Extract from the diary of William E. Cormack who walked across the island of Newfoundland in 1822. Here's an entry when he visited Cape Ray.

November 29th. -- Cape Ray. -- Having slept the previous night in the winter house of one of the families at Little Cod Roy river, we to-day walked round Cape Ray, here leaving the French Shore and entering upon American Newfoundland, or that division of the coast on which the Americans have a right of fishing and of drying their fish. On the shore north of Cape Ray lay several wrecks of ships and their cargoes of timber. Cape Ray is a low point formed of dusky coloured trap rock, intersected in some places with vertical strata of green trap, running in an east and west direction. The coal formation of St. George's Bay adjoins. On the very Cape there resides during summer a person of the name of Wm. Windsor, with his family. We found him in his winter hut in a spruce wood two or three miles to the eastward of the Cape. The most perfect contentment, cheerfulness, poverty, and hospitality were the characteristics of the monarch of Cape Ray. His resources, through the means of fishing, enabled him to procure a sufficiency of coarse biscuit, molasses, and tea, by which, together with fowling, he supported his family. He wore no covering on his head, even when exposed to the inclement weather -- Nature, aided doubtless by habit, providing him with an extraordinary mat of hair, as she does the inferior animals here with fur. The high lands of Cape Ray lie several miles inland, north-east of the Cape, and consist of a group of granite mountains seemingly nearly two thousand feet in height. The scenery among them is sublime; the steep sides of the wedge-shaped valleys appear smooth and striped at a distance, owing to the crumbled rocks and blocks detached by frost being hurled from the very summits to the bottom, where they lie in heaps of ruins. I had reluctantly to behold only the treasures laid open to the mineralogist. Snow and ice lie in beds on these mountains all the summer. The vicinity of Cape Ray is remarkable for great numbers of foxes, induced here by the abundance of their chief food, viz, the berries of the vaccinium or partridge berry and that of the vaccinium or hurtle berry. We were several days storm-stayed by winds and snow, and the inefficiency of the ice to bear us across the rivulets, at a boat harbour called the Barasway, six or seven miles east of the Cape. The person in whose winter house we here stopped, his summer residence being at Port au Basque at the eastward, had now entrapped and shot about eighty foxes, black, silver gray, patch, and red, in less than two months; all those colours are produced at one litter. The foxes are mostly caught in iron spring-traps, artfully concealed (not baited) in the path-ways along the seashore. It may be noticed that on the west coast of Newfoundland, there is neither Scotchman, Irishman, nor rat to be met with; nor, it is said, has any member of these European families taken up an abode west of Fortune Bay.
My father,grandfather,great grandfather was born in the area where Cormack described the settler William Windsor.A point there bears the name Windsor point and if not for Cormacks diary i doubt if many would know of him.The scenery Cormack describes never changed,the partridge berries are still abundant and some of the locals still trap foxes.About 80 years or so ago the last local gave up having both a winter and summer home at or near Cape Ray.I stll think sometimes it takes a tough breed of people to live here,but not as tough as Windsor who almost 200 years ago became the first.A millenium Before Windsors time the dorset eskimo made it their home and disappeared leaving us to wonder why?I myself keep a journal of daily life and shoot many photographs of the community.I hope in many decades to come all my efforts can help someone(hopefully living in Cape Ray)to decipher much easier what life was all about here. Happy New Year!

Got an email this morning from the Downhome Magazine saying my site was nominated for a Downhome Web Award in the community category!So i want all who visit my site today to click on the link and go vote for me. It's in the community category there called "Tablemountains blogspot." and,come tell me you voted!hell,vote twice and come tell me you voted twice!

