Wild Turkeys and Partridge Berries

It's officially winter in Kaslo, although most days have been sunny and cold. Today, a bit of snow, and enough frozen wind that I actually had to put my hand up to shield my face from leaves blowing directly into my eyes. Along with the wintery feeling comes...you guessed it...CURLING! Kaslo Arena has a really professional curling rink (they call 'em 'sheets') complete with a thriving league of enthusiastic curlers as well as a huge ice rink that definitely seems like it belongs in a big city. And hockey players, and tournaments, and drop-in 'skills building' sessions for adults every Monday. Jordie and I decided to join a curling league. I was immediately overwhelmed by vocabulary. Top of the house! Get out of the hack! Don't burn the ice! Thread the needle! Put a turkey in the tree! (OK, the last one was a joke...but this is basically what I was hearing).

Hi mushie!

Jordie and I went to Lytton with my parents to have a little time with them over Thanksgiving. We ate turkey, burned a huge pile of forest trimmings (the bigger the burn pile, the better!) and painted driftwood animals. And played crib, and drank loads of coffee. Mama made a Jordie-friendly (aka, gluten free) turkey stuffing (but she calls it 'dressing,' which I think sounds nicer) using oats instead of bread, and holy CRAP was it ever good. I ate my share straight out of the turkey, which should tell you how yummy it was, because it's kind of gross eating something directly out of a turkey carcass. All in all, it was a lovely little getaway!

Mama and me with our turkey friend.

Also while in Lytton, Jordie and I did a little hunting around for some yarrow. Found loads! I had just been reading how it's good for arthritis and joint pain if you put some in your bathwater, and also how it was used by soldiers to stop battle wounds from bleeding. Yeesh!

It doesn't smell that good.

This week in wildlife (turkey) news:

1. OK, so I know I've mentioned the wild turkeys here in Kaslo, but I don't know if I've really hit the point home. Let me be clear here. There seems to be ONE pack of wild turkeys in Kaslo, and there are 17 of them. And they travel together, and they show up randomly when you turn a corner. Always 17. I was on the phone with my mom the other day, standing by the window in my living room, when I spotted them trapsing across my street. Is that how you spell 'trapsing?' Trape-sing. I counted...only 16! Ha! Maybe this was a different pack of wild turkeys, confirming that there is, in fact, more than one pack in town! I was smug. I'd figured it out. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him (or her-tough to tell). Number seventeen, barreling (barrelling?) down the street toward his clan, looking me straight in the eye as he ran. I still don't know if this is the sole Kaslo turkey pack. Maybe I'll never know.

2. In other turkey news, yesterday I was collecting chestnuts from my neighbour's yard (no, I'm not making this stuff up), and I heard a noise. A squawk, accompanied by the heavy fluttering of some very big wings. A dog bark, too. I looked up, only to see 4 giant turkeys flying up into a huge maple tree in the front yard. The dog had been chasing them, and got so close that the turkeys decided to deploy their wings for once. Quite a sight to see, I tell you. Imagine your Thanksgiving turkey flying up into a tree. It was wild!

3. Apparently, the bears are not hibernating yet, much to everyone's surprise (except me, because who knows exactly when bears start hibernating?) We only really know this because of the big poops we're still finding around town. Oh, and the fact that Neko, our dog friend, treed a bear today at the river trail.

4. Also, there are cougars in town! Like, in town.

One..two...five...six...SEVENTEEN!!

Chestnuts, before and after! Anybody else not know this is what they look like?! Am I really holding a sea sponge?

While at my neighbour's house collecting chestnuts, she also brought out a big bag of salt cod, sent to her by her brother back east, who is a self-sufficient farmer and fisherman. He collects mussels, pickles them, and sends her a jar (she gave it to me), catches his own fish and salts it, and collects his own Partridge berries from a nearby marsh (are we making up berries now?) I came home with lots of bounty. Now, what to do with those beautiful Partridge berries?

Foods that are new in my life since coming to Kaslo:

-Partridge berries

-pickled mussels

-salt cod

-elderberry syrup

-sunchokes (if you google these, the first thing you'll find is that they make you farty)

-rabbit stew

-"Funk" eggs (apparently the best eggs around, from a local farm)

-oregon grapes

-shaggy mane mushrooms

Shaggy manes! They don't really taste like anything, unless you cook them in butter and garlic, and then they taste like butter and garlic.

Kaslo has this unbelievable little organization called the Kaslo Concert Society, and the performances are held in St. Andrew's church (see photos below), which was built in 1893. The Concert Society arranges about 6 shows per season, all classical, offering Kaslovians a unique opportunity to experience some of the highest calibre music around. Musicians are sometimes active performers from the Vancouver Symphony, sometimes they come from other countries and are touring in Canada. It is amazing. I went to see a show last week called 'Joe Trio'-a cellist, a violinist, a pianist, and a clarinet player. They filled the church, both with music and with audience members. My favourite was the medley they did of 1960's TV show theme songs. Hawaii Five-O (the strings version) rung out through the night. It felt so Christmas-y. And during intermission, you go in the other room and get homemade baked goods, coffee and tea! Come on! I volunteered to help with the baking for next time. Maybe Partridge berry cake?

And now here we are, almost at Halloween. This week holds in store: handing out candy to kiddies who come to our door with a very reluctant Jordie dressed as a pirate, a haunted house at the Langham (5-6pm is the 'low scary' version, 6-9pm everyone beware!), and a 'Halloween band' at the Kaslo Hotel pub.

More next time! Watch out for wild turkeys!