The coldest winter yet....But it was all that I had dreamed for..

A brief history of the little stormy place found....
...where the warmest hearts,
within some of the thickest skin in Canada live.






Heading out east, isolation in mind, I settled in the
Atlantic region of Labrador.
The region is a part of the much larger Labrador Peninsular.
The population is approx 28,000 with some 30% aboriginal peoples including Inuit, Innu, and Metis.
The land area is about the size of New Zealand...so you can imagine the vast, vast space.

Most of the non-aboriginal settlement occurred due to fishing villages, missions and fur trading posts.
Extremely poor settlers and first nations peoples came to
benefit from relief vessels operated as a part of the Grenfell Mission.




It was Wilfred Grenfell who recruited Dr's and nurses from the UK to serve the communities which have progressed from nursing stations to compose today's
Grenfell Reginal Health Services.





In 1909 Grenfell Associations built a nursing station in Forteau.
Located on the southern coast, only 13km from the Quebec border, the community of some 450 was built upon a fishing business started by a Jersey merchant in 1774.





234 years later, and still no road
connection to the rest of North
America.
Coastal freighters and ferries play
a critical lifeline for the province.
The onset of winter freezes the ocean, straights & bays.
Aircraft is now the only access to many necessities.

The fading opportunities cause emigration of the young
So the aging population grieve,
as they hold tight to their roots of this land;
they know as number one.

Within the community named after strong water
I lived and I learnt...
the way of the culture
the weather
the nursing
and much more.

Storm after storm
a frozen ocean did form







The Brooks, the Ponds,
what goes there beyond..
the white hills of the south
you don't hear nudin
but the buzz of snow-machines
or the silent jigging for trout




Go hunting or skiing,
ride into the country
or snow shoe away the day

Build a little cabin further in...
make life that much more quiet
in its already simple and peaceful way

Don't mind the nosey ones
as they already know your news,
every person is your 'uncle' or 'aunt'
and will bend over backwards
to pick any berry that you choose















Storm after Storm
the network strengthens
and the hearts will form a seal skin.
A skin that is shared..
don't be a stranger
my home is yours;
please come in.


There is no doubt the departure
will sadden a part of me
the part of my spirit that will
always feel connected to the Forteau
Community.

I'm off to look further east...to explore the UK and Europe with my dearly missed family.
As May arrives, I will set off for London where I will stay with Anna.
Culture shocked, I expect my eyes will open wide again to the differing lifestyles and ways of this world.
May-June and the roads we plan to take...
The contrasts of open country, language, music and appetite for life are exciting me steadily for up and coming venture along side my loved ones.

Ahoy, Summer ahead!

As you believe in the change of season,

believe in the future

and believe in dreaming

Give the future permission to transform

to enable a more awakened version
than ever dreamed possible
be aware of the life beyond which you are

Tomorrow's creations are all and only
the beautiful power of visualisation

Happy Dreaming
xo Erin