PGW – I agree, that tree is special somehow. I’m going to walk over to it and stand under it, good idea. I wonder how long it has been there, maybe 40 or 50 years?
Booger – I’ve admired the group of cottonwoods in the Lantrisant property many times, I really like the one that has all the other plants growing on it, really spectacular.
Apologies to those of you who read my teaser and were anticipating something really exciting – and just got a photo of a treeBut I love the natural beauty of this island, and that tree blows me away.
OK, now I want to talk about dogs:
Years back, when I first started coming to Jamaica, the people here did not like dogs. No question about it, it was quite obvious. They would yell at the dogs, throw things at them, kick them or hit them with sticks and brooms, whatever was handy. And the dogs would, in general, give Jamaicans a wide berth when passing. In short, the dogs were treated like dogs. But now, apparently, Jamaicans love dogs.
Nowadays there are as many pet dogs around as there are strays. Obvious by the collars they wear, the well-fed look and general good appearance. There are also many, many stray dogs. I mean there are hundreds of them. They are obvious by their mangy, scruffy, starved look. Many of them have injuries and have scars on their hides. But they aren’t chased away like they used to be. And then there’s the category of not-a-pet, but not-a-stray. There are lots of semi-cared for dogs around too.
At night the dogs, pets and strays alike, howl and bark to each other over long distances. I sit out in the evening and I hear the dogs communicating back and forth. In the morning it’s the roosters crowing to each other across the yards. In the evening, it’s a symphony of barking dogs. Also, in the morning, the dogs like to crap on the side of the roads.
Speaking of dogs; yesterday we were walking the last section of road up to our place. Across the road from us there are two pet dogs. I saw them through the fence. They were playing. It looked like they had a big stuffed toy and were wrestling with it. Something didn’t quite seem right so I stopped to get a better look. Then I noticed that the stuffed toy that they were playing with was moving its legs and had feathers. It was a brown chicken. There are a lot of chickens that roam around up around our place. It looked like one of them had wandered into the wrong yard and paid the price. Bonus meal for the dogs - bad day for the chicken.
Later I talked to the gardener that works the property. He’s an older gentleman with years of hard work etched into his face and posture. He said the dogs had killed his only chicken, and that he’d had plans for it; no doubt involving a pot, spices and some vegetables. He said the dogs didn’t eat the chicken, just killed it and played with it a while. I asked him if the boss, the owner of the pets, would pay him for his chicken. He smiled ruefully and shook his head, “No, mon.”
One more thing about dogs. As I’ve mentioned, we have a ferocious guard dog, Luna. She visits us every day, looking for a brushing and a scratch behind the ears. The next time we were in the Hi Lo, I thought maybe Luna would like a little bone to gnaw on, so I went to the butcher shop in the back. The guy behind the counter was helping another customer, a Chinese dude.
When I had the opportunity I asked the butcher if he had any dog bones. He gave me this really weird, pained look, and said, “What?”
The Chinese dude smiled at me. I nodded at him.
So I repeated myself, “Do you have any dog bones?”
Again, the bewildered look, “You mean for soup?”
Then I realized that he thought I was this crazy tourist guy who was asking him if he had any dog meat for sale, like maybe a leg of dog.
“No, no,” I explained, “like a bone for a dog to eat.”
The butcher’s look changed from puzzled to offended, “No, mon, we don’t ‘ave no dog food!”
One of thousands . . . . good girl!
This will be our last stop on New Years Eve - in fact, our last stop of the year. If those girls are there, I'll post a photo for sure.
Check out the admission charge 'GOOD OVER EVEL' They misspelled the 'Evil' part of it, but literally it means. 'No charge, but come to party (the good), not to make trouble (the evil).'
