascination. The big fluffy ones that fall on a quiet winter’s day invite closer observation. Is every one of them different from all the others? I look out the window at what must be several hundred billion snowflakes - on the ground, on the trees, on the hillside, and even in the air. Snow is falling gently as I type. Is every snowflake unique?

Through the Solar Year

Thu, 6 Dec 2007 15:06:40 -0500

Viki Mather

Living on solar power makes us naturally energy conscious. Especially during the six weeks surrounding Winter Solstice. December is filled with cloudy days when we gain no power at all. And on the few days each week when the sun does shine, it is low in the sky. By the time it rises above the trees in the morning, and then shrinks below the trees in the afternoon, there may be only 5 hours of productive energy accumulation.

Stalking the Wild Asparagus

Fri, 2 Nov 2007 16:16:02 -0400

At the beginning of June I started this series on Edible Wild Plants. We’ve ventured into swamps and forests, gardens and roadsides. We tasted wild teas, fruits, and garden weeds. We’ve taken a cautionary peek at mushrooms, and had a reminder that not all plants are edible.

Our journey began at the beginning of June, with a review of two books: Lee Allen Peterson’s “Field guide to Edible Wild Plants”, and Euell Gibbons “Stalking the Wild Asparagus.” You can read the entire 20 article series on the Kukagami Lodge website (see hotlink below). We’re going to end this year’s look at what’s good to eat in the wild with a closer look at those ‘wild asparagus’.

Mid-autumn may seem to be an odd time to be talking about wild asparagus. After all, it will be next spring before it can be gathered for the table. Yet the key to knowing edible wild plants is getting to know where things grow. Often, the best time to see the most deciduous plants is long after the best time to pick them. Wild asparagus is one such plant.

If you have cultivated asparagus in your garden, you be well aware of the tall, lacy plants as they appear in autumn. In my garden the mature asparagus plants stand more than a metre tall. The lacy branches are brilliant gold, and a few of them support dozens of small red berries that hold the seeds.

Over the winter, birds will come to take these seeds near and far. That’s how “wild asparagus” gets planted. This seed dispersal has been going on for as long as people have been planting asparagus in their gardens. There are more than a few places to find these wild patches, and right now is the best time to look for them. They are easiest to see along roadsides, and most predominant along country roads.

While you are out and about over the next few weeks, keep a look out for the tall, lacy asparagus plants. Generally they grow in dense clumps with a dozen or two stems. Make a note of where you see them, then go back next spring to bring in some of the first ‘edible wilds’ of the year.

Like most edible wild plants, wild asparagus will have a much finer flavour than anything you can buy in the store. This is partly because of the joy you get from finding such treasures, and partly due to the minimal time between picking and dining.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the last five months of dining in the wild, and I hope you took some time to gather a few of the gifts from Mother Nature. All too often in these modern days we lose track of what is important. Taking some time to forage from the wilds can bring back a joy of life that is so easily lost in the shuffle of busyness that overwhelms us.

Up North and Off The Grid

Thu, 4 Oct 2007 07:52:47 -0400

Cranberries

By Viki Mather

It is a good year for cranberries! There are almost enough of them to make up for the sparsity of blueberries.

Cranberries are easy to find after you have seen the first patch of them They grow on low-lying vines at the edges of wet places They are especially fond of boggy areas, but can also be found along lakeshores in protected coves.

Cranberry vines are tiny. The threadlike stems support tiny, long, oval leavesThese have smooth edges that curl in a bit All summer long the leaves are green, but as we reach into the cool days of October, they become as red as the cranberry fruits The fruits are abundant this year, which makes it even easier to find the plants.

Wild cranberries are the same size and colour as those you buy in the store In fact, wild cranberries are so perfectly created, that there has been no need to generate hybrids for marketing They are grown commercially in managed wetlands

With Thanksgiving being a bit early this year, our local wild cranberries have not yet fully ripened to their full maroonish-red colour Still, if you can find a patch of wild cranberries, you can pick enough of the nearly ripe berries to make a nice sauce for your Thanksgiving dinner.

A simple cranberry sauce is made with berries, a little water and some sugar Simmer gently until the berries break, stir and chill

An interesting treat for Thanksgiving dinner, or any fancy meal is Cranberry Pie This is also very simple Fill a piecrust with fresh, raw cranberries Add a cup of white sugar, a teaspoon of almond extract and a few dots of butter Cover with the top crust, sprinkle a little sugar on top, and cut enough slits to allow abundant steam to escape.

