A quick visit

Recently I paid a quick visit to my friend Joyce....didn't stay long at all....but look at the beauty I discovered in my five minute visit.

Cardwell Lily

Amaryllis

White Crown of Thorns

More Amaryllis lilies

Curcuma hidden Ginger

All this loveliness without even stepping one foot into her garden....just incredibly beautiful.

My navel string is buried here

Today on my jaunt, I found myself in my childhood neighbourhood....the place where I was born, the place where I was brought into this world in the early morning hours by a no-nonsense midwife...the place where I drew my first breath....the place where my navel string is buried....the place that will always be "home."
In a child's eyes, everything looks really big, and you feel quite tiny compared to everything around you.....today with my older eyes everything looked a normal size.
I've visited my old neighbourhood a couple of times over the years, but today's visit was an eye opener.
I stared in disbelief at how much my old neighbourhood had changed...lots of changes too.....but I still felt compelled to be there.

A long rugged road leads to the old house.....

 ...which is no longer old, but has been renovated to a newer style.

As I sat there briefly, I was transported back to a bygone era.....I could hear my parents calling my brother and I in for dinner, could smell the chickens as they ran around freely in the yard, and I could see my father's Austin Cambridge parked out front.
It would have been nice to get out and ring the bell and tell the occupants who I was, and I would have loved a walk through the house for old times sake, but as it was, I kept my nostalgia to myself.
Instead I sat and let the memories enfold me....I remembered the time when my mum wanted to spank me and I jumped through the front bedroom window only to land in a pile of nettles below....I got my spanking and felt the wrath of the nettles as well.

 

Turning around and going back down the rugged road, I took note of all the new houses that were being built on the pasture that the neighbourhood children would play on, where we would fly our kites and race each other...oh the fun days.

More construction

We would go climbing up to our friend's house who lived along the upper ridge.

A new road was being cut across the golf course.

 

 I presume that more condos and villas will be built along the edge of the golf course.

 

Driving onwards, I  saw a familiar sight, this house was still there....

....and so was the big tree that stands at the bottom of the road...the same tree I fell out of while climbing one day.

My friends were so afraid, since I'd taken a terrible tumble, but I was fine....but then again maybe that's why I'm so crazy.

More new condos amidst the former houses of yesteryear.

Some are abandoned and forlorn.

Some are up for sale....

.....while others continue to be a haven providing respite from the crazy world outside.

This home is now a bakery making the most scrumptious cakes and pastries.

My visit to the old neighbourhood was overwhelming, so many memories were engulfing me....it was time to go....but not before I had a glimpse of us kids riding our bikes and trikes racing home for dinner.

Yes, I feel spiritually grounded here....no matter where I may roam, I will always find my way back to here...my "home"......my navel string is buried here.

(Traditionally navel strings (umbilical cords) were buried under special trees or plants or buried with a new tree...as the tree grew along with the child, it became a special spiritual bond...their tree.)

Drat and double drat!!

My veggie garden suffered terribly while I was working on the upstairs kitchen renovations.
I tried valiantly to take care of my regular chores like watering, harvesting, trimming etc in between but alas the bugs won....they took advantage of my absence.
The first to go was the mizuna Japanese salad leaves, then the bok choy, kale, romaine lettuce and the arugula.

What a sad sight.....at least the rosemary, chives, thyme, marjoram and dill are still alive.

The bok choy is no more and the romaine lettuce decided to bolt after being attacked with such vengeance.

I lost two okra plants as well.

The poor blue vervain herb never had a fighting chance....the fuzzy black caterpillars of the buckeye butterfly loved it....thank goodness I had trimmed off lots of leaves to dry for future use when cold and flu season comes around.

The kale suffered a similar fate.

Mama butterfly sure chose wisely where she laid her eggs, on the exact type of leaf that her caterpillars will eat when they hatched.

After the eggs hatch the larva caterpillars get to work eating the leaves they were born on.
Caterpillars of various butterflies had the party of a lifetime on my salad greens.
The Cabbage White caterpillars LOVED the mizuna and they ate the entire plants....didn't even leave me a stem....what cheek!

 

  Intricately eaten designs in the leaves

Eat....eat.....grow...grow.....

 

Here a pupa (Chrysalis) on the kale leaf

In the Chrysalis a remarkable transformation (metamorphosis) takes place.

Afterwards a beautiful butterfly emerges to start its life in the world.

Look at them terrorising my poor kale leaves....if only a plant could get up and walk away from being attacked.

Oh my goodness, more eggs have been laid!

 

 Yet another pupa....

.......and yet another on my dill.....sigh.

If we look carefully we can find some of the culprits.

Do you see them?

It's not a butterfly garden winged creatures!!

Yes, there they are, two more butterflies laying more eggs on my lemongrass.
 Drat!!!  No make that Double Drat!!!!
I will be planting new seedlings, but this time I will be placing a growing net over my veggies and herbs....this can't happen again.

Smile!!!

