Sunday, January 21, 2007

Newman Sound





january 21, 2007

The three of us were out to feast our eyes on the wild blue - a field of wild irises, that is. The July 1st weekend should have put us there - in Newman Sound in Terra Nova National Park - at the right time (see my story in Kanawa, summer 2003). As it turned out, we were a couple of days early, the lips were barely opened. But we found a rich intertidal environment brimming with comb jellies, starfish, limpets, sea urchins and anemones grouped like baked apples on a platter, all in a garden of gold rockweed and other seaweeds. And good swimming (okay, not in the ocean but found a couple of clear ponds to bathe in), great back country camping (complete with much-needed bear hangers), and an old deserted community to wander around (Minchin's Cove is still full of slab wood and rusty engine parts from an old sawmill, a few graves and root cellar depressions from the former community).



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow what beautiful pictures! very architectural. What are those sunken planks of wood? Could you salvage them? If you leave them to dry for about a year they will make beautiful planks for a garden shed (or something), the salt water will have exposed the grain; to have this 'weathering' done for you is very expensive

Alison Dyer said...

Hello Kieran, thanks and nice to hear from you. Well, you've given me something new to think about - salvaging slab wood. That's the name of the wood that's sawn off lumber and left. We get it sometimes in the summer (dried, of course, from the local sawmill) to use for firewood in our woodstove. So, you figure this wet stuff could be used? Well, I like the idea. Course - we'd have to rig up something on the kayak :)

Anna P. said...

I am really excited to have found your blog. i enjoyed your description of the tidal environment. I am making my first trip to Pouch Cove next week to create my artwork at their residency. I will make good use of your inspiration

Alison Dyer said...

Hello Anna, and welcome - enjoy your residency at Pouch Cove. You'll undoubtedly find lots of inspiration. Look forward to seeing your artwork some time.
Alison

Alison Dyer said...

Anna - just check out your blog - your artwork is truly inspirational. Can't wait to see what you do in the Newfoundland environment. Alison