Absence and Advantage

Having been excused to attend to domestic chores and artistic
pursuits, Trev takes full advantage of wifey's absence and no plea
of' take a rest' and clears all the coconut trees of bush over two mornings.
He  also sneaks the camera. :)

Before and After

Corn Buck
today...
no prizes
for
guessing
who
did
what!
:)

June day

All in all a
good day,
some cows
were by
the river
on our
arrival
but the
owner
came and
took
them.

yes,
they  were
by the
river
but it
is so
low
you can
barely
see it.

 The
resident
bull
calf

and cow
seem
pleased
to
see us

 and T
made
a new
shelter
from
sunshine
and
showers.

This is
the spot
where
we once
lived

 it
would
be good
to have
a little
ajupa
here
again.

I
cutlass
on top
between
stones
and T
does
the
same
below.

When
we
finish
we
have
a bite
to eat
and
a relax

 and
then
go and
pick
mango
on
top
where
the
ravine
is
bone
dry.

 I
wonder
when
the
Immortal
tree
will
fall

and
watch
Ross
Hill
watching
us.

Return

 All sorts of
'stuff' has kept me from
being here on a regular
basis, but I am
back now.
No, the cows
are not ours
but we get
manure
in exchange
for them
staying here.

 There is a lot
of work to be done.
We need a new shed
and all the fig, cocoa,
nutmeg, mango and
coconut
need attention,
as do the drains
and pathways.

T can't do it all alone
and hopefully
with us both here
the thieves will
lay off a little
and give us
a chance.

We need
to get
a dog.

Cocoa time again

 Today we went up
to pick cocoa again.
The new bamboo rod,
(the last one having
broken when the
breadfruit tree at home,
fell on it)
was still a bit heavy
for me, so T picked
and I picked up.
We put the pods
in a fine bag and
T put each load
below the mango
trees.

It was a cool,
cloudy day with
a few sprinkles,
sunny interludes
and as always
it felt lovely
to be up here,
working together,
at our own pace
in our own time
with just the river
the cow the dog
and the birds
for company.

Once we had
picked all, we sat
in the shade
under the mango
tree, where I cracked
the pods
and T emptied
the beans into the
bucket.

Suspense!

Still waiting for foot to heal so all posts suspended until I can hop over to the next river stone. T has planted hundreds of fig trees and 50 nutmeg trees, can't wait to see!

Picking peppers and other things

Weeding continues and has become 'mantra' like, but even my soul has difficulty being convinced that rooting out this grass is good for it. Especially as, just as you think you have it and pull up the root, it sticks a fine picker filament in your finger.

Some cocoa had finished fermenting and was put out to dry in the sun,

peppers  and cucumbers were picked and beans were weeded 

and this visitor stayed posing on the blade of grass, long enough for me to reach her. She has the most beautiful turquoise blue highlights which I failed to capture.

 Oh, and finally....
the mango thief has taken to stealing pen manure as well!