Moss Doesn't Grow on a Rolling Stone

I have been trying to capture a full moon rising over the ocean now for over 6 months.  I can just imagine the beauty and glory of seeing this huge orange/red moon as it starts peeking over the edge of the ocean's water.  I can remember growing up in Tupelo, MS - the times when there would be that harvest moon - as it would be huge and red and making it's appearance in the night skies.  Well, this last Friday - Gary was flying through Miami to get back home and I was here in Barbados - when the full moon rose.  Friday, October 22nd, 2010.  I made a special effort to get clearance from the people at The Crane resort, so that I could walk to the edge of their cliff.  I waited in anticipation for this full moon - there were not many clouds in the sky, so I just knew this was the night!  But, at 5:14 when the moon was supposed to rise, I didn't see any great red harvest moon - I didn't see anything!  Some people came up and were curious as to what I was doing with the camera, when I told them, they and I both thought I had gotten the time wrong.  But, then - I turned back around to the eastern sky - and there it was - just this little bitty ole white full moon!  What a disappointment.   Then, to top everything off - Gary saw the moon I wanted to see - inside his plane in Miami!  He said it was huge and red and everyone was gasping and talking about it.  Hummmmmm.

I was relaying this story this morning to a high school friend of mine and how I was running out of time to capture this event and she commented, "Moss Won't Grow on a Rolling Stone"  I had never heard this expression before.  I googled it and found this document which lists all these different connotations.  I realized many of these connotations fit my life right now - some I want to claim and others I'd rather not.  But, you know how you hear sometimes an expression and you like it - this one I like. It fits me and my life right now.  We are constantly moving, but I am making friends wherever I go - hopefully life long friends - friends that I will never forget - and hope they will not forget me.  I might miss the harvest moon in Barbados, but I will have friends for a lifetime.

Home doorway

The apartment building finally approved our hanging a wall plaque outside our front door.  It may sound stupid to some, but it helps me to accept that this apartment is my home for now.  I have started back to a fitness gym where there is a class that meets 3 times a week - and is made up of all age group women from really young (early 20's) on up to probably in their 70's.  I really, really enjoy this class and this great group of women.  They work us hard for that one hour - but, all of us laugh at ourselves and each other.  It is so much fun!  It is great therapy for me.  I have met some really good friends there - that I know I will carry with me for a lifetime - no matter where I live in this world of ours.  They try to help me learn some of the island dance moves - that go along with their soca music.  I'm glad no one has video taped this event!  :-)   Life is good, life is short - enjoy it my friends!  Happy Monday!

Hey, that's our home down there!

I know I need to write more in this blog - but, I'm feeling the writer's block.  But, in case you are interested in what our home looks like from a jet - here it is.  It is the 5 story building with the red roof - right on the beach.  I copied this picture from my friend - Ann Holmes' facebook album.  (She said that I could, honestly!)  She and Ian came to visit Barbados about 3 weeks ago and we really enjoyed getting to be with our friends - lots of good times eating, snorkeling and playing canasta.  I don't know how she was able to get this great shot of the apartment, but thankful that she did.  It is a sunny day here today - thank heavens, it has been raining most of the time for the past two weeks.

Daring water rescue.flv

There is some type of tropical depression that is hovering over Barbados right now.  We had rain ALL last week and this weekend - and it is still raining today!  Actually, Gary called this morning, after he had arrived at work - stating that the schools are closed today because of this rain.  That might sound unusual to someone who lives in the United States, but it makes perfect sense to me.  This island has a big, serious problem right now with their drainage systems.  So, there are lots of places where people's cars get stalled out.

I am very conscious of other people that are either walking or standing by the side of the roads now - especially right after a rain or while it is raining.  What I mean by that is that there are many, many people that walk on the streets here and many, many people have to wait at bus stands for the next bus.  Lots of these bus stands are right by the road and of course the sidewalks are.  So, if you drive by there and do not move to the center of the road - they will get splashed or worse yet - soaked.  Of course, with everyone trying to dodge all the water puddles in the roads, the traffic slows down considerably - sometimes to a halt!

I wish I knew more people on the island - because I would gladly stop and offer a ride to the people, if I knew them.

March to the Sea - Hawksbill Sea Turtles

I was able to mark something off my bucket list tonight - watching little sea turtles march to the sea!   It was such an awesome sight.  Gary called me this afternoon and asked would I like to see them release the turtles to the sea - and of course I said yes!  They were going to release them at 6:30 pm on the west coast - after the sunset.  They like to release them at night to lessen the chance of the turtles being eaten by crabs and birds.  Only 1 in 1000 hatchings make it to adulthood!  

The reason we were able to see this was because these little turtles hatched from their nest today and thinking that the lights at a nearby hotel were the sun/moon - they headed towards the lights.  The hotel staff diligently picked up around 100 turtles during the day and put them in this box for release later on at night.  

The hawksbill sea turtle gets its name because it's head is shaped like the bill of a bird.  It takes 25 years for these little turtles to reach adulthood.  They mostly feed on sponges around the reefs off of tropical islands where they can go ashore and lay their eggs.  The nest usually takes around 60 days to hatch.  The nest is under the ground, covered in sand.  When the turtles hatch, they use their flippers to move the sand out of the way, the sand starts shifting downward and they gradually move themselves to the top.  This is a picture of our guide for this event - his name is Tom.  He flew into Barbados about 2 weeks ago for this very purpose.  He said that most of the hatchings occur between May and September.  

What an awesome experience.  It was so neat seeing these little creatures head for the sea.  Because they follow a light - Tom used his torch (better known as a flashlight to us Americans) - and he stood right at the edge of the water - so that the turtles would follow his light into the sea. He asked us to be very still and not move our feet and if we did need to move, to shuffle our feet to move in the sand.