CARIBBEAN FREE PHOTO

One from the "things you come across when you're moving house" files. My maternal great-grandfather, Shadrach Quarless, was a policeman on the port in Port of Spain, Trinidad. This is his whistle. It was made in the USA and the ball inside is made of cork.

The Swaha West Branch Seeta Ram Temple, located about two minutes' drive from my home in Diego Martin, Trinidad, has been under construction for the past several years. It was only last week I noticed the spanking new statue (murti) of the Hindu deity Hanuman now adorning the front of the as yet unfinished building. This one is considerably smaller than its counterpart at the Dattatreya Yoga Centre & Mandir in Freeport, but striking nonetheless.

The power went about an hour ago, so here in the depths of the Diego Martin valley we're experiencing a rare moment of utter darkness. A fellow Twitter user asked me the other day how much of the southern sky we were able to see from Trinidad. The answer is quite a lot of it, though it occurred me then that, for some odd reason, I rarely look south. Tonight I did, though. The image below is the view looking south. The one above is looking north-west.

Seen from my home in Diego Martin, Trinidad.

Last night, I took what felt like a million photos of the Alice Yard Space, but few of them pleased me. The one above is not the "obvious" one (that distinction belongs to this photo, which makes it look like a slick exhibition space somewhere in the metropolis), but it's the one I somehow find most satisfying. And here's Alice Yard itself, Sean Leonard's concept for the space, and the Alice Yard Space blog.

Did I really say I wasn't going to post any more photos of birds? You'll have to forgive me. I staked out the starch mango tree for hours to get a decent shot of one of the Palm Tanagers (Thraupis palmarum) who've been picking away all morning at the mango in the photo. Well, maybe not for hours, but for a long time. I hope the birds leave a few mangoes for us this year.

Last bird shot, I promise. (At least for the next few posts).

Since the last Yellow Oriole (Icterus nigrogularis) I photographed was described as "sinister-looking", I've been trying to capture another. I had my chance yesterday, and it just so happened there were a couple of yellowing frangipani leaves in the frame to echo the colour of the creature's gorgeous plumage.

"Not only every Saturday -- we here every day," said the one with with the long dreadlocks. I came upon this pair yesterday afternoon in Woodford Square, in the middle of downtown Port of Spain, and hung around long enough to see Long Dreadlocks win. "He's better at winning," his opponent told me. "I'm really good at losing."

More photos of the chess game here.

Yeah, I know. All these bird photos. But they're what's around me, now that I'm working at home most days.

I caught this Blue Gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus) around lunch time today. Not too happy with the crowd at the bird feeder, he/she took a piece of papaya off to eat on the fence. He/she wasn't the cleanest eater, but a Bare-Eyed Thrush swooped in minutes after and cleaned up the bits of fruit left on the chain link.