For the past few days, Mr. BrownBerts was making some strange mouth movements.  It seemed as if he were trying to get something that was stuck in his mouth out.  Mind you he was still eating like a horse with no problem, and barking quite heartily at whatever needed his attention.
 Earlier last month he had adopted this sucking/licking motion with his tongue and mouth, and for the life of me I could not figure out what was going on with him.
Remember he had been exhibiting this sudden rolling on the floor as if he were trying to get at an itch on his back?  Turns out he did indeed have a flea or two....I never saw any sign of them even though he is brushed every day.
I have said many times before that I don't like putting the harsh chemicals on my bow wows, but in this instance I needed to save his sanity immediately.
I ended up applying a Fipronex Duo Drop On flea/tick treatment recommended by the vet, and would you know it....three fleas surfaced to the top of his coat...after that no more rolling/itchy back.
And to think we had started him on phenobarbital  because his antics seemed like petit seizures.

Nosing around on the internet (whatever did we do without it?) I came across a few articles that caught my interest which led me to a vet visit yesterday...something was definitely going on inside his mouth.  I decided it was time for a check up and a teeth cleaning.
A quick sedative on our arrival at the vet, and I was ushered away to return in another hour.

 Apparently, my boy did have a sore in the upper left side of his mouth and an extra long piece of gum in front of one of his teeth which was taken off. Antibiotics for a week and he should be good as new.

 His smile is intact...

Hastings Rocks

Yesterday being Saturday, I was out and about on my jaunt....and boy oh boy was it a lovely jaunt.
I think I especially enjoyed my day out since I had not had the opportunity to go jaunting while I worked on the upstairs kitchen renovation.....it was good to be out and about again.
The heat was on, and soon I was feeling rather sweaty (sorry Mum....she always said that pigs sweat, men perspire and ladies glow)....so I guess I was glowing.
Lots of errands that needed to be taken care of in the "hot broiling sun" (another one of her sayings).....I do miss her.
With it being the end of the month, there are always a ton of sales and flea markets on the last weekend of the month.
You need not put your thinking caps on to know where I was headed.
I have my favourite flea markets, but today I visited the Hastings Flea Market on the south coast across from Hastings Rocks on the beach.

Hastings itself is a little town on the south coast of the island in the parish of Christ Church.
It was one of the first tourist resorts on the island during the 18th century.

 

Hastings Rocks

On the seaward side is a lovely beach called Hastings Rocks which is a great "chilling out" spot featuring a promenade with benches and a bandstand.
Affectionately known as "The Rocks", the original beach was a shoreline of rocks, and was badly eroded, but since its redevelopment, it is now made up of several sandy bays and tidal pools as well as artificial reefs. 
One of the tidal pools is a natural formation of coral around a shallow opening which provides an ideal swimming spot.
The inshore reef and tidal pools provide fishing grounds and is perfect for collecting exquisite shells and coral that wash ashore.

The history of the area is quite interesting....the land in the area was originally owned by the War Department.
Mr. Edward Carpenter, an ex-patriot and Manager of the Colonial Bank (now Barclays International Bank) secured a lease from the War Department for the area, and within a few months converted the section of rab land into the beautiful Hastings Rocks that we have today.
For about one hundred years, Hastings Rocks remained under the control of a "Rocks Committee" even after Government purchased it in December 1905.  It was then taken over by the Parks and Beaches Commission, and renovated and re-opened on February 19th 1971, and is now a public area.

The beach is hugged by the Richard Haynes/South Coast Boardwalk which meanders along the seafront from Rockley to Hastings Rocks.
This one mile long Brazilian hardwood boardwalk is perfect for an early morning jog, or a lovely evening sunset stroll with a loved one.

The elevation of Hastings Rocks was lowered to allow road traffic to enjoy this wonderful "open window to the sea" view. 
The project included renovating the beach since the rocks were almost completely eroded by wind and waves. The new beach was created from sand dredged during the construction work at the Bridgetown Port and now boasts several headlands and an offshore breakwater.
Even with the renovated beach, the sea shore is still rocky with medium waves and an undertow that should be respected, therefore caution is advised if one decides to take a swim.

Meandering seaside boardwalk

Spectacular views of the ocean....."The Rocks" is a favourite spot for church fairs, weddings, parties and outdoor performances.

Beautiful expanse of beach.

The area includes a bandstand where many open-air performances are held especially by the Royal Barbados Police Band.
I remember as a child my parents taking me to listen to the Police Band here at The Rocks.

Beautifully landscaped promenade with a bandstand and benches.

Perfect photo opportunities.

Incredible ocean views popular with visitors and locals.

Located at the western end of Hastings Rocks is Blakey's Bar & Restaurant , a favourite after-work and entertainment spot for locals....may I add that the food here is delicious....ask me how I know.

I could stay here all day...at this picturesque Hastings Beach......but...where was I headed originally?

Oh yes, the Hastings Farmer's Market across the street.

Visited the stall of a Guyanese vendor who "seems to know" all about weights and measures.  I have never seen a scale or a calculator operate like him.....no fooling me though.

He always has the best produce, but keep your own tally of what you're purchasing.
I came away with all my ingredients to make a lovely big pot of vegetable soup.

I enjoyed my day out....I took care of my errands, I visited a few friends, I had a lovely seaside walk and to top it off, came home with some good food.