Day Thirteen

My oh my, a lot has been happening since I last wrote. Friday was Family Friday which means that everyone from the garden gets together to work on a community project. This Friday we did road maintenance. I’ve decided to do a little “How To” on fixing a road using cement.

Step One: Mix dirt fill and cement together until you make a homogenous mixture.

Step Two: Form a hole in the middle of the dirt/cement mound and add water. Slowly add the mixture to the middle of the hole using the sides of the mound.

Step Three: Turn the mixture over with a shovel and repeat Step Two.

Step Four: Continue the process until you have formed a nice bit of sloppy cement.

Step Five: Wet the area you wish to pour cement on. Take shovel-fulls of cement and apply to said area.

Step Six: Smooth out cement.

Step Seven: Write your name or draw a picture of Foxy Dog in cement.

And voila! Road Maintenance in seven steps!

Now, on with the rest of the weekend. After work, we had a bonfire up at the garden to celebrate Bonfire Night. It’s an English holiday where the people celebrate the unsuccessful attempt of Guy Fox to burn down Parliament. It was good fun. Ella and Heather made curries and I made oreo truffles. The food was delicious and we all enjoyed shooting skewers out of a BB gun after dinner.

On Saturday, the sun was out in full force. Joe, Randy, and Ella hiked the Northern Hills. Heather went to dig up turtle nests with the Marine Park and Sarah, Jean, and I went to swim and lay out at the pier. When it got too hot we stopped in at the Spanish Bar for a cold beverage and then walked Crook’s Castle in search of blue bead treasures. In the evening there was a turtle release at Zeelandia Beach. The Marine Park had found a nest that hatched successfully so they removed the turtles in the morning and scheduled a release for that evening. By removing them from the nest it saves them the energy of having to dig themselves out and gives them a better chance at making it to the ocean. There were 120 hatchlings and almost all of them made a quick dash for the sea. It was an incredible experience and it was wonderful to be able to share it with people who have worked really hard this nesting season to ensure the safety of the turtles.

When we awoke on Sunday, the weather was overcast and windy. We packed our stuff up and headed down to Lower Town to check out the beach. The swell was big and the waves were washing over the end of the pier. It wasn’t sunny enough or warm enough to lay out so we again walked over to Crook’s Castle for some blue bead action. We didn’t find any but we found a lot of neat pottery and shells. In the evening we had dinner over at Gay and Hank’s. We had steak and potatoes with broccoflower and salad. It was delicious.

All in all, it was a great weekend. We relaxed and had good food. What more could a girl ask for?