Bonhomme Carnaval and I posing in the eerie light of this year’s Ice Palace. Take a tour further down.
If there’s one thing Canadians know, it’s how the make the best of winter. But Quebec has perfected the art of making it fun.
No matter how cold it gets, hibernation is not an option. Instead, Carnaval, the largest winter carnival in Canada and one of the oldest in the world (it began in 1894) takes a bite out of frosty February. Continue reading
The view from our float lodge in Knight Inlet
Every fibre of my being is focused on the flash of silver leaping out of the water. The fish is desperately trying to spit the hook, to break the line inseparably linking us.
I’m thinking Hemingway: the old woman and the sea? Continue reading
My perogi – before and after!
At the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village near Edmonton, Alberta, I spent a contented day learning about the history of this community founded when the first immigrants from Ukraine arrived in 1892. They brought red fife wheat to Canada and with it they made one of their gastronomic gifts to the world – pierogies (which they pronounce perohay – and spell a lot of different ways). I learned to make these delicious little dumplings. After all, food is the best way to learn about people. And a lesson in making pierogies (also called pyrohy or varenyky ) is enlightening. Continue reading
My stallion Colos and me. Photo courtesy of Pierre Bessette.
A big brown eye cautiously regards me. I’m stroking his neck, but Colos is a rescue horse who has been mistreated, so he’s not sure about this human. After a few minutes, we make friends, but mounting this gentle giant offers a different challenge; I can’t reach the stirrup without a hand up. He stands patiently as I climb into the saddle in an undignified scramble. Continue reading
Ukrainians brought red fife wheat to Canada and with it they made one of their gastronomic gifts to the world – perogies (which they pronounce perohay). At the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village near Edmonton, Alberta, I learned to make these delicious little dumplings. Continue reading