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How was your Christmas Day? How was mine you ask? Will it went pretty well, no complaints here. A very quiet day and my two granddaughters dropped by for the evening and that was good enough to make my day. Got plenty of Turkey left over and if you want some drop by and i'll be more then glad to give it to ya. I didn't get to have more then a few drinks last night with friends,but tonight were having our annual Boxing Night dance here in the community and like every other dance here,you can say it's going to be a good one. For some reason this party at our local firehall always turns out to be the best community party of the year here. Best thing about it is that it's only a five minute walk from my home.twenty minutes coming back because the wife has to drag me.(annual thing also)

If a tree falls in the forest does anybody hear it? If two gay guys fall for each other in the forest,does anybody hear it? Apparently so! Hollywood has produced its first gay western and it seems to be leading in the best picture category in the upcoming Academy Awards in the new year. Brokeback Mountain has already won top awards in New York and Los Angeles and several nominations for Golden Globes. It's not Shane i know but i wonder is this the start of things to come in Hollywood?I consider myself a pretty liberal guy and not homophobic(after this blogging,i might be considered one) but i guess im from the old school and still hold a few things sacred. They're screaming its a masterpiece,the writing, acting and cinematography is out of this world!Will i say that's great, but im sure most who go to view won't notice anything other then the theme. The last time i attended a movie i didn't like it was called"Titanic"and my wife weeped,wiped her eyes and nose so much i wouldn't let her put her fingers in my popcorn i had. I wouldn't let anyone put their fingers in my popcorn this time around for sure if i decided to go.We had films such as "Philadelphia," about gay men before and that one drove home a message about aids.This one im not quite sure what the message will be but im sure someone will tell me.

Looks like Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal will be pretty popular after this one in quite a few circles. Read today it's already called the gay "Gone with the Wind." I bet they'll be invited to join in a few parades.yes,yes,i know what your thinking but after reading this press release {"This is our gay 'Gone With the Wind,' " says Neil G. Giuliano, the former Republican mayor of Tempe, Ariz., and current president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a national organization that tracks the representation of gay men and lesbians in the media. Early Sunday night, GLAAD sent out a press release touting the film's three-day box office take of $544,549 in five theaters -- "the highest per-screen average ever for an adult drama, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc." Adds Giuliano: "This is a monumental gay film."} all i can say is "frankly my queer,i don't give a damn!"

Wayne's New Year Resolutions......
Yep, it's time for that part of the New Year, where out of some sense of unconscious masochism we set ourselves goals designed to make ourselves feel bad when we don't live up to them. I actually know one or two people who sit down and write up a list of things and by the second week of the new year give it all up.I never ever sat myself up for failure by making my own, but this year i'll take the chance.I have always been part of some volunteer group as far back as i can remember.Sometime in 2006 im going to give it up and see if i miss it.This year im going back to see my doctor and tell him i forgot to come back in three months like he told me 7 years ago.I'll take that surgery and have my darn eye removed.I'll also resolve to keep my blog going all year.Found this little joke and i think it sums the resolution thing all up fairly well.
RESOLUTION #1:

1999: I will read at least 20 good books a year.
2000: I will read at least 10 books a year.
2001: I will read 5 books a year.
2002: I will finish The Pelican Brief
2003: I will read some articles in the newspaper this year.
2004: I will read at least one article this year.
2005: I will try and finish the comics section this year.

RESOLUTION #2:

1999: I will get my weight down below 180.
2000: I will watch my calories until I get below 190.
2001: I will follow my new diet religiously until I get below 200.
2002: I will try to develop a realistic attitude about my weight.
2003: I will work out 5 days a week.
2004: I will work out 3 days a week.
2005: I will try to drive past a gym at least once a week.

RESOLUTION #3:

1999: I will not spend my money frivolously.
2000: I will pay off my bank loan promptly.
2001: I will pay off my bank loans promptly.
2002: I will begin making a strong effort to be out of debt by 1999.
2003: I will be totally out of debt by 2000.
2004: I will try to pay off the debt interest by 2001.
2005: I will try to be out of the country by 2006.

RESOLUTION #4:

2002: I will try to be a better husband to Marge.
2003: I will not leave Marge.
2004: I will try for a reconciliation with Marge.
2005: I will try to be a better husband to Wanda.

