Opinion

Here is something to think about other than election, corruption, missing VAT money, and unopened hospitals. As I live and work on the water this is something that I deal with every day.

Great love affairs: Romeo and Juliet, Abelard and Heloise, Bogie and Bacall, Rose and Parsley… Rose bushes grow better with parsley planted around the base and the parsley will grow green and lush.

No political party will give us this version of The Bahamas. We have to demand it. Pursue it. Shape it in our own homes and communities. It won’t be given. But that is not to say we should surrender our most powerful tool. Our vote – our voice. The election will soon be called. I urge you to register and vote your conscience. Have no shame when your children ask you how YOU shaped this country.

It’s always a “Wow” experience to see the male Painted Buntings with their exquisite array of vivid red, royal blue, and vibrant green and yellow.

I do not want to get into the issue of global warming but there are indications that many plants have moved to a different timetable in their flower and fruit production. Shooting Star clerodendrum – native to Papua New Guinea and the Philipinnes - was once a February flowerer but by the end of the first week of January this year Marsh Harbour had many clerodendrum shrubs in full blossom. Grass is still growing and needs more ‘out of season’ trimming than is usual during the cooler months. For the home gardener this means we can start some crops earlier than normal. Corn and watermelons are good candidates for February sowing.

The Prime Minister, The Rt. Hon. Perry Christie, recently announced at the PLP convention that this administration has brought many wonderful achievements to the Bahamian people. Among those achievements he listed “the new mini hospitals opening in Abaco and Exuma.”

There are several points I would like to make in this final letter and they relate to the natural environment around us, the establishment of a healthy primary production environment (agriculture and fishing), and the protection of both.

By now our home garden should be more or less established with our favourite vegetables. The yard is tidy because we made special efforts for the Christmas season and the grass is behaving itself by growing very slowly. Now is the time to attend to our fruit trees and ensure they have all the sustenance to give us lots of mangoes, pears, dillies, grumichama, Barbados cherries, starfuits, longans, lychees, akee and citrus later on in the year.

Most Bahamians are unaware of new government regulations that will be effective on January 9, 2017. The Abaco Fly Fishing Guides Association would like to share our thoughts with the public regarding the flats fishing regulation.

The thrill of “Winter Bird Season” is in the air. There are so many kinds to see and look for. Warblers, Vireos, Flycatchers, Spindalis, Orioles and Buntings are just a few.