Sunday on the Frozen Barrens

The Barrens of Newfoundland occupy the interior on the summits of hills and ridges, and are elevated and exposed tracts. They are covered with a scrubby vegetation, berry bearing plants and dwarf bushes of various kinds. These barrens are the home of the Caribou, Ptarmigan and Snowshoe Hare and Moose are commonly seen traversing this lonely back country.

Winter Sunset in Hawke Hills

"the wind is cold

the sunset over snow

radiant

as though God or something celestial

were singing."

- Katrina Hall

End of Day in Hawke Hills

On Saturday the entire Avalon Peninsula experienced blizzard conditions with winds up to 120 km. per hour and 60 centimeters of snow. Sunday saw the neighborhood dig out from mountains of accumulated snow. I was able to take advantage of the new winter snowfall by venturing into Hawke Hills on snowmobile with friends to be rewarded by a glorious sunset over the hills.

Rapsody in Blue

Around 90% of the volume of an iceberg is under water which leads to the expression, "tip of the iceberg" generally applying to hidden trouble. This icy mass mass can be very hard and can easily damage sheet metal. Icebergs are therefore very hazardous to shipping. The most famous sinking from an iceberg collision was the destruction of the RMS Titanic on April 14th, 1912 off the south coast of Newfoundland. 

Cod Jigging with Erin

The collapse of the groundfish stocks off Newfoundland's northeast coast led to a federally imposed "cod" moratorium throwing thousands of fishermen and plantworkers out of work. Before the fishing ban, Newfoundlanders in small open boats commonly landed cod on a jigger, a heavy unbaited double hook used on the island for over two hundred years. Today, jigging is now outlawed and there are fewer boats on the water. Ironically the large foreign fishing trawlers still scour the ocean bottom, fishing within Canada's 200 mile boundary limit.

Sky-Pointing Gannet - Cape St. Mary's

Cape St, Mary's is a seabird sanctuary with the largest nesting colony of gannets in Newfoundland and the third largest in North America. There is no other place in North America where one can see more closely the courtship, nesting and the rearing behaviour of these magnificent birds. During the summer months the cliffs appear to coated in icing while being host to thousands of seabirds. Roger Tory Peterson, during one of his visits to the colony, remarked that "... the birds swirl past the cliffs like a blizzard of snow!"

Canada Rocks Finland for Gold

PINEROLO, Italy (CP) - Brad Gushue's rink won Canada's first Olympic gold medal in men's curling with a 10-4 victory in eight ends over Finland's Markku Uusipaavalniemi on Friday.

Gushue, third Mark Nichols, second Russ Howard and lead Jamie Korab played an aggressive game and broke the final open in the sixth end by scoring six for a 10-3 lead.

"I'm proud of the guys, it was a tough week but we did it," an emotional Gushue told CBC. "We struggled early but we brought it on."

Canada controlled the game early for a 4-3 lead after five ends. Two stellar takeouts by third Nichols in the sixth gave Canada control of the house.

Three cheers for our Newfoundland Team. Congratulations Brad, from all of us in Newfoundland. We're proud Newfoundlanders today . . .

House of Orange - St. Bride's

"Strange is the orange you painted your house
How cheerful is it's colour !"

Lighthouse - Cape Spear

From the mid 1800s the lighthouse at Cape Spear has flashed its message from this rugged point of land, the most easterly point of North America. This was only the second light to offer aid along Newfoundland's rocky coasts, even though the island had at the time been populated for two centuries. Today, Parks Canada has restored the Cape Spear lighthouse to its original appearance and refurnished the light keepers's residence to the period of 1839. Cape Spear lighthouse is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland.

Newfoundland Lynx in Winter

An inhabitant of the forested areas of Canada from Newfoundland to the Yukon, this member of the cat family is distinguished by a short body, long legs, large padded feet, and pointed ears tipped with long, black hair. They are nocturnal, solitary hunters. They appear shortly before dark and remain active until shortly after sunrise. Their main prey in Newfoundland is the Snowshoe Hare and so their numbers increase or decline with cyclic regularity in concert with the abundance or scarcity of the Snoeshoe population.

