Heading into late March it appears that winter is on its way out. The last big snowfall has almost melted away, making for soggy ground during the day but overnight lows are still giving hard freezes. Overall, it’s currently terrible conditions for tracking and many roads and trails are still treacherously ice encrusted. So let’s take a look back at a story I found in the snow one day mid-winter instead.
In my travels about, I’ve come across a few locations I thought would make interesting photographs outside my usual animals and plants shots. With static signs and architecture, weather and lighting makes the difference between ordinary and more impactful images. I try to bring the camera with me each day, in case the elements align with my plans.
In summer, the airport runway at YHZ is in an open field, hunted over by rough-legged hawks, with deer and pheasants foraging. I found the “caution blowing snow” sign near one of the popular runway overlooks quite humourous in the summer. When winter came, I wanted to get a picture of the sign with snow – but when there was truly blowing snow conditions it was obscured by the very hazard it warns of!
One day conditions were perfect, recent heavy snowfall and the sign was clear. I like the perspective added by the passing car.
Another feature by the airport is a large radar dome. I’d thought for quite some time that if there was ever a mix of grey stormy sky and bright sun the contrast would be great. This photo took two tries – the first time the sun went behind the clouds just as I uncapped the lens. I’ll note that the final shot is one of the few on the blog I edited beyond a simple crop or straighten. Increasing the contrast on the dome itself revealed the hexagonal construction.
I recently spent a weekend in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. The location of an annual Mi’kmaq summer coastal community prior to European settlement, today Antigonish is known for Saint Francis Xavier (SFX) University, and the oldest continuous highland games in North America.
It was quite cold (minus 20 windchill!) and mostly snowy, so I elected to leave the car at the hotel and take my camera for a walk instead. The town is very pedestrian friendly, and has lots of interesting buildings and things to see, reflecting a vibrant arts scene. It was quite outside my usual nature-focused forays and offered a new challenge to focus through the lens.
It’s a lovely day for a hike. But the woods and fields are silent, not an animal to be found. Perhaps you slept in and didn’t make it out for that early morning as planned. Looking for animal tracks is another way to enjoy the wildlife out there.
These clear tracks were easy to identify by their unique outlines and location in a muddy marsh habitat.
For others, you need to consider size of the prints, subtle toe arrangements, and length of stride. I initially thought this was a red fox track, but when I checked my books I realized it was much too large and the stride too long.
This year I’m lucky enough to live where it snows regularly in the winter, making a great medium for recording the activities of animals. The coyote is still patrolling the same stretch of road as before.
Tracks are often more (or less) than footprints. Look for grasses bent over, dew missing or smeared on foliage. Or in this case:
I taught myself to track through many years of observation, but also sought guidance from books. I recommend a good animal field guide, e.g. Peterson Field Guide to Mammals in North America, as well as a tracking-specific reference like Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking. The author of the latter may be a real kook with his dubious “Indian mentor” backstory, but has some really good points to improve your tracking skills.
What will you find next time you are out in nature?
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.
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.
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.
A few of the more charismatic microfauna I found this summer posed for portraits.
Turn off Highway 2 at the Home Hardware, down Old Enfield Road, cross the big highway, and eventually you’ll find the little gravel parking lot that marks the start of the Nine Mile River Trails. This forested park is the closest wilderness style park to Enfield, Nova Scotia. Since moving to the province earlier this year, I’ve visited the trails several times. I find some things new and some things the same each time, as the park changes with the seasons.
Strangely to this westcoaster, summer is mushroom fruiting season in Atlantic Canada. Nine Mile River Trails host an abundance of mushrooms as there are several forest types, from boggy to hardwood dominated to hemlock and pine.
Until next time, happy trails!
Food. You have to eat so it might as well be good. I enjoy baking and cooking from scratch – the pantry and freezer contain staples, not TV dinners. From time to time, I experiment with a new dish, or add my own twist to a recipe I’ve found. I thought I’d share some favourites with my readers.
Let’s get started with Gritless Cornbread!
Grit in food. While perhaps not unexpected at the bottom of a bowl of fresh clam chowder, tiny hard bits in your dinner aren’t the nicest sensation. Here’s how I make a smooth variation on traditional cornbread. By using vegetable oil, it’s quick to mix by hand with no need to soften butter or get out the stand mixer to cream.
First set your oven to 375F.
Next, get out two mixing bowls.
You need the following ingredients:
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup mild vegetable oil e.g. canola
2 farm eggs (if not possible, try for free range or at least omega-enriched; the bright yolks will enhance the colour of your cornbread)
1 cup white (all-purpose) flour
1 1/2 cups corn flour (yellow corn flour, not masa)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
Add the sugar and oil to one bowl and stir. Add the eggs and beat. Beat some more. You want them a little fluffy so your cornbread is light and airy.
Take a break from mixing and grease a 9×9 cake pan, or a round springform pan. Alternatively, line the pan with parchment paper.
Mix the dry ingredients in the other bowl. Check that you did so well by ensuring your mix is consistently light yellow, not striped white and gold.
Add 1/3 of the dry to your wet ingredients and mix. Then add 1/3 of the milk, mix again. Repeat until all is incorporated together.
Pour/scrape the batter into your baking pan. Put it in the oven and set your timer for 25 minutes.
Check the cornbread – is it nice and golden on top? Toothpick or bamboo skewer come out clean? Sometimes, like The Jaunt, this cornbread takes “longer than you think.” If that’s the case, check again in three more minutes.
Serve warm slices with unsalted butter.