leisure

An Historic Summer Holiday
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An Historic Summer Holiday

Hail Brave Hearts

The memories of summer holidays filled with fun and sun, swimming and boating and  our great escape to the Canadian wild.  This is the life!  So full of warm summer waters and warm summer sun.  A life of frolicking on beaches, camping and cottages.  The great Canadian summer holiday.  A life style to fulfill.  There’s no life like it.

Grab your canoes and head to the water.  The footsteps of travellers in the past, mark routes of undeniable beauty.  Maps and compasses, campgrounds and hotels.  The small town oasis of civilization along a path of well travelled waterway.  The iconic Canadian water transportation routes of waterway highway.  A path of rivers and lakes joining one part of Canada to another.  The rivers, waterfalls, rapids and portages.  Pack you bags, fill your canoes,  join in the adventure of Canadian travel that has marked our history with holidays from coast to coast.

The Historic Trent/Severn Canal System.  Glorious!

Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site (canada.ca)

Grateful are we to have this grand opportunity to visit this historic waterway, in historic voyageur canoes.  A fun and fabulous holiday in the middle of the summer.  A canoe brigade.  The fortunate few who participated in this endeavour, which leads from Georgian Bay to  Lake Ontario.  following rivers, locks, canals and lakes.  A historic waterway of magnificent scenery, birds and wildlife, lily pads and rushes.  And the locks.

Up and down, up and down, it’s the easiest paddling ever! And the locks are a marvel of engineering.  Different styles of lifts picking us up the rapids and waterfalls to a new level of water.  Spectacular!

The Severn River to Lake Couchiching, to Simcoe, the Trent Canal to Balsam, Cameron and Kawartha Lakes, Otonabee River, the Trent River and on to Lake Ontario.    It’s an historic route for an historic paddling group, or for anyone with a boat and a licence to pursue this holiday adventure.

Canadian Voyageur Brigade Society | coordinate and support big canoe brigades

This 386 km of historic waterway was first started in 1833 and completed in 1922 with 45 locks connecting Georgian Bay to Lake Ontario.  This  ambitious idea was appointed by  Sir John Colborne of the the inland Water  Commision who constructed the first lock at Bobcaygeon.  Now a National Historic Site, this waterway is a path of boating delight.  In it’s early history, the canal was hoped to be a passage for steamships plying these waters with trade, but the canal had several setbacks, which delayed it’s progress.  By the time it was finished, the steamboats were too large for the locks.  Now this historic canal is used by thousands of tourists in pleasure craft from May to October each year.

The iconic canoe, a favourite of many family outings and wilderness adventure, is part of Canada’s  historic lifeline to survival.  The canoe has been with us for centuries, as a transportation vessel and a pleasure craft.  From it’s aboriginal routes to the fur trade, to modern day vehicle, the canoe has been a valuable and necessary part of Canada’s wilderness history  With this in the past and so much enjoyment today, the canoe is a classic pleasure craft.

 

written by Dr Louise Hayes

October 21, 2023

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National Herbalist Day

Hail Brave Hearts

Enjoy the nutrition of the land and the many medical marvels that it reveals.  It’s a new day dawning for the Herbalist.  A day of worthy mention.  National Herbalist Day!  Wow!

The subject matter is superb.  Now that spring is here, the welcome backyard medicine cabinet is opening it’s doors.  New spring teas from fresh shoots, leaves and plants.  Lovely.  Fit for any larder, the beautiful abundance of natural goodness is in your yard.

The most obvious, killer weed, that notorious Dandelion.  Awesome!  The nutritional value of this plant is a keeper.

Plantain, St John’s Wort, Daisy and many more.   A special day for those of us, who seek natural remedies for those aches and pains.  I’ve been lucky with Nettle, Red Currant, Apple Leaf and Rose Hips, but these are just a few of the many natural wonders of the wild world.  Home made salves and soaps, fragrance and tea.  Natural healers to boost energy, to calm, to induce sleep, to improve circulation and help achy joints and achy pains.  Your garden is an Earthly delight.  Those pesky weeds, so hard to get rid of , might freshen your breath, improve your eyesight, add luster to your hair and make it shine.  The self indulgent gardener might even find a cure for what ails themselves.  There are many good gardening books which will help to plant an herbalist garden.

But are natural remedies important?  They are, if you want them to be.  Do they actually provide cures?  Yes, they do.

To quote Chris Dalziel at Jobillee Farm.  who has a  book Growing Abundance, the Garden You Harvest in a Week.

Monday is National Herbalist Day!  It’s a day to acknowledge the herbs that keep us well, help our gardens grow better, make our food taste better, and give us abundance.  Its also a day to recognize the herbal mentors in our life.

Who taught you about using herbs in the kitchen, the garden, and the apothecary?  Did you learn from a mother, a grand parent, a neighbor? Are you self-taught from books and the internet? Did you take a class? Or are you just beginning to learn about herbs as an adult?

