-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
People enjoying a festival are one of the many things that help define a place and a community. The two men standing next to each other, one in red festival garb, look up the street and communicate as men often do — by standing next to each other saying nothing. And the young girl concentrates on her performance as a majorette, baton in hand,…
These are two of a series of images from the Adults’ Parade — the culmination of the Christmas festival on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. If you enjoy a party, can find the shade, drink beer in the afternoon, and move to the earsplitting sounds of reggae, soca and calypso, you will like the Adults’ Parade and its genuine atmosphere of a…
Even when storms pass hundreds of miles away they can send large waves that leave surprises on the beach. The rusty tank above was most likely a fuel tank from a boat, washed away from one shore, and deposited here in front of the red fort in Frederiksted. The bold geometric blocks of color seemed to call attention to what the sea had left…
The “Red Majorettes” was selected, along with work from 13 other artists, for inclusion in the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts 2011 calendar. It is the first year that photography-based images have been included as a fine art. The “Red Majorettes” illustrate the month of December — a fitting choice because December is the beginning of the festival season on St. Croix. I…
During a peaceful afternoon in a forest garden everyday scenes come alive. When the breeze blows, the dappled spots of sunlight and deep shadows swirl around the three chairs neatly arranged on the lawn under a large spreading tree, waiting for the guests to arrive. And then there are the fallen leaves just under the surface of the water that has collected in the…
St. Croix is over-run with feral chickens, free range at its utmost. Of course, no one eats them (too tough or something like that). Instead, nearly all the chicken consumed (and it is a local favorite) are shipped in from Tyson Foods, or some similar factory farm. So except for the danger from cars (and an occasional dog or mongoose), these local chickens are…
There are ruins, both old and new, on the old site of Fort Louise Augusta high above the point that guards the entrance to Christiansted harbor. Some of these ruins are decorated with graffiti that are not likely to be innocent. Just to the left of the graffiti are the remains of an old building covered in the thorny cactus-like stalks of the night-blooming…
Living so close to and surrounded by the sea, one develops a relationship with it — probably not unlike the relationship desert dwellers have with the desert, or forest dwellers with the forest. This awareness of place can help us be more attuned to messages from the world around us, and sometimes even feel its joys and pains.
Each summer, the local botanical garden hosts “Mango Melee”, a festival focused on mangoes and other tropical fruit. Many of these fruits are unusual in their texture and flavor, and unfamiliar to those of us used to the apples, grapes, peaches and pears more common in the temperate regions. Some tropical fruits are a bit sour, others cloyingly sweet, some firm and crunchy, some…
This donation box “for feeding the animals” is at a mini-zoo in the rainforest, part of the entertainment at a little stand that sells fabulous tropical fruit smoothies. The brightly hand-painted box sits on the metal base from an old Singer treadle sewing machine — somehow not out of place at all in this rustic location. In another form of donation, the local Senate…
Donald Diddams 