Finding Your Happy Place

It’s so important in a time of crisis to find a space that inspires you and helps you feel inspired, but also safe. Those of us who don’t own cars need to find our happy place within walking distance from home. I love going on walks in nature, but often rely on the bus to get me out to where I want to go. The quarantine has made me find places close to home that fill me with delight and help me to get away from all the worry and grief. I’ve written about searching for signs of spring and how the red flowering currant is a particular sensory delight. I’ve mapped out the currant bushes in my neighbourhood and challenge myself to make a circuit of them on a daily basis to get some exercise and keep my spirits up.

I’ve also started doing some of the yoga and basic training exercises missing from my schedule. I chose a place with benches where I can see a blooming currant bush and watch the hummingbirds flit to it while I do push-ups and squats. The bush functions as my personal coach, silently glowing in the sunlight and shifting in the breeze as I find the joy in moving my body and testing my flexibility and strength. The hummingbirds are bold enough not to bother with me as I do my repetitions. I notice tiny weeds blooming and other little details as I move through the space over and over again. 

 

What about you? Have you been walking around your neighbourhood or even your back yard to look for signs of spring? Do you like to have a destination or do you just choose a general direction and wander? I like to do a bit of both. I usually choose some bee habitat hot spots to head towards. This week I’ve found two bee rich destinations: a huge white icicle currant at the top of Queen Elizabeth Park and the pussywillows at the duck pond in the same park.

I've been watching the television series called The Durrells, which is based on the autobiographical books by naturalist Gerald Durrell. There's a lovely episode where twelve year old Gerald sits next to a wall which he observes for hours, making notes about the bugs, spiders and lizards he observes. On Sunday I sat on a wall and watched the insects and hummingbirds in the white icicle currant. It was a joy to feel the warm sun on my back as I documented the bees and flies with my camera.  I got into "the zone" and forgot about anything else other than what was in front of me, losing myself in the sensory experience. It was sublime.

This is a "bee fly". See the large eyes that meet in the centre and the stubby antennae? There are also only two wings, which makes this a wannabee--a fly that is mimicking a bee. it's obviously enjoying the nectar of the Ribes sanguineum.

If you can find some pussywillows nearby I encourage you to go out and observe them on a sunny day. The bushes were just humming with bees, mostly honeybees, but some bumblebee queens and small solitary bees. The honeybees are powdered with the copious amounts of powdery yellow pollen. They mix the powder with bee spit and pack it onto the corbiculae or baskets on their hind legs. The tiny ground-nesting bees that forage in these willows are just emerging. I couldn’t get close enough to identify them. I love the way the big bumblebee queens straddle the catkins as they slurp up the nectar. Once they’d established a nest they’ll also be collecting pollen the way the honeybees do.

There were also wasps and flies in the willow. They are thirsty for the nectar and so some pollinating, but they don't have the copious amount of branched hairs or setae that gives bees the pollen-collecting advantage.

Tachinid flies are a bit tricky because they do have a head more similar to the almond shaped bee face. But if you take a closer look, you'll see the stubby antennae and lack of four wings. You can see on the thorax that this fly is carrying some pollen grains from catkin to catkin.

Once you've found a series of "hot spots" or happy places, you can take photos or just immerse yourself in the environment, going through your five senses to explore the space. (Maybe skipping the sense of taste, unless you really know your plants. And please don't eat any bees!) Create a series of experiences that become memories to hold onto when you wake in the middle of the night with a sense of uncertainty or fear. Hold on to the healing power of nature. Bee well.

Red Flowering Currant is a Classic Sign of Spring

One of my favourite spring plants is just about to reach the peak of its bloom in the Lower Mainland: red flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum). It is a favourite of Anna's hummingbirds who overwinter. Also, any day now the rufous hummingbirds will be returning from Mexico and they will be competing for the nectar from these fragrant blossoms.

You'll also find large overwintering bumblebee queens waking up on warm days and drink the nectar to fuel their search for a new nest. Bumblebees nest in rodent burrows and other cozy safe crevices large enough to accommodate their growing nest.

