Longtail chick and adult

I just realized I have one picture with Jeremy holding the longtail chick and talking with us, with an adult longtail in the background. Note the, well, long tail on the adult.

Also another picture of the little beastie. Cute fella, huh?

And that cafe table setting in the last post? That is in St. George's, taken while at the lunch I grabbed between my morning's painting class and my afternoon's sail to Nonsuch.

Nonsuch Island

It is a special place - an essentially uninhabited island on which the long-thought-extinct cahow, a sort of petrel and relative of the albatross, I'm told, has been reestablished, where endemic and native plants have been planted and basically required to overtake ...While not physically spectacular - I can't say that Bermuda is given to spectacular, just consistently beautiful - it is lovely.

I was able to visit (access is controlled) as a participant in another 'Historical Heartbeats' event set up by the Government's Community and Cultural Affairs folks (a shout-out here to Dr. Kim Dismont Robinson, who heads this up, maintains an amazingly upbeat attitude and is shortly to get married - ergo a discussion about what to do with a third name when you already have two longish ones.) We boarded the Coral Sea in St. George's and tootled out, threading between reefs and shorelines to as close to Nonsuch as we could get with that boat, then clambered over the side of the one to drop onto the evocatively named Feral Cat , 12 at a time, to cover that last 40 yards to Nonsuch's dock.

The cahow is given credit for this being a British colony rather than a Spanish one. Spanish sailors knew of the place. but - because of the habits and cry of the cahow - thought it the 'Isle of Devils'. (Cahows are ground burrowers, emerge to hunt at night and have this loud, low eerie moaning call that started off by sending shivers up their spines and went from there. There were lots of them back then, and the image is of an evening sky suddenly,, inexplicably, filled with hundreds of birds, crying like lost souls. Maybe if they had been on their mainland it wouldn't have spooked them so badly, but I can see how this little rocky bit of land could seem to hold an enticement that might steal souls and wreck boats. I get a little queasy, myself!)

So - two birds are so central to Bermuda's image and history...the cahow was too friendly, too unflustered, to survive the predations of the colonists. In fact, they were 'harvested' and packed for food provisions for Jamestown colonists - recently proven thru refuse digs in Jamestown - and saved lives there, as well as on what became Bermuda. It is incredibly rare, literally considered extinct until recently. A breeding pair survived and today there are 14 breeding pairs established again on Nonsuch, perhaps 80 all told in the world.

We saw the first chick born on Nonsuch in over 350 years, nicknamed Somers, while visiting today. Not many people see these birds, and Somers is barely in existence.

Jeremy Madeiros and company watch the few burrows/nests on other islands in this sound; if it seems the parents have left the babies prematurely he brings them over to Nonsuch and provides the parenting they need to survive their fledging. He's built several burrow-like nests for breeding pairs; they've adopted a sort of door to let the flatter, larger wing-span cahow parents in but NOT the rounder long-tails in, because the long-tails will eliminate the chicks and claim the burrow for themselves - rather a competition there, and they are mere feet apart. (The long-tails also have nests build for them, to encourage their nesting locally - little stone ''igloos'.)

Lots to share, but - sorry - I'm wiped out and will just post some photos for now... Water and skink and longtail chick (white) and cahow chicks (grey dust bunny Somers, and probably-fly-off-this-week much more bird-looking chick that had been prematurelyy abandoned at a remote nest) and such...

words

A few quick updates. (Sorry, no photos.)

Have been having incredible weather, but the island is in a serious drought, something like 8" below usual rainfall so far this year - and this is important, not just for keeping things green but because, of course, rainfall is our primary water source. People's tanks are running out, and the water plants are as much as 10 days out in being able to supply reverse osmosis treated water (some day I will see if there is a good wiki explanation for that). The tanker truckers are divvying up the supply, providing one tanker-load of water where two might be needed to top up, in an effort to keep people in some water, if not all they want.

The forecast had been calling for sustained rains during this week, starting tomorrow, but at last check the first mention of rain has now slid over to this Friday, and now stands as only "a chance of showers". I'd like the weather to be nice for an event that is to take place on Saturday, and for the Tall Ships arrival and stay (June 11 - 15), and for visitors coming for a week starting June 23, but we need the rain too much to be overly upset if rain does come during those times.

This is a long weekend, with Bermuda Day celebrated today - celebrating the 400th anniversary of the nation. I was going to be - and should be - in town for the parade, but have had a nice spell of focus on drawing and will now go play with color and see what I can learn. I'm not happy with the results I have on my own, but I do see some promise in things Emma is able to help me with while I'm at her studio. Trying not to be too unhappy with myself for the efforts that don't come up to snuff - this is, after all, a learning process. I'm all too aware I tend to put things aside that I don't do well at immediately, so I really must work at going back to the drawing table, literally, and make it a habit to work thru some of this.

Same with trying to write.

What else? A couple of articles from NY Times that resonated -
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/business/24collins.html?emc=eta1 - love this guy's focus
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24labor-t.html?emc=eta1 - in honor of 'working with one's hands'

and a fun video - Air New Zealand staffers with bodypaint (the last speaker's wry "love a man in uniform" kills me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elD38pJX7iE

there is a second one giving the 'backstage' story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnhVcD74i14

And while I am at it, here again is the website for Fiona's cottage rental company
www.bermudarentals.com

and Emma's website: www.featherbedartstudio.com

On the Rock

This time the pictures are just scenes I like, no particular story or context, other than bits and pieces from St. George's on my wander about before my painting class starts. Enjoy!

