Warm Days

We have had some very warm days the last 3 days. We had record breaking temperatures yesterday, it was 25.9 degrees C. The Humidity has been really intense, we really need a good thunder storm or some rain to break the humidity. I was out in the garden this evening after the sun had gone down fending off the flies. It had cooled off a bit and was a lovely evening. I spotted these little guys in bloom on the bank by the truck. They look beautiful along side the truck with the yellow Alyssum and White Candy Tuft all in bloom together a mass of colour, such simple beauty. My love and thoughts go out to my Step family this week, they lost their Wife, Mother and Grandmother to Lung Cancer.

Iceberg Hunting

Here are my attempts at capturing the beauty which is an Iceberg. There are lots around at the moment. On Sunday I spotted one in Pouch Cove, but did not have my camera. They come in all shapes and sizes. They are a long way off so it is hard to capture the uniqueness and beauty the human eye can see.

The Price of Progress

I had a day off today after working 7 days straight and I heard on the radio this morning that there were Icebergs in Freshwater bay. This is off the East coast of Newfoundland. I decided I was going to go Iceberg hunting. I drove to Signal Hill after dropping Lewie off to school. Armed only with my little camera. There are 3 visible Icebergs from the top of the hill. The biggest one is close to Blackhead and I am sure you get a much better view from there. In my pursuit of Icebergs I drove along Marine drive and stopped by MUN marine lab. There is one visible from there too. I thought I spotted another one that looked to be by motion point. So I drove to our favourite location Motion Point. For me this place has it's own beautiful spirit. A place where you are one with nature. A place that makes you respect the powerful and unstoppable force of the Ocean and Mother Nature. I pulled up to our usual parking spot to find that there is now a road there. I drove along the dirt road and there are building lots for 15 houses marked along the side of the road. My heart sank, I hardly recognised the place. I went for a short walk and found that the green space by the cliffs and down to the waterfall is still open but for how long I do not no, there are survey posts along here too. A beautiful space to have a home but at what cost.

S'more

A S'more is a traditional campfire treat popular in the US and Canada. To make it you roast a marshmallow on a long stick over the fire according to personal preference. Some people like it to be brown, charred or even on fire. You then put the marshmallow on a Graham Cracker or digestive type biscuit. You place a piece of chocolate again your preference what type of chocolate on top of the marshmallow. The chocolate starts to melt a little. You then sandwich it together with a Graham Cracker on top.

Now there are some variations in making this tasty treat. Some people like to use chocolate Graham Crackers. Some people put the piece of chocolate inside the marshmallow so that it melts a little in the fire. Some people put the chocolate on the Graham Cracker close to the fire so that it melts before the marshmallow is added. Some people assemble the whole thing together and then cook it over the fire. Lastly some people use Nutella chocolate spread on the cracker instead of a piece of chocolate.

No matter how you make it, this is one of those tasty treats enjoyed by many and is better when enjoyed in the company of good friends and/or family.

May 24th Cont.....

We ended up having a BBQ on my newly acquired BBQ. It worked really well. We ate outside on the ground picnic style. There were a few bitey flies around but not too bad. It was really warm and slightly cloudy. I caught the sun a little which I didn't expect. After the BBQ our Neighbours lit a fire in their pit. It was a really clear night, still warm from the day and the flies were all gone. It was an excellent evening. I think it was better then being at a campsite because we had more space in the backyard, no obnoxious Irish music until 3am (only Lewie's choice of Music) and the kids could run around and make as much noise as they wanted playing spotlight and tag as everyone in the neighbourhood were either at our fire pit or down the road a little at Burt's or gone out of town. All in all a good night. S'mores, Toasted Marshmallows, various slushy drinks and a bottle of wine later the best part was that I got to sleep in my new bed and not walk miles to an outhouse.

May 24 weekend

The May 24th weekend is a big deal here in Newfoundland. It has gone from a celebration of Queen Victoria's birthday to the weekend when a 2four( Pronounced too fer) is drank and people get plastered in a tent. A 2four for people who do not know is a create of 24 beers. People head out into the "country" have a fire and camp out and get plastered. I say country in "" because people often are camping in the city campsites and their backyards. Some people head out to campsites just outside of the city limits and others stay in gravel pits along the side of the road. "Gravel Pit" camping is famous here in Newfoundland. Gravel pits along the side of the roads are often full with RV and campees. When we first moved here we did a bit of gravel pit camping as we couldn't afford the prices of the campsites. We however were not in RV or camper vans. We had a tent. It was not all it is cracked up to be. Not only are you sleeping on gravel by the side of the road, which in itself can be quite ominous. There are no bathroom facilities. The campsites are marginally better as they have "facilities" which are outhouses. This can be particularly disgusting depending on the time of the year that you go. In the heat of the summer with the number of flies we get here it can be quite horrid.
Anyways back to my topic. Newfoundland is one of those places in the world that has unpredictable often strange weather. A common saying here is if you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes and look out a different window. It is because we are an Island in the Atlantic Ocean on the cold side of the golf stream and Labrador current. Often on the May 24th weekend we have snow & rain. This doesn't stop people from going out into the "country". The May 24th weekend is considered the beginning of the summer parties and celebrations. So the Question is what are we going to do with this long weekend......
Lewie has a friend coming over for a sleep over tonight. We may have a BBQ if the rain holds off. Mostly I am going to enjoy having an extra day off work after a particularly long and stressful week.

New Skills

Tom is home for a couple of weeks. He was delayed leaving Raglan and ended up coming by Halifax from Montreal. We were happy to see him and Lewie was eager to demonstrate his new skills learned while he was away. Lewie is in the junior climbing program in our local climbing gym and during this round of lessons he learned how to belay. He was so proud of himself when he first learned. I am very excited but initially was quite dubious as he is only small. The instructor reassured me that he is now old enough and responsible enough to belay for other people and that they have taught him how to and he passed the test and now has his very own belay License. We have been climbing a lot more since he did this as it now means he can belay for me when Tom is away. Lewie is very proud of himself and enjoyed offering to belay for his Dad.