May 20 2024 - White Strawberries Please

 

We have white asparagus, so why don't we have white strawberries?  We get white asparagus by restricting sunlight to the stalks.  The same is true of Belgian Endive.   That's what they do with some white strawberries, but that's not the special ones.  There are upwards of 50 white strawberry varieties, including the popular Japanese jewel strawberries. That's one that is naturally white.  There are also white subspecies of wild strawberries -  alpine strawberries and beach strawberries (also called coastal strawberries). Pineberry is one of the really special ones.  It is a hybrid of the white strawberry - a cross between a wild Chilean white strawberry and the classic North American strawberry. They can ripen in the sun, leading to a more pinkish hue. Pale pink or pale orange berries dotted with red seeds, pineberries can easily be mistaken for white strawberries - aka jewel strawberries.  Pineberries are smaller than jewel strawberries and bear a closer resemblance to traditional wild strawberries. Are there any regular strawberries available yet?  I don't think so.  We'll have to do some investigative work  to find this very pretty little berry - it is those pink seeds, isn't it.     This picture is on the Linden Farms website - note that they are shipping only to western Canada.    This is Chanticleer Gardens near Philadelphia.  Here's a place where these pretty white strawberries would be plentiful.

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May 30 2-23 - Alberta's Election...

 

Alberta's election results are in and Danielle Smith has won the majority leadership. This is disheartening news, given the findings that she violated ethic rules by attempted interference with the judiciary, made Nazi and Hitler comparisons in her anti-vaccine rhetoric and then has made the  promise to fight the federal government at all possible turns.   The victory is an endorsement of her plan to move the province further to the right.  The rest of us see Alberta as already firmly at the right.  To find the lighter side of things, it turns out that It is hard to find Alberta jokes that are presentable.  Here are the few that worked: Why is Alberta known as the Texas of Canada? Because Canadians don't know about Arkansas. If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in Alberta. If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you live in Alberta.   It is the start of strawberry season here. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

June 8 2022 - Alaska Cabin Cruises

 

Alaska Cruise Cabins - this is an every-day headline on the internet.  The articles about getting one cheap (really cheap) go back years and years.   This reminds me of the crazy television ads when I was little.  The creator was Phil Kiver - he's that guy - the "but wait - there's more" voice and face on television.  His company was K-tel - as in Kiver-television.  Brilliant! If you are my age, you can relive him HERE.  When he died in 2018, the Toronto Star article embedded a comprehensive set of his K-Tel infomercials.   It was the Patty Stacker that boasted "Your hands need never touch the meat!" And this one "Salad Queen a housewife's dream! Only $9.95!" The Veg-o-matic was "Chops a whole onion without shedding a tear!".  That one alone rang true for 11 million people.  I wonder if the same holds true for those Alaska Cruise Cabins - how many have been sold? The Star article called his formula the "dollar-a-holler" formula.  Some of the ads were broadcast more than 120 times a week.  I guess that many times makes for long-lasting memories. This is strawberry season here in Niagara.  These giant strawberries used to decorate the Hildreth farm stand on Greenlane.  They remind me of strawberry festivals from our childhood and well into the 1990s. I remember on in Niagara-on-the-Lake where there would be a giant  inflated strawberry in the park.  There were unending quantities of cake, whipping cream and ice cream to engulf the strawberries and make for a perfect June experience.

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May 22 2021 - Keep Calm and Eat Strawberries

 

This is a big weekend in Canada.  Victoria Day only occurs in a few Commonwealth countries and has been observed since 1845.  It was declared an official holiday in 1901 in Canada, the year of her death.   There is a Canadian sense that summer unofficially begins on this weekend. We are lucky this year that the Ontario Premier recognized this and opened the golf courses. Ontario seemed to be the only place in the world that had them closed due to COVID. Victoria Day seems a quaint and pleasant sort of milestone to have for the start of summer.  This year, it coincides with our strawberry season.  While Ontario strawberries are at their peak in June and July,  they've started ripening early.  We think of strawberries as a small fruit, but the biggest recorded strawberry was grown in Fukuoka, Japan and weighed 250 grams and was 3 inches tall.  It looks like about 10 or so strawberries clustered together.  The picture shows the strawberry and the grower's daughter, who proceeded to eat it - that was in 2015, and it broke a record set by the UK.   There are lots of records around strawberry shortcake, but the record that got my attention is:  the most strawberries squashed with a skateboard in 10 seconds.  It is notable because only one person in the world could possibly think of doing this.  Strawberries started as a native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. I don't know if strawberries are grown in every climate zone of the world, but it seems to me this is the case now.  The U.S. used to be the world leading producer of strawberries, followed by Turkey.  Now it is China, followed by the U.S., Mexico, Egypt and then Turkey.     Here's my favourite strawberry picture - these are giant fabric strawberries that were hanging from the tent ceiling at Hildreth's Gard market a few years ago.  I got this picture when they were perfectly ripe.

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Support Ontario Strawberries

Wake Up on the Bright Side View this email in your browser I found these giant strawberries at Hildreth's yesterday, with the backdrop of Thanks for supporting Ontario farmers.  It seemed like a fitting tribute for Niagara's autumn Thanksgiving.

The Ultimate Disc in the Toronto Sky

Yesterday evening we were in Toronto for the Marcus Roberts concert at Koerner Hall.  As we passed the stadium on Bloor Street where there was cheering from the sport field.  We initially wondered what game was being played:  could it be football or soccer?  Then we saw a disc fly through the air and teams of men chasing it to the far end.  It was a frisbee game!  The world of frisbee turns out to be 'ultimate disc'. Maybe this was the game:  "Frisbee Soccer 12 players (2 teams of 6); 1 disc; 8 cones In frisbee soccer, you are not allowed to run with the disc, but the disc is allowed to touch the ground, or roll along the ground.  Once the disc is on the ground, either team may pick it up, but maintain the non-contact rules, so once a player has picked it up, their marker must retire 1m away.  If two players pick up the disc simultaneously, then the offence retains possession. The game can be played on a soccer or football field, or a similar field set out with cones.  Score by throwing the disc through the goalmouth.  Modify the number of players to suit the field size. - See more at: http://www.diego23.com/other-frisbee-games/#sthash.8wP7NMTB.dpuf" And then again, it would be easy to be mistaken.  given all the games that are now played with an ultimate disc.  They are here at reddit.com. Back in Niagara, our picture is a vast strawberry field with the protective frost cover blowing in the escarpment breezes.  Asparagus is here at the market, and strawberries will follow soon.