Happy Anniversary!

Well, I can't believe it's been a full year since our arrival here in Grenada! Where has the time gone? I suppose I can conclude that it doesn't matter WHERE you live for time to pass by quickly! So for those of you who think we have gone to the "end of the earth" to just sit in our cushy hammock to watch the fruit grow... think again! (Actually, I don't think I've been in that hammock since Easter!) The other morning I noticed this huge bug hanging above me as I walked out to the carport!

Speaking of fruit... it's the time of year for mangoes! Although I hear they're coming in a little late this year, we've just begun getting some good ripe ones off our tree. Unfortunately, it appears that the avocado trees will not be bearing any fruit this year! Although we had wheelbarrows full of them last year, for some reason there's not one single avocado on either of our two trees this year! We have a number of banana trees with bunches on them, but they seem to take quite awhile to ripen. Scott's begun to harvest guava, and last week someone gave us a passion fruit vine that we planted behind the house. So we'll be looking forward to adding passion fruit to our own special blend of juice!

Nearly 5 years after Hurricane Ivan ripped off many of the historic church roofs, we happened to notice they've begun replacing the roof on the catholic church in St. George's. There currently are 3 very visible churches in the town that still have not been repaired since the storm. This will be a welcome addition to the landscape when it's completed!

The past few weeks have been extremely busy for us... mainly because I was working on a photography job for a local event. I photographed 80+ dancers and 4 groups for my neighbor's dance studio. The images were used on the program for their big end of year show. At the same time, we had Windjammer friends visiting from Boston... and another couple of friends were preparing to leave Grenada for good. I also photographed their teenage son on the beach before they left. (He'll be finishing his final year of school back in Montana.)

While I've been doing all this running around, Scott's continuing to work on his shutter project. He may be at a roadblock at the moment because he doesn't have all the hinges necessary to mount them... he bought everything the store had and is now waiting for them to get another shipment. (This may take awhile!)

Last week I took the local bus to town, to meet a friend for lunch. (My driver's license had expired the day before and Scott needed the car later in the day.) Grenada actually has a pretty good public transit system, which makes it very easy to get around. Their "buses" are actually vans that can hold up to 16 passengers... plus the driver. (No seatbelts required, so they can always squeeze in a few more!) It's a 5-min walk for me to catch the bus at the St. Paul's police station, where the buses pass by frequently... no schedule, really. On this day, I hadn't even made it to the top of the hill (where the bus stops)... They must have seen me heading there, so the bus was backing down the hill to pick me up! This ride would take me into St. George's, to a fairly large bus terminal. I then took a different bus to Grand Anse, where I met my friend. The cost is $2.50 EC per ride (less than $1 US), and I never had to wait! So it really didn't take me much longer to go there by bus than it would have if I had driven myself. They don't run on Sundays or holidays, so we often given people a lift if we see them walking along the main roads when we're out & about. (Kinda reminds you of the days when you could actually hitchhike safely back in the states!)

The last time I wrote, I talked about all the dogs in the neighborhood. The other day I was in the kitchen & heard the water running in the slop sink out in the carport. When I looked out the window I was shocked at what I saw! ... There was Scott, lathering up & hosing down the neighbor's fluffy dog in the sink! (Of course, I had to get a picture!) The dog is now spending most of her time with him these days... only going home to get fed! She's still not allowed to be up on our veranda, but I've noticed she's sleeping at the top of the driveway at night. She's a little too yappy for me... as she protects her "new" second home!

For those of you interested, I finally got the cortisone shot in my wrist & it's helped a great deal! (Wasn't nearly as painful as I anticipated!) I've got a new pair of pinking shears, so I'm ready to get back to sewing again! I'm also looking forward to getting back to some basic exercising (like pushups)... something I haven't been able to do for a few years because of a shoulder injury, then this wrist problem.

Still no plans to head home for a visit... but I'm working on that!

Barking Dogs, Fire Ants, and Wormy Things

Ok... you may have already guessed what these three things have in common. They are things we find annoying down here. (Sometimes making us crazy!)

The fire ants are everywhere (outside). They're so small it's easy to overlook them... and by the time you realize they're there, it's too late! Yesterday I was working in the yard weeding my garden. I was wearing gardening gloves (in case there are slimy things down there I don't want to touch!), protecting my hands from thorns, etc. Then I noticed stinging on my ankles... immediately followed by more stinging on my wrist and arms. ANTS! A friend & I decided the other day that their game plan is for all of them to get into position covering whatever available skin they can get to... then it's "1, 2, 3... BITE!" Because once you feel that first bite, you're already covered. So first I was standing on an ant hill, so I moved. Then I was pulling weeds from an area that disturbed them... now they're on the weeds that I'm holding in my hands! THEN I went further up the hill to transplant a few things and I had to sit on the ground because it was so steep. You guessed it! I found myself sitting on them! And now they were all over me! At that point, I determined that I was finished with yard work for the day! [Today I cleaned the house.]

Now on to the barking dogs: Most households down here have at least one dog. There are 10 dogs among the 4 houses closest to us (2 houses beside us, and 2 across the street). Unfortunately, the dogs are left to run loose around the neighborhood... and no one gets them spayed or neutered. They are covered with fleas & ticks, and many of them have numerous cuts & scrapes from fighting. We don't have a fence up so they run through our property, do their business, and even hang out (with Scott) outside his shop below. All but one are pothounds... 3 females & 7 males. (The one female looks like a lhasa apso?) Now, you can just imagine what it's like around here when the "ladies" go into heat!

The female from across the street is in heat now, and for the past week this "pile" of dogs goes rumbling up & down the street below our bedroom during the night. This starts around 2:30-3:00 am and continues for a few hours... with incessant barking the whole time! So we haven't been getting much sleep. Finally Scott mentioned to the neighbor that we may have to take some drastic action if he doesn't do something about this. So for the past 2 nights he's kept the female dog in his basement at night... and we've finally gotten some decent sleep because that's solved the problem for now. Scott thanked him for that the next day... then asked him if he could do something about the thunder that rumbled through during a bad storm as well! (First he looked puzzled, then just smiled!)

I find it upsetting to see so many dogs on the loose that are not well cared for. One morning we noticed one of the (white) male dogs had a "pink" shoulder and could not use one leg. The pink was actually from an injury where he was bleeding. His leg had a pretty bad cut at the joint, and his eye was injured as well. Although he could barely walk (for days), no one seemed to care. In a few months, we'll have 2 more litters of puppies (the other female pothound is pregnant too). This will just add to the insanity! (PHOTOS show the injured white dog, the tan female dog, and the "fluffy" dog... guarding Scott's shop!)

And finally, about the "wormy things"... I've found photos of them on line listed as millipedes, but the locals call them congarees. They are black, 4-5 inches long, and slow-moving (so easy to kill). They seem to appear out of nowhere! Scott has been going outside first thing in the morning and going around killing as many as he finds... one morning he reported killing 45! Occasionally we see them in the house, but not very often. Mostly they're outside on the fruit trees, but we find them on the veranda, the driveway, and in the garden as well. When you touch them, they curl up (like a sausage). I hate killing them... because I hate killing things that crunch! Scott's my hero!

Well, that's all for now... I'll let you know if I think of anything else "annoying"! Just thought you might want to hear that it's not all a bed of roses down here! (But it sure comes close!)