Burning marshmallows were a common sight at last night’s bonfire and barbeque. Yesterday, all of Calico Jack Pavilion’s hardworking chefs could be seen carrying food, a grill, and plenty of other things to prepare for the spectacular barbecue. When it started, at 7:00, almost everyone was there in an instant. Food (very good food, may I add) was piled on plates and quickly devoured. Steak, chicken, Caesar salad, and corn were just some of the things available. Then, the dessert! So good! Warm cookies with ice cream and baked apples. Following that, one of the cooks doused a bunch of crates with gasoline and threw a match onto them. A pile of graham crackers, chocolate, ad marshmallows was then set out. Kids ran around the fire, unsure of whether or not to go. Finally, one of the youngest kids decided to stick a marshmallow into the flames, which as you might imagine put all of us older kids to shame. I lit a few on fire (personally I think that the best marshmallows are the burned ones), and then handed my stick to someone else. I left when it began to get dark, full of chocolate and hoping that I wouldn’t be kept up all night by it.
I know, I know. I did promise that “Gumbolimbo” would be my last plant/animal blog. Rock Iguanas are just so cool though! They’re the lizards that I talked about in my very first blog entry, the ones that are endangered and tend to get underfoot. I’ve almost squashed twenty (give or take). So. Let’s get started with a few basic facts. It’s scientific name is Cyclura carinata, of which the “Cyclura” derives from the Greek κύκλος (or “cyclos” which means circular) and Greek οὐρά (or “oura” (supposed to be an accent on the “a”) which means tail). These iguanas are also in the “very endangered” stage of things, with many dying out mainly to their almost only predators: feral dogs and cats. On various cays large numbers have died out when only a small amount of these predators were introduced . Next, we’ll get to the cool things. If Turks and Caicos Rock Iguanas are caught in a flood, they can inflate themselves and float to safety! How cool is that?! Also, if a Rock Iguanas tail happens to break off, it will grow back looking like it never broke off in the first place! No matter how cool it may be, though, I still wouldn’t want to find an iguana tail lying in the road (sorry that I have to leave you with that gross image).
Someone shouted that, but I don’t remember who exactly (just kidding). This episode occured at the Welcome Hut, just moments before a plane full of prospects arrived. Will grabbed me just as I was returning from my dorm and said,”There’s a snake in the Welcome Hut. We’re going to get it out.” We ran down to the Welcome Hut, where concierge were all hopping from foot to foot, panicking that we wouldn’t get the snake and it would drop down onto one of the prospects’ heads (even though it was a harmless rainbow boa (the only type of snake here) that didn’t even have fangs). Will said,”Get a chair!” About five different people rushed to get the same chair and bring it to him. Someone said “Go! Go! They’re almost here!” He clambered onto the chair, but it wasn’t tall enough! Mr. Stubbs (the assistant general manager) commanded, “Get on my shoulders!” Will managed to get on them and they teetered around trying to get into the right position. Suddenly, Will’s hand locked around the snake and he jumped to the ground as it slithered around his hand. He ran and dumped it into the bushes, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Not here, that’s for sure. Although we do have safari tents, they don’t come equipped with lions, the Amazon, and men in camouflage hunting gear. When the Sporting Club was in its earlier stages, safari tents were built to house members. They’re still here now, but are mainly used to house prospects, which are people who are thinking about buying property. Today I went in one, and was surprised to see how beautiful they are, even though they may not look it. They have comfortable chairs, a fridge, running water, and a very nice bed. They even have small decks with two reclining beach chairs! If you look below you can see the video, and I’m sure you’ll like as much as I did.
Doesn’t really really rhyme like with Bill Nye. Not to mention the fact that Chad actually works in the waste treatment plant and doesn’t have a TV show. Still, though, you don’t have to be the Science Guy to do scientific things. For example, today I saw Chad in the ELC. He was conducting an experiment with bacteria he brought over from the waste treatment plant. He had hooked a microscope to his computer which in turn was linked to a big flatscreen television. He put a droplet of the bacteria on a slide, and slid it under the microscope. He said that the bacteria were good bacteria that helped filter the waste. At the moment, though, the baceria were dying, because they were being simultaneously fried (the strong light in the microscope) and suffocated (no oxygen in the jar). We started to look for living bacteria, but found only a few. This was also due to the fact that there was not enough food(the waste… they eat it) for them all because not many guests were currently on the island. Some of the bacteria we did see, however, were an amoeba ( a very simple single-cell organism) and two nematodes (small microscopic worms). By the time that I was done, I knew a lot more about bacteria, escpecially that they can eat human food ( saw one nibbling on salad).