Cod Fishery - 1950's

My father had a keen interest in family and photography . He captured his three sons, the "fishermen", at a time when the cod fishery was the livelihood for most families in rural Newfoundland. This nostalgic photo was taken in the late 1950's when we were visiting Uncle Bill and Aunt Rene in Long Beach, Trinity Bay . We were three brothers - John, Paul and Mike, one hot summer long ago. Incidently, I'm on the left, with the codfish. 

North Head Lighthouse - Bay Bulls

"The lighthouse looked battered, but still stood firm and strong,
Right out at the last point of land just where it should belong,
Now electric lights rotate the warning of treacherous shore,
Not with a real lighthouse keeper, like in the days of yore.

There was a warm gentle zephyr softly wafting all around,
It rustled the many wild flowers and grass, a haunting sound,
Twas like the laughter of children playing on a sunny day,
Mixed with the cry of the sea birds who lived not far away.

There was a solid foundation where a house once stood,
Gone had all the traces of windows, tiles or old wood,
But what was left behind were plants from a garden fair,
Chives, lavender, raspberries and iris still growing there.

You could feel many emotions in that very lonely place,
Surrounded on all sides by nature's beauty and grace,
We wanted to stay there and wander around for awhile,
We bade adieu to all the beauty, remembering it with a smile."

- Ann Margetson

The Red Boat

 

Sunset at St. Bride

The long summer days often bring evening skies awash with brilliant reds, orange and yellows. At St. Bride nature's masterpiece is rendered.

"Sky splashed with color,
At dusk.
Soft hues blend together
To create a silent painting.
A crescendo of golden rays
Sweep the sky.
Subtle expressions;
Slowly,
Fade behind the distant clouds.
Nature holds its breath,
As the sun,
Slowly and silently,
Slinks below the horizon,
And the sky is left;
Featureless and dark."

- R. G., Pascoag, RI

Monarch of the Wild - Avalon

With its dense stands of mature spruce forests, abundant supply of lichens and low-growing shrubs, and balanced blend of uplands, lowlands and wetlands, the Avalon Peninsula once provided an ideal habitat for caribou. Unfortunately this herd has been decimated by coyote predation and natural disease. Within 2 hours drive of St. John's one would often see these monarchs of the wild by the roadside. Other areas of the province of Newfoundland still host the world's most southerly herd of woodland caribou, one of 7 subspecies of caribou found worldwide.

Kestrel

Red Fox - Vulpes Vulpes

The Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes) is native to the province and is found throughout Newfoundland in a wide variety of habitats,and often seen in areas frequented by humans. They resemble a small slender dog and range in size from 3.6 to 6.8 kg. Newfoundland's Red Fox comes in a range of colours- red, black, silver, yellowish, and a mixture of colours called a patch phase. This little fellow was photographed some years ago on Buchan's Plateau .

Winter in Hawke Hills

"During the winter I am content--or try to think I am. For all practical purposes nature is at a standstill. . . . there is a wonderful joy in leaving behind the noisy city streets and starting out along the white road that leads across the hills. With each breath of the sharp, reviving air one seems to inhale new life. A peace as evident as the sunshine on the fields takes possession of one's inner being. The trivial cares which fretted like a swarm of mosquitoes are driven away by the first sweep of wind that comes straight from the mountains. . . . The intense silence that broods over the snow-bound land is a conscious blessing. The deep blue of the sky and the purple shadows cast by the trees and plants are a feast to the eye. The crunch of the snow-rind beneath our feet .... is music to our ears. "

- Frances Theodora Parsons

Snowmobiles - Hawke Hills

Snowmobiling in Hawkes Hills today - two recent snow storms have made these barrens accessible after unseasonable warm temperatures in December and January. Temperatures today ranged -4 degrees Celius and the day was sunny We did a little ice fishing, had a "boil up"and of course I treked on snowshoes looking for photo opportunities.

