The War at Our Doorstep

With the outbreak of World War II, St. John's Harbour became an important staging point for convoys and warships crossing the Atlantic to Great Britain. In December 1942, the Canadian government installed two artillery guns below the Fort Amherst Lighthouse at the entrance to the harbour. In 1943, German submarines mined the waters ouside the well protected harbour resulting in the loss of an American freighter and a British ore carrier .

Today, the battery is in ruins but it remains a reminder of how the war touched the residents of St. John's from 1939 to 1945.

A Kind of Blue - Yellow Day

Frayed blue braids embrace a yellow mooring rail.

Mural in Pouch Cove on a Friday Afternoon

The Slipway

Yesterday, "Tyler and Lucas" presented a photogenic scene on the the slipway in Pouch Cove.

On Middle Cove Beach

Silently, I walk amid the grey dark stones, the sound of wind-lashed waves carrying me to faraway places. I am free at last from the tumult of today.

Green Point

Jagged rocks are washed by the churning sea below the cliffs of Green Point.

Green Point Lighthouse

The Green Point lighthouse is located on a windswept point near the village of Hibb's Cove, Conception Bay. From the community, a rough gravel road leads 1 1/2 miles to the lighthouse. The light tower, built in 1883, is a round cast iron structure with red and white horizontal stripes. Today, its fixed white light remains an active aid to navigation.

In the autumn months, the treeless barrens surrounding this lonely outpost abound in cranberries ripe for picking - just in time for Thanksgiving Day !

Crab Pots for Sale

A crab pot is a round rope- knitted cage with a funnel opening and a well in the middle to hold scraps of bait fish. The crab find their way easily in, but they can't get out. The pots are thrown over the side of the boat and are tied to long ropes attached to floats. These colorful pots are still awaiting their new owner in Port de Grave.

The Lighthouse Keeper - Cape Race

"No circumstance whatever will excuse any lightkeeper for failing to exhibit the lights in his charge at the prescribed time, or for neglecting to keep them burning with the greatest possible brilliancy."

Rules and Instructions for Light Keepers, 1905

Cape Race Panorama

The rocky ledge runs far into the sea.
And on the outer point some miles away,
The Lighthouse lifts its massive masonry,
A piller of fire by night, of cloud by day.

Henry Longfellow - The Lighthouse

High and Dry

This landlocked boat symbolizes the dream of most expatriot Newfoundlanders - to return again to their beloved island and perhaps never to leave again.

Heart's Content Lighthouse

The Heart's Content Light was established in 1901 at the northern entrance of the community harbour. The 3o foot tower is a round cast iron structure painted in a red and white candy cane pattern. The lightkeeper's house and other station buildings have long ago been demolished. Nearby, in the community of Heart' Content,the first Trans-Atlantic cable was landed on July 27th, 1866. A museum, commemorating the role of the town in transatlantic communication brings many visitors in the town.

Making Fish

This archival photograph is symbolic of the early Newfoundland cod fishery. I made this image from a glass slide in my collection. These fishermen appear to be washing the excess salt from the cod in preparation for curing in the sun. The photo dates to the early 1900's.

After the Storm

My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the Sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Kittiwake ( Tickleace )

Smaller than a herring gull with wings that appear to have been dipped in black paint, the kittiwake is perfectly at home on the sea, drinking salt water, sleeping on the waves and feeding on small fish. These graceful birds nest in colonies on cliff tops and rocks overlooking the ocean. They rarely frequent land except to nest and they are often seen perched on the tops of icebergs that drift south with the currents to Newfoundland's northeast coast.

 

Powell's Head Light Beacon

Powell's Head Lighthouse is located near the entrance to Trepassey Harbour. The original iron tower built in 1902 was replaced by this square wooden structure forming one corner of the fog alarm building. Although not as dramatic as older Newfoundland lighthouses, this small lighthouse all painted in white with a red roof and a red octagonal dome lantern does make a pretty picture. It's flashing white light shining from a dioptic lens can be seen for up to 12 nautical miles at sea.

Cape Race Light Station 1909

Cape Race Lighthouse Looking East

Cape Race Lighthouse - Lantern Lens

The Cape Race Lighthouse began operating in 1856 and is Canada's most significant landfall beacon. In 1912 radio operators here received the distress signal from the Titanic, which struck an iceberg 400 miles to the southeast. The original light tower was replaced by a white circular concrete tower in 1906. The giant hyper-radial lens, the largest ever built, contains hundreds of prisms that radiate light up to 24 nautical miles. The ocean beneath this beacon is wrought with treacherous currents and razer- sharp reefs and beset with fog, icebergs and storms.

Water Watchers

"How can there be such solitude in watching water ?"

- Margrethe Ahlschwede