Likeable Lizard (Photogenic, too!)

 

Lizards

With summer here, the lizards are back in force. Molly, our yellow lab, is occupied for much for her dog day in keeping a watch for the beasties as the lizards scamper up and down the outside of our little cottage.

Girl w/Moth & Abby with Butterfly, Cayman Island

 

 

Abby and I recently had the opportunity to fly to Grand Cayman Island, three hours to the south of Bermuda. Eric was one of the pilots on the flight and the owner of the Longtail Aviation Falcon gave his permission for Eric to bring us along since the plane wasn't full. Check out www.longtailaviation.bm. to see the Falcon and read more about Eric's place of employment.

I can't recommend the Caymans unless you're very keen on bonefishing, scuba, or other water sports. Taxis are very expensive to get to other parts of Grand Cayman ($40+ round trip), so we didn't see the Turtle Farm or swim with the skates. One of the women in my Art Group told me that when she visited the island, she was very unhappy to see the Turtle Farm because a number of turtles had been set aside in a too small tank for purchase (read: eating).

And if you thought Bermuda was expensive, everything in the Caymans is more so! Sandwiches start at $8 in little cafes and go up from there. The currency is the British-based Cayman dollar, so the U.S. dollar was worth about $.80. Not a good deal.

Abby and I did have fun going to a Butterfly Farm where representatives of over 35 species flitted about. Our guide told us a secret: if you lick your finger and hold it out near a feeding butterfly, the butterfly may amble over onto your finger to enjoy the salty sweet taste of saliva and sweat. The technique worked well for Abby: she had a hitchhiker on her finger for over 1/2 hour. The huge moth that landed on this girl's chest sort of creeped me out. It was just TOO BIG an insect. Insects shouldn't be that BIG!

Boat as Planter

 

What to do with an old boat? Well, just leave it parked in your yard in Bermuda for a year or two and nature turns it into a planter filled with morning glories and nastershums.

Artist Michael Cacy with Rosemary and Linda

 

Our Friday morning Art Group recently visited artist Michael Cacy in his Bermuda studio for a lesson in basic air-brush technique. Michael was recently an artist-in-residence as part of the Masterworks Foundation. He works in a variety of mediums and is currently working on a Bermuda historical series which reminds me very much of the illustrations of N.C. Wyeth. Check out more of Michael's work at http://www.airbrushtalk.com/abtv6n2.htm.

A S-l-o-w Day in the Heat and Humidity

 

Ever had a day when you feel as slow as a Galapagos Tortoise?? The heat and humidity that starts in Bermuda this time of year makes me feel like one. These tortoises living at the Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo move v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y indeed.

Abby, the Happy Graduate, with Homework Assistants

 

On Friday Abby graduated from the Primary (P1-6 or through age 11) program at Somersfield Academy into the Middle Year Program (MYP 1-5 or age 11 through 16). Each student wrote a poem about his/her academic year and read it at graduation. There was a lot of rhyming of "eleven" and "heaven" or "succeed" and ""guaranteed," but, hey, I probably couldn't do much better. Abby's ending lines were as follows:

"This is what I did this year, all of which I happily enjoyed.
Hopefully my knowledge remains for next year, not utterly destroyed."

People in the audience laughed, so Abby got the desired effect.