Learn about Plantago major — Plantain

I love teaching children about herbs.  My 2 year old granddaughter knows to look for plantain (Plantago major) if she gets a bee sting or a mosquito bite.  “Plantain” comes from an old French word meaning “sole of the foot”.  It grows in compacted areas, where the footprint of humans or animals have compacted the soil.  Its a healing plant for the soil as much as it is a healing plant for us.

Often plantain is the first herb that people learn to use.  It can be an “a-ha” moment, when you hand them a leaf and tell them to put it on the “ouch”.  Relief is fast.

I’ve had the privilege of introducing plantain to tough motorcyclists, stung on the hand while riding, hikers, farmers, beekeepers, wee toddlers, and grumpy teens, mowing a lawn. Plantain is just one of the many gifts that God gives us to nourish and heal us.
That Lucky Deep Freeze
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That Lucky Deep Freeze

Hail Brave hearts

The big chill is storming us.  Cold snow has arrived.  From the cozy interior of our homes, we think big.  Winter fun! This is one of the best times of the year!

A frozen river to occupy the afternoon.  Crisp winter weather at -10 is a welcome change to the blistery cold that makes this day possible.  The continued overnight lows below -20 keeps the ice cold and thick enough for our weight.  Caution though.  These rivers have rapids, the water is swift flowing and sometimes is too fast to freeze thoroughly.

Today’s adventure is along a river to a sought after view.  The wide expanse is fully frozen now and our group walk with ease along the covered water.  Ice is welcome now as we snowshoe this path.  An opportunity that will only present itself in the awesome winter.

We pick our way to the bottom of the river bank and walk with relative ease along the snow covered water.  All the while remarking on our good fortune to have this chance to explore an area that is never available to us.  The thickets of willow and stands of evergreen show us locations of ground and islands along this braided stretch of waterway.  Animal tracks appear in the snow and the tiny creatures hide from our view.   We are mainly walking on the gravel flats between the river channels, so we are more safe in our travels.  River travel can be perilous with areas of thin ice throughout.

There’s an interesting formation of hills and valleys all along the river bank.  Walking would be difficult in this area due to undulating land formations of steeply cut hills reaching to the river sides without much river bank to follow.  Our destination is a canyon, 7 km up river which is impossible to reach at other times of the year.  Our good fortune is the deep freeze.

This year our temperatures plunged to an awful -50 overnight during the Christmas holiday season.  Four days of icy blasts with daytime highs of -35 kept us busy with indoor games and indoor holiday cheer.  Now the result is a wintery wonderland with the fun of river travel. which is not always available to us.  Oddly and usually, the good comes with the bad.  Today is overcast and light snow is falling.  This is a surprise to us, since no one had noticed snow in the forecast.  It might be a localized squall.  However, this is good also, since we need the snow to keep us skiing, snowshoeing  and enjoying the fabulous fun of the season.  We also need the snow for our spring melt and moisture.

The snowfall is increasing and visibility is declining.  Open patches of river can be seen ahead.  We have to call off our plans for today, with only 1.5 kms remaining.  Oh well.  Luckily for us -30 is in the forecast for the next 3 days and we will have the good fortune of more deep freeze.  The open areas of this river should freeze again and we plan for another trip to this area next week.

Walking On A Frozen River | Red River | Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada | Walking Virtual Tour in 4K – YouTube

Meanwhile, the ski hill has received more snow.  It’s all good.  A change of scene and a change of game.  Winter has been wonderful to us.

Written by Dr. Louise Hayes

February 24, 2023

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Need More Gardens?

Good Day Brave Hearts

During the cold and dark days of winter, we rise to the challenge of a nutritious food supply.  The fall canning season filled the larder with a precious stock of daily living that will take away the winter chills and stave off the winter flues.  A nutrient packed diet from your organic garden to save you all winter long.  It saves the pangs of hunger, it warms the body, it cures the winter chills.

Your food supply is your health and wellness which feeds your mighty brain and helps to cure your aches and pains.  Food to cure the common cold, food for the brain, food for aches and pains, food for your social happiness.

There is a  long list of comfort food that nourishes the mind, heart and soul.  It’s divine and the time is now.

Those special little seeds that were stowed away last fall, come to the forefront of the mind.  Each little one, packed with the energy to produce a bountiful crop of fruit, vegetables, flowers, herbs or spices.  That decadent nasturtium, so showy and bright in the garden, yielding a powerful pack of seeds full of earthly delight.  Those spunky little violets, such a gorgeous floral treat decorating those cupcakes.  Winter is gone, bring on the harvest!

Bring on the watercress, the chocolate mint, the sunflower, the basil.  This year’s garden will be a splash of colour and dietary indulgence.  Oh the yellows!  Nasturtium, sunflower, pumpkin, squash (flowers) and tomato.   The reds of rose, dainty cherry blossoms, and olive.  Purple violets, blueberry and saskatoon.  White of potato and apple blossom.  The garden comes alive with colour and nutrition.  The food supply is back!

