The Black Fly Song

While the song may be about how bad the black flies are in Northern Ontario, they are a nuisance here in Southeastern New Brunswick as well. Finally, yesterday, a beautiful warm sunny day so I plunked myself down on my outdoor swing, in the cool of the shade, overlooking the river. It wasn't too long before I began to itch here and there realizing those tiny little black flies were feasting on my person. Having a thick head of hair is no deterrent, either. They are quite adept at reaching the scalp, flying up pant legs or sleeves without being felt or noticed.

A few summers back, when we were country newbies, hubs decided to shave his head as the weather warmed. It actually suited him quite well! So, one day he trotted off to work in the garden, sans bug spray and/or sunscreen. Well, it was near the death of him. His poor scalp was eaten alive by black flies and flaming red from sunburn. In fact, he had been bitten so badly that he came down with flu-like symptoms. My poor baby.

I came home one afternoon to find him lying on the couch with a fever. My first view was of the top of his head. I gasped, then my jaw dropped as I stared at what looked like an alien reclining on my couch. The skin had tightened from being sunburned, then cracked and all those bites had been weeping. It was not a pretty site but I bit my tongue and made sure he wasn't needing a trip to the emergency war. He was overcome with discomfort, but he lives to talk about it. As much as we both dislike using bug spray, it's become a necessary evil.

And with that, I'll leave you with a little song about the lovely little black fly.

Dinner Conversation... "I wonder what the Locals are eating tonight?"

No offense to the Locals but we don't eat like them. By "Locals" I mean the Acadian people for the most part, who were born and raised here and whose lives are steeped in the Acadian culture.

Traditional meals eaten here are not foreign to my hubs nor me. My Grandmother (on my Mom's side) was an Acadian, as was my hub's dad. We are familiar with Acadian culture - the diet - in the traditional sense, but we are not raised here. And so it goes.... the conversation, that is.

"hmmm... wonder what the locals are eating tonight?" I ask, as we dine on any number of gourmet delights. Pictured here are spring rolls of julienne carrot and cucumber, bean sprouts, shrimp, green onion, cilantro and rice noodles served with a delicious sauce of lime, fish sauce, pepper flakes and a host of other goodies I can't name because I didn't make it. My job is to enjoy. Nuff said.

And I answer the question, too. "Oh, chicken frico, poutine rapé, rappie pie, fish cakes, boiled dinner, pork & beans...." OK. To be fair, I'll include in the Acadian diet some lobster, clams, mussels... those incredible seafoods that are deliciously popular (and much more expensive) in the 'big' cities yet comfortably affordable here.

And so we laugh, eat, enjoy and give thanks.

On those occasional foul weather days, though, there is nothing quite like a big heaping plate of comfort food... the kind Mom or Grandma would dish up back in the day. The kind that reminds of us of our reason for coming here... simple but rich in flavour and satisfying to the soul. We are enjoying the best of both worlds when it comes to our culinary tastes. And I don't even have to cook. How sweet is that?