Sunrises and Icebergs

I posted these on my facebook page, but for those of you not on my fb, I'm posting them here too.

A recent sunrise Click on pictures to enlarge...



A couple of icebergs that have stopped by for a visit. There are a lot off shore, but at present too far out for a picture. Hopefully, there will be a lot more in the days and weeks to come.

This one is a bit blurry and the iceberg appears small, but comparing it to the boat behind it, puts the size into perspective.

Getting closer?

Sooo....according to Iceberg Finder....there is one al.most here.

*Happy Dance*

Hoping it makes it's way here...just a little bit further (and that piece of land to maneuver around ;) )

I'm watching and waiting....got my camera ready...stay tuned!!

Are they on their way??

According to IcebergFinder.....some icebergs have been detected. (This link will only stay active as long as the icebergs are there)

Woohoo!

As these are still quite a bit north....I'm wondering if they'll make their way this far south. Time will tell. I'm on the look out now (which makes my kids roll their eyes lol)...stay tuned!

From years gone by...

Well....it isn't looking too good for icebergs this year, although I do have a tiny bit of hope ...the air certainly feels like there is an iceberg or two floating around out there. A quick check of www.icebergfinger.com says different though....so I'm trying to not get my hopes up (well...ok..perhaps a little).

Here are a couple of icebergs pics that I am reposting....they are from two years ago. That was our first year here, and we were (well...mostly me lol) in awe of them. There were a lot that year and I named them all (all names starting with "I")....which made my kids think I'd inhaled too much salt air. I remember Jake asked me, "If ever an iceberg comes in that isn't yours, could I have it? I'd really like to have one of my own." LOL

Anyway....here are a couple we saw from our backyard.

*Click to enlarge them*.....they're so much nicer!

This one is Iqbal....and I have this as my desktop pic




Oh my...I forget this one's name....but it started with I...hmm...maybe Igor?



Stay tuned....if I do spot any....I'll be sure to post them here.

Look what came calling today...(click to enlarge)

We've been watching this guy for a few days now. He moves around our little bay...some days he moves in and other days he's anti-social and stays further out.

Today, though, was different. He literally came crashing into our rocks!

It was amazing to watch it so close up. It was like a huge teeter totter....one side would go up in the air while the other side went down, almost totally submerged under the water. A few minutes later, they'd reverse positions....sooo cool!

Larry and Jake went out on the rocks for a closer view. Even though this iceberg is a lot smaller now than it was (and is really small compared to most icebergs)....it still must be huge. In the bottom pics, notice how small Larry and Jake look (if you can find them!)







O.K....can you find Larry and Jake in these pictures? Click to enlarge and look closely!

A beautiful day here on the Rock (click pics to enlarge)

It was about 15*C (59*F)here today, the sun was shining and there was a warm, gentle breeze blowing. I went to our lookout to take it all in...I never get sick of it back there. It will be better when we get our benches back out there...hopefully this week.

Here are some shots...panning from south to north. I quite often get asked how high up we are or how big the icebergs are. It's hard to know exactly....other than I know we are high and the icebergs are (usually) huge. My pictures never do it justice..the rocks always look small.....but these ones just might show things a bit differently. Can you see the people in these pics? You may have to click on the pics to enlarge them enough to actually see the people. I hope this puts it into a bit better perspective seeing how small the people are compared to the rock.






Continuing to pan to the north out over the ocean....(well....you didn't think I'd skip a picture of 'my' iceberg, didya?? ;))....actually...this guy is a playful fellow. He floats in toward shore, then he'll hide behind the fog for a day or two, then float outward for awhile and so on. It's always interesting to see where he ends up. Today, he is out quite far.




Here is the view to the north. Once again this will better illustrate how high up we are and how huge the rocks are...can you see the people in these shots? Click to enlarge and hopefully that will bring them up enough....one person is wearing a red shirt which may help a bit.






We were able to get a start on next year's heating supply. To our surprise, Jake insisted he was big enough to help...so help he did....



















The night was equally as beautiful. The moon shining across the ocean is amazing. My camera does not take very good pictures and does not do it justice...but I tried.


This one is taken from beside our house.




This one is taken from our lookout.

Sunrise, Icebergs and the Atlantic

Click to enlarge and see icebergs on the horizon as the sun rises ....

More Icebergs (Click to enlarge)

Actually...maybe the same ones from yesterday but the sky is clearer and perhaps they've moved in toward our shore a bit more as well.

The two icebergs as we see from our back yard..



Up close and personal with one...



and the other....






From a different vantage point on our property...

They're here!!!!

Click to enlarge

Three weeks ahead of last year....the Icebergs are here!!

Woohoo!!!







There's a lot more sea ice out there today. It's really packed in and it looks like one solid mass of ice. That makes for a huge white carpet effect. Then when you add in the the cloudy (or is it foggy?) skies and the whiteness of the iceberg ...it makes it difficult to see them very well...but I was able to get a few pictures (although I realize not that clear or good).

