On making carrot beds.

there lie stones that like to hide
there lie stones from the other side

















there lie stones wet with dew
there lie stones with a greenish hue
there lie stones that demand to be held
there lie stones from another world




















there lie stones out of sight
there lie stones that gleam with light
there lie stones muddied and true
there lie stones that speak to you




















there lie stones lost in time
there lie stones etched with grime
there lie stones under foot
there lie stones disguised as root




















there lie stones of a different hue
there lie stones in wait for you.

Evening

As

the

day

draws

to

its'

end

the

sky

is

alive

with

a

flotilla

of

kites

that

will

sing

me

to

sleep.

Little or Great Blue Heron

Our
time
spent
in
Corn Buck
is
tolerated
by
this
majestic
blue
heron.












He
deigns
to
show
his
appreciation
of
our
efforts
to
till
the
soil











by
gracing
us
with
his
presence,
before
taking
flight
and
voicing
his
territorial
claim.

Wronged

So tell me,
what would
you do,
honestly,
if,
as you pass
the cakolee tree
and
you


see,









take a closer


look.
















In our
Garden of Eden
there is no time
for
Temptation.















I think this
was a
Lesser Antillean Racer.

To T it is
a serpent,

in the wrong place.

Easter Saturday

At five a.m.
the conch shell
blows,
time
to come and buy.
Pork, mutton,
beef and goat.
We know these
humble beasts,
their origins,
their pastures
and the labours
of their masters.







In the
early morning,
when
the mist
still
shrouds
the mountain,
no
shrink wrapped
disguises here.






This is village life,
raw and real,
filled with laughter,
and a slaughter
that bears
honest
testimony,











to a
hard working,
God fearing,
fun loving
people,
a community,
that knows how
to work
and move
and love
and live,
together.

Christmas,
Easter,
Carnival
all
punctuated
by
conch shell
fanfare
and food for all.

Easter Lillies

Dry Season

It is hot,
I breathe
hot, humid air.











T is busy
in
the hot sun,
forking
baked land
for
tomatoes,
and
these
beans.




I read the
instructions
carefully











and tell T
the story
of
Jack.










Mid afternoon
I escape
to the
river.










Dry season
has made
it a stream.











The sun
seeks
me
out.










An Angel
has given me
cive
to plant.
They must
be trimmed
before
planting.





Here are
some she
prepared
earlier.









The mountain
disappears
behind
a cloud
full of
promise.
I race
to make
holes in which
to plant
the beans.
The heavy drops
fall and evaporate and I go to the river
with the bucket.

Secrets of the soil

From time to time, when we are working here,
as T forks and I pull out roots and stones, we are
sometimes rewarded with pottery shards,
reminding us of the others who were here before.

These
shards
intrigue
me.
I
love
the
liquidity
of
the
blue
glazes,
the
detail,
density,
depth
and
delicacy
of
the
designs.


I think the above are from the
'Asiatic Pheasants' design.
























There are some pieces of the Willow pattern


























and a most delightful blog was also found, whilst
searching for more information;
'How to draw a Willow Pattern plate'
is a wonderful project that reinforced my desire
to delve deeper into the creativity involved in
these pieces.






















My favourite shard, to date, shows two people
watching a third, who appears to be crossing a bridge
to a fort, that lies below a mountain range,

























and bares this curious image on the reverse side.

Turmeric travails

Some time ago, here, the turmeric, known
as saffron in Grenada, flowered and before long,

was ready to harvest.

Six plants bore a bounty of succulent fingers

of spice.

The fingers were 'chipped', sliced thinly, and left

to dry in the hot sun.

There is a very happy woman in 'The Spice Isle",

who, thanks to her wonderful neighbour,

for showing her how,

and to Pa for giving her her own grinder,

(made in the Czech Republic, )

for her birthday next week,

got

two jars full of hard work, sunshine, happiness and health.

It wasn't me

I really tried, I really did,

I checked the camera settings,

reformatted the card,

passed down besides the river

and concentrated hard

to focus on my promises

of hummingbird and nest

but Internet deprived me

of giving of my best.

So now, at last, you have it and for those of you in doubt,

location is what hummingbirds, when nest building, seek out.

Blur

I believe this tiny little bird to be, either, a Vervain Hummingbird or, possibly, the smallest bird in the world, a Bee Hummingbird. Either way, I forgot to adjust the setting on my camera so I will return tomorrow to see if I can get a better shot. To give some idea of scale, the diameter of the nest is no bigger than one egg case holder that you get when you buy eggs in the supermarket. I could wrap my finger and thumb around it.

Caught red handed stealing the bananas ready for market is a regular visitor in our

kitchen. A male Lesser Antillean Bullfinch.

Finally, a Cattle Egret I think, taken from the Grenada Yacht Club with no cows in sight.

