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......