Porcupines are a common sight in Nova Scotia. Passing by a field, if you see a medium sized brown blob, and it moves, it could be worth checking out.
Canada’s second largest rodent
Month: September 2018
Shubenacadie Wildlife Park: not just a zoo
A visit to the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park is one of my favourite local day outings. Now, I’m not normally a big fan of zoos, but this one is different. It’s not your typical tourist trap but is instead run by the province and largely features animals native to the area. There are no animal shows and the habitats are large and contain varied enrichment items to enhance the residents’ lives. Many of the animals were born in captivity, or were injured or orphaned in the wild and unable to be rehabilitated.
Adjoining the main park, the Wetland Centre is a partnership between Ducks Unlimited Canada and the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources. There is a short accessible trail around small ponds, with many native bushes and trees providing excellent bird habitat. If you feel like a longer walk, the St. Andrew’s Marsh Trail is a more rugged journey into 200 acres of wild marsh.
I was experimenting with an SLR camera this week and here are some of my better shots of the day.
Banana bread muffins
Bananas. Cheap, convenient, tasty, and portable fruit. Until they get overripe, ugh! My mother would make us banana bread for our lunches when I was little. I still enjoy this thrifty Canadian classic, but prefer to make muffins. I find they cook more quickly and consistently than a full loaf.
Fresh bananas are best, but if you freeze them whole, you can just thaw slightly and peel. They are easy to mash from their semi-icy state, plus you can make the muffins at your convenience.
1/2 cup unsalted butter
7/8 cup white sugar
2 eggs
3 medium-small bananas. If yours are large, use two. You want about 1 cup mashed banana overall.
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Grease a non-stick muffin tin with butter or use muffin cups and set your oven to 350F.
Cream the butter and sugar together and beat in eggs. Beat the mixture until smooth. Mash the bananas separately. A fork make the pieces a nice size – you want a slurry, not chunks as they won’t cook well. Blend in bananas.
In a second bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add to the banana mixture, stirring only enough to moisten.
Use 1/4 cup of batter for each muffin; if there is some leftover, top up the smaller muffins.
Bake on middle rack of oven for 15-20 minutes until golden on top. Cool on wire racks.
