A Day In Jamaica Island

Awaken by the sounds of birds speaking their languages in the distance, I listen to them coming closer and closer with my sleepy ears by the time am wide awake I hear them singing their beautiful melodies in the front yard garden.

Their stimulating sound causes me to pull the warm blanket from my relaxed body. Answering their lively call outside, I pull myself up out of bed and head towards the front door of my room that leads to the varanda.

On opening the door the fresh cool morning air caress my warm slender body as the atmosphere welcomes me to its pleasant environment.

With stretching movements to release the tension from my muscles, I open my arms to fill the width of their length and then push them upwards to feel the air that is way above my head before relaxing them again.

Stepping further toward the chairs that are neatly arranged around the white four-legged square table standing in the center of our rectangular varanda, I am trying my best to be at ease in order to enjoy the cool morning breeze.

To make myself more comfortable I will just sit on one of the chairs that is neatly cushioned for comfort.

The trees are very active. They are all dancing in harmony from where they are rooted. From the valleys, hills, and mountains they all sing an amazing song with the rhythm of the wind. From the way they appear you can see that they have been wide awake before the dawn of morning.

Just outside the front yard the flowers there are looking quite splendid too, glowing from the night and the early morning dew. Some are smooth while others are thorny as they present themselves in different colors and shapes. Pink, yellow, red, light green, and deep green they appear. A few are strictly representing themselves while others are blooming and sending out roses of their kind as added representatives, attracting butterflies that are dancing happily from leaves to roses, flowers to flowers, and across the thick green lawn grass that is covering the flooring of the semi-circle shaped garden in our front yard. I am counting more than a dozen bees in the company of a pair of white and orange butterflies, making their way across the lawn to the white roses right where a red and white butterfly is dancing on a red rose.

The garden is buzzing with life, from the scent of her roses she sends out such pleasant aroma in the atmosphere with birds singing, butterflies dancing and bees buzzing, her garden is a beautiful scene to share.

It seems the garden has captivated the attention of the flower that is sitting on the varanda on top of the white three-lagged grilled flower pot who is leaning on the wall and pushing herself through the grill of the varanda. Perhaps she is hoping for a space inside the garden to grow where she will be of added beauty.

Come to think of it let me put you right at the front of the garden beside one of the three medium size palm trees. Nice, now grow in the free happiness of nature.

Wow… the breeze on the outside is even cooler.

The birds are the loudest cheers in this town. Their sounds are enchanting that is enhanced by the presence of the hills and mountains around them.

As their voices harmonize through the wind, they spread their wings wide flying from flowers to trees and in the open air.

Mom is now adding to the morning richness, with the scent of the coffee aroma coming from inside the kitchen, that tells me I must now take a shower and get ready for breakfast.

Okay, let me get some clothes from the bedroom to put on before going to the bathroom.

Now that I’ve got my stuff together. I am just going to enjoy the cool running water under the shower. For some reason I tend to spend too much time in the bathroom nevertheless with the scent coming from the kitchen I won't be too long in the bathroom this time. Smells like mom is cooking ackee and saltfish with some ground provisions. Let me hurry and get my clothes on along with some nice fragrances, I don't want to be late for breakfast.

Now that I am well put together like the sun is to the day, I'm just going to tidy my room hopefully I will be finished doing so before mom calls me for breakfast. From the View of my bedroom window, it is clear that the sun is coming up beautifully in the east as it brightens up the morning sky, drying the dew from the leaves of the flowers and trees as it provides a warmer temperature.

Well straightening up my room took less time than the time I took to shower. This is why I like to tidy my room on a daily basis because it takes less time this way instead of leaving it for days before cleaning.

Mom is now calling me for breakfast so my empty stomach will soon be filled, I will just use some sanitizer on my hands as I walk to the table. As usual, I will just sit in my favorite seat at the table opposite my brothers and alongside my mom. I always give thanks for the food that I eat as well as to be a part of this beautiful family. Perhaps it's because I'm this grateful that God keeps blessing me with the things I need on a daily basis. Although I didn't smell the breadfruit earlier, it is right here on my plate with yam, banana, dumplings, and ackee and saltfish. Along with this delicious plate of food is a nice cup of black coffee.

Thanks, mom… I could not ask for a better mom… smile.

Here in Jamaica, we say action speaks louder than words, well this is one of the many ways a mother tells her children that she loves them.

Now that we are all finished eating I will just do the dishes and have the place looking nice and clean again. I rather have the kitchen cleaned up right after a meal, with a clean kitchen it is easier for me to cook a meal whenever I chose to. Being that I am finished doing the dishes I'm just going to take a walk on my sweet pepper farm to see how well it is progressing. The sunshine is feeling as good as it looks, as it moves closer to the center of the sky and the atmosphere is becoming much warmer.

The birds are getting calmer now, they are flying off the ground up into the far mountains and a few of them can be seen in the distant sky.