Yes, I am so very sad to say, Scout and Rascal the baby birds have passed away. This morning when I went to the ELC to feed them, I found their poor little bodies lying pitifully in their box. My dad and I took them outside to the flagpole to give them a proper burial. I said some words (just kidding) and my dad dug small holes . We placed them in and marked the grave with a stick. I wrote the first initial of each of their names on top of their graves. I think that their nest was disturbed about a day before we found them, so they were already malnourished and had been without their mother for too long. I wish that I could have saved them, but they were too far gone when Will and I found them. I hope that they rest in peace.
A real cottage. Not cottage cheese. Seriously, when you buy a lot on Ambergris Cay and have a house put up on it, the house is built and tastefully furnished for you (the designs are essentially the same, but there are some things you can change)! How cool is that?! Today I managed to get my dad to tour me through a cottage that the owner kindly rents out to other members without houses yet (so we didn’t have to break in or anything). When I first went in, my jaw dropped. It was so nice! The rooms were really pretty, and to complete the whole thing there was a beautiful courtyard where you could choose to have a patio, a pool, grass, or a mix of any of the three. There was even a stairway that led onto the beach. The beach was right there! A personal grocery service is also available for all who want to eat at home to make a change from the restaurant (great though the restaurant may be). If I could(or was old enough, for that matter) I definitely would build a house here.
Yes, it was a flower showcase, but there weren’t any awards for the “best flower” or anything like that. Today, a primary school teacher came to the island with the intention of learning about many of the plants that occured naturally on Ambergris Cay and were indigenous to TCI. Steve McFarlane and I took her on a tour. First, we searched for some Frangipani, which was fruiting but not plentifully. Then, we searched for the very rare and only-appearing-on-TCI Turks Island Heather, which the teacher happily took pictures of. Surrounding it was a large patch of Sea Purslane, which we fed to the teacher and watched her face as she took her first salty mouthful. Following this, we went hunting for Monkey Fiddle, which is a very cool leafless plant. Steve and I wished we’d brought a container because the ripe seds were plentiful and it is a plant that is hard to asexually propagate (for information on that, see “Back at the nursery…”).When we finally finished, all I could think of was how much no-itch cream I was going to have to put on to stop me from scratching off all of the mosquito bites I’d gotten.
Ok. This is going to be a sad one, so I’m sorry to all of the bird lovers reading this. Early today, Will Hobbs (the club naturalist) and I went down to Columbus Beach South because a beach cleaner had seen an “injured bird.” (Just so you know, the reason that I use quotation marks there is because oftentimes a big bird like the one we found will pretend to be injured to lure people away from her nest if she has one) So, we went down, and discovered that the “injured bird” was in fact injured. Will and I think that it hit a rock while diving for fish. Then, Will wrapped it up in a sheet that he had brought, and I got to drive the cart back to the ELC (oh yeah!). We set it in a cage, but when Will first tried to move it in the cage the great long beak had an attempt at getting his throat (that could’ve ended really badly…he was so lucky). Later, we found out that the bird was fatally injured, and will sadly probably have to be euthanized to put him out of his misery (poor guy…even though he did try to injure us).