Oh well....stay tuned...I'm sure I'll add more in during the coming days!

Iceberg gone missing?

I dunno...now the handy dandy iceberg finder map...says there are no active icebergs. Ummmm....how does a large 'blocky' iceberg simply disappear off the radar??? It's beyond me...I am a little disappointed (ok....a lot disappointed)....but no worries....it is still very early.

It's not that reliable of a map anyway. Last year all of the icebergs we had in our 'backyard' were there long before they even showed up on the map. Silly map. Hmmm...I just had a thought.....maybe he's on the move and his new location hasn't been picked up by the radar....time will tell I guess.

Whatever is happening....I'm still waiting and watching though! Eventually, some will come along!

In the meantime....if any of you happen to see 'my' lost iceberg.....please send him on home....ok? ;0)

Woo Hoo....Icebergs on their way???

I've been watching ...... and haven't spotted any of 'my own' icebergs yet....but a quick check of iceberg finder shows one already spotted just off of Bonavista penninsula....and....in the grand scheme of things....not too far from us. Woo Hoo!!!

I love seeing the icebergs.......they're chunky yet beautiful and yet graceful all at the same time. It's intriguing to watch them. They look like little chunks of snow floating along...when they're way out there in the ocean. As they get closer to shore...they get larger....and when they hit bottom....they get stuck in our little bay. It's amazing to watch them change over days and weeks. Some mornings, it looks like a completely different iceberg.

Mind you, it will probably be awhile yet (it was mid April last year), before they make their way down here....but I am watching....and waiting.......and hopeful they'll be earlier this year.

I'm off to make sure the camera batteries are charged and the binoculars are ready.

Stay tuned....as soon as I spot one....I'll be snapping lots of pictures and of course putting them on here.

Visitors from B.C. -- West meets East!!! (click to enlarge pics)

Woohoo!!

We had visitors here, on our little piece of The Rock ---- and they came all the way from B.C.!!!

A homeschooling family who live in British Columbia on the west side of Canada, paid us a visit on Tuesday evening. They are a family of seven and they've been making their way across Canada in a motor home --- their "Ultimate Canadian Geography Field trip".

We've 'known' them for quite awhile through a Canadian Homeschooling Board which both families belong to. Seeing as we made a similar trip in 2006, we'd been quite interested in their trip. We'd been following their story as they made preparations etc., but lost contact with them once they left their home. Fortunately through the internet, we were able to re-establish contact. By this time though, they'd traveled a lot of the way and were already in Newfoundland.

We eagerly waited for them to drive across the island, hoping they'd have time for a visit with us. The kids were beside themselves with excitement, when the family called to say they were near to us. We were finally going to meet them in real life!

I was a little concerned about the directions I'd given them. Being in a big motor home (27' I believe), I didn't want them to end up on the road to Cape St. Francis. Let's just say, it's not really a road for a 27' motor home. But....all was well, my directions must have been ok because they found us with no problem.

Their five kids and our three hit it off immediately --- almost like they'd been life long buddies. As the kids talked/played downstairs, the adults chatted over tea upstairs. Time flies and before we knew it, the time was past midnight. As Larry had to work the next day and the kids were getting tired, we all decided to call it a night.

In the morning we had a breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, muffins, juice and of course coffee. Larry was not too impressed he had to head off to work....but what can you do? After breakfast, Dennis headed into 'town' to have the oil changed in the motor home. Sandra and I did dishes and chatted, while the dc hung out.

Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been all that great here in NL this spring. After coming all this way, they'd wanted to see at least one iceberg. With all the fog/cloud/rain.....they hadn't had any success. They even visited iceberg alley...but the fog was just too thick. I hoped things could be different for them on this side of the island. I so wanted them to see an iceberg, even one (I was beginning to think a bergy bit would be better than nothing) .....they're just so impressive to see.

Wednesday morning didn't look any more promising. When we awoke, it was drizzling and the fog was so thick, we couldn't even see the ocean from our house. But...as the morning went on....the fog started to lift and before we knew it, the sun was out and the skies were blue!!!

We went out back to the look out and then down to the lower look out before deciding to venture out on a trail. About a week ago there had been an iceberg along that trail and I was hoping it would still be there, at least some of it.

As we made our way along the trail, I sent the boys ahead up over the rocks. As they approached the top, I could tell by the "Woohoos" and the "WOWs" the iceberg must still be there --- although it did enter my head there wasn't actually anything there and they were just playing a joke on us. Thankfully, they weren't. Not only was it still there, but it had moved in closer to shore and even though we were up quite high, we still had a front row view! Off in the distance, we even spotted what we believe were some whales --- Bonus!!!

After seeing Nature's travelling art show, we headed back for our house. They had other destinations to get to and needed to move on. It was sad seeing them go --- Jake cried and had a long face for a big part of the afternoon, he really missed them. It was great meeting fellow Canadian homeschoolers and sharing our iceberg excitement with them.