-
Dead Man’s Bubble
I guess growing up about 400 feet from the ocean, the beach was a normal part of everyday life for me. Not a sandy swimming beach mind you, though it was more sandy than some. Random Island is like two separate sections from the beach perspective (at least on the Smith Sound side), up in Apsey Brook and Snook’s Harbour its mainly granite sand, and worn pebbles, while down in Britannia it was mainly slate and shale.
I loved to spend time down there, sitting on “Big Rock” when the tide was out, making messes in the mud, looking for brannistickles, , trying to grab a trout under the old bridge, and of course skipping stones. Skipping stones was harder though when there were very few flat stones. The slate and shale was better for that I guess! But I know we still managed, and if you got the throw just right, you could manage with a rounder stone too.
One thing we did try to do was make a Dead Man’s Bubble. Whats that? Well if you throw a nice fairly round stone way up high and nearly straight up, it would fall down into the water with a “bloop” sound making a bubble of air rather than a splash. It was tricky to get right, but I’m sure I spent hours attempting it!
I can see me now down on the beach below Aunt Mary’s throwing rocks up into the air, and hoping to hear that elusive “bloop”.
Raised in outport Newfoundland in a town of 65 people, I pursued a post secondary diploma in Information Technology right out of High School.
I’ve always been a geek at heart, but yet I love the rural life I grew up with. Fishing, hunting, camping and the great outdoors are still loves of mine, even if I don’t pursue them as often as I once did. Sports were always a big part of our lives, and I played many (badly) and loved them all.
Da worst ting about smokin fish…. Ah A Good Old Double Double
When fish were big and boys were smallOne of the staple things we had growing up was fresh, frozen and salted cod. Here in Nova Scotia haddock reigns supreme, but nothing to me beats the taste of a fresh out of the water cod. Generally the casual fisher back home used a hand line with a traditional …
Incoming Duck Missile!In our ever lasting search for a water supply that would last the summer, dad tried many things. In the summer of 1983, the year Keith had his accident, he and I dug a pipeline 660 feet through the woods, in the heat of summer, to a small brook that …- Calling All Kids!One of the major things that’s changed over the years, is the sense of safety we enjoyed as kids. No we weren’t any less brave or less of risk takers than today’s kids, but there was a sense that everyone watched out for everyone’s kids, and also that there were …