Wednesday, August 3, 2016
I’m sitting here writing, overlooking the ocean, at Pinware River Provincial Park, Labrador, Canada. This is my view:
This is why we travel. I took a walk on the beach this morning, watched a trawler haul in a catch and saw a whale. Love it!
This is my beach and a view of our trailer from the beach:
Whaling lasted about 70 years before the number of whales declined enough to not make it economical to hunt for them here. Historical records in the Basque region of France and Spain were what led to the discovery of the site a whaling station near here. They claim it was the first large scale whaling operation. Columbus first lands in 1492 (in the Caribbean) and a big whaling operation starts up in 1530 in Labrador. Amazing!
We’ve seen some roadside “attractions” that have puzzled us both here in Labrador and Newfoundland. Beside the road you will see firewood, usually all cut and neatly stacked. This isn’t beside someone’s home; it’s in the middle of nowhere.
And then, in a different area, you’ll see small gardens with a bit of fencing around them.
Again, usually there are no houses around and you might see several plots in a row.
Well, we finally found some answers. We had dinner at the Burnt Cape Café in Raleigh, NL (Newfoundland and Labrador). Good food. They had placemats with Trivia: How, Why & Where. I’m just going to quote the placemats verbatim.
“Why are there fenced-in gardens along the roads? Long ago, residents set their gardens near their homes, but the rocky barren land made it a subsistence enterprise at best. Then, in the mid-1960’s when the first roads were built, the newly turned soil along the roadsides provided a choice alternative for local gardeners. Now, every spring, residents till the soil, add kelp or commercial fertilizer, and set their gardens with potatoes, beets, cabbage, carrots and turnips. These ‘roadside’ gardens are fenced-in to protect the vegetables from marauding moose, which are especially found of the potato stalks.
Why are there woodpiles, snowmobiles and sleds along the roads? Many people living in northern Newfoundland use wood as a source of heat in their homes, and access to domestic wood-cutting areas is along the highway. Residents obtains a permit and cut wood during the winter when they can haul it from the cutting area using snowmobiles and sleds, stacking it close to the road. The wood is left to dry through the summer and in the fall it is loaded onto pickup trucks and taken home. The most common types of wood cut in this area are spruce, fir and birch. Every woodcutter knows whose pile of wood is whose, and these are respected. In the same way, the snowmobiles and sleds used for woodcutting are left along the road over the summer months. Everybody knows everybody’s snowmobiles and sleds and there are very few cases of theft.”
We never saw any snowmobiles near the wood stacks, but here’s a picture of one of the sleds they mention.
And I have to say, most of the fences I saw around gardens didn’t look like they would deter a moose for long!
We also saw thousands of lobster traps stacked in many places. Apparently, lobster season here ended July 1, so the traps are in storage. Restaurants around here have fishermen who keep caught lobsters in pens in the sea for their local supply for the rest of the season. Restaurants relying on tourists will close in September.
That’s all for now! Take care,
Deb