Bake at 325 F for 45 minutes or so The cranberries will get bubbly, and the crust will turn a golden brown To be truly decadent, serve this pie warm with a scoop of pure vanilla ice cream

Collecting cranberries from the wild is a great excuse to get out for an autumn hike Take a trail that wanders by some wet areas, and keep a sharp eye out for that maroon colour of the leaves and berries Once you find the first patch, your eyes will know what you are looking for, and some you’ll see many more.

Viki Mather is owner of Kukagami Lodge, a northern Ontario wilderness resort at the southern boundary of the Temagami forest. Web: www.kukagamilodge.com <http://www.kukagamilodge.com> , email: lodge@kukagami.infosathse.com Viki has lived in the wilderness for 26 years, without electricity or running water. Read these columns monthly to discover wonderful ways to live in harmony with nature, bring edible wilds into your kitchen, thrive without plugging into the grid, and enjoy a healthier life.

Up North and Off The Grid

Tue, 4 Sep 2007 16:09:21 -0400

Up North and Off The Grid

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 12:47:59 -0400

Garden Delights

By Viki Mather

If you have an immaculate weed-free garden, you are missing out on some of the best vegetables ever grown! If you are relaxed enough to let a few weeds find a bit of sunshine between the tomatoes, you are in luck! Chances are very good that the weeds in your garden are good to eat. The only trick is that you have to take the time to learn their names, then find out if they are on the good to eat list. Most of them will be.

Up North and Off the Grid

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 11:30:33 -0400

Intro to Edible Wild Plants Viki Mather This article begins a summer series of delicious wild dining. Plan to walk with me through your garden and the forest as we explore the wonderful world of delicious edible wild plants. Over the next three months, this column will focus on the best of the edible wild plants in Ontario.

Up North and Off The Grid

Thu, 17 May 2007 09:58:45 -0400

Listening to the Frogs

Frogs, frogs everywhere! Who doesn’t recognise the excited call of the Spring Peepers? Even more so than the arrival of the first robin, the chorus of frogs at lakeside and wetlands truly brings hope that spring is really here.

Just in case you haven’t heard the cheery call of spring peepers – take a walk to any marshy area in the evening over the next week or two. Peep, peep, peep, PEEEEP!!!! If you find a really good place, the sound can be deafening! Who ever would have thought that a tiny frog could make so much noise? The Spring Peepers are only 3 cm long! Once you get a few hundred or more of the males together on a warm spring evening, they can make a very loud racket.

If you listen closely over then next little while, you will notice that there is more than one kind of froggy noise happening out there. Spring is mating time, and the males of nearly a dozen different types of frogs are singing their little hearts our in hopes of attracting a female. Each species has a unique mating call. Some of the frogs are very small, and most are rarely seen so early in the year. But their distinct mating calls clearly indicate their presence.

One of my favourites is the Wood Frog. While walking along the trail in the middle of a late April day, I’ll hear what seems to be a gathering of ducks; sort of a “uwuck uwuck uwuck uwuck” in rapid succession. Wood frogs around my neck of the woods show up sometimes a few days before the spring peepers, sometimes a few days after. They’ll call out for a couple of weeks, whereas the Spring Peepers will sometimes go on into June.

Over the unfolding days of May, more species will begin their spring ritual: tree frogs, leopard frogs, green frogs and bullfrogs to name a few. Before I learned about frog songs a decade or two ago, I never noticed any but the Spring Peepers. Then I connected with the Marsh Monitoring Program, and got a tape with all the frog calls of Ontario. I studied the tape, and went out each evening to listen. Wow! Once I knew what to listen for, I discovered that there were lots of different frogs in my backyard!

These days you can easily learn about the Frogs of Ontario, and their unique calls. This link will bring you directly to the list of frogs that can be found in Ontario: http://www.naturewatch.ca/english/frogwatch/learn_frogs.asp?Province=on
Or, just go to www.naturewatch.ca and follow the links through amphibians to the Frogwatch pages. There are pictures, descriptions, and best of all, a short recording of each of the frog songs.

Oh, and let’s not forget the Toad! Only one kind of toad lives in northern Ontario, and it has a lovely song. It’s a very long trill – sort of like running your fingernail along the teeth of a comb. It lasts for half a minute! So enrich your life this spring. Be sure to take some time to walk quietly in the evening and listen to the little critters of spring.

Viki Mather is owner of Kukagami Lodge, a northern Ontario wilderness resort at the southern boundary of the Temagami forest. Web: www.kukagamilodge.com <http://www.kukagamilodge.com> , email: lodge@kukagami.infosathse.com Viki has lived in the wilderness for 26 years, without electricity or running water. Read these columns monthly to discover wonderful ways to live in harmony with nature, bring edible wilds into your kitchen, thrive without plugging into the grid, and enjoy a healthier life.

Up North And Off The Grid

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 12:45:28 -0400

Last Day in the Sugarbush