Thursday, December 24, 2009
Update - The Raging North Atlantic
Just a bit of an update -- our friend Paul dropped by Tuesday evening (the same night I wrote my last post). Paul is a native Newfoundlander, he was a fisherman (before the moratorium) as was his father before him. Paul grew up by the sea and on it. He earned his living from it. He's witnessed a lot of different things over the years. When we first moved here and would comment (more like get really excited and wide-eyed) about the sounds of the ocean, Paul would really have to listen to 'hear' what we were commenting about. He was so used of the sounds, they did not stand out to him as they did to us. But...the other night...even he was shocked at the feel of the ground shaking and the noise. He wanted to know if we could feel it inside the house....said he'd never, ever seen it like that.
The ocean continued on like that for quite awhile, well into the next morning. The ferocious waves did settle down a bit...but it was still rough and loud. Even today the waves are continuing and the ocean can still be heard...thankfully not to the extent of Tuesday night.
The ocean continued on like that for quite awhile, well into the next morning. The ferocious waves did settle down a bit...but it was still rough and loud. Even today the waves are continuing and the ocean can still be heard...thankfully not to the extent of Tuesday night.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The Raging North Atlantic
The ocean was rather tumbly today...make that very tumbly lol....
It's been windy here, again, with wind gusts upwards of 100 kmh (60 mph). Before the winds picked up though, the ocean became quite rough. It sounded like a freight train was coming .... or perhaps a lot of jets flying around way off in the distance. It was loud!
Then the winds picked up....and then the ocean became even rougher.
It's been interesting to watch and a little scary to experience. The churning, twisting waves, the white water, the deafening noise and the vibration we can feel through the ground....it feels so angry! All day the vibration from the raging ocean has made the house a little shaky and at times, the dishes in the china cabinet rattled. The force of the ocean is something else.
The waves were unbelievable as they crashed into the rocks. Here are a couple of pictures I took....but in actual fact, the waves got even higher than this. Sometimes, they were so high, the grassy section was completely covered (but try as hard as I did, I was unable to snap a picture at the right time in order to capture it)
Click to enlarge pics. Sorry they're not the best..but I took them from inside and the rain and ocean spray really shows up on the windows.
This picture is taken about 300 ft away from the ocean.
(Sorry about the flash)
The kids and Larry wanted to venture out into the back a bit...in order to get a closer look. Not to worry....they did not go back too far, just out in the back area a bit. They all came back amazed at the overall power and noise as well as the saltiness of the air. The spray of the ocean was everywhere and they were soaked. They could feel and taste the salt...an experience beyond belief and words.
Hopefully...it will quiet down soon.
White water rafting....anyone???
At least most of our snow is gone.
It's been windy here, again, with wind gusts upwards of 100 kmh (60 mph). Before the winds picked up though, the ocean became quite rough. It sounded like a freight train was coming .... or perhaps a lot of jets flying around way off in the distance. It was loud!
Then the winds picked up....and then the ocean became even rougher.
It's been interesting to watch and a little scary to experience. The churning, twisting waves, the white water, the deafening noise and the vibration we can feel through the ground....it feels so angry! All day the vibration from the raging ocean has made the house a little shaky and at times, the dishes in the china cabinet rattled. The force of the ocean is something else.
The waves were unbelievable as they crashed into the rocks. Here are a couple of pictures I took....but in actual fact, the waves got even higher than this. Sometimes, they were so high, the grassy section was completely covered (but try as hard as I did, I was unable to snap a picture at the right time in order to capture it)
Click to enlarge pics. Sorry they're not the best..but I took them from inside and the rain and ocean spray really shows up on the windows.
This picture is taken about 300 ft away from the ocean.
(Sorry about the flash)
The kids and Larry wanted to venture out into the back a bit...in order to get a closer look. Not to worry....they did not go back too far, just out in the back area a bit. They all came back amazed at the overall power and noise as well as the saltiness of the air. The spray of the ocean was everywhere and they were soaked. They could feel and taste the salt...an experience beyond belief and words.
Hopefully...it will quiet down soon.
White water rafting....anyone???
At least most of our snow is gone.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Real Wind!
The Wreckhouse.
The name alone sums it up quite well.
This is the name given to an area in south western Newfoundland .... and it certainly lives up to its name! It is said the be the second windiest area in the world (winds of a category 2 hurricane), and from the news reports and stories, I can believe it. The winds are so strong, trains have been blown off of their tracks (well, when we had trains) and blows tractor trailers over on their sides.
Here are a couple of pics from CBC.
Picture One
Picture Two
We've travelled through this area many times on our way back and forth between Ontario and here (there is no choice...the Trans Canada goes through it and it's the only way to get from one side of the island to the other). Although, we've been fortunate to not go through during an extreme windy time, there has always been noticeable winds to some extent.
We've always found driving through the area to be a rather eerie feeling. I love driving through it now....but must admit, on our first visit to Newfoundland, not so much (and we didn't even know about it). You see, one goes through this section about half an hour after getting off of the Ferry. I remember, that first time, wondering (to myself and out loud)....just where exactly we had came to ..... and why?? It kind of reminded me of the moon (or what I pictured being on the moon would look like).....barren, scrub vegetation, mossy grassy stuff covering the ground, the odd tree...if you can call them that...all twisted, very small and look like they've been permanently blown over by a wind. It was quite flat....except for the odd looking blobs of rock type things that seem to ring the area (which turned out to be the Long Range Mountains....but who knew?). There were no buildings or people and was certainly different than the area we were coming from. We wondered (and were somewhat concerned) if this is what all of Newfoundland was going to be like. Thankfully, it was not...and became one unique, beautiful section of a unique and beautiful province in which we chose to make our home.
