Wandering St. Anne's - Bay Trip Part 2

Out in St. Anne's I went wandering in 3 different directions our first day there.

St Anne's to the left from hill above Green Cove -
Little Goat Islands and Presque Harbour to the right

Of course the first order of business was finding out what was behind the hill behind the cabin.  Vader followed me to the top of the hill, but when he saw that Tom wasn't joining us he turned around.

A moose path led up over the notch between two hills, where I struggled to keep ahead of the flies.

Then when it leveled out I found myself on a marsh, or more aptly a wet meadow really.  Why is my backpack on the "mash" so far from where I took the picture?

Because I was wandering around picking a few late bakeapples!  Bakeapples (also known as cloudberry) aren't the sweetest of berries, but I discovered that the overripe stragglers were sweeter than what I was used to sampling.  Prepared for the possibility of berries with a margarine tub in my pack, I got as many as I could for later.

M is for mash,
Or marish or mish,
A wet, grassy spot where your rubbers go squish.
With blackflies and bog
Aunt Bertha will grapple
Whenever she goes there
To pick the bakeapple. 

                                                                          -A Second Newfoundland Folk Alphabet

Green Pond

Just past the bakeapples I pushed through a few more trees to find myself at the edge of a large pond shimmering in the hot sun.  Twenty second video of the pond below:

You know I took off my hiking boots and cooled off my feet!

Nothing like brook water after a hike

After returning to the cabin I filled up a cup of brook water just steps from the door.  I went for a walk around the shoreline toward Anne's Cove but I'll share those tomorrow.  When I returned the men had some concoction on the stove filled with stuff I wasn't fond of, so for me it was a can of Bush's beans and a spoon.

Beans and boots!

And for dessert...warm bakeapples on top of Purity Tee-Vee cookies.  Can't get more Newfie than that!

While the fellas were eating their supper I followed another moose path and climbed the hill above the cabin.  Third walk of the day, talk about a dream excursion!

As I walked along I had great views of the hills on the opposite shore that I had walked before supper.

As well as views of the harbor entrance we had traveled to get there.

My goal was to walk out the point toward Goat Island, and enjoy the early evening light and the cool breeze.

Goat Island is home to St. Anne's departed. Why was a rock in the middle of the water chosen for a cemetery? Can you imagine what a funeral was like when the departed must have arrived by rowboat?  Jim said there wasn't ever a bridge as far as he knows. St. Anne's was never largely populated, (the 1935 census shows 20 dwellings, 4 of which were vacant) and by 1965 the remaining 3 families opted for Resettlement. In 1935 Wayne's father, Jim, was 17 years old and living in his parents' home there in St. Anne's.  I wish he were alive to ask him those questions.

When I got out to the point I turned around and saw Jim peering out at me from the cabin.  Time to head back.

The light was beautiful on the hill, but I sure did wish I had changed out of my rubber boots and back into my hiking boots!  Lesson learned, and new rubber boots bought shortly after we returned, you can be sure. Here's a 46 second video from my perch above the cabin:

If you missed it, here is Getting Across the Bay - Part 1
http://nomadicnewfies.blogspot.com/2019/08/getting-across-bay.html

Getting Across the Bay - Bay Trip Part 1

Last year when we came home we hired a boat to go out across Placentia Bay to see the place our ancestors called home. That trip took 3 1/2 hours each way, I was terribly sick the whole time, and to pay someone to go out costs a shocking $800-900 round trip. Because it is 7 hours of just sailing we were left with only a few hours to explore.  It was a great experience, but a bit pricey to do often.

Jim and I waiting for our ride 

Now we have our own speedboat, and yes, that means we can get there faster! We set out this past weekend from Placentia for 2 days and 2 nights.  We were generously loaned use of a cabin in St. Anne's (a 5 minute boat ride from St. Kyran's) so the entire trip cost us $80 for fuel and was 3 1/2 hours round trip instead of each way!

Harold and Tom arrive to load up the Nomad

While we waited for Wayne to arrive with a few last minute supplies we started loading up the boat.  No electricity or running water out across the bay, much less a supermarket! 

Using a friend's boat as a bridge to load

Without a wharf to load from we used a buddy's boat that was tied up at the sea wall as a bridge.  The heaviest and hardest item to load was Tom's dog, Vader.  For 5 months old, he's a big fella!

Vader is a Labrador/Newfoundland mix who seems to have gotten more Newfoundland in him than Tom bargained for.  Mild tempered and easy to train, Vader has become almost a part of our family too.  Wayne goes over to walk him often, so he gets to enjoy the fun parts of dog ownership without having to buy the food or be there for ALL the times he needs a potty break.

Good Dog!

Here's a video of us going out the Northeast Arm and under the new Ambrose Shea bridge which was completed in 2016.  Feel free to skip the first minute, I've been having trouble with videos uploaded from laptop having distorted sound so I uploaded directly from my iPhone and then was unable to edit after it was published.  Any tips for this problem appreciated!

The ride out took 2 hours because we got a little sidetracked in the fog. I was only mildly groggy and nauseous after taking 2 motion sickness pills, and Vader slept most of the way.

As we neared our destination the fog lifted and green hills greeted us.

Our home for 2 nights in St. Ann's

Not having a wharf to tie up to turned out to be quite the dance once we motored into the cove.  Jim hooked the rope hanging from the cliff to tie up the bow, but that was only the first step.

