Hot and Dry, But Still Delicious!
The recent “hot” weather has not particularly bothered me. I haven’t been stuck in traffic in the middle of the day, our house is nice and cool inside (despite the lack of air conditioning), and it has been very breezy again.
Nor has the dry, parched landscape had much effect on my sunny disposition. We still have water in our cistern and my flowers are looking fine because I’ve been watering with the gray water from the laundry every other day. I enjoy the exercise I get from carrying buckets of recycled water around the yard (with help from the furry children, of course).
I’ve been feeding the sugar birds and the hummies (we now have two types that come to our feeders – the Antillean Crested and the Green-throated Carib), and we have a pair of green herons now. I love hearing their calls, just as I love hearing the guinea fowl’s raucous squawks, and the roosters crowing. The lively neighborhood birds add much appreciated natural music to my days.
Sunday, we went on a ruins ramble with the St. Croix Landmarks Society, and learned a lot about Estates Diamond and Ruby. The historical structures have mostly been destroyed over the years, but there are large sections remaining of the sugar factory, the windmill, the well and the Greathouse. There are also ruins of the tiny stone houses that the slaves lived in, but they are in the “bush”, not on the manicured grounds like the other buildings.
While we were there, we also got to watch a pair of kestrels on a wire nearby. One was eating a lizard while the other looked on. It was a fabulous day and there were about 100 people in attendance. George Tyson, David Hayes and Maurice Thomas, who actually grew up on this plantation gave historical information as we rambled around the grounds.
We are so fortunate that St. Croix has people willing to share their knowledge and experience with the rest of us.
April 28th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Ruins Rambles are one of my favorite outings. I saw you guys watching those birds.
Be glad that there are no peacocks near you, the fire to the west of us has some relocated this way – much worse than the guinea in decibels. There are also much more deer now.
St. Croix is so special.
April 28th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Thanks, Lisa.
I forgot about our peacocks. I love them, too. I love any sound from nature. I so much prefer any raucous natural sound to the earsplitting din of “music” from the neighbors’ houses, or the sounds of heavy equipment tearing up the Great Pond area.
April 29th, 2009 at 12:19 am
I love that when I did own property on St. Croix, it was in Estate Diamond Ruby. Very appropriate
April 29th, 2009 at 8:49 am
Thanks for sharing your Sunday with me (us) Terry, I know how you feel, the sounds of nature really can be the perfect tonic for any kind of stress. As for us, we had yet, sigh, another snow storm, and are now getting another! I did hear the perfect song of a chick-a-dee when I let my dogs out early this a.m. There is something about bird songs in the snow….
April 29th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I share your appreciation of real sounds. I’d rather listen to the many disguised sounds of the thrasher than music. The layers of bird, insect, water sounds are so rhythmic and soothing.
Exception: the sound of my Roomba as it’s digesting skeins of dog hair and mounds of Sahara dust. While I do something else!
April 30th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Oh, Trudi…..more snow! Well what did you expect? It’s not even nearly summer yet.
Love those Robots, Bonnie!