Another beautiful day in paradise!

It's another beauuuuuuuuuuuuuuutiful day in paradise!

Things are bloomin' all over the place!

Things are bloomin', and makin' fruit all over the place ... YUM!!!!

We've got bananas and papaya and passion fruit galore .... YIPPPPEEEE!!!!

Tags: Virgin Islands, paradise, bloom, fruit, island, st. croix, caribbean

Sunny and warm

It's another beautiful day in paradise; currently 77 degrees, and will probably reach the mid 80's this afternoon. It would be a great day to skip work and go to the beach. Maybe tomorrow.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

OOOOOOOOOOOPS, I'm a dork!     .... I seem to be a month behind, imagine that! I've got lots of catchin' up to do! And plenty of pictures to share .... stay tuned!

~Jill~

Nobody here but us and a couple of lizards!

Today was a holiday here, Christmas 2nd day. I'm not kidding, it's true, it's really a holiday and that's what they call it. It was a day off for us, but HoneyBunch/Rudy and I went to work to take care of a couple of things. I happened to look out the window and spotted 2 big iguana frolicking in the parking lot. HOLY COW!!!!! Was I excited???? You better believe it!! I ran in and alerted HoneyBunch/Rudy, we grabbed our camera and snapped them in action. We threw them a couple of Christmas cookies, but they opted for weeds instead. It was quite an amazing site, they looked so happy to have the parking lot to themselves, not having to dodge customers and cars and heavy equipment. I think they were truly enjoying their Christmas 2nd day ... I believe it might be like a day at the beach for us. Good times!

Christmas in paradise

Christmas in paradise ... it's a beautiful thing! We found one of the most spectacular lighting displays on island, they even have Christmas music playing in the back ground.

Christmas day we went for a dive at Cane Bay, very nice. We saw a big barracuda and a couple of manta rays and a whole bunch of beautiful fishies ... what a great way to spend Christmas Day.

The beach was definitely the place to be on Chrismas Day. As we were exiting the water after our dive, Diane, our favorite waitress from Cane Bay Beach bar came up to greet us and give us a big Christmas hug!  She and her family were camped in the shade on the beach, sipping holiday spirits, enjoying their Christmas feast and playing in the sand. What an amazing site, watching all the families and friends enjoying the holiday together at the beach... this IS paradise!

 

Empty nest

The hummers have both flown the coop ... the nest is empty and all is quiet. I saw both babies fly away on different days ... not a smooth first flight. In fact, the first one flew out and landed on the porch and I scooped it up and tried to place it ever so gently back in the nest. It wouldn't stay and eventually took off into the wild blue yonder. Actually, it landed in the bushes at the edge of the driveway and I couldn't find it again. The 2nd baby left a couple days later, again, not a pretty first flight. It went in the same direction as it's sibling, so I'm thinking they stuck together and are learning the ways of the land side by side. Mama hummer was back a couple of times and has since been spotted feeding from the flowers around the porch. I'm hoping she'll use this nest again next time. It was a great experience watching them develop ... my oh my .... I think I'm suffering from empty nest syndrome!

Full House

Feathers and beaks ... no room for mama!

I'm not your Mama!

Look at that ... they've got their mouths AND their eyes open! I took this picture this morning, while Mama Hummer was out getting breakfast. Apparently she's not spending much time in the nest these days, probably a little too crowded, with those big beaks and all. In fact, yesterday morning I hadn't seen the mama hummer,  she didn't sleep in the nest at night, causing me a bit of panic. I was thinking perhaps something had happened to her, nabbed by a cat or grabbed by one of the local kestrel's that hang around the casa. Fortunately she reappeared and is continuing to take good care of the twins. Lucky for them, I don't think I could possibly take over the feeding ... it's a full time job for her.

Hummer growth

I do believe the little hummers are getting cuter by the minute ... NOT! But I do see wings and cuteness in their near future ... any day now ... I'm sure!

Pretty night blooms

The orchid cactus was in bloom last night, I snapped these photo's very early this morning. I guess insomnia isn't always a bad thing! The blooms only last 1 night and then drop off. I see more buds, more blooms are on the horizon ... YIPPPPEEEEEE!

How small is small?

This picture really puts into perspective just how small small really is! Rudy's pointer finger next to the little nest ... amazing, huh?

Baby hummingbirds ... YIPPPEEEE

I'm soooooooooooo excited ... I checked the nest this morning and both eggs have been replaced by 2 little hummingbirds. Not the cutest baby animals I've ever seen, but I'm sure they'll be getting cute any minute. I'll check again tomorrow and see if they're cute. Stay tuned!

Deck the hummer halls!

It seems mama hummer has decided to deck the halls! I noticed this evening she's placed some greenery on the front of her nest, I think it might be a Christmas wreath or perhaps it's her Christmas tree  ...  it's soooooooo cute!

In other events here in paradise, last night I noticed what looked like a big black butterfly fluttering around our back porch. It landed and I grabbed my camera and snapped some photos. I was really surprised to see the intricate designs and beautiful colors of this critter in the close up shots. Turns out it's some kind of moth, and one of the local gecko's decided to check it out. Apparently when the gecko was close enough to see clearly, he decided to high-tail it out of there, a little too big for his dinner plate I suppose. When the moth decided to take flight, it fluttered around the porch light, capturing the attention of a couple of our cats, they were ready to pounce. I quickly ran indoors, grabbed my butterfly net, yes, I really have a butterfly net, but that's for catching sick kittens ... another story for another time. I flung the net over the moth, and then stood there ... not sure what to do next. HONEYBUNCH to the rescue! Rudy carefully captured the moth inside the net and we took him out to the front porch and set him free. Awwwwwww ... I love happy endings!

The Adventures of Maully & Mr. Stinkers

Hummingbird video

And then there were 2!

I'm sooooo eggcited!

YIPPPPPPEEEEEEEEE! She did it, Mama Hummer laid her first egg, and it's a beaut! I noticed yesterday and today she was still adding more bits and pieces to the nest. When I checked this morning I was so surprised to see she'd laid an egg. Perhaps, if I give her some privacy, she'll lay another egg or 2.

5 years ago!

Holy Cow! 

It was 5 years ago today, I moved to paradise! Seems like only yesterday I was packin' up my dog, Shilo, my cat, Mr. Stinkers, and my worldy possessions and headin' for St. Croix. Time flies, I'm definitely havin' fun!

Catching up

    

HOLY COW ... I've been back for 2 weeks and the time is flyin' by!

It's another beautiful day here in paradise, warm already, with pretty blue skies and puffy white clouds ...

Observed at: St. Croix, Virgin Islands Elevation: 62 ft / 19 m

82 °F / 28 °C Partly Cloudy

Time to get showered and head to Cane Bay for breakfast. It's a great day for hittin' the beach, perhaps we'll take the pups for a short road trip later today.

BIG NEWS: The hummingbird has continued building the nest on the front porch, I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited! I'll be checking for eggs and takin' pictures. I think the little hummer used some of the dryer lint I put out for it ... awwwwwwwww, so cute.

Enjoy the day, more later!