Daily Archives: June 14, 2023

Advice/How To

Best activities to do on the lake

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By: Sophie Johnson

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Last weekend I spent countless hours on the lake and did so many fun activities. Some of these include: tubing, scuba diving, fishing and more.

The first activity that I love to do on a lake is tubing. Tubing is one of the most thrilling and exciting activities and makes for a great adrenaline rush. Up at the lake I went to, I went on two different kinds of tubes.

We have a hot dog tube that looks like a hot dog on a bun and you sit three people in a row one in front of the other. This tube is significantly harder to stay on than the other one I rode because when the boat turns, everyone has to lean the opposite direction. I rate this tubing experience a 8/10.

The next tube was a seated one that holds up to 5 people. I only rode it with 3 people at one time. This one felt slightly safer and was more like a couch on water. I rate this tube a 10/10 because it can go very fast and is less painful if you fall off.

Another fun and exciting activity to do on a lake is fishing. The fishing that I did was not very successful because no fish were biting, but it is still a cool skill to learn and do when you are on a lake.

The last activity is scuba diving. I enjoy scuba diving because you never know what you will find at the bottom of a lake. Sometimes the water can get a little murky and gross, but that can just add to the challenge of finding anything.

These activities are just a few of the things that I like to do on the water during the spring and the summer, but they make that time on the beach so much more enjoyable.

World

Canadian wildfires

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By: Biftu Osman

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Wildfires occur when fires either by a natural cause, or human sparked, spread rapidly across forests. They are more likely to happen and last for a longer period of time when the air and ground are hot and dry which is why wildfires thrive in the summer.

In Canada, wildfires are a common occurrence every summer with an average of 8000 wildfires per year. This year’s wildfires have become a hot topic these past few days. 437 current wildfires were active early in June and 248 of them are considered uncontrollable according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center (CIFFC).

Alberta, Nova Scotia and Quebec are the 3 provinces in Canada with the most active wildfires. As of the morning of Friday, June 9, an estimated 10.6 million acres of forest have been burned. The rapid increase in wildfires has affected the air quality and resulted in the abundance of smoke everywhere. This caused the air quality to dramatically decrease and spread across Canada, which then led to it seeping into the US as well.

The smoke that spread into the US affected about 16 states and an estimated 128 million people. The poor air quality was most prominent in New York and was ranked the worst air quality in the world on Wednesday, June 7th.

The areas, including the states in the US, that are affected by the smoke are supposed to clear out and improve the air quality in the next few days with rainfall. The areas that aren’t expecting rainfall will still be depending on firefighters to put out the fires.

With the vast amount of fires that have had to be extinguished, firefighters are running out of supplies and equipment. According to The New York Times, in attempts to fight off the wildfires, around 1,100 firefighters traveled to Canada from other countries from France to South Africa and Australia.

Travel/Food

Matcha Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

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By: Ajmal Abdirahman

My two favorite things are matcha and banana bread, and so when I found out that they could be combined I right away needed to make it. This recipe I’ve made many times for my family and my friends and it’s now my favorite way to make banana bread!

If you don’t know what matcha is, or have never heard of it, matcha is a high grade form of green tea, made into a powder from the actual tea leaves. Matcha is traditionally consumed in East Asia and has many health benefits. It’s high in antioxidants, may help protect the liver, help prevent cancer, boost brain function, promote heart health and even help in weight loss.

I grew up eating banana bread because my mom would often make it when our bananas would go bad. Quite recently I’ve started to drink matcha when I was recommended to by my cousin. So, if you like the flavor of matcha I would recommend you try this recipe because it pairs well with the banana and sweet chocolate flavor.

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick of butter
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 3 mashed ripe bananas
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon of milk
  • 2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 2 tablespoons of matcha powder
  • 2 cups of chocolate chips

Instructions to make Matcha Chocolate chip banana bread:

  • Preheat oven to 350, and grease your loaf pan with baking spray or butter
  • Add butter to a microwave safe bowl and melt it, add the sugar and cream and mix them until light and fluffy, add your eggs one at a time beating well after each addition
  • Mash your bananas in a small bowl, mix in the nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract and milk
  • In another bowl, add the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and the matcha powder
  • Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and mix well
  • Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and mix till the flour disappears
  • Mix in your chocolate chips
  • Pour your finished batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes
  • Take out from the pan when ready

Enjoy!