Jim hooks the rope

As we neared shore, I wasn't the only one feeling the mounting excitement.

Time to get out and play

Getting the boat tied up just right turned out to be quite the production, taking at least half an hour and maybe longer than that.  Tide was high and having enough slack to account for the lowering tide without the boat drifting into rocks was a concern.

Vader wants to help!

While the Sailors dealt with those issues the Landlubber wandered the shore and looked longingly at the hills waiting to be explored.

Sand dollar on the shore

 Once the boat was secured the gear was unloaded and brought into the cabin. With my sensitivities and allergies in mind I packed a tent in case of any mildew odor and as expected I ended up pitching my tent on the beach rocks.  This issue gave us the opportunity to plan ahead for when we have our own cabin and how we will combat the problem, and we are busy considering options.  I could stay in the cabin for short periods but wasn't risking overnight exposure that might impede my adventures the following day.

They tried, but too breezy for a shelter for the propane stove 

I was pretty excited to sleep outside on the shore, but beach rocks do not hold tent pegs so I walked back to the cabin to get some gear to put inside the tent to keep it in place.

Of course I wasn't quick enough and a gusty breeze sent it sailing right past the door.  Tom let out a shout and gave chase but the hill stopped the tent from going too far.

Finally the moment arrived when I was released from duty and allowed to wander! Stay tuned for some stunning views!

We Could All Use a Little Change

Since we left Wisconsin on May 1st we have had a lot of changes in our life.

We stayed at Argentia Sunset Park for 5 weeks while house hunting, relieved to get a spot since the park was technically full.  With all the work going on in Argentia the park is full of workers living in their RV's.  Not the best news for travelers coming off the ferry, but great for the area economy that jobs are plentiful.

Argentia hospital, probably the 1950's according to my father

We got to know the staff really well, and Loren even dug out a photo of the old Argentia hospital for me.  That's where I was born!  Many of the pregnant women on base were sent to St. John's to have their babies, so I feel pretty lucky to have been born in the town where my mother's family lived before the Americans built the Naval base during World War II.

Our boat parked in front of Wayne's mother's house in Placentia

Before we even had an offer in on a house we picked up the boat Wayne had ordered.

Nephew Tom's puppy was sometimes hard to coax

There are options for boat storage and boat slips here, but Wayne decided to use his father's old mooring out in the Northeast Arm.  That means you have to row out to the boat on its anchor though.

Ready to row

Every time someone would ask about his boat he was proud to say it was moored where his father used to keep his own boat.  It didn't take us long to come up with a name - Nomad!

The Nomad at anchor

Once cod season began Wayne and his brothers had no trouble hauling in their daily limit of fish.

Wayne's brother Harold 

But lobsters were bought, not caught, for $6 a pound!

Lobster season is short in Newfoundland though.  That's okay, we can go out on our Quad instead...

...Or go shopping in St. John's...

M y favorite Newfie slang

...Or volunteer as a leader with local youth.  I'm going to be a Girl Guider!

Marching in the Canada Day Parade

It's been fun meeting people in the community, and after we were in our house we even ran into our realtor at the Canada Day Fireworks.

We were thrilled when we found out that two of our neighbors are sisters to Wayne's brother Tom's wife.  Not everyone has their next door neighbor be "almost related" and get invited to raid their rhubarb patch and greenhouse.  Next year when ours is up and running we plan to plant some things they don't have so we can reciprocate!

Argentia sunset over Red Island

We don't see as many sunsets since we left Argentia; that's the one thing I miss since we moved from Argentia to Southeast Placentia.  

Moon over the RV

And one of those Argentia nights at the campground I successfully photographed a moon for the first time ever.

As the Barenaked Ladies song says, We could all use a little change.  And the change to move here has been the right one for us.  I'll get around to talking about the health care system here and financial comparisons one of these days, but for now I'll just say that any changes there have been wonderful as well!

Gardening and Guests

Not only the inside of the house got a makeover, I was busy giving the outside a new look as well.

Load her up!

Three different times I filled her up, and I started with making my own planter.

I got a few planter boxes for the deck and filled them with herbs.

It's dangerous to show up at our house these days - if you stay more than 10 minutes you will absolutely be put to work.

Once my Aunt got things started it would only be laziness keeping me from completing the job so I  dug in and got 'er done. Thatched sod, rocks and clay, every gardener's nightmare!

A few rocks refused to be conquered.  They don't call Newfoundland "The Rock" for nothing.

But a few of those massive boulders I was determined to get out of my way.

The first bed came together rather quickly, but of course my ambitions run a little higher so the project still isn't complete.

Now that everything was spiffy it was time for the guests to arrive. Griffins and Leonards arrived for a feed!

We requested no gifts, but got them anyway.  Including a painting made from one of the photographs I took out in St. Kyran's last summer of the church.  Priceless, right?

Some of the guests enjoyed the deck, and even a few dogs came over to visit.

I made sure to plan a menu that was hassle free so I had time to enjoy our party.  I even got a free hairstyle done while I was sitting around.

Which somehow morphed into an experimental fork bun...

We may not have gotten the curtains up in time, but no one seemed to mind.

And our youngest guest was pleased that I picked up sidewalk chalk and set her loose on the deck!

I'll get to work now going back through my adventures since we've been here, and then the adventure that I'm on right now out in St. Kyran's!