The Shifting Sands of Time~~~

The shifting sands of time

drift softly through my mind

and take me home once more

to my ancestral shores.

Morning mists embrace my skin,

pearlescent tides roll in

and the music of the ocean plays

within my heart again.

 

The sun first rises here

o’er cliff and rock and pier,

and seagulls, whales and dolphins play

in waters just beyond the bay.

In spring the icebergs can be seen

majestic mountains so serene,

and one inhales this mystic land,

where old and new walk hand and hand~

 

Some interesting facts about Newfoundland:

*  It’s motto:  Quaerite prime regnum dei (Seek ye first the kingdom of God)

*  The only authenticated Viking site in North America is located at L’Anse aux Meadows, north of St. Anthony, on Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula. The remains of the sod houses used by the Vikings can still be seen there, along with some artifacts.

*  The explorer John Cabot arrived in Newfoundland in 1497.

*  In 1949 Newfoundland became Canada’s tenth province, although Newfoundlanders remain fiercely independent and adamant about maintaining their own dialect, culture and traditions.

*  St. John’s, the capital of Newfoundland, is the oldest city in North America.  

*  Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi received the first Trans Atlantic Wireless signal in 1901 at Cabot Tower on Signal Hill, overlooking St. John’s.

*  The first Titanic distress signals were received at the telegraph station at Cape Spear, the most easterly point of North A

merica. 

*  Trinity Bay residents were the first in North America to be vaccinated against smallpox.

*  As many as 2,000 icebergs, some as tall as a five-story building, drift southward along “Iceberg Alley.”

*  There are 22 species of whales, including the world’s largest gathering of Humpback whales, which feed throughout the waters off of Newfoundland.    

*  There are no snakes, skunks or deer on the island of Newfoundland.

*  Newfoundlanders are well known for their hospitality, their ties to family and their sense of humor. They are often affectionately called “Goofy Newfies.”