RESOLUTION #5:

2002: I will stop looking at other women.
2003: I will not get involved with Wanda.
2004: I will not let Wanda pressure me into another marriage.
2005: I will stop looking at other women.

RESOLUTION #6:

2002: I will not let my boss push me around.
2003: I will not let my sadistic boss drive me to the point of suicide.
2004: I will stick up for my rights when my boss bullies me.
2005: I will tell Dr. Hodger and the group about my boss.

RESOLUTION #7:

2002: I will not get upset when Charlie makes jokes about my baldness.
2003: I will not get annoyed when Charlie kids me about my toupee.
2004: I will not get angry when Charle tells the guys I wear a girdle.
2005: I will not speak to Charlie.

RESOLUTION #8:

2002: I will not take a drink before 5:00 p.m.
2003: I will not touch the bottle before noon.
2004: I will not become a "problem drinker".
2005: I will not miss any AA meetings.

RESOLUTION #9:

2002: I will see my dentist this year.
2003: I will have my cavities filled this year.
2004: I will have my root canal work done this year.
2005: I will get rid of my denture breath this year.

RESOLUTION #10:

2002: I will go to church every Sunday.
2003: I will go to church as often as possible.
2004: I will set aside time each day for prayer and meditation.
2005: I will try to catch the late night sermonette on TV.

A lot of the local people in my community have been asking about my Blogspot here.Some try and compare it to my website and can't figure out how the whole process works.So here's a brief description of a blog.It's sort of like an everyday personal journal but with this i can make it my little political soapbox or just ramble/rant on with anything i want.The newest writings show up on top and anyone can comment.If you check out the comments on some of my entries you can also view other blog contributors.You can view other Newfoundland blogs or surf off to Tacoma,Washington to view the Dixie Drifters blog.One of the people who posts comments here is serving a bit of time for a DUI charge and writes of his days in the slammer often using humor to help him cope with it.NL-ExPatriate,living in New Brunswick writes commentary on the province.Justin in Montanna has similiar interests as myself and blogs about his part of the world and Tracy in Idaho really likes to vent.So that's about all i can tell you about blogs!

I remember as a kid in the 60's receiving a camera for a Christmas gift.I think it was called a 110 camera and by late afternoon of Christmas day i had 24 black & white pictures ready to go to the local drugstore to be developed. Several weeks later i got the call saying "your photos are ready."It was bout 3 miles to that place (up hill,both ways!) and i ran that distance in record time.The 24 photos soon became 9 photos and several of them were kind of fuzzy. However it did not discourage me and i saved money to buy color film for my next big photo shoot. The results did not change much and seldom did i ever get more then half the photos on a roll of film the way i wanted to. In my teens another great modern invention came on the scene,the polaroid camera,capable of taking colored images and you could have the results in a minute. Still some photos showed a bit fuzzy and the price of self developing film was not exactly cheap. Over the years i purchased several more cameras , a few 35 mm ones.If i went hunting or to work in the morning i would try and have one in the glove box of my vehicle. In 1999 i purchased my first digital camera a 2 MP Kodak DC 280 and shot over 13,000 photos with it. The price at that time was about $1,400.oo and i considered it a bargain.This spring i purchased a 5 MP Kodak for half that price! Todays shots can be viewed or deleted in a second!The photographer has many options and can print them now even without the use of a PC. I prefer to carry mine to Wallmart and have them printed(much cheaper then i can do myself) i sometimes wonder where it will all lead? Technology changes so fast! I remember the discussions in high school of the future,talking about telephones that you might actually see the other caller on. I think we went quite a ways past that tech thing and im sure in a decade we'll see other surprises that i can't even dream of at the minute in typing this.