I love my Canon A530, not the ideal model for birding shots but my constant companion for capturing special moments, think I might treat the lens to a little clean.

Quite in the cocoa.

Before
Ivan,
there
was
a
lot
of
cocoa
grown
in
Grenada.
Some
trees
still
remain.
This
one
is
by
the
river,
near
where we made the carrot beds in Corn Buck . Some years ago now, I remember an animated discussion, between my co workers, who were disputing the paternity of one of their younger sister's, soon to be, baby.
Apparently, the child was conceived 'quite in the cocoa'.
A blessing, to be sure.

"Cocoa"
watercolour, 9"x12"

Dydd Dewi Sant Hapus

Happiness

The day draws

to a close

and still

in my

garden clothes,

mosquitoes

fly in the

wake

of the fan

as T cooks and shows me the love of the man

who brings me red wine and encouraging words

as the paint flows from the brush and my soul soars.

Fluffy fun

Darrel from Green Withens Birding sent this to me the other day. The top of the page was missing but I think the idea is for you to copy it, delete my answers and replace them with your own, sending it back and on, to whosoever you choose. I don't normally enjoy 'forwards' but I found this one entertaining. If you feel to, please email me with your answers, I am curious,
(and confidential) and no, I don't know what happened to numbers 6, 45 and 49.
heatherzoomer@yahoo.co.uk

1. What time did you get up this morning? 05.00a.m.
2. Diamonds or pearls? neither
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Mission Impossible I think
4. What is your favorite TV show? anything with David Attenborough
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? black coffee, golden virginia
7. What food do you dislike? pig face, cow heel, tripe
8. What is your favourite CD at the moment? The Mighty Sparrow, Calypso compilation
9. What kind of car do you drive? Nissan '95 2400 pick up
10. Favourite sandwich? T's cheese, onion, parsley and tomato
11. What characteristic do you despise? intolerance
12. Favourite item of clothing? whatever is clean
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, were would you go? Senegal
14. What colour is your bathroom? Green and orange
15. Favourite brand of clothing? Auntie Edlyn, in Mount Hartman
16. Where would you retire to? I won't be
17. What was your most recent memorable birthday? the last one
18. Favourite sport to watch? Liverpool football club closely followed by Stanford 20 20 cricket
19. Furthest place you are sending this? No idea
20. Who do you least expect to send this back? Never expect
21. Person you expect to send it back first? ditto
22. Favourite saying ? "KNOWLEDGE rests not upon truth alone, but upon error also."Carl Jung
23. When is your birthday? March 19th
24. Are you a morning person or a night person? morning
25. What is your shoe size? 5 U.K.
26. Pets? 1 dog, 1 cat, 18 rabbits and counting
27. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? the celery seeds are up
28. What did you want to be when you were little? grown up
29. How are you today? still growing
30. What is your favourite candy? real Turkish delight
31. What is your favourite flower? gypsophilia
32. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? tomorrow
33. What church do you attend? depends on who is getting married or who dead
34. What is your full name? Moomin Zoomin
35. What are you listening to right now? the obituaries on next door's t.v.
36. What was the last thing you ate? Italian tuna and herb potatoes
37. Do you wish on stars? always
38. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? pink
39. How is the weather right now? 73'F with a nice breeze
40. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Dad
41. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yes, he never fails to surprise me
42. Favourite soft drink? T's home made juice
43. Favourite restaurant(s)? Home
44. Hair colour? L'Oreal mahogany right now
46. Favourite day of the year? today
47. What was your favorite toy as a child? Edward bear
48. Summer or winter? summer
50. Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate
51. Do you want your friends to email you back? that would be nice
52. When was the last time you cried? when I was upset
53. What is under your bed? 2 suitcases and T's trainers
54 Who is the friend you have had the longest? my children
55. What did you do last night? dreamt

It is good to know a little about your friends and family, n,est pas?Be Blessed

Self portrait

She's back, seemingly, with a vengeance,
not so,
just intention, concentration and determination.
T says this is how I look when
I am happy.

Singlehanded sailing kitecam compilation

Absent

This is where Zooms sits when she is blogging.

The chair is empty because she is tending to all

the creative things that are crying for attention.

She is trying very hard to do what her heart

really wants her to do. She may be a while.

AWOL

Remember this?

Moaning Minnie has become very big for her boots.

Whilst still very shy of people she has become a fearsome huntress.

She no longer moans continuously and we now call her Cathy,

pronounced 'Catty' here. Yes, I know. She has been content with her,

somewhat limited territory, comprising of the upstairs hall, bedroom

and veranda, up until now.

Last night, presumably by way of the adjacent breadfruit tree,

she went out,

only to reappear in the early hours just before dawn, when I recognised her commanding cries issuing from outside the front door.

She has become a 'catten', the feline equivalent of a teenager,

beguiling, belligerent and bossy.