Edmonton airport

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Apples

Late fall is often a time when I return to eating apples.  The other Okanagan and B.C. fruit is done and I’m not ready to eat a lot of the fruit that comes from farther away.

When I was in Nova Scotia last fall we took a trip through the Annapolis Valley and stopped at a farm where you could take a hay ride to their orchards.  It wasn’t the first time I’d had Nova Scotia apples, but it reminded me how delicious and crunchy they were and made me wonder again why we don’t get these apples in other parts of Canada (i.e. Saskatchewan).  I have no idea what variety those apples were; they had them in the stores in Halifax, too, but I didn’t pay attention to the names.
Now, toward the end of October in Saskatchewan I’ve suddenly developed a craving for those tart, crisp Nova Scotia apples.

So I decided to do a bit of research into apple varieties grown in Canada.  The main provinces that grow apples are British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.  Most of us are probably familiar with Golden and Red Delicious, Granny Smith , McIntosh, Spartan, and perhaps one or two others such as Fuji and Royal Gala.  But there are so many more!  Take a look at http://www.ats.agr.gc.ca/can/4480000-eng.htm
So why don’t we get apples from other places?  Where are the Idareds, the Cortlands, the Vista Bellas, the Honey Crisps, the Edens, and the Sintas?  I’ve sent an e-mail to Agriculture Canada (the above site) to ask.  Maybe I’ll get an answer.  Meanwhile, I’ll keep missing those Nova Scotia apples.  Maybe I’ll ask at my local grocery store, too, about this.

Then, this Saturday at the Farmers Market there were Saskatchewan apples – Prairie Sensation, Sweet Saffron, Patience, Autumn Delight, Granny Annie and Prairie Rose.  Don’t they sound wonderful?  I got to taste them all and I think my favourites are Sweet Saffron (a yellow apple) and Prairie Rose (dark red).  These are all eating apples and not crab apples.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Stone II

I wrote about stones before (May 8, 2011) in regards to the stone houses of Moffat. This time I want to talk about the stones of the University of Saskatchewan.  I’m biased, of course, having attended that university, as did my son, but I think it’s one of the prettiest campuses in the country.  It’s got lots of green space, is near a river and the buildings are unified by the use of a particular kind of stone known as fieldstone and grey stone  (the Greystone Singers are named after it).

Recently I started taking a class again on campus, after not having been there for a while.  I noticed some of the new construction had moved well along (there has been a lot of building going on, probably partly a function of the boom we’re experiencing here).  Best of all, though, they have continued to use the signature stones that are part of the collegiate gothic look.  Some buildings have a greater or lesser ratio of this stone to other building materials.
The stone has come from a variety of locations and is actually dolomitized limestone.  Dolomitization is a process where limestone comes in contact with magnesium rich water and the calcite is replace by dolomite, calcium and magnesium.  When the university first began constructing its buildings, Indiana limestone was used, and field stone was also available north of Saskatoon around Aberdeen, but that quarry eventually became depleted.  Currently, some of the buildings have used stone from Deschambault Lake near La Ronge.  Tynall stone (which is somewhat similar and used on some buildings) is available from a quarry in Manitoba.  It formed under water some millions of years ago, thus may contain fossils of corals, brachiopods and other marine life.  Rumours have it, though, that there is a huge supply of fieldstone near Saskatoon.  The stone can come in boulders that weigh as much as 2,500 pounds.  I’m not quite clear on why, but apparently fieldstone is much more expensive than Tyndall stone – perhaps it’s because the former has to be found scattered in fields while the latter is available in a quarry?  Fieldstone on the buildings also has a rougher finish, while Tyndall stone has a sawn surface.

Other buildings across Canada use Tyndall stone, including the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa and the Empress Hotel in Victoria. 
I think the best use of this stone with the most visible and attractive buildings is here in Saskatoon.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Music

I’ve enjoyed Simon and Garfunkel’s music for a good part of my life, have a couple of their albums (e.g. Greatest Hits) and also several of Paul Simon’s (why wasn’t Art Garfunkel able to have a solo career?) after they split.  Recently, after not listening to them for a while, I’ve come back to them with fresh ears as well as old memories.  It’s because of my grandson, who at 3 years old, can sing most of The Boxer and Sounds of Silence while adding in some of the instrumentation with his voice.

He recently did his busker performance of those two songs along with some other music, on Skype for me.  I knew most of the words of Sounds of Silence myself once and have been brushing up on it and other songs, since he performed, listening over and over to my Greatest Hits album and singing along (loudly in my living room by myself).  I have to be prepared so maybe we can sing a duet next time.
A lot of my favourite songs are from the movie “The Graduate” although some also are on the Bookends album.  The music and the words are timeless, could be written about now as easily as the late 1960’s.  They bring back those feelings of youth and idealism, hope, and determination to improve the world.   I think they did help to shape my attitude to the world around me, to how I live my life and what I still believe are the important issues. 

Every generation has its own songs.  I’m not really up on what the top music is these days, though one can’t help but hear about the singers who are making the big money.  Many of them don’t seem very memorable to me, or very deep in terms of their music.  That could just be age speaking though.  My parents didn’t like some of the music I listened to, so maybe it’s a function of generational differences.  Though I do remember a period in the late 50’s and early 60’s when the music was pretty lame and tame  (Kookie, Kookie, Lend me Your Comb).   Perhaps we’re going through a musical slump similar to that time.  Though there seems to be a lot more music and musicians out there than 50 years ago, so probably if I took the time I could find current young musicians to like.
Music can move us, lift us out of a bad mood, make us want to dance, make us think.  I want my grandson to continue to hear that kind of music and take joy in it, whether it be music of the past, or of the present and future.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Colours

This has been the most stretched out fall I can remember having in Saskatchewan. Some trees have lost their leaves, but many are in full brilliance.  Recently I drove down 8th Street and the elms sang with colour.  I thought of the winter just around the corner – shades of white, grey and black – and it occurred to me that the symphony of fall hues is for us to drink in, store up and savour, like well aged wine, when we are in the doldrums of cold and monochrome.

Not every fall is like this, but certainly this one is giving us plenty of time to absorb warmth, brightness and good memories.  I still have a pale blue delphinium late blooming in my garden and here and there around the city you can see other flowers still showing.
Colours have meanings and affect us in different ways – during this season yellow and gold and red mean joy and also a last show of brilliance before the end of warmth.

We don’t have quite the varied brilliance of eastern Canada – no great swaths of maples or oaks but what we do have is satisfying in its own way.
I’m going out once again to walk and drink it all in.