This queen is already gathering pollen, which means she had found a nest and already made her first waxed pot where she will lay her eggs and brood on them like a chicken. This pollen looks orange and waxy, so I'm not sure which flowers it is from--there's likely some dandelion pollen in there and some of the pollen from these currants. Check on the back legs of the bumble bees you're seeing and try to find out which flowers they are using to collect pollen.

 This is the yellow-faced bumblebee (Bombus vosnesenskii). It's the most common bumble bee you'll find in the Lower Mainland. The female is mostly black with a yellow head and shoulders and one yellow strip on the lower abdomen. I call them Vozzy Bears.

Each shrub has a unique colour profile for their blossoms which changes as the blossoms open, mature, and then fade. And the scent is spicy, fruity, with that lovely resinous scent of currant. Rub your fingers on the leaves and inhale that gorgeous aroma.

I'm taking photos of different shrubs in my neighbourhood.

The colours and mood of the blossoms change depending on what time of day you are observing them.

There's also a cultivar or "nativar"  of this shrub called White Icicle which is also gorgeous.

 It seems to have retained the quality of nectar and pollen that attracts bees and hummingbirds. So keep an eye out for hummers, bumble bees, honey bees, and blue orchard mason bees on these shrubs. The White Icicle shrubs I've seen seem to be very healthy and vigorous.

 

Salmonberry in my back yard

Some other shrubs to add to this plant are salmonberry, osoberry and Oregon grape. This will create a strong synergy of good habitat for hummers and bees.

Oregon Grape at the Riley Park Community Garden

Osoberry at the Riley Park Community Garden

It's also wonderful to underplant these with native violets, or cultivars of violets that are non invasive. Sea blush (Pectritus congesta) is a little Gary Oak cutie that also works well as an early ground cover. Pulmonaria is another good bee/hummer plant to add in.

Sea blush at the UBC Botanical Garden

This is a hedge that is getting to be well established in Riley Park. If you look very closely, you'll see a male Anna's hummingbirds very well camouflaged in the branches. One warm sunny days, it's also starting to buzz with bumble bee queens. 

A weed called purple deadnettle has established here as a groundcover. While I would not recommend planting it, we might as well leave it bee so the bees can collect the nectar and pollen. The same goes for the little blue forget-me-nots.

I hope I've inspired you to get out and enjoy the beauty of nature while practising safe social distancing. Bee well!

An Aromatic Apple Tart

Hope you are keeping well in these times of social isolation. I hope that through this blog I can reach out to an audience and we can engage in some projects together from a safe distance! Sewing, gardening, and cooking are all on the agenda so I hope you can connect with us in this way. And boy, am I ever missing connecting with friends, family, students, colleagues and other community members. Social media has played an important part of feeling like I'm still connected to local and global community. So let's get started!!!!

First we bake.

A Rustic Apple Tart

We are adjusting to life in the time of Corona.  Everyone has ways of getting through the days of careful isolation. Some people are cleaning, organizing, alphabetizing. Others are exercising, binge watching, and cocooning. Some folks are getting outdoors to escape and find solace in nature. How are you coping? I am gardening and baking. I have waged battle on the weeds in my back yard and attack them with renewed fury every day. It’s satisfying and cathartic. And every day I make comfort food: crêpes, soup, and pies.

The pie quest began on pi day, the day when nerdy folks celebrate the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. You know, the 3.14 etc etc etc. I saw someone make a really lovely pie on social media. His name is Jeff, and he has awesome pie crust skills. (I, on the other hand, have terrible fancy crust skills, so beginners can use this recipe too.)  He inspired me to clean out some of last summer’s fruit from the freezer and made something comforting and fun. Which I did. But today, I've got to use some apples that are getting a bit mealy.