At midnight on December 31, the world will enter the year 2006.In quite a few places on the Globe we'll no doubt hear the sound of gunfire.That gunfire will be directed towards an enemy,not to celebrate the new year but to celebrate his/her death.In my community of Cape Ray,Newfoundland we'll also hear the sound of gunfire but in this case to celebrate the arrival of a new year.It's been a tradition here long before my birth that on the stroke of midnight,New Years Eve residents fire shots in the midnight sky.Rifles & 12 gauges sound through out the whole community announcing the arrival of another year.Im sure Newfoundlanders have more guns per capita then any other Canadian province but a lower crime rate with guns.I daresay this annual event of gunfire is illegal but yet goes unnoticed by the RCMP?Hopefully like many other traditions in Newfoundland it'll continue for years to come.

A knock on a door anywhere during a night of Christmas might make the home home owner wonder who it could be. If the home owners peered through the window and saw a group of people dressed in strange clothes and their idenity concealed then most would never open the door. Not so in Newfoundland!The home owner would swing open the door and listen to the cry...."Any mummers allowed in?" Indeed they are allowed in!
The tradition is called mummering or janneying on the island of Newfoundland. It's a time when people will disguise themselves in old clothing, stuff themselves with pillows, men will dress as women and women will dress as men, and cover their faces with pieces of cloth or pillowcases. Usually one or more in the group will have a musical instrument such as an accordian,guitar or harmonica. The mummers bring laughter, merriment, and Christmas cheer to each home, where residents will tirelessly try to guess who is behind each clever disguise. After a few jigs, dances and drink the group continues on to the next home in the community by foot. We have written songs about it and many paintings by Newfoundland artist have help promote this great tradition. It's a tradition that i hope continues!

The Charlie Brown animated Christmas cartoon first appeared in 1965 and like wine seems to improve with age.Charles Schulz the creator wanted A Charlie Brown Christmas to have the religious meaning that was central to his own experience of Christmas. And though the special was made in California, Schulz wanted it to include snowy scenes that recalled his native Midwest.
It was criticized as being too religious—Linus quotes straight from the bible (Luke 2:8-14). It was criticized for featuring contemporary jazz, an offbeat choice for a cartoon. It was criticized for not having a laugh track. It was criticized for using the voices of real children (except for Snoopy, who was voiced by animator Melendez).I wonder if it would of even been created in todays world? If so my guess it would of been called Charlie Browns Holiday Special,bible references would probably be non existent.OK, so back to topic i intended.......Charlie Brown spends most of his time in the cartoon bemoaning the loss of the true Christmas spirit to commercialism and greed, and no matter what his friends do to try and cheer him up, he walks through the holiday season depressed. That was in 1965! Will Charlie your a cartoon character and you never grew old like the rest of us.(excuse me for talking to fictional characters) Today it's not the commercialism you would have to worry about but the the so called politically correct who would want to change so many things in that cartoon.In todays world Charlie,you would be offending so many that i doubt if all you cartoon characters in your special would get to appear.(Once again,please excuse me for talking to cartoon characters,this is my blog so i can talk to whoever i like!) Will Charlie ol boy it looks like your on TV again this week and my two granddaughters will get to see you like i did 40 years ago. Hell Charlie, i heard they even digitally remastered you,that's pretty good for a blockhead!

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The polls have started already!News from VOCM aNewfoundland & Labrador radio station just announced the following,

Poll Shows Sweep Possible December 2, 2005
There's a new poll indicating the Liberals are in a position to sweep all seven ridings in Newfoundland and Labrador. Done by Corporate Research Associates, the survey shows close to 50 per cent support for the Liberals, 29 per cent for the Conservative Party and 13 per cent for the NDP. Pollster Don Mills says the two St.John's ridings will be tight but could go Liberal this time. Seems like many people in the province have their minds made up already! Most ridings have not even announced the list of candidates who will be running in January.
VOCM also announced today that Martin is coming to St. John's next week. Martin will be the guest speaker at a special luncheon hosted by the St. John's Board of Trade on Monday. I wonder what bag of goodies he will be bringing with him on the trip? If i could give Martin one bit of advice it would be,don't be seen galavanting aound with John Efford while dining with the townies.