It has been rather a full and quite pleasant day. For whatever reasons I was whipped last night and tottered to a sound sleep around 10.30, early for me. This morning started with what sounded like a gang war among the chickenry, but that had the benefit of getting me up and going on time - I might have slept thru otherwise. Scooted out front to wait for the bus - few minutes ahead of the bus a car pulled over and a ride to St. George's was offered, by an older fellow with his great granddaughter. She was 4, visiting from Texas, and remembered enough from her last visit to the island to offer a running commentary on our surroundings as we skimmed past the beaches, golf course, sound, airport and harbor. In his late 60's, he still works - as a welder and on his own terms - and holidays by taking his motorcycle thru the US. His next trip is up the coast into Alaska and as far north as he can go. He has visited 41 of the States, spent some time at Camp Lejeune taking some classes for his military service and has hung out with friends in the Raleigh/Durham area...

They dropped me off in the town square, and I walked out to see the many, many sailing boats in the harbor, far more than I have seen there before. This whole sailing thing is not something I completely understand - a short little sail sounds fun, in fact I may take some sailing lessons while I am here, but these several-week-long trips crossing the Atlantic are an entirely different thing. But - St. George's in particular has a number of small businesses that cater to this apparently pretty heavy traffic, so it is a big deal here.

Emma's class was, as always such fun, and I felt like I made some progress understanding more about the mechanics of working with watercolor. I've a long way to go, but it is pure pleasure. As she - and Trevor - have noted, I handicap myself by being so anxious for control, focusing on the stuff I see (the details, textures, shape and shadow) to the detriment of what I don't (scenery, broad perspectives...) I tend towards the study rather than the impression. I'm more naturally a follower of the exquisitely rendered - and detailed - northern European works from the Renaissance years than the explosions of light and color that watercolor often is. I'm learning to see the tones in a supposedly white wall. It is wonderful.

Everything about Emma is out-sized - she has a fine talent, and is a good, positive, supportive, encouraging teacher, she has a booming voice and big gestures, she has a wonderful heart and generous nature. She has no problem owning up to 'mistakes', or things that didn't work out as she wanted them, but her Pratt background and native talent are so evident.

I'm using some of my photos to work from. I think there is a pretty strong graphic sensibility to these point-and-shoot pictures and obviously it is stuff that attracted my attention in the first place, so when drawings work out nicely I am pleased, and when I can add in the color in ways that 'fit' I am close to tears. Such a blast.

Afterwards I took the bus back in towards town, hoping I'd intercept a #3 bus so I could easily get to the location of this year's Garden Club Home and Garden show, a wonderful place called Mayflower, an old Bermuda cottage that has grown Topsy-style over the generations. It has a tower of sorts with a widow's walk, and (presumably obviously) an excellent view of the ocean off the South Shore. They had plants for sale, musicians, flower arranging demonstrations, a fashion show, drinks and baked goods and sandwiches, and ladies posted in each of the rooms to help explain the very dramatic floral arrangements, provide background information on the rooms, furniture, artwork etal, and, of course, provide the security that nothing gets pocketed and walked away with.

One room had a beautiful long Bermuda cedar dining table and was formally set with all the gee-gaws that involves. I don't recall just what or why that room's docent and I were talking but turns out she lived in Chapel Hill for about 25 years; her husband taught at the university, she still comes back to go to her Chapel Hill dentist...

I swear, I am not trying to find people with North Carolina connections. Honest!

Oh - I didn't intercept the bus, it was clear the schedules wouldn't jigger up well, so I got out in Flatts and walked the 3 kilometers or so along Middle Road (past the Old Devonshire Church, if you are following this on a map at all - Mayflower is just past the intersection of Locust and Middle, near Watlington West.) And then after touring the ten acre grounds I walked further towards town then down to South Road (another kilometer or so) to catch the #1 bus to St. Mark's, which was having a family festival (rummage sale, face painting, snow cones, bounceyhouse, a history-of-the-church play, etc.) I wanted to go because one of my bus-buddys was among the organizers, another acquaintance was the face-painting artist (she is an architect 'by day'), but mostly to see the wonderful stained glass in the church. The east end of the church had come down in a tornado or hurricane strike a dozen or so years ago; Ms. Gardner rebuilt the main window, matching as well as possible the design and the colors from photos people rounded up and the bits of glass found amid the destruction. She also did another window in a side chapel that is more her 'style'. I had read about her work but hadn't seen it other than in the book I have (surprise!), and St. Mark's is situated so beautifully, and has this tall somewhat Gothic tower - I'd wanted to see the interior.

And then I walked home. That was another kilometer or so.

Need I mention the weather was glorious?

What else? Got lots of work done at the office, brought stuff home to try and finish up. Emma had an opening Thursday night at a coffeehouse in town - pen sketches of habitues of the cafe, done on site, then water-colored. The birdhouses were auctioned last night but I didn't go so I don't know how that went. I have started looking at scooters, but without any degree of commitment, I'm not persuaded I need to go there as yet...

OK, enough. Please enjoy the pictures...This is a ridiculously photogenic place, and the weather is presently so good it slays you to be inside, so this stuff is inevitable!

Visits!

I've had a lovely long weekend with my first visitor, who flew in Friday noonish and out today around 3. We had terrific weather pretty much the whole time - important particularly if you have rented a scooter to zip around the island at will. No huge news - just some fotos...

In terms of context: the incredibly photogenic St. George's. The ducking of the Gossip in St. George's. The very different but also glamor-puss Dockyard area, which is where the larger cruiseships now dock (two of them at once, part of this week). Various beaches (particularly Horseshoe Bay) and inlets. Dolphin Quest at Dockyard, one of those in-the-water-with-the-beasts experiences.

And another website reference, this time for someone who had a lifetime of photographing Bermuda and making books and prints of his pictures - some stunning stuff: http://www.picturesquebermuda.com/