Sunday, June 26, 2011

Day Two - A little exploring in Martinique

5.30.11 : 150/365


On day two of our trip we spent the morning at our little beach down the street from our apartment but then decided to head out and see what the 'nicest beach on the island' was all about. We went driving from our little spot towards the very south of the island and ended up at 'Les Salines' beach near Ste-Anne.






After doing a little swimming in the turbulent but nice Atlantic water (this was on the bottom east corner of the island or the south Atlantic coast), we were hungry. There was a little food 'truck' across the parking lot from the beach and while we were having a bite, this little guy poked the mister in the foot. He looks cooked, right?

After the beach, we took off on an impromptu hike in search of 'La Savane des pétrifications' (the petrified savanna).










All those little things that look like rocks are the edge of the water are tiny crabs

See?!

And again as they were fleeing!

Cabrits Island with the Cabrits 'lighthouse'

'The Devil's Table'



Almost lost my flip flop in that tiny bit of water while crossing the rocks


Across this bridge is where the savanna is said to begin. I've looked and looked for a reasonable explanation of what this place really is, and it's near impossible to find. I must say even while we were visiting it, we still weren't sure just what it was!

Here's what little about it I could find (in french);


Au sud de l'île entre la plage des Salines et l'anse Trabaud, vous trouverez une zone aride, un véritable désert : La savane des Pétrifications. Il y avait avant une forêt qui fut engloutie sous la lave lors d'une éruption volcanique particulièrement violente. Les anciens troncs d'arbres ont peu à peu disparu, mais le spectacle est resté impressionnant. (via)

Essentially, what this is telling us is that once upon a time a volcano engulfed a forest and what we are left with is this;







 


The mister, checking things out






There you have it... day two was great!!

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Starting My Garden Early 4

:)) It seems that stabbing your foot with a pitch fork is good for getting caught up on blogs !!  Hahaha Thank fully I just nailed on toe , and not the whole foot. Its amazing how much one toe can hurt though .  So that leads me to this post ,  I'm finally caught up to June, well I will be once this one is done.   Yeah!!

I would like to apologize to everyone for being so far behind on these, it was an odd couple of months for me... but I'm back and the words are coming to me nice and easy .

This post is all about the last 10 days of May ,  which up here in Ontario Canada is our last frost date ...  and the time when most people start gardening ,  I had a great head start and actually planted seeds in March :))

This post should cover that :  http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/2011/04/starting-my-garden-early.html


Ive never had much luck growing potatoes , so I thought Id try out the bucket method...  ( Ill be doing a blog post on the whole process once Ive harvested )  If you want more details, follow this link to my Facebook page 
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.188441627869894.39828.118986254815432
I decided to try a 3 sisters planting ...  I kind of jumped the gun on this and planted the beans and squash a little to early .  I have two more plots , so I have another chance to get it right .  

:))  This is some ornamental corn I started inside ...    love this shot . 

The trellis for my peas,  I used freshly cut maple sticks ( MISTAKE!! ) hahaha they are trying to regrow.  Ooops , its too late now , but next time I'll use ones that are clearly dead.  

Someone suggested using an old chair to let peas trellis on , found this one .. so far so good.
In the corner is a mini greenhouse I made from a water bottle... the tomatoes needed just a little more warmth to get them growing . I left them on for a week, and it worked like a charm :) 





We had a bit of a colder snap, so the tiny tomatoes got the water bottle greenhouses, and i threw a cold frame over the corn to help them sprout quicker. 

Radishes are a great spring crop , you can be eating fresh in less than 30 days .. from seed! 

The most important tools in your garden, quality seeds and a note pad!!  Ive never been so organized, and my garden has never looked better :))  

Spinach , just breaking the ground  :))  
That's me in the middle ... I was being filmed for a local food documentary on growing your own food :)) How exciting!!  It was a shame the skies opened up half way thru ... still was a lot of fun , and I'm looking forward to their return in July for part 2!  

So there you have it!  That brings us up to June ...  which Ill try and get done shortly ... Things are growing like crazy now , and I'm already eating fresh garden salads :))  If you have any questions , or need something cleared up , don't be shy .. just leave a comment below.

Happy Gardening !