Fall in Newfoundland

The first question I get from friends outside Newfoundland these days is whether or not we’ve had snow. The Newfoundland winter is the stuff of legend, and I guess we’re all curious about how true the legend is.

No, we’ve not had snow yet. Other parts of the island have had some, but not here in Port Blandford. Temperatures during the day are anywhere from 5 – 15 degrees, and it still feels like fall. Winter is close by, but not here yet.

Fall didn’t really start until October. September was lovely, and although temperatures did decrease, it still felt like summer. But then, in the first week of October, the north wind arrived and bang, fall came with it. I’ve never really paid much attention to wind direction – living in a city, it didn’t really seem to matter whether the wind travelled along one street or another to get to my house. But now, it’s quite significant. North winds are colder, and can last for days at a time. Because our house faces north, toward the ocean, we really notice it.

It was shortly after this that the leaves started to change colour, reaching their peak in mid October. Photos don’t do it justice but here’s a couple anyway. Les took these.

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The dominant colours are yellows and browns, but there are a lot of reds too, especially closer to the ground. Our property was especially rich in reds, due to the maples, smoke bushes and burning bushes that were planted by the previous owners.

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We also started to notice a lot of mushrooms sprouting everywhere – our lawn, the roadside, and on Newfoundland Facebook pages. I learned a few names – Amanita was most common in our lawn. And I found these across the road – I think they are shaggy mane mushrooms. As they disintegrate, they produce a black ooze that is totally revolting to look at (and apparently not very tasty either).

Partridgeberries are at their peak in late September/early October, so we spent an afternoon berry picking in beautiful Salvage, about an hour from Port Blandford. They are less plentiful than blueberries, and harder to pick, so we didn’t have a lot to show for our efforts. But there’s enough to make a jar of jam. (If you shop at Ikea, you’ll know them as lingonberries.)

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Just past mid October, the first hard frost coaxed the leaves off the trees. They seemed to fall quickly, leaving the larch trees as the only bright spots in the endless forest. Larch is a deciduous conifer, losing its needles during November. I had no idea there were deciduous conifers – I thought that, if you drew a circle to represent deciduous trees and a circle to represent conifers, they wouldn’t touch. But they do! Venn diagram!

So far, I’ve only talked about nature in the fall. But there are changes in the human world as well. Many of the best restaurants close in September and October, and don’t reopen until May, leaving a handful of “family-style” restaurants that all claim to have the best fish and chips. Tourist businesses close, but at the same time, cultural activity intended for Newfoundlanders increases. For example, we went to see the annual “Revue”, put on by a theatre company that operates out of Trinity during the tourist season. It’s a sketch comedy production about current affairs and life in Newfoundland that tours the island every fall. Craft shows and Christmas concerts are starting to happen, and everywhere there is a feeling that people are preparing for winter. Snowblowers and snowmobiles are being pulled out of garages, garlic is being planted, and indoor activities are becoming more common.

So the snow watch continues. We might get some tomorrow, although it looks more like rain for us. But we are ready! We’ve had our snowblower serviced, and we’ve bought snowshoes. The bird feeder is up and attracting blue jays and juncos so far. We’ve had our winter tires put on, and got our winter gear out of storage. I have invested in new fleece-lined clothing, and Les has a new parka. Okay Mother Nature — bring it!