No, not the Animal Farm novel by George Orwell, but our little animal farm at our house.
With three dogs and various wild creatures around, there is always something happening.
The day is not half over and we already have discovered a dove sitting on her nest.
I hope the wind does not blow her or any babies that might hatch out of the nest. Doves seem to like to make their nests in the palm trees, out on the branches, where the wind blows them back and forth. It's not a very safe position, I don't think.
The nest is not stable or very protected. And if she leaves the nest, and the babies are young, the thrushes can find the babies and eat them.
Then, of course, the dogs chased an iguana....again! The iguanas race for safety and for them, safety seems to be our swimming pool.
The gardener and the cleaning woman managed to get him out of the pool.
I took the pictures.

Then the stupid iguana jumped back in the pool. I think he is camera shy.
So my camera and I departed, leaving Diederick and Catherine trying to get him out of the pool once again.
Never a dull moment at the Cannegieter animal farm.
- Mood:
amused
Web Counter
Our road today is lined with blooming oleanders. There are some yellow allamanda there too. The gardener planted most of them but the neighbors planted some too.
The oleander is a poisonous plant. I wonder why some of the most beautiful plants are the most poisonous ones too?
We all planted oleanders because we have goats that come up and down the road and eat everything in sight. They don't eat the oleanders though.
They know better. We have very smart neighborhood goats.
A few times a year..like right now..all the oleanders seem to come into bloom at once and they are a delight to see.
Watching the flowers as I drive down the road, makes me forget about the bumps and the potholes in the road.





- Mood:
okay
Web Counter
I have to go back to my Catholic upbringing to recall what Ascension Day is. I remember we always went to church on Ascension Day but it wasn't an official holiday like it is here.
We just came back on Monday from five days in Miami, attending our granddaughter's graduation from the U of Miami.
Congratulations, Melanie, we are all proud of you!
That's her proud mom, Leona, with her in the picture.


Before and after graduation, we had a lot of fun with family and friends.
We stayed in a nice 2 bedroom apartment and had a great view of Miami.


We also visited our friends Michael and Irina. The gardener was having a good time while Irina was whipping up her famous Cuban pork dinner.

And of course we celebrated Mother's Day!

We laughed and drank and talked and ate.
Some people celebrated Mother's Day in other ways! LOL

- Mood:
relaxed
Web Counter
Web Counter
It's Carnival time! We went down to the end of our road to watch the beginning of the grand parade. It was very colorful and very loud.
I think there were more bands than people in the troupes. But it's just the beginning of the route. By the time it gets to Front Street in town, there will be plenty of people.
Here are a few pictures I took.
You can find more pictures at this link:
http://s61.photobucket.com/albums/h76/ba
Enjoy!






- Mood:
happy
Web Counter
Sittin' on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away, wasting time.
That's what we did yesterday.
Well, it wasn't the dock of the bay....more like the dock of the lagoon at Simpson Bay Yacht Club.
It was a very pleasant lazy day, although the gardener did do some work on his boat.






- Mood:
relaxed
Web Counter
The Sky is Falling!
Oh no, it's not really. It just sounds that way. It's the sound of Jouvert morning.....on the road since dawn and still jumping up... I can't see them but I sure heard them.
My friend up on the hill took this picture.

(photo courtesy of Robbie Cintje)
Today is an official holiday on St. Maarten. Well, it has to be. None of those folks would ever make it to work. LOL
Wait, I still hear the sounds of the sky falling. But no, it's not. That's just the sound of the government falling!
Country St. Maarten is not even a year old yet and already the government is falling.
And where did they announce it? The three defectors going to the opposition party got up on stage at Carnival Village to show their unity, along with King Beau Beau. I wonder if he knew they were going to do that. LOL

(Photo courtesy of SMN News)
You can read the full story here and read the comments too. The comments are very funny. I like the one that says "Carnival Village has become our new Government Building." LOL
http://www.smn-news.com/st-maarten-st-ma
What a bunch of clowns!
Well, at least they keep me entertained. Living here is never boring! LOL
Speaking of being entertained, I love this cartoon in yesterday's Daily Herald Weekender section.
Very appropriate, wouldn't you say?
- Mood:
awake
Web Counter
Web Counter
Once upon a time there was a sweet little dog who was thrown out of a car (about 5 weeks ago) because he was sick.
All he wanted was to be loved but he was horribly mistreated.
The animal shelter here on the island took him in.
This shelter is run by a wonderful friend to animals named Ursula. She heads up an animal organization on the island called I Love My Island Dog.
http://www.ilovemyislanddog.org
This sweet dog was named Andy and and the people at the animal shelter and the vet clinic fought hard to save his life. People donated money to help with his care.
Today Andy looks like this.
He is a happy healthy dog today!
Ursula wrote on Facebook:
"Went to visit Andy at animal hospital.... He looks soooo different!! What à good looking and happy fellow he is now!! Walking on a leash and wagging his tail to say hello! Keeping his head high! No more afraid. ...Yay!"
And the best news of all?
He leaves Tuesday on a flight to Toronto to go live with his new adoptive family.
And they all lived happily ever after.
I love happy endings!
So why am I crying?
- Mood:
happy
Web Counter

Today is Earth Day, the one day in the year when we should be most conscious of our earth and treat it well.
Of course, I think every day should be Earth Day! All 365 days of the year!
Unfortunately most people pay no attention and our earth continues being damaged and polluted.
So how is Earth Day celebrated on St. Maarten? Obviously the environmental groups are noticing this day.
But also today on Simpson Bay beach there have been reports of a diesel oil spill.
The resident that informed SXM Pride this morning said that the stench of diesel is unbearable. The smell is in the air.
This is nice for Earth Day, isn't it?
Representatives of St. Maarten Pride went to check it out. They officially determined it was diesel oil and posted this picture on Facebook.

Although we had some run off from heavy rains over night, you can definitely see the oil in the water.
Now who is responsible for this? Is there a barge leaking somewhere? We will probably never find out.
Having this happen on Earth Day is sort of like rubbing salt into an open wound. It stings! It hurts!
And it is unacceptable!
- Mood:
depressed
Web Counter