February 2006: A Random Overview

Feb 27, 2006

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I’ve got a few photos to show you to give you a little overview of the place as it presently stands. Maybe someday I’ll look at these and wonder at how things have changed… or not. Anyway, most of you looking at these pages are here to see what’s up with the land here, so I hope these photos can fill you in a little.

Here is another in the series of shots taken from the roof of the house, showing the veggie garden and surrounding area. It’s not really current, as we now have a 6-foot chicken fence around the whole things that really only keeps the pesky garden diggers out most of the time. They can fly, but generally don’t bother. Joanna and I put up the fence one rainy day and it has made a huge difference to the plants, which can now grow unmolested.

garden-pan — The pink flowering tree to the right is a Bauhinia, and just behind it is where the trees we cut stood.

I do, on occasion, make it up to the top of the Giant. Last time was Christmas, but the last time I took a picture looking down on the land was June. It looks surprisingly similar to the previous one, considering all the development that has gone on around here over the last year.

overhead-6-15 — Another overhead view taken from the Sleeping Giant. Photo taken June, 2005.

You can see a few changes: the green “eyebrow” over our bedroom window that jonathan designed and built in the lower left corner, and the polycarbonate roof of our new bath house. The prominent white structure in the upper center of the plot is Peter’s container, soon to be converted to a workshop and art studio. The big avo/banyan we cut down partially obscures it here, but no longer.

A Few Extra Photos…

So I do point my camera at all kinds of things, most of the pictures are unremarkable, and perhaps these are too, but I thought I’d share them as they illustrate our story in incidental ways.

anole — The common, yet charming Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis), locally known as a chameleon, which it certainly isn't. It can change it's color, but is usually green.

mountain-apple-flowers — These are the stunningly beautiful flowers of the Mountain Apple (Syzygium malaccense), a very popular local fruit. It is similar to an apple in texture, and tastes slightly of roses.

okinawan-spinach — In the fall, our Okinawan Spinach (Gynura crepioides) plants come in to bloom. The flowers are very popular with the butterflies, but I couldn't get any of them to pose for this shot!

banana-rack — A nicely ripened rack of apple bananas, most of which will go in the freezer for smoothies, a staple around here. A select few will go into our famous banana-coconut waffles, served almost every Sunday morning in an informal get-together.

Well, that is about all for now. I have a feature in the works covering Lisa’s Peace Pilgrimage through Italy, England and Scotland and we’re very excited to share that. Namaste.