"To The Greater Glory of God" - St. Paul's Anglican Church in Trinity was built in 1892. This wooden church with its arched windows, chancel, side aisles and tower with a spire is an excellent example of Gothic Revival architecture in outport Newfoundland during the nineteenth century.

Canadian Coast Guard Vessel - Cape Roger

Type: Offshore Multi Task Patrol Vessel
Port of Registry: Ottawa
Region: Newfoundland
Home Port: St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
Call Sign: VCBT
When Built: 1977
Builder: Fergurson Industries Ltd., Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada
Modernized: 1996 - Shelburne Marine, Shelburne, N.S.

At the end of Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John's is the historic fishing village of Quidi Vidi and home to our Quidi Vidi Brewing Company. Opened in 1996 in a restored fish processing plant this microbreweries' products include 1892 Ale, Northern Lite, Northern Lager, Krick Cherry, Hibernia, and Mummers’ Christmas beer. 

Ferryland Lighthouse - Avalon Peninsula

Ferryland Lighthouse was built in 1871 and is unique in that it's main tower is of brick, coated with steel as protection against fire and weather. Such towers doubled as homes for the lighthouse keepers but they made less than suitable living quarters. Condensation and hoar frost often formed on the walls making the building of a separate residence necessary. Once accommodating the lightkeeper, his assistant and their families, this light is now automated and the adjoining house is left empty and decaying. 

The Battery - St. John's

Near the Narrows of St. John's harbour at the bottom of Signal Hill lies this charming fishing village known locally as The Battery. It's narrow lanes and colorful rock-perched houses present new discoveries at every turn.

Battle Harbour Inn - Battle Harbour, Labrador

" Battle Harbour Inn is a beautifully restored historic home with a parlour, dining room and enclosed sunporch. The Inn and homes are part of Battle Harbour National Historic District, commemorated to tell the story of the Labrador fishery. The Inn is scenically located on a hill over-looking the merchant premises of Battle Harbour and Great Caribou Island ".

Winter Thaw - Witless Bay Barrens

Newfoundland faces deep snows and cold temperatures in winter and the promise of an early spring warms both body and soul. This photo depicts the solitude and the quiet beauty of the "Barrens" on a clear winter's day with spring just around the corner.

Victor's Big Fish

Prominent Canadian photographer, Robert E. Holloway, photographed little Victor Crowley and these two massive codfish under the Salt Store in Battle Harbour. The photographer noted that the larger fish measured 5 feet, 5 inches and weighed 60 lbs. Today, this image is hailed as a poignant symbol of the once mighty Newfoundland and Labrador cod fishery.

Old Marine Engines - Red Bay

"Early marine inboard engines are also known as one-lungers , make'n'break, or make and break engines. They could be two cycle or four cycle design, but were most commonly two cycle, and could be single or multi-cylinder. They were built in large factories such as Palmer Brothers, Lathrop, Gray, and Lozier, as well as small local machine shops, machining and assembling castings in limited numbers. "

The Boat - Battle Harbour

These old boats are fast disappearing from the Newfoundland scene. The advent of the four stroke outboard engine and fibreglass has replaced the old wooden boat with it's "make and break" engine. I become very nostalgic when I see these relics of a not so bygone age.

Battle Harbour, Labrador

Battle Harbour, Labrador is a restored 19th century fishing village located on a small island in the Labrador Sea north of the Strait of Bell Isle. The community was the economic and social centre of southeastern Labrador for two centuries and was known as the Capital of Labrador. The reconstructed fishing premises are reminescent of an era long past and house a wealth of historic fishing artifacts. Small wooden houses and shingled fishing rooms dot the landscape. During the summer of 2004, I was fortuate to visit Battle Harbour with camera in hand. I have never forgotten the beauty of that place with it's ocean vistas , craggy rock outcrops and the haunting cries of the sea birds .