Looks like were getting another visit from a musical legend!Mr Willie Nelson will be dropping by the province in May,2006. We recently had a visit from the great George Jones and it became the talk of the area for weeks. So if your a legend,over 70 and want to pick up a few extra bucks come on down to Newfoundland. Hell im sure in just a few years Cher will be doing her final farewell tour here! Now don't be saying "shut up Wayne,knock it off!" If you want to see old foggies perform and shell out 50 - 60 bucks go right ahead. Geeze i even wish ol Elvis was still around,im sure he would drop by also. Only thing im afraid of is that someone is going to Screech one of those old guys in and that'll kill them! Of course if someone like Keith Richards happens to drop by,then go right ahead.Im sure he can handle it!

Its official! On January 23rd/2006 we will be taking part in the Canadian Snowshoe election. Paul dropped by to see our Govenor general this morning after getting a non confidence motion by a vote of 171-133 last night. The three opposition parties voted in favour of that motion. Premier Danny Williams has already written the three federal party leaders outlining a shopping list of our wants here in NL. Danny ol buddy,you should still write a letter to Santa. He has much more credibility then those three!

Looks like Jack Harris is not going to run for the NDP in our province and Fabian says he's not sure yet. Im sure Fabian will do so because he and Danny aint gettin along well lately.

El simpleton,Liberal MP Gerry Byrne insists the election isn't necessary at this time. pointing to the Tories not having candidates in place in all seven ridings in this province, as a sign that we are not important to the Conservatives. Give it up Gerry,don't worry be happy, your constituants might not have to feel guilty about voting for you if you win by acclamation!It's going to be interesting with all the free loonies tossed around by the chief liberal loonie this comming Christmas.

Lets get ready to rumble!

History will be made tonight as the federal government is defeated in the House of Commons. It will be the first time a motion of non-confidence has resulted in the defeat of a government in Parliament. The Prime Minister isn't expected to waste much time before going to the (looks hot!) Governor General to ask for an election to be set. Likely dates are January 16th or 23rd.

Two familiar faces from our province may may decide in the next day whether they will run federally. Jack Harris who represented the federal riding of St. John's East between 1987 and 1988, is stepping down as leader provincial NDP leader after 13 years on the job. Sources say federal NDP leader Jack Layton has called Harris often in the past week, as the party believes it can win that seat with Harris on the ticket.

Harris, a labour lawyer, made a splash in a July 1987 byelection when he won St. John's East for the New Democrats. He lost the seat in the fall 1988 election to Tory Ross Reid.
Harris moved into provincial politics in 1990, and has represented a downtown St. John's district since.

The NDP have never suceeded in getting much of a foot hole in our province federal or provincial .

Conservatives want Manning another veteran of the House of Assembly to run in Avalon, the federal riding now held by the retiring John Efford.
Manning has been sitting as an independent MHA since May, when he got his ass kicked out of the Progressive Conservative caucus by Danny Williams for not towing the party line. Manning was accused of telling caucus secrets and criticized government policy.I knew they had secrets but it was the first i heard they had a policy.

I love elections mostly because money seems to flow so easy everytime one is called. We finally get to see some the the surplus spent that was horded up. Come to think of it,that's what it was probally intended to do all along,buy voters!Im hoping for another minority government more then a white Christmas. We wouldn't want a white Christmas because it could be to hard for the boys out on the campaign trail and much harder to kiss babies in snowmobile suits in their little sleighs.

The polls show the Liberals with a slight lead already but im sure thats subject to change when the scare tactics start.All in all it should be interesting and im hoping Santa wil bring us another minority government and i don't care which party has it.Who knows we may be back to the polls again by next Canada Day!

For some reason or another im a fan of the the animated series SOUTH PARK. Been watching it for years and it's going to be around until at least 2008. At first i figured this show would be pulled from the airwaves because of its content but over the years South Park has shown that no topic is too off-color to touch on.

