GRADUATION DAY At the Island Academy, San Pedro - Belize It was graduation day at the Island Academy. I won an award and this made me feel very happy. To the left, is me with my teacher, Ms. Emily. I just love her. She will not be teaching next year at the Island Academy, and this makes me very sad. In fact, I actually cried - when I learned this. Ms. Emily misses her family in the States and will be going home this summer. Today was a very special day for me. All the parents gathered under the canopy, as we walked down the isle (hand-in-hand) with our classmates and took our seats. We sang the Island Academy song to our parents, a little song that humors the funny side of daily life at our school. The various teachers stood up and each spoke for a few minutes, as they told us - what they appreciated about their students and their class. This touched all of us, especially when Teacher Sue started to cry, at the thought of parting. The whole audience then had a tear in the corner of their eye as well. Lady Bowen handed out awards (Dolphin Dollar Awards) to those who excelled in helping others. I was blessed to receive a Dolphin Dollar Award. In closing, Lady Bowen expressed her gratitude to all the teachers, for their dedication to the program in making the school a success. Lady Bowen then cranked up the music (everyone clapped), as we danced our way down the isle and out of the canopy - to honor "the last day of school". After the ceremony, mom took Ms. Daisy (our nanny), my sister, brother and I - to Victoria House, for a very special lunch. We had the molten chocolate cake for dessert - which I must say, is absolutely out of this world. We wanted to thank you Lady Bowen, for making this school year possible. We are very appreciative of all that you do.
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CHRISTINA'S "FLOWERS OF BELIZE" SERIES (PART FOUR) Brought to you by Black Orchid Management, Ltd. If you were to ask me what I like most about flowers, I will tell you, they make me happy. They are beautiful to look at. Have you ever seen someone gaze upon a beautiful flower and stay in a bad mood? NEVER! Flowers, lift our spirits, they can change our mood, they make us happy and it is the one way, that we can tell someone we love them, simply by handing them a flower. Please follow me on my journey through the Belize rain forest jungle, to explore all the different flowers there are to see. I sincerely hope you enjoy my series entitled "Flowers of Belize". BELIZE FRAGRANCE - THE PLUMERIA FLOWER The Plumeria, is commonly called Frangipani, and includes 7-8 different species of flowering plants. It is a native flower to the country of Belize. The Plumiera flower, is named in honor of a French botanist Charles Plumier, who traveled to America and named many species of plants and animals. Moreover, the name “Frangipani” comes from Marquis Frangipani who invented a perfume for gloves and the scent of the flower has the resemblance to ‘Frangipani perfume’. There are 5 petals on each flower, arranged in a spiraling circle. They usually grow on branches with very few leaves and are marked by an extreme fragrance. The flower is available in white, yellow and pink color from the month of December to April. The Plumeria or Frangipani (as it is called) are distinctive flowers which are generally sold as individual flowers by most vendors. These flowers are beautiful when they are placed on top of water and float. You do not refrigerate these flowers and care should be taken to immediately place them in water. In addition to this, the Plumeria or Frangipani cuttings should be allowed to dry before planting them in the soil, because they are susceptible to rot in moist soil. THE PLUMERIA FLOWER, IS TYPICALLY THE FLOWER YOU WILL SEE IN SOMEONE'S HAIR. We love these flowers, as they represent the true beauty of the tropical rain forests of Belize. CHRISTINA'S "FLOWERS OF BELIZE" SERIES (PART THREE) Brought to you by Black Orchid Management, Ltd. If you were to ask me what I like most about flowers, I will tell you, they make me happy. They are beautiful to look at. Have you ever seen someone gaze upon a beautiful flower and stay in a bad mood? NEVER! Flowers, lift our spirits, they can change our mood, they make us happy and it is the one way, that we can tell someone we love them, simply by handing them a flower. Please follow me on my journey through the Belize rain forest jungle, to explore all the different flowers there are to see. I sincerely hope you enjoy my series entitled "Flowers of Belize". BOUGAINVILLEA - FLOWERING VINE OF BELIZE Well, this is another one of my favorite flowers, or should I say flowering vine? You are going to soon find out, that I cannot decide which flower is the prettiest, or the best. They are all like gift wrapping bows that decorate our country from head to toe. The Bougainvillea is a vining plant that grows up to 40 feet tall. The plant can be pruned to be grown as a tree or shrub, or can be trained to vine up a trellis,, or a wall. The stems of the bougainvillea are covered in sharp thorns, and care should be trimmed when pruning. The Bougainvillea is named after a French admiral in the French navy who discovered this tropical flower in 1768. It can be found in the tropical and subtropical parts of Belize, it climbs upwards and even over other plants. Although it mostly like an evergreen, this tropical flower can actually shed its leaves and survive if there is a dry season. You can find bougainvilleas in a wide variety of colors: pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white or yellow. The bougainvillea--is also known as the "paper flower plant", I think because the peddle are paper thin. The bouganvillea is also a flowering perennial plant. The colorful, showy part of the bougainvillea is not actually the flower. These are colorful "bracts" which surround the true flowers. The bougainvillea flowers are short tubes that often open up to reveal tiny plain white flowers. Because the bracts are so colorful, many people never even notice that there are tiny flowers in the center. The bougainvillea requires very little water. If it rains in your area once or twice a month, you will not need to supplement with additional hand watering. In arid locations, bougainvilleas need water weekly or bi-weekly through the spring and summer. During the fall, bougainvilleas need water only if there is no rain for a month. Bougainvilleas go dormant during the winter, and require no water at all during this time. Over-watering bougainvillea halts the production of flowers and may eventually kill the plant. Bougainvillea prefers soil that drains quickly and cannot tolerate sitting in wet soil. The bougainvillea's root system is delicate and rots when it is exposed to prolonged wetness. The plant grows best in loamy or sandy soil. If you have clay or rich, water-retaining soil, mix it with gardening sand or perlite at a ratio of 1:1 to provide proper drainage. Propagation Bougainvillea is a strong, prolific grower and grows easily from cuttings. Cuttings can be green or woody growth. To grow a new bougainvillea from a cutting, place a cutting that is at least 6 inches long into moist (not wet) soil. To hasten growth, use rooting hormone powder on the cut end of the cutting before planting it in soil. We absolutely love Bougainvilleas in any courtyard setting where you want a climbing, flowering vine. MY FAMILY WITH BELIZE BOUGAINVILLEAS Trent Christina Lauren McKennzie Colby
Today is a special day. Daddy and I are going to explore Belize by air, land, sea and by automobile. To start our day, we will board a boat and head for the west side of the island - to take pictures. The west side of Ambergris Caye is absolutely beautiful, I have never been over here before. From there, we boarded an aircraft and circled the island. It was so much fun, trying to locate all the things I remember from the air. I got to see Grand Caribe, where nana & papa stayed last time they were down. I saw Grand Oasis, where daddy is having a house built for us. Also, got to see many islands off into the ocean. After circling the island, we headed for the mainland of Belize. A taxi will be waiting for us when we arrive. Spanish is our taxi driver's name, his wife is a sweetheart. From here, we will go to Chon Saan for lunch. Daddy wants me to try something new for lunch. We will be trying some Chinese dishes, I have never had before. I even got fried ice-cream! This was a perfect day, and I enjoyed it very much. I was all excited to tell mom about what we got to see, do and eat. I also want to thank Dave Mitchel for allowing me to ride in his airplane. He treats us very nice, and I am very appreciative. |
Christina
FLOWERS OF BELIZE!
Check out, my my current blog series on Flowers in Belize. COMING SOON!
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