My piecrust recipe is simple and basic:

1      1 cup unbleached white flour

1/8  c stone ground spelt flour

½ tsp salt

½ cup cold butter, cut into 1 cm cubes

After you’ve mixed the dry ingredients, cut in the butt and mix until it is in pea-sized pieces. (I actually use my hands for this, but real chefs use pastry cutters.) Now add the water and stir with a fork until it’s well mixed. See if it’s too wet or dry and add a bit more flour or water accordingly. Now get your hands in there and combine the dough until it is a nice firm ball. Work it as little as possible. Once you’ve done this a few times, you get a sense of when it’s right. Then pop this in a bowl in the fridge with a tea towel on top.

Now you deal with the fruit. You can use just about any fruit to make a rustic tart. Berries are easiest because they don’t require prep. You can add sugar to taste. I try to put in just enough to make the flavor of the fruit sing. As I was using apples, I cored them using a device my mom gave me one Christmas. It’s one of the few single task kitchen gadgets that’s worth the cupboard space. It cores the apple and sliced it so you can easily peel the slices. You may prefer just doing that with a paring knife. I used six medium apples. I sliced the apples into smaller piece, but you can leave them in slices if you like. This recipe is very forgiving and easy to customize. I mixed the apples with 3 tbs sugar, 1 sp cinnamon and ½ tsp ground cardamon.

Preheat the over to 400 Degrees F.

Now it’s time to flour the surface of your counter and roll out the dough. I use the stone-ground spelt because then the dough picks up a nice grainy texture. Just keep rolling it out in a rough circle and don’t worry about the oddly shaped edge. Once the dough is 1/8 of an inch thick, get your pan and lay in out on top. (You can fold the dough gently to transfer it. I use a round “pizza stone” because it bakes nice and evenly.  I spread 2 tbs of the spelt flour onto the middle of the crust to soak up some of the apple juices as the tart bakes.

So I’m not fancy, I just pour the apple bits in the middle of the crust and spread them out to a desired thickness, eyeballing the edges of the crust which your are going to fold up and over the fruit. You can pull it right together or leave a large opening in the middle—just experiment and see which style you prefer.

Put the pie in the oven and bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 F and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes.

You’ll smell that classic scent of sugary cinnamon goodness when the pie is ready. Just check to see if the crust is browned to your liking and then take the pie out and let it cool for ten to fifteen minutes before you serve it. When I was growing up, mom always served apple pie with vanilla ice cream. I like it with whipped cream and a hot cup of black tea. This pie also goes great with masala chai.

You could also use this idea to make savoury pies as well—the kind of clean-out the fridge pie where you can transform leftover steamed veggies into a savoury rustic tart. Our family is transitioning to going vegan, so in the coming days I’ll try some alternative recipe, but this one is my current go-to standard.

I would love it if you would share what recipes are getting you through the days of isolation and would love to connect and perhaps make a recipe book from people’s contributions. Then when the quarantine is lifted, we could have a potluck!!!

You can e-mail me beespeaker(at)gmail(dot)com or just put a link to your own social media posts about what you’re making and baking. I am @beespeaker on Instagram.

Bee well! 

Sunday Funday: March 8

Thank you for joining us on Sunday!!!! We had so much fun in the sun!

Jenn, Crystal and Sauha collected materials from the site to lead participants in making ephemeral art.

 

While they are making these patterns, Jenn and Sauha are evaluating the materials on site for potential paper-making materials.

People really enjoyed the refreshing nettle tea!

Sauha's so sweet that this honeybee made friends with her!

She landed and groomed the Berberis pollen out of her hairy eyes from a nearby bush.

Participants stitched the connecting "hyphae" between hearts.

This is a cloth I dyed with the roots of invasive yellow flag iris and rusty metal from my garden. The hearts are cut out of a rescued dress from a thrift shop. I love taking apart abandoned clothing and using it to repair other clothing and make art!

Photo by Crystal Lee

The mycellium under the earth are a network of small threads called "hyphae" that help plants receive nutrients from the soil. This is a metaphor for the beneficial connections among caring humans.

The drawing and painting tables were very popular and inspired such beautiful work !

Many of the adults and children are fascinated by the air traffic generated overhead by the nearby airport.

Photo by Jenn Pearson

Crystal led us in a giggling session of laughter yoga: good for the soul and body! Thanks everyone for a beautiful day of connecting with nature through art.