First day in Fredericton -- Fiddling Around

     May 31st, we loaded all our things in the van and trailer. Packing felt very different this year. Things didn't fit right and there seemed to be so many boxes. Over the year the only things that we bought that we took with us were a Dyson Animal vacuum, a card table and 4 folding chairs and a few plants. How much room can they take? You just tuck them in a small space. Anyway, we were loaded down.

As you can see our load in both the van and trailer was enough to lower the hitch.

We had no incidents along the way other than scraping over a few curbs.

     Since we were not getting our apartment until June 1st in the afternoon, upon arriving in Fredericton we parked at "Camp Wally" where we set up for the night. There were approximately 6 other RVs in the parking lot for the night.

Camp Wally.
Fredericton Walmart in the background.

Here we are, set up for dinner at Camp Wally.

     We had the next morning to fill before getting into our apartment, so we went to the Fredericton Boyce Farmer's Market. I was very impressed with this market. It is open every Saturday all year. There are lots of vendors with fresh produce, crafts, cooked foods and other products. The products offered were varied and lots of people were in attendance. The vendors were all very friendly. You could speak to them for a long time about their products and New Brunswick. We will definitely be going there again since it is only a few blocks away from us so is very convenient too.

Lovely asparagus.

Rhubarb in abundance. Too bad that Al does not like it. I do though.
Notice the huge bags of fiddleheads beside the rhubarb.

Nice fresh fiddleheads. Many vendors were selling them. I bought a
small bag and we had three meals of them from the one bag.
Fiddleheads are a strange looking plant.

Fiddleheads growing in the wild.

     Fiddleheads are the furled fronds of a young fern harvested for consumption as a vegetable. The fiddleheads are harvested early in the season before the frond has opened and has reached its full height. They are cut fairly close to the ground.

     The fiddlehead resembles the curled ornamentation, called a scroll, on the end of stringed instrument, such as a violin, hence the name "fiddlehead".

     Fiddleheads are a source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, as well as being high in iron and fibre. They are a source of antioxidants. They are low in sodium but rich in potassium. When prepared properly, fiddleheads are delicious.

Here I have prepared a stir-fry using fiddleheads.

Ready to eat!

     This local delicacy, although only available for harvesting for 2-3 weeks in the spring, is an important part of the local economy where they are harvested and sold. Crafters take advantage of their popularity by creating various projects. I am very fascinated with these vegetables. Just the look is different. Here are two examples of crafts made with a fiddlehead theme.

A felt brooch -- Fiddlehead

A fiddlehead brooch made from polymer. 

A rug-hooked coaster of Fiddleheads

A Fiddlehead sculpture by Jim Boyd at the St. John Art Centre.
We still have to go and see this piece of art when we go to St John.

     Each province seems to have their claim to fame and for New Brunswick it is Fiddleheads. The village of Tide Head (north shore near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River) bills itself as the Fiddlehead capital of the world. We will have to go and see this for ourselves.