Is the word landwash a Newoundland word or is it used elsewhere. The word was used regularly by adults and children on the Burin Peninsula. I was reminded of the word when I saw the following photo and caption on Facebook. It was posted by Austin Clark from Marystown.

From the landwash late evening April 19th.

 

There is an interesting article, in the September 17, 2014 isssue of The Compass, by Marina Gambin about her childhood in Branch and the fun she had playing on the landwash. Story here

We spent many hours in the spring, summer and fall down on the landwash, that part of the land that was washed by the high tide. We would skip rocks, watch the sand floating on the rising waters, look for clams and other marine life that got caught when the tide receded. We would use our bamboo poles and try and catch anything that would take the baited barbed hook. We gathered kelp for the gardens and picked up squid that  were on the shoreline. The landwash was a playground.

I always thought the pronounciation was lambwash. Also, there is a pond, in Creston called The Landing Pkace Pond which we thought was Lamb Place Pond.

I guess this is the landwash, in Foxtrap, covered by ice

The landwash in Upper Gullies

The next few blog posts will ontain a couple of stories from my childood in Creston and memories from the landwash.

The end of winter was Feb 28th according to meteorologists. For many of us here in Newfoundland, winter ends much later. Today seems like a spring-like day. It’s sunny and the temperature, here in Conception Bay South, is 7 degrees celcius. Although it’s spring we can expect some miserable cold and damp weather for the next few weeks.

We spent eight years in the Ottawa area and we thoroughly enjoyed the transition from winter to spring. Most years, the farmers were planting their crops in April and the weather was enjoyable.

Because of our geographical location, there are so many influences on our weather patterns. You could make plans, in the Ottawa area, for outdoor events or jobs and be fairly certain that the weather would not change. It’s much different here at home.

I guess the psychological affect of knowing, by the calendar, that winter is over makes us feel better.

I haven’t heard of or seen a robin up to today’s date. They just show up. Starlings are gathering around looking for a place to build their nest.

Berg’s ice-cream store is open and there were a number of cars, on the parking lot, when we drove by this afternoon..There were many people on the walking trail today.

The ice has been in (some photos below) and is now out of Conception Bay. That made the temperature colder.

Hopefully, winter is over and we can get out-doors to do the many fun things that spring provides for us here in Newfoundland Labrador. My wife wants me to rake the lawn and she saw a little green poking through the soil. Plans are being made..enjoy the photos.

Note: The ice is on the beach. They are not on the ice that’s floating in the bay.