#naphopomo Day 8 Natural Selection

Today did not go as planned. Being a wash day I was glad for
any diversion and found myself glued to the live feed from
Nautilus in between rinses. Dr. Robert Ballard and his Corps
of Explorers aboard E/V Nautilus are studying Kick 'Em Jenny,
an active underwater volcano just north and off the coast of
Grenada. This is the best thing since the moon walk! Plus you
can ask questions which are answered in real time by the
knowledgeable people in the control room.Using remotely
operated vehicles, Hercules and Argus, today we saw,
champagne bubbles from vents inside the volcano crater with
temperatures as high as 256'F inside the vents, where there
were shrimp living in little hollows, albeit a little on the pink
side, and then up on the rim, a shark! Darwin would have had
a field day. What has this to do with the above image?
Not a lot, except to say that the camera batteries were
exhausted so it was necessary to adapt and resort to the
webcam.
.

Immersion

http://www.quintessentia.com/pair-french-antique-silk-damask-curtains-fabric-1.html

In my mind I am diving down as deep as I can into the darkest depths of crimson damask, weighted with multitudinous froths of lace edged petticoats, breathing heady, smuggled, 18th Century Fragonard inspired scents of rose, jasmine and vetiver combined with the heat, sweat and dust of the Caribbean. I am still searching for the music that I know she danced to. I sink into the myth and magic of whispered tales from long ago.

Walk.

Back in June, I damaged my foot and, with the exception of the occasional bus ride to town to pay bills etc, I have stayed home. The foot was maintained in various states of elevation, therapy- both hot and cold,- a plaster cast, heated soft candle mixed with aloes and camphor massage, then wrapped in a black plastic bag for two days (courtesy of T's sister who has recently returned from vet school) nerve and bone tonic together with more than a few incantations, prayers and a tiny bag of 'protection', just to be on the safe side. I was really disappointed at my lack of stoicism and bravery and somewhat surprised by my overwhelming thoughts of gloom and doom! T, needless to say, rallied to the situation with endless enthusiasm and kindness, providing every need, much love, understanding and more besides. So, perhaps you can imagine my delight at being able to 'make the rounds' around Cornell yesterday! It is an easy walk, on the old estate road, that takes you up past Annandale Falls and, instead of continuing up to the dam and the forestry, you take a left by the big mango tree, just before Kool Nursery. Now the road climbs a little higher before you reach Cornell. Here, before hurricane Ivan, was full of nutmeg trees, a very cool and shady place with the foliage so dense that it was dark even on a sunny day. We were pleased to see a lot of replanting and new growth. The track levels out  now and then drops down through Mango and back into the village of Willis.

T has his breakfast as we take a five just after taking the left turn for Cornell. These stainless bowls are great by the way, they come with a plastic seal lid, from Bargain House in town, $20e.c. for a set of  5. I drink ice water and relish in the foliage and peace and quiet.

Cornell is more or less as I remember it but trees are being planted and the land nurtured.

......and I would like to stay here a while but

we continue on around the corner where we can see.....The Sea!

There is something missing from our walk, no Beres or Xena. We decided to leave them at home on this our first venture out together since The Foot, but it is strange being here without them. I think T thought he may have to carry me home, but all was well and he waited for me patiently as I foraged around with my nose in the bush that I have missed for so long.

On the way back down the hill to home, T told me all about La Diablesse

 

(This video is of the truly wonderful Richardo Keens-Douglas telling his La Diablesse story )

and how this is her toothbrush.

A frisson, a shiver of something as we walk past the plant and on down the hill and then, with a skip in my step and a happy, happy heart, home. Thank you to everyone who made me well again. I am so grateful.

Burning Bush

What do you do
on those days
when the universe
appears to conspire
against you?
When hopes, dreams,
desires and the
best of intentions
are frustrated
at every turn?

T burns bush.!

Bistro

In the heart of the city
on a cloudless,
sun hot,
breeze free day,
we slipped through
the arch
on Young Street,
behind the museum.

Passion fruit
was the juice
of the day,
sipped to a serenade
of national folk music
being rehearsed
behind
these doors.

The aroma of
a sumptuous feast,

escaping the
proprietor's
inner sanctum,

enveloped us.

Spellbound,
with the scent
of culinary alchemy,
we sated our thirst
with one last swallow.

The unseen musicians
dispersed,
giving us
a timely cue
to leave,
the way we had come.

Full Moon

I see the moon
and the moon sees me
under the shade of
the breadfruit tree,
please let the light
that shines on me
shine on the ones
I love.