This one is going to be a happy and cute one to distract you from the sad ending of the other bird’s story. When we found the big bird today, on the beach, we also found two baby bird hatchlings. Their (sorry, this part is sad) nest had most likely been destroyed and they had been touched by humans so their mother would never come back. Happily, though, Will and I found them before anything happened to them and brought them back to the ELC. They were so young, only a few days out of the egg at most. Then, Will told me something that blew my mind. He said, “You should probably go and catch some grasshoppers to mash for the hatchlings.” Nasty. Grasshopper guts. So, anyway, I went and caught them; bringing them back in a plastic container. A lucky few got to die quickly thanks to the iguana, but the rest I drowned (please don’t think that I’m a horrible person). I put the grasshoppers on the top of the plastic container and began to mash them. I’ll save you the nasty details, and just tell you that by the time I finished and added some water, I was left with a murky brown mixture that I put into a dropper. I dropper-fed the hatchlings, and then left some of the bits they didn’t eat in a bottle cap with a little bit of water. Hope with me that they survive, because it would be so amazing if I got to see them grow up and fly for the first time.
Burning marshmallows were a common sight at last night’s bonfire and barbeque. Yesterday, all of Calico Jack Pavilion’s hardworking chefs could be seen carrying food, a grill, and plenty of other things to prepare for the spectacular barbecue. When it started, at 7:00, almost everyone was there in an instant. Food (very good food, may I add) was piled on plates and quickly devoured. Steak, chicken, Caesar salad, and corn were just some of the things available. Then, the dessert! So good! Warm cookies with ice cream and baked apples. Following that, one of the cooks doused a bunch of crates with gasoline and threw a match onto them. A pile of graham crackers, chocolate, ad marshmallows was then set out. Kids ran around the fire, unsure of whether or not to go. Finally, one of the youngest kids decided to stick a marshmallow into the flames, which as you might imagine put all of us older kids to shame. I lit a few on fire (personally I think that the best marshmallows are the burned ones), and then handed my stick to someone else. I left when it began to get dark, full of chocolate and hoping that I wouldn’t be kept up all night by it.
I know, I know. I did promise that “Gumbolimbo” would be my last plant/animal blog. Rock Iguanas are just so cool though! They’re the lizards that I talked about in my very 
Doesn’t really really rhyme like with Bill Nye. Not to mention the fact that Chad actually works in the waste treatment plant and doesn’t have a TV show. Still, though, you don’t have to be the Science Guy to do scientific things. For example, today I saw Chad in the ELC. He was conducting an experiment with bacteria he brought over from the waste treatment plant. He had hooked a microscope to his computer which in turn was linked to a big flatscreen television. He put a droplet of the bacteria on a slide, and slid it under the microscope. He said that the bacteria were good bacteria that helped filter the waste. At the moment, though, the baceria were dying, because they were being simultaneously fried (the strong light in the microscope) and suffocated (no oxygen in the jar). We started to look for living bacteria, but found only a few. This was also due to the fact that there was not enough food(the waste… they eat it) for them all because not many guests were currently on the island. Some of the bacteria we did see, however, were an amoeba ( a very simple single-cell organism) and two nematodes (small microscopic worms). By the time that I was done, I knew a lot more about bacteria, escpecially that they can eat human food ( saw one nibbling on salad).
Yes, I am so very sad to say, Scout and Rascal the baby birds have passed away. This morning when I went to the ELC to feed them, I found their poor little bodies lying pitifully in their box. My dad and I took them outside to the flagpole to give them a proper burial. I said some words (just kidding) and my dad dug small holes . We placed them in and marked the grave with a stick. I wrote the first initial of each of their names on top of their graves. I think that their nest was disturbed about a day before we found them, so they were already malnourished and had been without their mother for too long. I wish that I could have saved them, but they were too far gone when Will and I found them. I hope that they rest in peace.
A real cottage. Not cottage cheese. Seriously, when you buy a lot on Ambergris Cay and have a house put up on it, the house is built and tastefully furnished for you (the designs are essentially the same, but there are some things you can change)! How cool is that?! Today I managed to get my dad to tour me through a cottage that the owner kindly rents out to other members without houses yet (so we didn’t have to break in or anything). When I first went in, my jaw dropped. It was so nice! The rooms were really pretty, and to complete the whole thing there was a beautiful courtyard where you could choose to have a patio, a pool, grass, or a mix of any of the three. There was even a stairway that led onto the beach. The beach was right there! A personal grocery service is also available for all who want to eat at home to make a change from the restaurant (great though the restaurant may be). If I could(or was old enough, for that matter) I definitely would build a house here.
