Events and Little Dramas

 This is what I mean when I say 'little events and dramas' make up my day

Early this morning, McDowell sent some men to the farm to do some work. Along with three breadfruit trees, six tania plants, and four coconut plants, I sent some of McDowell's old, torn, and stained pants and T-shirts for the men to change into for working in the field. They came back wearing these. These old clothes were cleaner and in better condition than what they went up with. They were so happy to have 'new' clothes.

This afternoon,  I asked Bull and Roger to pick the oranges on the tree behind the house.  I went to get a box for the oranges and when I got back I was horrified to see Bull swinging his cutlass and climbing all over the compost box,  attacking the orange tree ready to cut it down. Dominicans will cut down anything confident that it will eventually grow back.    He didn't even pick the oranges first\

A couple of weeks ago, during the Portsmouth opening of the Carnival parade, a few revellers jumped over the rail on our veranda and, then later that night I happened to catch a man (known to us) climbing over the high gate at the street.  Time to install bright lights.  We had been putting this expensive task off.   The electrician came and did the installation, around the Bar and on the beach too!  Now, night is brighter than day.    Too much of a good thing in my opinion.  

\

Lemons from Destinee

Reflecting

 My life has become very narrow.  The days and weeks slip by.  So odd. I am busy enough.  I only leave the house to go to the shops once or twice a week. My few friends drop in, and I putter around in the garden bothering the plants, cleaning up, cooking and painting.  I am content doing little chores,  rearranging things, and answering emails. I exchange pleasantries with the men at the Bar, chat with the shop and market women and talk to the tourists. Local events, dramas, politics and concerns are always foremost. The vagaries of the sea, wind, and rain are in the background

I fume angrily when they turn up the music to ridiculous volumes on the Square or Evangelical preachers go on and on, loudly, for hours. and swarms of motorcycles thunder past on a Friday night. making this old house quake and ancient termites fall from the ceiling. Dominicans are a boisterous people. 

The backyard is now lush with Vervain, Tanya, hot pepper plants and some bush I can't name, but has a reputation of preventing prostrate troubles if you drink a tea made with its leaves.  I have a huge gooseberry tree, a carambola (star fruit), a pomme citier, (golden apple), Sea Grape, tropical almond,  coconut and banana trees and others too unknown to mention   The broken sour sop tree has put forth leafy branches, and the avocado has new growth.  I am amazed.  I thought, for sure, they were dead.  But no, in this hot, wet, sunny climate, plants don't die.

The dogs are fine and enjoying life.  

I am healthy. slower and stiffer, but no serious aches and pains.  I can still ignore most of it.  I have lost my manual grip so I drop everything. 

I am fussing with the question of going up there this spring.  When? If? Maybe May? for 4 weeks. I miss Anthony, Nick, and Samantha. but the thought of travelling, especially in these troubled times, is less than encouraging.

Sunset viewed from our deck

Some recent artwork

Me

McDowill Magloire

Indian River

MORE OF THE SAME

 I haven't blogged for a long time.  Mostly because there is not much to blog about, but I thought I would say something to start off 2025 

Christmas and New Year 2024 have come and gone. Both were pleasant and quiet here. Tourist season is supposed to be in full swing, but it is slow.  

We have had to change service providers.  With the new one, I get CBC Gem on TV, so I am up to date with Canadian news.  It seems that Justine Trudeau has passed his best-before-date. I just learned a phrase in Patois that I think is apt:  tout cochon ni Sammdi yo. Every pig has its Saturday!  I like Mark Harney as a possible new Liberal leader.  Christy Clarke is likeable but not a leader.  Chrysta Freeland lost me when she had her temper tantrum, however justified it might have been.  

Meanwhile, California is burning, Sudan is starving, the people of the Middle East are killing each other, Russia and Ukraine can't stop, South Korea is in shambles, the Philippines are under threat,  tuberculosis and polio are on the rise, and the devil and his angels walk the earth.  I am staying right here in my little backwater Caribbean island.  We really only have the weather to watch out for, although certainly, the global troubles will impinge, but not as soon, nor as intensely.  Dominica has its own problems.  

Life in Portsmouth for me is very simple.  I am healthy, the plants are growing, and my good friends, Hen, Tracy and Mait drop in often.  Happily, the internet usually works. The ownership of this property has not been resolved and remains a worry.  Food is boring, expensive or not available. and my clothes are rotting.  Dominicans are a noisy people,  loud talk, loud music, loud traffic, and many little daily, public events and life dramas. Otherwise, omnia bene.

I wish I could get the photos off my iPhone onto the laptop to post here.

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose

The back yard is just beginning to recover.  It will never be the same lush, bushy, shaded area it was before Beryle, but it is certainly greener.  I have just let it go to see what grows naturally in the striking sun, sea breeze and stones.  It's hot and bright out there! Lots of vervain popping up.  We have had several storms since Beryle, but no hurricanes. Lots and lots of rain and extreme heat.  It is too hot to even go to the beach and the seawater is way too warm

Since the last post, we have had the Olympics, USA Democratic Convention, the 'debate'

No news really,  just local life bumping along the unpredictable road going nowhere.  Economic life is stagnant.  The government is making all kinds of wild promises, as governments do.

