Setting Snares

This post is from adventures of Fall 2019

What does a Bay Boy do when cod fishing season ends?  Rabbit season!

Wayne and Tom get a few rabbits

Remember nephew Tom and his puppy Vader?  They spend a lot of time with Wayne, and sometimes I tag along as well. I couldn't wait to see where they were setting snares out across Southeast Arm this fall.

We took the Nomad out, and towed a rowboat behind to get us out to the snares.  No docks out there!  Wayne's brother, Tom Senior, tagged along as well.

Tom Senior shows me the way. Good spot for a tent!

Vader pointed up a grouse, and I even got a halfway decent shot through the trees before I got too close and spooked it off.

Wayne and Tom spend a lot of time crouched down peering into the trees trying to find their snares, so Tom Senior and I ranged ahead at times.

Wayne SAYS he saw a moose through the trees, but none of the rest of us caught a glimpse of her. Hmmmm... 

Vader got the most exercise, happily running back and forth between us all.  Isn't he a beautiful boy?

Here's a video of Vader I took when Wayne was rowing me to shore.

He took that swim eventually...

But, first we had to slog through the boggy trail.  I got stuck a few times and had to hang onto a tree while I yanked my rubber boot out.

It's a wonder Vader and I weren't covered head to toe with muck.

No rabbits in those snares, though Vader did find a grouse in one of them.  So Tommy threw it out for Vader to retrieve.

That's our Good Boy!

It was a nice change, but there was more standing around than hiking on that trip so I didn't go again until they started setting snares in Southeast not far from our house.  A new path?  You bet I'll come check it out!

I'm glad I did because I've ended up on this path quite a few times since the snow started falling.  It's not full of tripping hazards like the other one I usually use and the incline isn't quite as steep either.

Here's another video, this time of what checking rabbit snares is like for me and Vader.

There is a lovely stream just off the path that I've become attached to, I'll share some photos and video in the next post!

Birds in the Morning

I'm sure many of you have heard about the big snowstorm we got up here in Newfoundland this past weekend.  I live a little over an hour from St. John's and we got a bit over 2 feet, which was a good dumping but not nothing we don't usually see at least once a year in Wisconsin.

Our neighbor helped us, then Wayne bought a
snowblower and helped his mom's neighbors

Everything was shut down for a day after the storm out in the Placentia region, but it's day 5 and St. John's is STILL shut down and they had to call in the Armed Forces to help dig out. 

Wayne makes sure the birds can find food after the snow

Today grocery stores are opening from 10-6 so folks can get some groceries resupplied, but things are probably a bit scarce on the shelves as deliveries from the mainland haven't been getting in and even out here there wasn't a loaf of bread to be found on the shelves at our store.

Our kitties watching the birds 

 The airport recorded 78 cm (30inches) of snow and nearby Mt. Pearl got 93 cm/36 inches.  In addition, winds of 105 km/h to 134 km/h were recorded which is hurricane force levels! Those winds created snowdrifts up to 15 feet in some places, burying people's front doors and vehicles.

Me and my fantastic sister-in-law with a view of St. John's behind us

On a November day my sister-in-law and I went for a walk in town.  We thought it was kind of cold that day but what did we know with real winter more than a month away? I remember having to take off my gloves and unzip my coat for heaven's sake!

Just an iPhone shot, but from our trail we could see iconic Signal Hill in the misty distance

Tucked in the heart of St. John's we were walking the Oxen Pond to Long Pond section of the Grand Concourse, a network of trails that totals 120km.  We were enjoying the shelter from the wind and city noise and along our way we spotted a blue jay doing the same.

Winter is far from over, but hopefully there are no more storms like the one we just had in store for us.  Everybody stay dry and warm, no matter where you call home!

Father Troy's Trail - The Beamer at Flatrock

This post is from a hike I did in September

So after I hiked the Torbay end of the Father Troy trail I made sure to have a look at the end located in the small town of Flatrock.

The parking area and the trailhead were very easy to find.

It was a very windy day, so I made my way carefully on the slanted rock of the Beamer (the Peninsula protuding out from Flatrock) until it leveled out.  Of course I made sure to bring a painted rock with me for someone to find.

The views were expansive, and I bet some whale watching and iceberg spotting could be done in early summer from Flatrock.

I was so happy to be outside - with fall having arrived I knew that hikes would soon be harder to come by.

It was too windy to check out the cliffs, not to mention the wrong time of year for nesting birds, so I made my way over to the Base End Spotting Station.

The base end spotting stations were used to plot the position of target ships. In a bunker this size, two soldiers operated the instruments used to aid in plotting targets, including a depression position finder and an azimuth scope. The measurements from the stations would be sent to a plotting room at Red Cliff, where firing coordinates would be calculated through triangulation.

