What's With The...

We've been here long enough to notice a few quirks not easily understood.

So, Newfoundland, what's with the....

....shotgun shells that litter beaches and grassy meadows everywhere? 

..the obsession with painted rocks? We know that Newfoundland is very crafty, with amazing knitted, crocheted, tatted, and quilted items in every shop. But the rocks seem to be just a thing left in gardens, on sidewalks, in the forests, beside shops and offices. they are mostly small, but these ones are the size of a large chair!

.....signage? It's great at the beginning - miles away you see a sign to a site, or a village or a restaurant, but when you get closer, there is no signage whatsoever. 

(no photo, because you can't take a photo of something that isn't there)

....old radios? We saw them everywhere, piled up in homes and shops and restaurants. Are they still being used or is it against the grain to throw anything that still works away?

...Come Home Year promotion by the Tourist Board that is fantastic, and yet, no one seems ready for visitors. Everyone we ask says tourism is only about July and August anyway, so why not a more honest Come Home Summer?

....reliance on salt for flavouring? It can't be hard to grow some herbs or get some spices to liven up the food. Especially as the salt cod is so salty to begin with. Do anyone have high blood pressure here? Maybe look at the salt and fat content.

....apostrophes? This one was Jenny's biggest buggaboo. Was no one in the entire province taught how and when to use the apostrophe? It's misused everywhere! Local signs, menus, visitor information, hotels, sites, billboards, even signage at national sites. Is it because the capital city St. John's has an apostrophe and so everyone thinks you have to put an apostrophe in every word that ends in S? 

Come to think of it, why does St. John's have an apostrophe? 

It's used for possession - describing something owned by someone, so St. John's what? What did he have? 

The apostrophe is also used for contractions, so is it short for St. John is? or St. John was?

What the apostrophe is not used for is plurals, so is St. John's really supposed to be St. Johns, more than one St. John? 

It is a mystery.