Finders Keepers

People throw things into the ocean.  The ocean drops all kinds of things onto our beach. We pick up shoes, boards, jugs, rope, toilet seats, bottles, glass balls, crates.  What we don't use, we carry to the dump. Then, we find things at the dump.  I will do a separate piece on things we find at the dump.

Above is a board that floated in.  It was so heavy that I dragged it most of the way home rather than picking it up.  The last photo in today's blog shows how it looks after we cut it up and made something with it.

Anyone missing a shoe?

We keep crates that we found on the beach for collecting all the detritus.

We use what we find, if we can. Buckets are used for mopping our floors and are made into wastebaskets.  The plastic bin is going to become part of our garden, sunk into the ground to hold herbs.  What we cannot use goes to the dump.

More stuff

Joseph shows off his find.

Here is a particularly pretty find, a large ceramic ball used in the fishing nets, made in Japan.

WHERE THEY ARE NOW

That big plank I showed you in the beginning is now the top of a children's table. The legs of the children's table are also made from boards that we picked up on the beach.  This is a 100 percent "found it on the beach" table. 

We have an old saying down here, "If you really need something, then take a walk and you will find it on the beach."

Carribbean Gardens

The New York Botannical Gardens (NYBG)  is having its Caribbean Gardening show from Jan 15-February 27 of 2011.   At the NYBG Website it says:

 " While enjoying the balmy atmosphere in the Conservatory, be sure to keep an eye open for special signs pinpointing the location of some of the Caribbean's most important plants, including the dramatic chalice vine, butterfly orchid, and Bougainvillea; delicious pineapple, coconut, mango, banana, chocolate, and vanilla; and plants with delightful names like ice cream bean, flamingo flower, Panama hat palm, lipstick tree, and autograph tree."

This should be so interesting to visit and compare the plants we see there with the ones we find in the Abacos.  Of the ones mentioned above, we already have Bougainvillea, coconut and banana in our yard.  Here are some additional examples of the plants we have in our yard that I hope to identify  when visiting the upcoming Caribbean Garden show of the NYBG

First, is this lovely palm tree that has started spontaneously in our yard.

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We have decided that it cannot be a coconut palm, because it has a soft, white root and all our coconut palms emerge from coconut seeds. 

 Here is another self starter that gets a lovely white orchid-like flower when it is in bloom.  The grass is only about 4 to 5 inches high.  When I find one in bloom I will add it to this site.

 Here is another interesting native plant. 

We call the one above a "Silver Button", and it is expected to reach a maximum height of about 15 or 20 feet.

The one above is called a "Wild Hibiscus".  It has pretty small red flowers.  

The two examples below are from very small, bushy trees that provide berries popular with the birds in our area.  

And may I introduce you to our baby fig tree?

Our fig tree is now three years old, and just starting to take hold. .

People around here call the one above the "Life Leaf".  It has a lovely white flower when it is in bloom and is a delicate plant that grows around the edges between the "bush" and the "yard".

This last tree below is called by many the"Madeira Olive" tree.  But when I look up the "Madeira" Tree, I do not see this kind of leaf and also, the "olive" on this tree is much smaller than the one shown in the book for a Madeira.  The parrots love the olive from this tree.  Last year, on one of our larger trees of this kind, we found over 50 parrots all hanging on the tree, eating the "olives".

I must confess that I lack a lot of knowledge about the plants in my yard down here, but hope to become much more knowledgeable about them in 2011.    

Basketball and Coconuts

We have a new basketball hoop in our community, for everyone to use. It just went up three days ago and it looks great.



Here is my husband Joe demonstrating the "coconut shot".

The bleachers are very informal and beautiful, I might add:

It might prove difficult to know which way to look.

New Year's Eve - A Time for Reflection

May we all reflect as well as these Sanderlings.

This evening we are going out to dinner at a local South Abaco bone fishing club followed by a bonfire on the beach with neighbors.  If we are lucky, we will see the fireworks from Cherokee Sound and from a new resort at Winding Bay, just north of us.

Happy New Year to All.

Tables from beach wood - Abacos

Beach Wood Tables 

Made from boards found on the beach.

These tables were made of wood that drifted onto our beach. The top is simply plywood. Because of this, the table legs have great character. The tables were built by Steve Roessler, our neighbor, and Joe, my husband.

The bowl shown on the table is made of Tamarind wood, also found locally. The bowl was carved by another one of our neighbors, W. Stephen Knowles.

One of the special things about being down here in the Abacos is having time to really appreciate what is available, locally.

Happy Holidays

Our Christmas postcard this year was taken on the beach out front of our home at High Banks on Eight Mile Bay, Abacos.  The snowmen are a gift from our son-in-law's parents who live in Boise, Idaho.  That snow globe plays a great version of "Frosty the Showman".  Merry Christmas, everybody.

The Night Before the Night Before Christmas

Today the ocean is so peaceful.  These are late afternoon photos taken of the beach out front. 

Joe and I took a walk today and followed the quiet, shallow waters at low tide.  Baby bonefish were everywhere, as was one lone baby barracuda, sliding through the water like a silver knife, shadow below his belly. 

We were awestruck with the calm.

One of our heighbor's children came out with her father to take care of the dogs while her father fished.  She was having fun running with the dogs, chasing them, picking things up and tagging along with her Dad.  Her playground is huge.  The silence is enormous.