15 Brain Foods to Boost Focus and Memory – Dr. Axe (draxe.com)

Plant your pallet of garden colour.  A pallet of herbs, vegetables, fruit, flowers and spices.  The choices of fragrance to add to the show.  Musky black current, fragrant rose.   The garden of earthly delights is as aromatic as it is healthy.  Enjoy a sip of summertime wine, made for last years wild rose petals.  Indulge in sorbets of fruits from the vine, sip that delectable apple leaf tea.

We are blessed.

From our small properties, filled with natures harvest, we dine.  Dine with fine delicacies from our own backyard.  This oasis of healthy bliss to indulge ourselves in.  Choose your flavour, choose your colour, choose your diet, it’s just divine.  That backyard of ours, so pretty and colourful, so full of natures wonderful diet.  Enzymes, and nutrient, vitamins and minerals, all from carefully selected plants, flowers, herbs and spices.  The garden cure all.  It cures your senses, so fragrant and welcoming, the garden tantalizes us with beckoning gestures.  Come in, come in, it calls us to indulge.  Plant the seed, plant for what cures you.  This organic garden could save your life.   Plant with anti-oxidants to stave off cancer, plant with brain power to retain your fine mind, plant with cures for heart disease and arthritis.  Yes, your garden is heavenly.

The backyard is not just a playing field.  That land has a useful life.  Not just the trampoline, but also the garden of earthly delight.  Pick your flowers, pick your colours, plant away and enjoy the benefits of a well planned garden. Plant, enjoy, harvest, enjoy, this is a stellar room with a view.  That room which pulls us out of the house.  Out to the great outdoors.  To till the soil, to enjoy the land, to mix and meddle with the array of botanical inspiration.  Not just a flower garden, not just weeds, those are precious edibles that garnish soups, mix with salads, add colour to the plate and surprise us with yet another flavour.  Something nutty, something spicy, a bit peppery, maybe sweet.  Your internal chef might be inspired.

It’s time to plant, forage on.  This is spring and it’s time to garden.

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

March 23, 2022

Staycation
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Staycation

Hail Brave Hearts

In our time of isolation and loneliness, the great adventure alludes us.  Where will our dreams take us on our earthly mission of journey and exploration.  Hail Brave Hearts, the adventure is here.

We seek the joy of holidays and vacation time, the sun and sand, the culture and cuisine, the history and the marvels of modern man.  We journey frequently to lands abroad, to seek the fulfillment of international travel.  We find enormous pleasure in speaking other languages, engaging in their conversation, frolicking in the fun of their tourist attractions.  We miss this immensely.  Cancelled flights, cancelled holidays, cancelled time away from all of the stress and routine.  Time for a change.  Time to break free of it all and escape to the holiday dream world of other lands.  We saved for this, planned for this.  This is our refuge and our right.  For those of us with home ownership in foreign lands, this pandemic is an outrageous atrocity, forcibly confining us to our homeland.

Here at home we stay.  Here at home we play!

As usual, the welcome winter spreads her cloak of magnificent snow all around the ground.  As usual, we pull on our best winter attire and most fun sporting gear and head for the great outdoors.  The winter has been mild and magnificent.  So much snow!  So many ice rinks and lakes to skate on, so many back country trails to glide along, so many downhill ski resorts to ski on, so much hockey to play.

The winter birds chirp and cheer us along as we smoothly sail through the forest.  The wildlife stare.  Our frustration with our confinement and solitude evaporates into the warm sunshine.  Fresh air and snow, warm winter breezes, sunscreen and winter fun.  Life is good.  It can’t get any better than this.  A back country ski lodge at the end of pleasant winter’s ski day.  Canadian gourmet to rave about.  Excellent snow conditions, fabulous scenery, family, friends, companions.  The twinkling starry night in the heavens above.  This is what Canada offers.  It’s thrilling!  So much so, that this kind of wilderness experience is sought after by many.  It’s a unique privilege, to cast your worries away and venture into a remote location, accessed by only those few who know about  it. One of those secrets that keep us healthy and happy and searching for more.  This kind of holiday is as good as it gets.  Canadian culture at it’s finest.

Now we head home, for more opportunity, leisure and fun.  Our sporting days in the great Canadian wild are never over.  We will never be done.  Just one more day, in this fabulous vacation land, to ski our day away.

Yet another perfect day.  The snow is soft and the ski runs are long.  The scenery is the majestic Rocky Mountains.  The views are incredible.  Due to pandemic bliss, the ski hill is full of people, but not as busy as it would otherwise be.  The lift lines are short.  There’s seating in the chalet.  There’s room at the Inn.

https://www.skibanff.com/play/events-calendar

Spending our time and money in our homeland, has been a good business practise for us.  Help stimulate the economy,  keep your neighbors employed,  enjoy the adventure of your own country.  It’s been a pleasure.  So much so, that I wonder if we’ll miss these no fuss days, without a line up anywhere, no traffic on the highway, endless vacant trails.  ,The bliss of having it all to ourselves.  This too shall end.

Hurray for the vaccine!

written by Dr. Louise Hayes

March 17, 2021