The short summers of Alaska are busy for everyone. Here, too. In June alone, between (and during) visits by and to friends and family, we had several visits by moose cows and calves, harvested a destructive black bear (10.5 quarts of bear broth alone – bear burgers for dinner tonight), and gathered, dried, blanched, froze, canned, fermented, pickled meat and veggies (as appropriate), and limed 60 eggs toward the 100 I want to have when the hens molt (and produce no eggs) for 6-8 weeks in the fall.
This time of year, we enjoy many Cobb salad entrees for dinner, with whatever greens I gather that day, plus meat, cheese, and hard boiled eggs provided by the hens and ducks. Sorrel remains a citrus-y favorite green (raw only). The spicy leaves of horseradish, nasturtium, and mustard flavor burgers, bratwurst, and potato salad. A sauce/dip/chutney of fresh mint leaves with jalapeno is a tasty condiment. Rhubarb enlivens oatmeal, muffins, and desserts now and through much of the winter, too.
Yes, mosquitoes are BAD in Alaska in June. We battled a 4 week onslaught both indoors and out. Inside, we slept under mosquito nets, and wielded tennis racquet – like bug zappers with the finesse of Wimbledon athletes. We live a very organic life EXCEPT this time of year, when we light chemical coils outside the front and back doors and spray ourselves with DEET.
But June is not all work and insects. We enjoy nearly daily afternoon kayaks around the lake and frequent, stunning flights with views of several, snow capped mountain ranges and the river valleys in between. The air smells sweet, and sweetly varying, as a succession of plants come into flower at various heights, from ground cover to bushes to trees (ash). I sniff my way around the property each afternoon, appreciating each short burst of beauty, both olfactory and visual.
Weather-wise, June 2021 has been unusual, primarily for precipitation. The first week we witnessed a rather dramatic hailstorm from our covered front porch. As hailstones bounced onto the deck, I popped some into my wine. Fortunately this year, like last June's hailstorm, too, no damage occurred to any of our plants. For the rest of the month, we saw many more days of rain than usual. This pattern, following the hot (low 80s) temps in May meant that some plants bolted early from the heat and others were visited by aphids and slugs. Not a great combo if you want to eat what you grow! I nipped out the flowers of the bolters, sprayed garlic solution on the aphids, densely sprinkled diatomaceous earth around and on the plants visited by slugs, and started harvesting leaves and stalks earlier than usual for canning. So far, my efforts seem to be helping. The heat and rain likely mean a second fabulous year for harvesting several gallons of our five types of berries. Yum.
A noticeable difference this year is the lack of pollinators. For 7-8 years, we have raised honeybees. This year, rain and other issues prevented our picking up the four small, nuclear colonies with our bee vendor. When we realized this, he was able to loan or rent them to local orchards. By the time we could retrieve them, the number of bees in each colony made the prospect of flying them out in our little plane a rather dicey proposition (!!!) So we will harvest the honey at his place in August. Without the bees here, I notice that the only insects in my gardens this month are mosquitoes and an occasional bumblebee. I hand pollinated the plants in my greenhouse, but I fear a low harvest.
I never thought of myself as fond of any insects, but I want those gentle bees back here!
Bear Burger Recipe
* Shoot, skin, and butcher a black bear (This will take many hours)
* Soak meat in a thin brine overnight. Pluck off residual hairs.
* Chop meat into chunks, like stew meat - about 2 x 2 inches.
*Feed through a meat grinder, alternating with fat (pork or bear) of the proportion you prefer for burgers (85%/15% etc).
*Grind a second time. (the grinding is fast, but set up, grinding, and clean up takes about an hour)
* Either chill immediately or combine immediately with other flavorings, such as herbs, diced onions, grated cheese. Shape into burger shapes or hot dog shapes.
* When firm but not frozen, toss on the grill.
* Serve on home made buns with condiments of choice, just like hamburgers.
For some reason, I do not find bear burgers to be the "gut busters" that similar sized beef burgers can be.
