Anomalies

Rumour has it that Voltaire was with Louis XV at the time of the fall of New France, and in an effort to console the monarch dismissed the lost territory as “quelques arpents de neiges”. Indeed the winters of New France consisted of not just acres, but thousands of square miles of snow-covered landscape. And Voltaire’s opinions on the subject are truly documented, in both Candide and other writings. So it continues to surprise me when this "barren wilderness" produces such extraordinary products.

Forget maple syrup, if you can. And if you know it intimately on your pancakes, you can’t. Dismiss Bombardier, presently the third largest aircraft maker in the world. But the strawberries! How could anyone forget those savoury red berries which outmatch anything of the same name that the year-round produce market deems suitable for shipping more than a few kilometres from source.

And the wonder of it in this climate depends to a large extent on a kind of anomaly. L'isle d'Orléans. Originally named Ile de Bacchus by Jacques Cartier, it’s position in the St. Lawrence River gives it an extraordinarily favourable climate.

Over three months ago we bought our first local berries. This evening I brought home two pints heaped high. Tomorrow morning, pancakes with maple syrup and strawberries. Anomalies can be wonderful!