The dogs are here with us living happily on the beach.  I have some nice photos but I can't get them off my phone to the laptop.

More later.....

 

HURRICANE BERYL

 On July 1, 2024, Hurricane Beryl began its assault on the Caribbean.  The eastern Caribbean islands got the brunt.  Grenada, St. Vincent, Carriacou and Union Island, Petite Martinique were devastated. 

Dominica got hit, especially at the north end of the island.   Floods, landslides, road washouts, downed trees and raging seas damaged the whole west coast. The road to the Cabrits is impassible, Scott’s Head became an island.

My little bit of Dominica was ruined, washed away by huge, pounding waves coming over the seawall all night long. The seawater came right up to the deck and all the plants, shrubs, young mango, lime and lemon that were around it became a salt-poisoned wasteland.  The smashing waves brought down part of the fence. I had a 30-foot heavily laden avocado tree in the yard, and even now 10 days later, the fruit is falling, the leaves are wilting and turning brown and falling. My little poinsettia forest is gone.  What is there now is sand and stone - not even a decent piece of driftwood.

I will never plant in that area again.  I have learned a valuable lesson.  It is the littoral zone and I will respect that and treat it as such.  The house is high and dry.  I had some big plants in pots at the side, away from the sea blast, they were not affected.

Then I got a terrible flu and have been sick for 4 days.  Much better now, but daunted by the clean-up work in the former garden.

The already cash-poor Caribbean will take a long long time to recover

Etcetera continued

They Never Tell You Everything...

Do they deliberately withhold information or are they just inefficient, or do they assume I know?  I can't even guess.  Here are a few examples:

FedEx should have told me what to expect in the way of extra duty and taxes.  The woman at the beginning of the chain of people I had to deal with clearly knew. When I went in to tell her, she only confirmed it all.

We have several old rusty stoves and metal chairs in the yard that I have been after Solid Waste to come and take away.  For weeks the  Solid Waste office would only say that they would let me know when the truck was coming, or they couldn't pick up the stuff at all.  Finally, someone told me to go to the Town Council, that that was the correct place. I went.  the woman at the desk took the information.  No one ever came.  I went to the Town Council several times and was always told that they had the information.  On my visit to the office 2 weeks ago she said, "But you never paid".  I kicked myself.  Of course! I should have known that there was a fee. When I looked at her and asked but why didn't you tell me weeks ago, she only looked puzzled and didn't answer.  I was happy to pay for it and was promised that the truck would come the following week.  Fool that I am, I believed her.  No truck.  McD saw the truck driver last week and he assured McD that he would come on Wednesday.  No truck.  There is no point in going back to the Town Council with the receipt.   The truck will come in its own time and the stuff will be taken away.  That is life in Dominica.  

I went to the Georgetown Health Center again today to get the results of the giardia test and get my permit.  They couldn't find the report.  Same as last week.  This time I went back and forth from the receptionist to the nurse to the environmental health officer.  Luckily they are all in the same building.  The nurse called the lab,  They hadn't sent the report in the last batch but they did tell her it was negative and to go ahead and process me.  Phew.  No giardia.  But no card either! Environmental Health didn't bring any! Why?  Wednesday is their day at the health center for the food handlers.  I have to go back next Wednesday to pick it up.  Wednesday is the baby clinic and is very crowded with mothers, infants and children up to 4 years old.  I wait my turn in line with them all.

Everything is in its own time.

On  Sunday we caught Smiley, a street person, dumping someone's garbage on our beach.  Smiley is the same guy who was sleeping on our veranda.  McD, EBoy, and I went after him shouting and yelling.  He dumped the garbage and ran, shouting invective back at us

Yesterday the police came to the Bar because they had information that Jeff, whom they had been looking for for a while, was there.  Someone else in the Bar warned Jeff who took off, jumped over our sea fence ran along the seawall, and disappeared

I don't think we'll be seeing Smiley or Jeff for a while!

Etcetera

 One week after Carnival and all is back to normal.  Usual traffic, usual heat, usual street noises, usual folk, usual disasters, usual wilted vegetables in the market, usual shortages. All is well.

A few updates:  

The iPhone is fully functional.  The aching shoulder has its off and on days, McD gave his daughter $$$ for the dentist and she canceled all her appointments.  He is out some money.  I told him to pay the dentist directly, but nooooo!

The piles on the beach are still there and being added to by the vendors on the Square.  I hope it is drying out so NEP or someone can move it.  Maybe burn it?  The sea will take it back in the next storm, but this is the Karam, the dry season, so no storms for months.

New sample has just been delivered to the lab and I will get giardia results by week's end.  I have had some side normal effects to the medication, lethargy and upset intestinal system mostly, but back on track now.  

At this moment, Bef is scrubbing some really nice heavy iron pots and pans  that I found and EBoy is sweeping up the dried fallen leaves from the yard.  The dogs are sleeping in the shade behind the house. Nice west breeze coming in off the ocean.

My complaint is that I am finding stairs, getting up from a sitting position, and carrying stuff increasingly troubling.  I used to be so graceful and strong.    Balance is wonky too.  I feel that I go tottering down the street like a drunken sailor!  and slow. I don't like this at all.

I cant get photos from the tablets to this laptop.  I would like to attach photos to these blogs

'til next time