Tree's & Me

Since we first arrived in Guyana I have been amazed, confused, intrigued and delighted with the various trees that live amongst us.  It would be a monumental task to learn all the names, family groups, native or imported species, which fruit trees are edible which are medicinal, the effort to do so would certainly steal away precious time from our primary reason for being here but to better know them and gain greater appreciation for their history is something I hope to do more of in the future.  Shown below are just a "few" of the trees you would see while out and about.  The first is call an Almond tree, it produces a large red fruit with an almond nut inside. 

When we first arrived in Guyana we stayed in Georgetown, while there we visited the Zoo & Botanical Gardens.  As we entered in the gardens I saw this palm tree and was awe-struck with the shape of the frons, take not also of  the cars parked below, it give you sense of the size.

Next, this palm has a unique feature about it, the picture doesn't truly capture the transition, but you'll notice that the body and majority of the trunk is rough and what you would expect from a palm but as you get closer to the top, about 15 feet from the crest it becomes very smooth and a dark green color.  The palm's themselves also seem to be darker in color, this is one of my favorite trees in our area because they are not as abundant and alway grow taller then those trees around them.  

 

I love this next tree.  When I see it I think of fall, but this is it's year round color.  The locals love and hate this tree, they love it for it's shade but hate it because it sheds it's leaves and they not big on doing yard work here.  Actually the preferred yard is one consisting of either dirt or concrete, grass is viewed as a nuissance.

The tree shown below is one that "confuse's" me.  It looks like some kind of pine tree but I have not researched it to say for certain.  The needles are soft and as you can see it grows with spacious gaps in between it's limps and most are usually in this shape.  I really like it because it is so different from most of the tropical trees and stands out as distinct in any grouping.  For some reason when I see this tree it makes my smile, it's just a cool tree.

This one is truly a feast for the eyes when in bloom.  Again the picture does not do it justice, I wish they were more common but most who have this tree growing on their property trim them back (like a Crape Mrytle) but they typically cut it back so much it takes a long time for it to grow to this size.  This is a wild tree and throws off shots, which again makes it a tree many would rather cut then carefore. 

And here is the most popluar tree in our area, it is the coconut palm tree.  This tree provides food and drink for both income and sustanance.  They are normally very tall but some types are short and have larger trunks.  I've recently planted one in our yard and hope to be here long enough to see it's first yield.

And last of all, here is a picture to give you a sense of what the dense jungle, what the Guyanese call the "bush", looks like.  We hope to get a closer look at the interior soon and I look forward to being further impressed with these beautiful products of creation around us, my friends the trees.

Hope you enjoyed this stroll through our neighborhood.  Crystal and I send our love and greetings to all and hope that you can find the time to enjoy the trees in your neck of the woods.  Until our next blog, take care.

A very Hopeful country...

As Scott notified you all in our last posting, the national elections for a new president were held last week. It was a tense time, as there has been violence in the past during election time. Elections were held on Monday, but the announcement of the final results was delayed until Friday. All week people were warning us to be careful and to stay indoors as much as possible, but we didn't notice anything major. When it was finally announced that the same political party that has been in office for the last ten years had won, there were some peaceful protests, mostly in the capitol, but everything now is pretty much back to normal.

As the title of this posting suggests, many people here are very hopeful that a new president will bring about positive changes for the country. We find that a lot of people here tend to have a very hopeful attitude in general, as is reflected in some of the town names in the nearby area. First of all there is Hope, Hopetown, Hopewell, Good Hope, Mary's Hope, Present Hope, Pleasing Hope and, not to be outdone by the others...Better Hope. Some of the other settlement names that don't include the word hope, but still reflect a very positive view are  Land of Plenty, New Found Out, Overwinning, Good Intent, Free and Easy, Now or Never,  Success, Good Success, Better Success, and again outdoing the others this town settled for the name The Best. Personally, I think the most fitting name for this country is a nearby village named Heatburn, but that's just my personal opinion.

Some of you may be aware that Guyana was under British rule until the 1960's when the local people gained independence. You can still see evidence of the British presence here, since many of the homes are British style architecture that was left behind. Here are a few examples...

Most aspire to live in the new concrete homes that are being built. Some of them are quite beautiful as you can see..

Others (like us) live in simple small flat concrete houses...

Or modest wooden structures like these....

  







Some still live a in the simplest of wooden houses....

Some who live in these simple wooden houses live with no electricity and/or no running water. Many cook outside or underneath the house (for those on stilts) on a stove like this...





This stove is made from a mixture of clay and cow dung. That's right-cow poo to cook your food on! Actually I've tried some of the food cooked this way and some of it is pretty good.




The funny thing is, you would think the nice new houses would be together in the same neighborhoods, but usually you see a nice new concrete house in amongst the smallest of shacks or vice versa, since most people here got their tracts of land divided out to them or their families when Independence was gained. Most people don't sell their property, they just build new or add on to existing buildings and stay put, no matter what their neighbors do.

 I hope this posting has given you some idea of what we see in the area on a day to day basis as we go out into these hopeful villages to share what we think is....well...a "Better Hope" for the Deaf!