This time of year my thoughts turn to home. While I have never regretted our move to Prince Edward Island to be near our daughter and her family, Newfoundland will forever be in my heart. There is something about that place that draws many Newfoundlanders back, if only in thought.
My brother, Frank, and his family still live there, so I will always be connected to my homeland through them. However, the attraction is genetic, like the Atlantic salmon that swim from the ocean up-river every year to reach their spawning pools inland.
Newfoundlanders have that urge to stay connected to that place we call home.
Is it the environment or the people, nature or nurture, that draws us? Both, I contend, the people having become who they are because of the environment.
That environment is harsh, yet so beautiful, cased in rock,
some of the oldest in the world. It challenged our ancestors who fought for every inch of soil as they tried to eek a living from the rock and the sea.
The ocean provided their raison d'être, the cold North Atlantic, home of the Atlantic cod.
That water claimed many of them, as they fished to feed their families.
It, and the rocky shore, made them depend on each other,
wove them together like the strands in the nets the men made to fish.
Prince Edward Island
is beautiful in its own way and I love it, but the rock beacons this time every year.
Home...
16 comments:
Well, I'm not a Newfoundlander, but I have a strong attraction to the sea, having spent my childhood by the sea on the other side of the Atlantic, and I return to visit NF as often as I can. The cliffs, rocks, rain, drizzle and fog, the spray, the fishing boats, the fish, the friendly people, it all means a second home to me. I hope I'll visit in 2016.
I'm sure you know that old joke about everyone in Heaven being happy but Newfoundlanders, who want to go home!
It looks to be a beautiful if harsh environment, I guess the harsh conditions have bred tough people. Home is always home, and I know I often feel drawn back to North Yorkshire.
It’s not only the Newfoundland people that are a tough breed, I once fostered a Newfoundland Dog. He had a thick waterproof coat, the cold and wet did not bother him and he would swim in the river in a cold mid-winter.
Marie, Love the pics of Big Falls. What a beautiful spot!
The sea draws us in I think. I feel sorry for anyone who has been land locked all of their lives.
Lol. I know that one and so agree.
Those dogs can save lives in the cold Atlantic. They are gentle giants.
It is amazing to watch the salmon jumping the falls. They are so determined to get home.
It looks a stunning place.
It is, Adrian. Rugged and beautiful.
What a truly beautiful and moving photo essay about home.
Thank you, Mage. It is heartfelt, believe me. I know what I left but I appreciate what I found here as well.
Good for you to move to be closer to family. We did the same. Unlike you, however, I don't miss the old place. I think I would miss Newf, however. In fact, I miss having never been there.
I think I shared with you that my oldest sister and husband spent some years living in Newfoundland back in the '60's. They did find it "harsh" but loved it.
Your photos are amazing.
It's not too late to visit, you know.
It is a beautiful place with amazing people.
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