Pumpkin flower and resilence on Earth Day after the flood

 

Flood

Drains look low in the morning even though rain falling. Place had been hot and so, day before I watered plants.  Plants which I had not planted. Plants which include the random gift from seeds discarded down the kitchen sink. 

The muck from the 'gutter', soil which was piled up provide fertile for watermelon, pumpkin, tomato and maybe cucumber and baigan. The  dishwashing liquid probably providing some of the 'fertilser'.

I invoked the man who comes to do yard work when he wants money for food or alcohol as guidance. He fixed the boards, told me leave the grass to 'keep them cool' and throw water, brought a bag of cow mole and then promises to bring another when he needed money but I had no work so he took payment in advance.

Another garden man showed me the small watermelons. Small whitish yellow flowers on the watermelon, and the tomato. 

I don't want to look too much in case I bad eye them.

So the rain falls, not too heavy but yard floods as the Guyana oil and gas drainage fails. This is not 'disaster' rain really, just disastrous politics and economics.

The water is all over, plants kind of under water. I think I can't even take the leaves now to make bhajee.

There is a sense of loss which I tried to push away in the spirit of detachment. But thinking of the women farmers and others who have to deal with this year in and year out, too little water, too much water.  There is the Caribbean Women for Climate Justice conference going on and I am listening to the panels and I participate in the discussions , thinking of but not talking about the drowned plants which I did not plant.

 Pumpkin Flower 

Earth Day morning. Yard is a mess and I am not sure if I should bother to clean it as it will probably get messy again.  Place humid, rain clouds around. No sense that the drainage will work, it  used to work so even if water raised it went down quickly.

Two yellow spots in the green, near the wet muddy concrete.

Two new pumpkin flowers.  Resilience in a way though I know things can die but the flowers die anyway and leave nutrients for other things.

Promise of pumpkins though I am not holding out, I can get pumpkin and watermelon and so on from those who manage the floods.

Meanwhile though, I am enjoying the flowers.