This is my favorite time of year. I love the crisp October mornings, even if we’ve not really had one yet. To walk in behind Apsey Brook, in on the level, boots breaking the ice skim on the puddles, crisp air in your nostrils, its as close to perfect as I can imagine.
The only downside is the smell of the goowhitty leaves and flowers both alive and dead giving off their distinctive smell. What is goowhitty you ask? Go Whetty? Gole Weddy? Many pronunciations, but as for what it is, well its….. goowhitty! Everyone knows that!
Well actually its a combination of plants, or one with many names, or… I’m confused. In any event its Labrador Tea, Lambskill, and Sheep’s Laurel. Though one or more of those may be the same thing! One of the plants at least is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalmia_angustifolia.
Whatever it is, I think every rural Newfoundlander knows the smell. Its not really a bad one, but something we’re all familiar with as we traipse through the woods, to the pond, to the berry barrens, to our heritage.
If you get a chance, take a walk in the quiet woods soon, smell the goowhitty, play with the ice skim on the puddles, be a kid and pull it up and look through it like glass. Smell the frost, the salt air, and be at peace. There’s no feeling like it.
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.