From 1942 until the end of WWII, American soldiers were positioned in these and similar bunkers that provided advance protection for U.S. bases in St. John’s, Argentia and Stephenville.

By this time the sun was dropping in the sky and directly in my eyes as I turned from the spotting station back to the trail heading toward Torbay.  Of course there was a large rusty rod sticking out of the ground that I tripped over, gouging my upper calf.  A quick look made me think that I must only have a surface scratch under that rip in my leggings so I continued on.

About 10 minutes later my leg started throbbing and a closer look revealed that my pants were not the only thing that had gotten gouged. A chunk of calf was missing (oops!) and that meant I would have to traverse the section of trail between the two ends another time.  I cut across the headland instead of backtracking because I would get to my car quicker that way... theoretically.

Well, when I ran across a partridge berry patch I had to stop and pick some, injury be damned. The next day I had my first personal experience with the Canadian health care system when I stopped at Emergency care in Placentia to get a tetanus shot. Fast service, no copay, no insurance EOB's to inspect in the mail and a smiling nurse who sent me on my way after making sure I waited 10 minutes in case of dizziness or other effects.

With the 2020 election looming on the horizon I will get into the healthcare here in more depth soon.  I've been taking pictures of our receipts from our presciptions and will give a full account before spring is over, I promise!

Torbay's Father Troy's Trail - From The Battery to Little Gallows Cove

This post is from a hike I did in September

I haven't had as much time to explore the East Coast Trail as I would like, but it will still be there as I make my around to it.

I did get to hike a portion of the Father Troy's trail section, starting at the end of Moore's Valley Road in Torbay and making it about halfway down the 8.7 km section.

Trail was "rocked" by PJ!

I left a painted daisy near my starting point, I hope it found a happy home.

This part of the trail was flanked by pasture, including some lovely old wood fence.  I doubt it did much to keep in the 3 dogs that were loose and came bounding toward me without their owner stopping them.  I find it hard to believe she picks up poop from 3 dogs running loose in different directions across the area...

The sun wasn't out, but a little bit of cool without much wind is perfect hiking conditions in my opinion.  The trail is well signed and easy to follow.

Believe it or not, this isn't even the "scenic" half of Father Troy's trail.  I'm doing the other half soon, I can't wait to see "The Beamer", though I've missed whale and iceberg season unfortunately.

There were a lot of raspberry bushes along the trail, but watch where you stick your hand!

The pasture between the trail and the cliffs was lush...and full of horses of all sizes.

They seemed very unconcerned with my presence, I'm sure they are used to lots of passersby.

I did a bit of laughing when I came upon a herd of cows.  For a minute I thought I'd stumbled through a time and space portal and ended up back in Wisconsin!

Happy November Anniversary

Well...our 30th anniversary was 2 months ago now, but I seldom seem to have the extra time to sit down and have a run at composing some blog posts.

Bonavista view

Don't worry, (for the few of you who may still check back now and then) I'm not exiting the blog scene for good, I just need to figure out a way to balance my hobbies a little.  Mostly I write these posts for myself so I can preserve my memories since the days of photo albums are in the past, so I will be continuing.

Our anniversary trip to the Bonavista region was a bit windy, so we took a drive instead of a walk around town and I just had Wayne stop and braved the salt spray to get a few photos.

The light wasn't half bad for that kind of weather, and the clouds lended a certain moodiness that works well.

The shot below taken from the road out to Dungeon Provincial Park was my favorite view of the day.  The road was really washed out with lots of large potholes to dodge so we turned around.  Always save something for the next visit!

Wayne was a fan of the waves.  You won't get those on a calm day!

We stayed in Little Catalina at the Lavenia Rose cottage (Air BNB) and while it was the off season and nothing was really open we were glad that we left home for 2 nights to take some quiet time for ourselves.  Pretty great that the off season price for the 2 bedroom secluded cottage was half the price of nearby Inns during summer!

There was a hiking trail nearby...if you could find it in the overgrown woods.

You know me, always eager for adventure.  And with the water in one direction and the only road in the other direction it was kind of hard to get truly lost even if the markers were knocked over.

I saw British Soldiers on a log, which was a treat since I haven't seen them in quite awhile.

And a surprise platform with a view of Little Catalina harbor was a nice reward at the end.  When I texted the pic to Wayne his response was "Looks cold".

Yeah, but...

A glass of bourbon and a hot bath after an afternoon of hiking in the cold wind was a nice way to end the day!

I'm going to get at least half a dozen blog posts ready and scheduled, time to get caught up!