Someone said "Where else on TV can you hear debate about controversial issues like assisted suicide, sexual harassment, hate crimes, voting recounts, and pedophile priests?"Where else indeed!

South Park has three characters who reflect various parts of all our characters. Stan, the “average guy” who goes with the flow and learns from the consequences. Kyle, the principled iconoclast who tries to oppose the crowd when they’re acting irrationally. Finally, we have Eric Cartman, who reflects the dark side in all of us. We use to have Kenny but for some reason, the poor frigger got killed off so often they made it permanent.We also see an animated cast of different characters,all adding to the satire of the show.

They say it takes up to 8 months to create one Simpsons episode but only 3 days for a South Park one.I hope that the South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone stick around for a while longer.For a list of celebrities who appears or was parodied on South Park,,,click here.

Some days i think i read to much friggin news!
Department Store 'Mannequin Rape' Hits All Time High

The period beginning on the Monday before Thanksgiving up until Christmas, is the peak time for a little reported incidence of mannequin rape, according to disturbing figures that have come into our possession says some news source..( I wonder who keeps track of those things?)
The attacks, where store mannequins are sexually assaulted, sometimes in the store in front of other shoppers, hit a peak in 2004 with over 4,000 suspected incidents. That number is expected to grow again this year.(WHY?)
The combination of mild winters, and increasingly sexy mannequins are to blame for the increase in what is widely regarded as a significantly underreported crime.(The ones i seen are not that sexy,maybe im staring to much at the girls who work there instead)
Mannequin rape may have gone unnoticed for many years as it had been miss-reported under other offenses, such as 'mannequin theft', 'temporarily missing mannequin' or 'unauthorized mannequin moving'.
In the case of 'mannequin moving', most stores do not regard it as a police reportable offense if the mannequin is moved less than 3 inches.(must be sorta like the age limit thing for humans)
A store security guard says,
"85% of mannequin rapes occur when a mannequin, which is on display near a changing room, is taken into the said changing room and then attacked."(now im curious about the other 15%)
Will at least you don't have to get it drunk with "Jesus Juice" first which brings me to the next part of todays blog.

Jackos balls finally dropped!Author Diane Dimond says michael jacksons has a deeper voice than you think.Depending on his mood his voice changes and according to one of his maids in the bedroom closet there were racks of disguises, wigs,false teeth and a tray of prosthetic noses. I always followed Jackos career and liked quite a bit of his music.I know this guy's life has been written about more times then most of us care to remember but when you think you have heard it all,along comes something else. Im sure were not heard the last of him and each time it'll be a little more bizarre then the last.

A friend just phoned and told me of a new spotlight he just purchased. It's 15,000,000 candle power and far superior to anything we take on the ATV when we travel overnight or go hunting with. Been sitting here and wondering why i need one and the results i have come up with are overwhelming.The skys the limit and now im just wondering if i have to buy it myself or con my wife into getting it as a Christmas present for me.

The rechargeable battery provides 40 minutes of operation on a full charge in full power mode, or 85 minutes in economy mode, which nevertheless produces 1,000,000 candlepower.I bet i could fry the neighbours cat at night when it's sneaking around outside my house.I figure i could give my buddies a tan with this on on next over nighter. (*WARNING) God help the first one that passes out while drinking with me (*WARNING) I just hope the price is right then my wife might buy me two! 30,000,0000 candle power!!!!!!!!!

Any fans out there of the ABC series "LOST?"
I have been a fan of this from day one and it's about the only show on TV that i wouldn't want to miss.I seldom get hooked on anything but after watching the 2004 episodes i looked forward to its return this fall. I see some fans have already established a "Lost Forum" on the web.ABC has already launched its first official pod cast back on November 8.
“Lost,” which airs WEDNESDAYS (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network, stars Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Mr. Eko, Naveen Andrews as Sayid, Emilie de Ravin as Claire, Matthew Fox as Jack, Jorge Garcia as Hurley, Maggie Grace as Shannon, Josh Holloway as Sawyer, Daniel Dae Kim as Jin, Yunjin Kim as Sun, Evangeline Lilly as Kate, Dominic Monaghan as Charlie, Terry O’Quinn as Locke, Harold Perrineau as Michael, Michelle Rodriguez as Ana Lucia and Cynthia Watros as Libby.

