Thursday, June 2, 2016

Other Things

So, what else have I been up to besides dreaming about the UK? Well, I arrived home from the UK for one night before we headed off on a camping trip at my brother's family's cabin about an hour and a half drive from where we live. It's an idyllic place at the end of a very small community with no close neighbours. Both dogs and children run free and adults tend to either sit and knit, walk or tend to the many, many little jobs that need to be done around a cabin to manage its upkeep.

Our sweet abode for the weekend.
It's a tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador to go camping on the Victoria Day weekend (we call it 'May 24th weekend' usually) so DH and I were pleased that the weather cooperated enough for us to sleep in our tent and not inside the cabin.



As I hope you can tell from these pictures, we were spoiled by the landscape and the weather.


I got out for a couple of long kayak rides. That was lovely. I tried to follow two loons across the bay our last morning there but lost my nerve the deeper it got. I usually stick close enough to shore to see the bottom though the depth is way over my head. I like seeing the shadow of the kayak on the sea bottom and the shelter that being closer to shore gives me. Unfortunately, neither of my cameras are water proof so I never get to take pictures from the kayak itself.


The main living space of the cabin is quite cozy with its mismatched furniture and finishings.


My SIL was smart and brought along some of my nephew's toys to entertain the brood. Great idea!


I eased back into the reality of caring for three boys under the age of nine with a little therapeutic knitting. It's growing!


The theme of the whole weekend, though, was fishing. Eldest is quite the fisherman. His favourite book is a fishing guide which he carries back and forth to school to read during his spare time. May 24th weekend is also the weekend when unscheduled (salmon rivers are 'scheduled') fishing locations can be fished so all three boys were keen to get in on some action.


After supper Saturday evening, we drove up to a river where we'd thought the fishing would be good. We were right but it was a scheduled salmon river and we aren't allowed to fish those without a salmon license available later in the season.


Basically to keep Eldest happy and to get his rod some use, we stopped at the local wharf to fish off it. None of us were hopeful and no one got even as much as a bite but I enjoyed taking pictures of the local scenery.




Sunday dawned bright and clear and DH, our boys, my brother and our nephew headed out for some real fishing. We stopped at a couple of places along the way to the larger community of Branch but they were also scheduled. Finally, we found a little brook where we could see wee fish and the boys had some fun. I was the only one who caught anything and that was just pictures of the flora.


What a difference a short hop across the Atlantic to the UK will get you in regards to seasons. We are still very much in early, early Spring whereas the UK is out in full bloom.


Amazingly pretty this wild place we live in is though.


We stopped into Branch to a little shop where DH and LB1 (that stands for 'Little Brother 1') shopped for plumbing supplies while I ordered chicken fingers and french fries from the restaurant upstairs called 'The Loft'. Awesome view of the bay if you're eating in. We, however, did take away and headed to the wharf to eat our meals. It was the best meal of chicken fingers - including my home made ones - that I've ever had! The home made fries were magical too. If you're in Branch, NL, I highly recommend stopping in for a bite.


Now that everyone was sustained with grub, it was time for the real work to begin. We chose a pond on the side of the road that had been frequented by the locals but who had left by the time we got there. The picture below really reflects the landscape we were fishing in. These are called 'the barrens' and most people either love it on sight...or hate it. Luckily, I'm in the former group as is my mainland DH.


The fishing was great. Small fish but really good catching. Youngest and our nephew both caught their first fish! I caught my first fish in over thirty years at least. Everyone caught at least one though many of them were returned to the pond being judged too small. We did manage to bring four small ones home for breakfast the next day.


On Monday we headed back home to laundry and our other property owning responsibilities. It was a great weekend.




No comments:

Post a Comment