Loquats, Southern Strangers and Stain Glass Nudes

A little bit about Bermuda.

In Bermuda all the houses have names. Some are the names of places like The Netherlands and Bayridge. The Cliff, Lemon Tree, Blue Rocks, Amber, Looking Glass, and Mango Hill are just a few of the ones I've seen. Dimensions and Serendipity would suggest that a house could elude to be circumstantial, giving the name a somewhat abstract appeal. Some simply describe the location like Windy Cottage. Others are named after people like Irwin, Evelyn, and Tucker's Villa.

My house is called Shadow Lawns. I know it sounds somewhat mysterious. There are palm trees lining the walk to the main house by they are by no means creating large ambiguous shadows. In the back yard, is the tree that I think this property is named after. It is a large bare branched tree (Royal Poinciana I believe) that cast creepy finger-like shadows at night. From May to Sept. this tree supposedly will blossom with scarlet flowers. Right now the loquats on the loquat trees are just about ripe everywhere on the island. I picked one off a tree this morning to try and they are very tasty. They start out on the outside tasting like a pear but they are juice on the inside like a plum. They are a yellow-orange colour and there is a tree at the center of the school that I work at.

I had a fantastic day exploring Horseshoe Bay Beach on Wednesday. This beach is absolutely gorgeous. I took about 30 pictures and I will be sure to email you. I went to the beach with the intention of relaxing by the ocean, reading a book and taking in the breath-stealing beauty of Bermuda. After about an hour of hanging out I decided to go exploring. I walked the coastline of the beach to the end where there is a cove. I was in there taking pictures and looking around for washed up tressure when a man asked me to take his picture. This guy had grey flowing hair and was probably in his sixties. He had an extremely southern accent. He wanted to take the picture to make his wife jealous. He wanted to email it back to her and make her feel remorse for not joining him in his journey.

After taking his picture three times, and a video of him. He returned the favour for me. I started to explore further on my own, and I found a lookout point not far from the cove overlooking the shoreline for miles. Mark (the southern guy) was still in the cove below me, so I waved a hello. He decided to venture up and was very greatful to me for once again taking his picture. He works for a reinsurance company which is a huge industry here in Bermuda. He is also a real estate agent in Mississippi. He was only down for a couple of days but he was very friendly. We parted ways and I continued on this walking path that joins Horseshoe Bay Beach with Warwick Long Beach (the largest beach on the island). I didn't make it all the way there but I will someday soon. The trails would be great to ride on if you had a peddle bike. I was hunger so I turned back for home.

I went golfing yesterday at Belmont Hills Golf Course. I played pretty will with borrowed clubs and no practice. I think minus a few mental lapses I wasn't far from being "on my game." I rode in a cart with Jackie, the health and social science teacher. Half way throught the round she told me how courageous and brave she thought I was for coming down here. That thought had never really occurred to me, I felt anxious, nervous, and even afraid at times. I was pleasently surprised to hear that, I just want to teach. Shortly after Dustin asked me if I took lessons because my swing was quite natural. I told him that I had some unofficial lessons from my coach, SPK. So then we started talking about hockey. He is a nice guy, newly married with a two year old little boy named Hudson. Dustin is one of the Physical Education teachers at the school. I had a birdie on the 18th hole, my best of the day I outdrove everyone and stuck a seven iron over 150 to the green. Then I sunk a 10 foot putt. I was pretty happy! I only lost one ball all day in an errand play, but I found one also so I came up even.

This morning, I went for a hour run to Church Bay Park, there is a little beach here, but the views of the rocks along the coast are the real appeal. There are picnic tables and benches overlooking the ocean here. There is a resort just before it called The Reefs. The little villas are quite cute and there is a practice putting green on the property which I thought was a neat idea. I have yet to see any mini-golf places here on the island but I guess that is an American concept. In Florida mini-golf was a reason to create a minor theme park.

I went to the Bermuda National Art Gallery today. This grand building is next to the Bus Terminal and I had been meaning to venture in and check it out. The gallery is also the location of City Hall in Hamilton, Bermuda. Two exhibitions are currently running at the art gallery, David L. White and Vivienne J. Gardner's collections. White's collection was comprised of mostly scenic landscapes depicted in watercolour, and oil pastels. They were very pretty but they resembled the usual tourist fair here in Bermuda. The oils were very well done and I like the images of people. He had one with a man sleeping on the pier and another with a woman sweeping the front step called "The Green Door."

V. Gardner's collection was awe inspiring. She is a little old woman who has been creating stain glass artwork for years. She creates pieces for churches and private homes. I really enjoyed seeing the compositions that she has created with sketches or etches done into the glass. These resembled a sketch on an x-ray machine. She had one of a tiger, and unicorn, and one of a nude woman. They were very interesting and extremely vibrant. I wandered around downtown for the remainder of the day. Then I did some shopping and returned home for dinner.

Congrats to the Canadian Women's Team!
Go Canada Go!!! I really hope these boys can pull it together for the next two games.
Let's go LOUUUU!