Always surfing the net for new blogs,new things and a few days ago ran across this blog.After reading a bit of it i began to wonder about the blogger.They're either from another planet or sending code to Osama in his cave.Check it out and if you can decipher any of it.Please,please come and tell me.

Read this weeks local paper "The Gulf News" from Port Aux Basques and i just wanted to comment on an article by Natalie Musseau.The article was titled "Catholics want more information on sale of properties." People of the Catholic faith in the Codroy Valley seem to have more questions than answers when it comes to the selling of church property in the area. Properties are been sold to pay off legal bills for sexual abuse of children by former priests.
One of the properties is St. Mary's Hermitage in O'Regans and going at $400,000.00. This place is well known as a religous house and a place of retreat visited by people all over the globe and helps promote our area and all of NL. Im not of the Catholic faith but i do think in someway this decision also affects me as well as anyone who cares for the area. Hopefully this place will not have to be sold and can continue to do what it was intended to do! I wonder how Maggie MacKinnon the lady who left this to the church would of felt knowing what may happen?I wonder how many people out there now of all religous denominations feel about leaving properties to their churches? (Blog Photo: Bishop Douglas Crosby who attended the meeting in the Codroy Valley,Nov 6/2005)

I've been getting a lot of hits on my Blog and when i check my site meter it shows the Downhomer website as one of the main refferal pages to my site.The least i can do is give the Downhomer Kitchen forum one back from here.

I always get my first view of morning news on www.vocm.com and this morning i discovered a local man from my home town had sorta declared war on MOOSE !
Here's the news article:
Fed Up With Moose November 13, 2005
A resident of Port Aux Basques says the Provincial Government is responsible for every moose accident that happens on our highways. Stuart Pearce says he's compiled a list of a dozen moose accident victims with the intent of getting compensation from government. He says the moose are the responsibility of the government, and like farmers, they are responsible for any accidents caused by their animals.
Pearce says he's also issued a warning to all moose on November 26th when he travels across the island. Stay off the roads because he's willing to use self defense to prevent any accidents that may lead to a death. Pearce says he plans on not just taking it down, but taking it out. He says in doing son, it just might save a life.
Pearce says anyone that's been involved in a moose accident and wish to have their name added to the list of names to be forwarded to a lawyer, can do so by calling, faxing or emailing him at 695-3149 or stuartpearce1954@hotmail.com

Got me to thinking!I wonder if someone who had the misfortune of colliding with a Caribou or Black Bear on our highways,could they also seek compensation? Or are the bear and caribou species exempt from damages to cars and people?When Mr. Pearce takes his journey November 26 across our island,what does he mean by "Stay off the roads because he's willing to use self defense to prevent any accidents that may lead to a death. Pearce says he plans on not just taking it down, but taking it out." Is this a different animal then im use to seeing when im travelling or hunting?The moose i met seemed illiterate but then again i didn't ask for their autographs and never really thought much of it. Outside of the novel "Animal Farm" where only the pigs could read i never heard of others reading. I always thought of the moose as dumb because sometimes when i passed a Moose Crossing sign i would see them on the roads not heeding the spot where they were suppose to cross.

Enough of the joking....i know every year people are killed in moose/car collisions and it's not one bit amusing.I have had a few close calls myself and just yesterday on a drive to Stephenville i saw one on the road side and a few on the backs of pickup trucks all neatly quartered up ready to take home for consumption.
Here's a great site from Cal White of Addventure X in St.Georges giving a few tips on highway driving. http://www.addxweb.com/pages/moosevehicle.html I think more education like that site would be more beneficial to drivers then anything else. No it won't stop all the moose/vehicle collisions,nothing short of a complete cull on the island will do that.Then what?Start on another species?
Im looking forward to hearing of Stuarts cross island adventure on November 26. Probally he's going to mount some kind of mechanical device on the front of his vehicle similiar to the old cow catchers on the locomotives years ago.

