September on the Mountain

Highs to Horrors

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September is my favourite month. The days get cooler, the nights become noticeably longer and the leaves begin to change. By the end of the month, fall has arrived and I’ve become a year older.

Now I know where Curt gets his tenacity

An Adventurous Visit

This September started with a visit from Curt’s mom. With a whole week to show her around, we took her to an abandoned mine. I expected to stop at the entranceway, but no - we needed to go in and check it out. I’m glad we did! The three of us traversed the cavern, skipping over rocks and boulders, entering one way and leaving through another.

Shaggy Manes, Coprinus comatus

Wild Foods

Fall mushrooms have started to appear. While driving down a lightly trod forestry road Curt exclaimed -
‘Ohmygoodness!! ’ and jammed on the brakes
Of course, I panicked.
‘What, WHAT?!’
He hopped out of the truck and exclaimed
”Shaggy manes!’

We excitedly picked enough for dinner that night and headed home. If you’re familiar with Shaggy Manes, you know they can’t be kept overnight. If you leave them for more than a few hours, you’ll find a glob of black goop where your mushrooms once were.

Impressive Paws

Gandalf Greypaws has become quite the hunter. One morning, he brought home a small wild hare. He’d killed it before Curt could stop him, so to make the most of it I butchered it. Though I’d rather he not kill wild rabbits, I’m pretty impressed that the cat brought home dinner.

Three of the fattest trout I’ve ever seen

I Caught a Fish!

I love fishing, and it’s been far too long since I’ve been out. So, for my birthday Curt and I packed up the tacklebox and canoe and headed to a local lake to fish. After a bit of a rocky launch, we were on our way. We trolled, Curt paddling as I manned the lines.

After about a half hour we were nearly ready to call it quits, the sun setting behind some trees. Suddenly, a bite! Technically on Curt’s line, he reeled it in close to the boat. Just under the water, it was the fattest rainbow trout I’ve ever seen. More football-shaped than fish-shaped, just as he got it to the surface - the line snapped and it was gone.

The sun reappeared in a gap between the trees, giving us time to try again. Now, we were excited but time was ticking. Curt fixed his line while I paddled. After 10 more minutes, another bite! I nearly flipped the canoe in excitement. When we got it into the boat he asked, ‘Should we keep it?’
'Heck yes!’ I said.

From it, I got a better understanding of how most traditional teas are made.

A New Wild Tea

Even though the fireweed is past prime, when I stumbled across a simple recipe from wild food expert, chef and writer Hank Shaw - I had to try it. After picking the leaves, they need to go through a fermentation process by bruising and letting them cure. It was a few-day process, and by the end when the leaves were finally drying it made the house smell amazing. I had to try a cup right away, and the result was surprisingly.. tea. A delicious, fruity black tea type of flavour. I’m looking forward to another cup when the snow begins.

You can find Hank’s Substack here;

Wildfire Scare

The day after my birthday we decided to go to town for supplies. The day was very windy. Thankfully, we’d packed the small chainsaw because we cleared 6 fallen trees, blocking the road. On the way there everything seemed normal, and we filled the truck with gas. On our second stop to get a chain for the saw, the wind was so strong it nearly knocked me off my feet. That’s when I noticed the plume of smoke coming from the direction we’d just come from but on the American side of the border.

The wind was force-feeding a fire just south of the border, pushing the smoke north and it appeared to be growing fast. People working in stores stepped outside to watch the dark cloud of smoke. Curt and I decided to skip our next stop and head back toward home to know exactly where it was.

As we rounded a corner on the highway, to our horror, one of the hillsides adjacent to our route home was ablaze. The wind had caused the fire to jump over two kilometres in no time at all and was threatening our route home. We drove home fast, crossing paths with emergency responders. Once home, we packed the necessities into the motorhome, including the cats.

The life that we’re building here flashed before my eyes. Thankfully, over the next few days, emergency responders snuffed the blaze on the Canadian side of the border and continue to fight on the American side. This was a scary moment for us but one I’m thankful for. It was a good reminder to be prepared for the worst and ready for any situation that might arise.