Words on a Becalmed Day

George & ElBananaKeet, 1964

 What happened to the images of my island world? It's all gone retro! 

This is not a B&W photo, this has not been retouched. This is truly how it has looked for the last two days. There is so much stillness and haze, the air has become a veil. There is no visibility, no sound, no movement. The money in my wallet has become limp, the pages of my book are soft and mushy. The bay is a lake. Color has been drained leaving only a pallet of brushed grays. Compare this to earlier Blog photos. What gives?

It's not raining, , in fact the sun is shining though you wouldn't know it. A single sailboat soundlessly motors back to Coral Bay, barely leaving a wake. 

Su said it might be the smoke from Montserrat, but I was skeptical because usually you can smell that and the ash lands on everything. Like the Sahara Dust. I looked into it and she's right. The volcano monitoring site http://www.mvo.ms/ confirms there was an "ash venting activity" on Friday March 23. There you have it. 

The Culprit

Poor Montserrat. A series of volcanic eruptions beginning in 1995 devastated the lower two-thirds of the island. Whoever didn't die, lost everything. Animals, plants, farms, people - all gone. Horrible. A modern day Pompeii.  By 1997, the only significant town, the capital of  Plymouth, was an ash-covered wasteland. I have never been there, but I hear it was beautiful. 

That's where Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo had their sensual island weekend fling in the remake of "The Thomas Crown Affair". But I digress......

Meanwhile, it's been stifling hot with the wind gone.Air movement is vital to survival, for me, anyway. We drink scads of water here, a little dollop of key lime juice is a healthy addition, I think it helps de-toxify and quench thirst better than plain water especially when hiking or working. 

 Do you see the ant in the picture below?

 No? Look again............

 I really do have too much time on my hands sometimes. 

But water gets boring so I make my own honey green tea. Lately I've been substituting a bag of Celestrial Seasonings Country Peach Passion (you use and get creative with what you can get here) but I'm not sure if I like that as much as the simple Green Tea flavor. I also use either the Bigelow Jasmine Green or Earl Grey Green. The Earl Grey Green hot is also surprizingly good.

ElBananakeet'S ISLAND GREEN TEA

4 Tea Bags of a green tea

2 cups very hot nearly-boiled water

2T of honey

2 cups cold water

Lemon slice and lemongrass

1. Boil water for 2 cups of tea using 4 teabags
2. Infuse for 3-4 minutes
3. Remove tea bags
4. Allow to cool
5. Pour tea into a pitcher and add 2T of honey
6. Stir to dissolve
7. Pour in 2 cups of cold water
8. Chill in the refrigerator
9. Serve in a tall glass with ice cubes and garnished with lemon slices and/or lemongrass

It's very strange, as if the animals and insects are sensitive to the climate. Sounds are muted but carrying as if being funneled , almost like a ventriloquist. It's hard to tell where a sound is coming from.I hope this doesn't last too long.

Writing a blog is difficult literary work. A verbal challenge sometimes. To not sound repetitious, and bore myself,  I have to come up with an interchangeable list of adjectives that describe my world on St John.

1. BEAUTIFUL

beauteous, bonny, brilliant, comely, dazzling, devastating, excellent, fair, famous, fine,  gorgeous, handsome, heavenly, impressive, lovely, out of this world, pretty, ravishing, remarkable, royal, sensational, smashing (too British) , spectacular, striking, superior, wonderful, amazing, astonishing, astounding, bemusing, bewildering,  confounding, overwhelming, paralyzing, petrifying, awesome (no... too childish), fascinating, incredible, marvelous, prodigious, shocking, stunning, surprising, unbelievable,

 amazing, astounding, bewildering, breathtaking, extraordinary, impressive, marvelous, miraculous, spectacular, staggering, startling, striking, stunning , stupefying, stupendous, wondrous ........  breathe............

2. WARM     balmy, broiling, clement, close, flushed, glowing, heated, hot, melting, mild, perspiring, pleasant, roasting, scorching, sizzling, summery (right), sunny, sweating, sweaty, sweltering, temperate, tepid, thermal, toasty,  moderate, moist, pleasant, refreshing, temperate, tropical (that fits).......

3. PEACEFUL quiet, amicable, bucolic, bloodless (huh?), calm, collected, composed, constant, easeful, Edenesque, equable, gentle, halcyon, harmonious,idyllic, irenic, level, mellow, neutral,  placid, quiet, restful, smooth, steady, still, tranquil, undisturbed......
 

4. INSPIRING   absorbing, affecting, arresting, august, awe-inspiring, consequential, cool, deep, dramatic, effective, eloquent, excited, exciting, extraordinary, forcible, grand, impassioned, important, imposing, impressive, intense, lavish, luxurious, majestic, massive (nope) , momentous, monumental, moving, noble, notable, penetrating,  profound, remarkable, rousing, splendid, stately, stirring, striking, sumptuous, superb, thrilling, touching, towering, vital, amazing, astounding, bewildering, breathtaking, extraordinary, marvelous, miraculous, spectacular, staggering, startling, striking, stunning, stupefying, stupendous, wonderful, wondrous 

WHEW! I'm collecting these words so anyone have any to add , give me a shout. As for me, I'm off to Tuesday evening Yoga because it's (see 1-4 above).