Finally made it to the big Five- O today.
They say your age is just a number but i would prefer a much lower one! Will at least i get to blog about this one because last year like a great percentage of the population i didn't know what a blog was. Most people who have a blog seem to write with ease but for me it's just a little outlet to rant or publish a bit of community history on. Back to the big 5-0, it's an age a few of my friends never made it to. One good friend died the day before my nineteenth birthday,November 9/1974 and it was a terrible moment in my life.Ten years later i picked that day to get married because i wanted to remember his life and the new one i started on that day.Other childhood friends died later but none seemed to affect me as his death did.I guess on my nineteenth birthday standing in a funeral home looking at him just 19 years of age himself made me realize what a gift life really was.

With Rememberance Day so close i thought i would add this bit of local History to my blog site.Short story of a lady i knew and the sacrifice her family made in WWII. Heres a link to the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry page maintained by the Pike family in Guelph,Ontario.

http://www.mgl.ca/~cpike/NOFU.html

Looks like now when i go Moose hunting or just for an ATV trip on the weekend i'll have all my data backed up on my Swiss Army Knife.I love tech just as much as the next person, but wouldn't it be better to keep something like this a bit seperate? In a couple of months the USB drive will probaly be obsolete while the knife part lasts for decades.Also found out it's coming with a MP3 player also.I suspect out there somewhere some tech geek is saying "how nice! a USB drive with a knife attached.

Anyone else like to dabble with Adobe photoshop? Been playing around with photoshop for a few years and even tried at one time to get the local college here to put off a course in it. I would of liked to know more about color management and a few other techniques. Using Adobe Photoshop is like having a darkroom right inside your computer. I played around with a few online tutorials but nothing can come close to someone who can teach it. I feel overwhelmed looking at some of the books on the subject but a video might be more usefull.

The only thing i killed this weekend was a few cases of Beer!

Just spent a weekend at a friends cabin knocking back a few beers and just clowning around. It's great to be able to get out at times because all to soon the work week starts again. On this little trip with the weekend warriors we met a few other groups doing the same and everyone enjoyed the little adventure.Here's pic of Cha Seymour showing Jerry Osmond how a Honda can ride over a Kawasaki anyday.

Just thought i would share this today. I've been a collector of Newfoundland Stamps for a while and have accumulated about 10,000 of them. Most are of little or no value and i sell them to tourist in the summer at our local museum craftshop. Got my hands on some old Nefoundland Checks with stamps on them. Apparently at one time in Newfoundland you could cash a check at a community post office just by purchasing a stamp.The cost it seems varied with the amount of the check. Less then $100 you would attach a three cent stamp,over that amount it was a five cent stamp,later increased to six cents. (yes,you guessed it,the post offices have always been crooks!) The practice continued even after confederation mostly because of a shortage of banks here. The one above is dated 1916.

As expected we saw one tractor trailer go off the road last evening.The winds had not gone down completely and a trucker chanced it.The guy got a ride to Port Aux Basques in an ambulance and the damages to his rig is unknown.

Weather warnings are up, as our region awaits the arrival of what's left of Hurricane Wilma.Looks like high winds and rain for the island.Once again im sure we'll see tractor trailers blown off the road in the Wreckhouse area.For some unknown reason truckers just don't get the message and suffer the consequences of their actions.
For wind conditions and a forecast of the Wreckhouse check here http://text.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/forecast/city_e.html?nf-18

First day at my new blog and i hope everyone keeps checking back for updates. I mostly post photos of my community and area and comments are greatly appreciated. I also have a photosite at http://community.webshots.com/user/wmosmond so check it out if you wish.