But still....those winds!!!
The name alone sums it up quite well.
This is the name given to an area in south western Newfoundland .... and it certainly lives up to its name! It is said the be the second windiest area in the world (winds of a category 2 hurricane), and from the news reports and stories, I can believe it. The winds are so strong, trains have been blown off of their tracks (well, when we had trains) and blows tractor trailers over on their sides.
Here are a couple of pics from CBC.
Picture One
Picture Two
We've travelled through this area many times on our way back and forth between Ontario and here (there is no choice...the Trans Canada goes through it and it's the only way to get from one side of the island to the other). Although, we've been fortunate to not go through during an extreme windy time, there has always been noticeable winds to some extent.
We've always found driving through the area to be a rather eerie feeling. I love driving through it now....but must admit, on our first visit to Newfoundland, not so much (and we didn't even know about it). You see, one goes through this section about half an hour after getting off of the Ferry. I remember, that first time, wondering (to myself and out loud)....just where exactly we had came to ..... and why?? It kind of reminded me of the moon (or what I pictured being on the moon would look like).....barren, scrub vegetation, mossy grassy stuff covering the ground, the odd tree...if you can call them that...all twisted, very small and look like they've been permanently blown over by a wind. It was quite flat....except for the odd looking blobs of rock type things that seem to ring the area (which turned out to be the Long Range Mountains....but who knew?). There were no buildings or people and was certainly different than the area we were coming from. We wondered (and were somewhat concerned) if this is what all of Newfoundland was going to be like. Thankfully, it was not...and became one unique, beautiful section of a unique and beautiful province in which we chose to make our home.
But still....those winds!!!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Ahhh....It Has Arrived!
Winter...that is.
Yesterday (Sunday) we had our first snow storm of the year....and it was a doozy! The winds were high...100 km/h (60 mph) and according to the news tonight, we had 39 cms (16 inches) of the white stuff. Seeing as it's fairly early in the season for such a storm....I hope it's not a sign of things to come.
Time will tell...
Here are some pics I took over the course of yesterday and today. (Click them to enlarge)
The calm before the storm...so to speak. Taken yesterday from our back deck before the storm started.
Ahhh...it has arrived. Taken a couple of hours later...around noon I believe...
These next couple are taken from the same vantage point as the first two pics. Hmmm...where has the ocean gone? It's still there....it just can't be seen for all the blowing snow and cloud.
Can you see the ocean in this one? Same deal as the previous one....it's there somewhere...we can certainly hear it!
Still comin' ....around 4:00 in the afternoon.....
The wind blew all evening and it continued to snow.
This is what it looked like when I opened the back door this morning....
A closer look....
Out front (I couldn't get the front door opened over the snow) Click the picture to enlarge it and notice the snow in the trees toward the back and on top of our shrubs in the front.
Closer up of the shrubs
Jake and I decided to take a walk. Standing in front of our house looking up the driveway toward the road.
Standing at the other end of the driveway, looking down toward our house. We have a long driveway...about 200 feet....which makes for a lot of snow to blow out. Thankfully, that wind took care of some of it....but still a lot to move.
Yesterday (Sunday) we had our first snow storm of the year....and it was a doozy! The winds were high...100 km/h (60 mph) and according to the news tonight, we had 39 cms (16 inches) of the white stuff. Seeing as it's fairly early in the season for such a storm....I hope it's not a sign of things to come.
Time will tell...
Here are some pics I took over the course of yesterday and today. (Click them to enlarge)
The calm before the storm...so to speak. Taken yesterday from our back deck before the storm started.
Ahhh...it has arrived. Taken a couple of hours later...around noon I believe...
These next couple are taken from the same vantage point as the first two pics. Hmmm...where has the ocean gone? It's still there....it just can't be seen for all the blowing snow and cloud.
Can you see the ocean in this one? Same deal as the previous one....it's there somewhere...we can certainly hear it!
Still comin' ....around 4:00 in the afternoon.....
The wind blew all evening and it continued to snow.
This is what it looked like when I opened the back door this morning....
A closer look....
Out front (I couldn't get the front door opened over the snow) Click the picture to enlarge it and notice the snow in the trees toward the back and on top of our shrubs in the front.
Closer up of the shrubs
Jake and I decided to take a walk. Standing in front of our house looking up the driveway toward the road.
Standing at the other end of the driveway, looking down toward our house. We have a long driveway...about 200 feet....which makes for a lot of snow to blow out. Thankfully, that wind took care of some of it....but still a lot to move.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Annual Christmas Shopping Day
Every year since we started homeschooling, we take one day off to do Christmas Shopping. It's always a weekday, usually in the beginning of December. We don't take snow days, or P.A. days, so other than regular holidays, it's the only one we take off all year. It's become a much anticipated yearly tradition with our family.
This year's Christmas shopping day happened this past week. Larry had the day off, so it was a perfect opportunity. We headed into town around 8:30. We spent the morning shopping, followed by lunch at Swiss Chalet (I think this is Larry's favourite part of the whole day lol). After lunch, we finished up our shopping, completed a few errands and then headed home. We were even home in time to get the tree up.
I guess, this would be our official start to the Christmas season.
This year's Christmas shopping day happened this past week. Larry had the day off, so it was a perfect opportunity. We headed into town around 8:30. We spent the morning shopping, followed by lunch at Swiss Chalet (I think this is Larry's favourite part of the whole day lol). After lunch, we finished up our shopping, completed a few errands and then headed home. We were even home in time to get the tree up.
I guess, this would be our official start to the Christmas season.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
