The beginnings of a green roof.
Inspecting the new stairs
A Marigot Bay sunset. It’s been a steady week on the house build. Not too much rain, although that isn’t too much of a problem now as the guys can carry on working under cover. The metal roof should have been started a few days ago but Caribbean Metal have been held up on their previous job so are now threatening to work over the weekend. Stud walls and ceilings are beginning to appear internally, and the odd door and window frames are in place. The electrician is positioning wiring for sockets and wall lights and the plasterer has been busy on internal walls and balconies. You can also see from the photo that the wooden stairs between the second and third floors is beginning to take shape.
I spent my first morning on site yesterday supervising the planting of twelve fruit trees in the lower part of the garden. We are keen to get these started now to provide soil retention and shore up the bank of earth that moves with each downpour, and also to take advantage of the rainy season that makes everything grow in leaps and bounds. The trees were bought from the Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture and are all grafted, between 4ft and 6ft high, with the citrus already bearing fruits. We bought three different types of mango - Julie, Graham and Austin - an orange, a pink and a white grapefruit, a tangerine, a green-apple, a cherry, a star fruit, a guava and a seedless lime. The green–apple isn’t an apple or the cherry a cherry; it’s just what they call them here and you make juice from them. The avocado trees will be coming in a few weeks time. All the trees are £10 each, and across the road from the tree depot is the garden area where all plants are £2. Here there are hibiscus, bougainvillea, helliconia, bromeliads, lilies and all sorts of flowering shrubs. It will be a while before we can start on the flower gardens, but great to get an idea of what is available. We have also bought lots of potting bags that are now filled with compost ready for cuttings. We will have to fence in the land with a chain link when the house is complete, and it would look quite ugly unless we cover it with vines and bougainvillea - hence the preparation of cuttings now.
This weekend should have been another drive to a new area of the island, but the roof may take precedence. We had a restless night last night as Tropical Storm Felix went to the south of us, just bringing a few squalls and heavy rain, but we had to prepare the boat for bigger things just in case it veered towards us. So, it is time to put the awning back up and take off the extra lines, but having looked at the satellite picture of the Atlantic we can see another wave coming off the coast of Africa. The whole process is beginning to become tedious and we can’t wait to get into the house when we will be able to prep the boat once at the beginning of the season and then just let her sit until the end of October.
I spent my first morning on site yesterday supervising the planting of twelve fruit trees in the lower part of the garden. We are keen to get these started now to provide soil retention and shore up the bank of earth that moves with each downpour, and also to take advantage of the rainy season that makes everything grow in leaps and bounds. The trees were bought from the Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture and are all grafted, between 4ft and 6ft high, with the citrus already bearing fruits. We bought three different types of mango - Julie, Graham and Austin - an orange, a pink and a white grapefruit, a tangerine, a green-apple, a cherry, a star fruit, a guava and a seedless lime. The green–apple isn’t an apple or the cherry a cherry; it’s just what they call them here and you make juice from them. The avocado trees will be coming in a few weeks time. All the trees are £10 each, and across the road from the tree depot is the garden area where all plants are £2. Here there are hibiscus, bougainvillea, helliconia, bromeliads, lilies and all sorts of flowering shrubs. It will be a while before we can start on the flower gardens, but great to get an idea of what is available. We have also bought lots of potting bags that are now filled with compost ready for cuttings. We will have to fence in the land with a chain link when the house is complete, and it would look quite ugly unless we cover it with vines and bougainvillea - hence the preparation of cuttings now.
This weekend should have been another drive to a new area of the island, but the roof may take precedence. We had a restless night last night as Tropical Storm Felix went to the south of us, just bringing a few squalls and heavy rain, but we had to prepare the boat for bigger things just in case it veered towards us. So, it is time to put the awning back up and take off the extra lines, but having looked at the satellite picture of the Atlantic we can see another wave coming off the coast of Africa. The whole process is beginning to become tedious and we can’t wait to get into the house when we will be able to prep the boat once at the beginning of the season and then just let her sit until the end of October.
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