The sweet pepper trees are fully grown, they are blooming and blossoming and growing sweet peppers of all sizes. Some of them are soon ready to be picked. In the next twelve days from now, I will have to pick them as they will be ready to be harvested. It is amazing how farming gives a magical feeling. These trees come to life just by planting a seed that grows into a sucker and then into a tree that is now growing so many beautiful fruits of its kind of course. It is amazing to plant seeds and watch them grow. From the way it looks, it seems like I won't have to fertilize nor clean them before the next harvest day and they are still flourishing from the last few days of rain. I am at the bottom of the farm so I'm going to make my way up to the top again. With the wind pushing me forward I will soon be at the top.

The cotton tree standing at the side of the farm is shaking its leaves like a tambourine, due to the size of it, it seems like it has been growing there for millions of years.

Now that I'm at the top of my farm, I'm just going to make my way to my house and have myself a long sweet juicy cane to quench my thirst.

The quietness in our community feels as though you can hold it with both hands right now.

None of the two cars are in the driveway, It seems like my mom and brothers have already gone on their daily errands. Oh well, let me take a machete from the outside store room to cut one of these canes from the backyard garden. It is tempting to sit under the big leafy plum trees as I walk by due to its cool shade nevertheless it is better for me to cut the cane first.

Mom did a good thing when she planted these cane here. Though they are lots of cane I am still going to save the head of the cane that I'm now cutting so I can plant it on a planting day. Finally, I can sit under the shade of the plum tree and eat my sugar cane while enjoying the nice cool breeze.

Far in the distance, the birds are making their voices heard as they whistle their high pitch notes in the atmosphere.

A bee hive has moved in with us in our community, their buzzing sounds can be heard right across from where I am sitting.

I am going to see exactly where they are so hopefully when the honey is ready I will be able to get some.

Let me take the little track alongside the plum tree, pass the guava tree that is loaded with green and ripe guava. The sound of the bees is getting louder but am still not seeing them as yet maybe after I get pass the cranberry and jackfruit tree I will be able to see them. It sounds like they are in the pear tree that has a hole in it, hold on let me see. That's exactly where they are.

Now that I'm aware of their location I can keep a watch on them.

I must now hurry back to the house because I rather prepare dinner early and that is after I take a shower.

Come to think of it, what am I going to prepare for dinner? I will look at what is in the kitchen and work with what is available there because there are no shops in our community.

Just spending a few minutes at the outside pipe to wash my feet before going inside the house. The sun is getting cooler and the birds are rather quiet now. I'm all ready for my shower so bathroom here I come.

If you love quietness I'm sure you would love to live in this community. Only the smoke coming from the neighbor's kitchen makes me realize that I'm not the only one in our community.

Inside the house is just as quiet as the outside, the only difference is that the wind is keeping the rhythm on the outside while the clock is keeping the tempo on the inside.

Lovely, now that I’ve got my clothes on with added fragrance I'm ready to see what I can do in the kitchen.

Well, there are cooked peas, coconut juice in a jar, and fish that are already seasoned in the fridge, which means dinner will not take too long to cook today. I am going to cook rice and peas and steamed fish.

Enough fruit juice is already in the fridge so I don't have to bother myself with making any juice today.

Now that I have put on the pot on the stove for both the rice and peas and the fish, I will just add what is necessary to each pot. Within the next hour, I will be finished cooking. I always say I'm not the best cook in our house and oftentimes I try to hide away from cooking nevertheless my family says that I'm a good cook and encourages me to cook more often. I hope they will enjoy the dinner I'm preparing. As usual, I will try my best to make sure it is healthy as well as delicious.

The rest of my family is still not home as yet so I'm just going to dish my dinner and have dinner now.

Tasting delicious, I'm sure my family will enjoy dinner this evening. Now that I'm finished having my dinner and tidying up the kitchen. I'm just going to relax on the varanda until I'm ready to go to bed.

There is a sound of a vehicle coming over the hill that sounds like one of my brother's car, it's only a few more seconds before I see who it is. There are not a lot of cars that drive through our district so it is not hard to tell whose car is coming. Yes, it is my brother's car. He is making his way home along with mom in the front seat.

They will help themselves in the kitchen. I am just going to continue to make myself comfortable. For added entertainment let me get my laptop, plug my earphone in, and listen to some soothing music as I sit and enjoy the cool evening breeze on the varanda.

It is getting dark and the night sky is starting to light up. I will continue to view the night skies as it gets brighter and brighter with the soothing sound of music in my ears. I hope none of the stars will fall from my audience tonight.

This kind of environment is very relaxing and healthy to be in. It has only been a few minutes since I’m sitting here and I'm starting to feel sleepy already.

I have a busy day tomorrow so I am going to get ready for my night’s rest. For now, it is goodnight from a quiet soul with an active mind.