17 days.....

Thought I would create a quick entry this afternoon as I have some time. I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. It is a glorious day and by far my most favorite holiday of the year.....or something like that. We celebrated by having a Mexican feast. Kyle, a typical 23-year old dude when it comes to cooking, has been testing his hand the past month and spearhead's the Sunday night communal meal every week. Claire and Ella have been assisting Kyle in this endeavor and he has shown a great deal of progress. Let's just say....Kyle did not know how to cook eggs. Yes....any egg. I'm sure glad he showed up though as now I'm not the sole recipient of all the cooking jokes! The past week also saw the arrival of "pig patrol". One of the pigs was "eliminated" on Monday and the hope now is that this sends an alarm to rest of the swine population. Sleep has been a rare commodity at the Garden with the pigs and Foxy's barking. And with the rain we've had the past week the work days have become quite exhausting at times. But things are looking up now.....We continue to make progress on the Garden and, according to Claire, it looks as good as it ever has. It has been nice to see all of our work make a difference. February has also been "project" month at the Garden. Kyle enjoys spending most of his afternoons working on different projects around the Garden and I've joined him in this campaign. One of the most successful projects being worked on right now is the "Chill Out Garden". This is located up above the intern house next to the Fruit Garden and has been the main project worked on by Kyle. It sits in the forest with a gap in the trees giving us a view of St. Kitts. We have also hung a tire swing and a board swing, as well as hung a wicker chair from a tree. There is a small fire pit and a small reclining bench. We have hung solar powered Christmas-type lights and I donated my lantern that hangs down from one of the big gum trees. I am almost finished making a half-circle, reclined back, mini bench that will allow all the volunteers and interns the chance to sit down and enjoy the view of a sunset in the Caribbean. Yesterday actually saw the completion of Cornhole! Or bags as we call it. We played last night and found my stiffest competition will be Mr. Wicks....although with the ability I possess in bags I don't see myself losing any time soon. The volunteer pavillion that Nadio and I have been working on since November is almost complete and we are also nearly finished with an outdoor shower. So things are still going great and hope to fit it as much as I can the last remaining days! Until next time America......

Let the countdown begin!

24 days.....and I will touch down in Minneapolis. Here's a little recap of the past couple weeks on the wonderful island of St. Eustatius. January 17 saw us say good-bye to Joe the trails intern and welcome in Sapphira. Saph hails from the U.K. and seems like she will be a suitable replacement for Joe. Although losing a guy and gaining another girl really upsets the guy/girl ratio now. Kyle and I just toe the line and make sure we don't rock the boat! We also successfully cleared the last remaining trail in the mountains....3rd Ridge. This is quite an accomplishment and Hannah is very pleased with the progress we have made the past 4 months. There is still a lot of signs to be hung on the trails as well as a trail that completes the crater rim. Right now there is only a trail half-way around, Mazinga Trail. The plan is for a trail to be blazed to complete this. Should be interesting....wish I would be around to help! I also got the chance to work with a bunch of University of Puerto Rico students a couple weeks ago. 8 students and 2 professors. They were on island to complete snake and orchid surverys. It was a great time and one instance in which I would have liked to have known Spanish!!Monday this week saw us welcome in 2 new volunteers.....Eve Champagne and Matt Wicks. Eve is French Canadian hailing from Montreal and Matt is another Brit. That now makes 8 of us at the Garden. Speaking of the Garden......the past few weeks we have been victims of the Invasion of the Pigs. Yep....pigs are sneaking in, mostly during the evening, and wreaking havoc on the Garden. And fortunately for us, our wonderful Garden dog Foxy feels the need to bark ALL night long! It has been a tiring last couple of weeks but we are managing. "Pig Patrol" as we call it, is actually coming out next week to remedy the situation. Apparently the pig farmer does not show much concern over the problem so there may be some swine murder happening next week. I suggested they just outfit me with a firearm and let me go to town. I did not get much support in that idea. So we will see.....Last week also saw the closing of one our favorite island bar and restaurants, The Fruit Tree. Great food and great atmostphere.....it will be missed. Other than that, the work week has remained the same and I keep myself busy "off hours" doing a lot of hiking and laying on the beach. It's been a weekly weekend routine for me to get up Saturday and Sunday and hike around the Quill.....Around the Mountain Trail to be precise. Great workout and most of it is out of the sun. But anyways.....gotta run......until next time America!