Footpath 1

The shortcut from the pasture to New Hampshire

Happy Monday

We started the day in Corn Buck. It has been a long time since we went up together with lunch and a purpose. The weather was kind, no rain, and a cloud filtered sun . T had begun work up there already and invited me to join him 'just to see'.

I saw

and set to, freeing stones. There is something delightful about cutting this bush, there are no monetary rewards, no fanfares or applause but once free of vine and vegetation, the stones stand for something that I cannot explain other than to say it matters.

T took the opportunity to wash the dogs' bedding in the river, spreading them out to dry on warm river stones, which have totally different personalities from the ones in the bush.

Once home I did my share and washed the white things, a task
divided into manageable bites by frequent internet visits and refreshments  between rinses, combined with some lively music to maintain the momentum.

Town

Having completed our monthly trip to town to pay bills, the heat got the better of me.We found a shady kerbstone and there, on the other side of the street, was this building. It is half way up St John Street on the left hand side. I wondered all the usual questions..... how old it is, who built it , who lived there, who designed and made the fancy facing board, who sat on the veranda, who sold what downstairs, what does it look like inside? The building held on to all secrets and T was getting irritated, so we made our way down the hill to the bus terminal and went home.  If you know, please tell...........

Independence

Children from Constantine school parade through the village to celebrate Independence Day. I especially love those cool shades and the green shoes........

Sharing good things

Nan Lakou 12 Janvye from Fredo Dupoux on Vimeo.

with thanks to yatalley and twitter

Step by step

This was going to be kept secret until everything was ready, but I need HELP.
Please come and visit over here if you can.

West Indian Sorrel

Hibiscus sabdariffa
firm red wax calyx
precision incisions
sharp steel
separates seed
and succulence
staining skin.

spice
simmer
steam
sugar
stir

Old rum bottles
sparkle clean washed glass
open mouthed
stand still
swallow slowly
and savour
season's sorrel

Birds on the wire

Six a.m. the cattle egrets, on their nocturnal perch, preen.
Satisfied with plumage preparations the flock departs,
simultaneously receiving runway clearance,
dispersing towards, separate, bovine assignations.
Come dusk, their appetites for parasites satisfied,
the egrets, in elegant ghostly flight, leave
high hillside garden pasture cow pens,
descend in formation, settle back to the wire.

Our Fish Friday

In the late afternoon, on a hot and humid day, I hear the conch shell call. The fish van is on its' way into the village. There is still plenty of time to find my purse and hold a bowl. I feel for some jacks, small jacks, well seasoned and fried in a little oil, to a crisp. The conch shell blows, louder, nearer. Peeping out from the kitchen doorway, I can see the little red fish van, parked up by Waist's Shop. T, upstairs, and not one to wait until they reach our gap, shouts "What you have?"
Being downstairs, where the house is of wall, the reply is muffled. T shouts again, " How much for it?" The van pulls up on the road above our house. The conch shell calls loud, loud, loud. T takes the bowl and returns with two pounds of Rock Hind and a smile as big as if he had caught them himself. "When last girl?"


With thanks to Guyana Gyal for the inspiration.
Read about the famous Gouave Fish Friday.

Found

It is not unusual, during the course of a morning,
as we weed or mole or fork the land, for us to unearth
some pottery shard or rusted garden implement from
long ago. Flat irons and horse shoes, axe heads and hoes,
red clay roof tiles and nuts and bolts, often present themselves
as the earth is turned, but, today, I found...........























We have had, 'river so high we cannot cross', rain,
and as I was running to the shed to shelter
from another downpour, the rim caught my eye.
Snatching it from the okra bed,
where it lay, smothered in the red mud,
I knew I held a pipe bowl in my hand.
We have found them before, at home, in the yard,
behind the house. T's grandmother used to smoke one.
White clay with a basket weave design.























Only on letting the rain wash over
what lay in my outstretched palm,
did I see the face stare back at me.
This was not grandmother's, nor her mother's
but a pipe from the 1800's,
when those that worked this land
did not do so from choice.

Comfort

Four flour sacks,
lovingly hand stitched,
French seams,
bleached, washed, rinsed,
island breeze and sun dried,
bleached, washed, rinsed,
island breeze and sun dried,
bleached, washed, rinsed,
island breeze and sun dried,
bleached, washed, rinsed,
the sheet that does caress,
cools and comforts,
so recently, sweat soaked,
now, shower scrubbed, skin.
Priceless bed linen.

Caribbean pride

Congratulations to Jamaica and Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man.
Also to Richard Thompson and our neighbours in Trinidad and Tobago.
Good luck to our very own Randy Lewis on Sunday/Monday.
Read more here