More Calypso Garden Videos

frangipani at Calypso

and here are a couple of videos

new (though old) pictures

I'm posting these images partly to test whether I can transfer images from my other blog (bhhummer.blogspot.com) to  this blog, which I've not used in recent years.

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arrival at Calypso

We arrived here late dec 30 2013. Here are few recent pix.

This is Halcyon Bay, about 10 minutes walk along down the beach from Calypso.

A royal palm in the back garden

and a pink oleander.

The front porch overlooking the Atlantic ocean.

                           In a glade, orchids and bromeliads flower on the trees.

May 2013: the oleanders are in bloom, here together with a royal palm (left) and the twisted trunk of a frangipani.

One of the lawns, may 2013. Most of the trees are Gumbo Limbos (Bursera semiruba), and the palm at front right is a buccaneer.

                       Another Rockery view, with a yellow hibiscus flower.

Delicate new leaves of a king sago (Cycas revoluta), may 2013

Here's an OLD (1960's) Eleuthera picture (not at Calypso), by the society photographer Slim Aarons. ( Well, it got censored! - obviously somebody is scanning the web for illegal posting even of old pictures; you can see the picture at this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vieilles_annonces/8633046876/). Not sure where the pool was located - possibly French Leave or the Potlatch Club. And here's a much more recent photo (today!) taken at the Rockery at Calypso.

The 2 striking orange bromeliads are Aechmea blanchetiana. The blue flower is plumbago. The central palm is a Pseudophenix sargentii. The pink flower is Bougainvillea, one can also see oleander, frangipani, ruellia etc.

Great Lizard Cuckoo Sighting

On Jamie's last full day on Eleuthera, he saw a white cheeked pintail and a pair of great lizard cuckoos here at Calypso. They were within a few feet of us, and as usual quite tame. The GLC gave us a very nice specimen of his almost human call. And at one point he caught and ate...  a lizard. Jamie agrees with me that this is a really unusual, fascinating bird. Then after this early morning success, he went up to Surfer's Beach (the wind has shifted offshore) and caught some nice, though rather small waves.

Here is his list for today. Note that "south pond refers to Calypso Pond (i.e. the pond south of our causeway) and north pond to the larger pond north of the causeway (not fully visible from Calypso).  Overall in 7 days he saw 61 different species, 15 of them new!

Comments:     Around calypso
23 species

Blue-winged Teal  50     mostly south pond.
White-cheeked Pintail  3
Lesser Scaup  3
Pied-billed Grebe  2
Little Blue Heron  1
Green Heron  1
White Ibis  1     This bird has been associating with glossy ibis for past week on south pond.
Glossy Ibis  1
American Coot  65     Mostly north pond
White-crowned Pigeon  3
Common Ground-Dove  1
Great Lizard-Cuckoo  2
Smooth-billed Ani  5
Gray Catbird  3
Northern Mockingbird  1
Louisiana Waterthrush  1
Common Yellowthroat  1
American Redstart  1
Palm Warbler  4
Prairie Warbler  1
Bananaquit  1
Greater Antillean Bullfinch  1
Indigo Bunting  3

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13180559

Jamie's list for today, almost all seen on or near the ponds around Calypso.

American Wigeon  15     Seen with scope at north side pond at Calypso,  have seen similar numbers past several days.
Blue-winged Teal  75     By far the most plentiful bird on trip so far.
Least Grebe  10     These birds are plentiful, and I was able to get some good shots.
Pied-billed Grebe  4
Great Egret  4     Mostly at ponds on Banks road north of settlement
Little Blue Heron  2     blue morph and white morph
Tricolored Heron  1
Green Heron  3
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  1     Calypso in buttonwood
Glossy Ibis  1     This same bird has been in South pond Calypso 3 days straight.
Common Gallinule  4     Both ponds at Calypso
American Coot  50
Killdeer  10
Ruddy Turnstone  1     seen later at Double Bay
Rock Pigeon  2     In settlement - Palmetto point.
White-crowned Pigeon  3
Eurasian Collared-Dove  3
Common Ground-Dove  2
Smooth-billed Ani  12
Bahama Woodstar  5
Belted Kingfisher  1
Thick-billed Vireo  8     Extremely plentiful and tame. Probably more but this is best estimate as it seems these birds will follow a birder around.  Some would come within feet of me, responded to pishing.
Gray Catbird  2
Northern Mockingbird  3
Black-and-white Warbler  1
Bahama Yellowthroat  2     These seem to love the buttonwood around ponds.  Two birds is not high.
Palm Warbler  7     These can be seen anywhere on Eleuthera, see on beach, around ponds, in villages.
Yellow-rumped Warbler  7     Seen numbers like this consistently for past several days.
Prairie Warbler  1
Bananaquit  8
Black-faced Grassquit  2
Greater Antillean Bullfinch  3
Indigo Bunting  2     Male still not fully blue but almost there.  Hangs out next to Woodstar.

Birding and Fishing at Calypso

My son Jamie is here for the week. He recently became an avid and expert birder. Here is his list for the first full day. Most of these were seen on the grounds of Calypso, but a few were seen along the Banks Rd and at the entrance to the Levy Preserve. See also our old list at http://calypsocalypso.com/birds.htm

In previous stays he has focussed more on fishing. The above image shows a giant bonefish he caught.

American Wigeon  X
Blue-winged Teal  X
Ring-necked Duck  X
Least Grebe  X
Pied-billed Grebe  X
Great Egret  X
Little Blue Heron  X     White morph
Tricolored Heron  X
Green Heron  X
Glossy Ibis  X
Osprey  X
American Coot  X
White-crowned Pigeon  X
Eurasian Collared-Dove  X
Bahama Woodstar  X
Belted Kingfisher  X
Thick-billed Vireo  X
Northern Mockingbird  X
Palm Warbler  X
Yellow-rumped Warbler  X
Prairie Warbler  X
Bananaquit  X     several at hummingbird feeders.
Black-faced Grassquit  X
Greater Antillean Bullfinch  X     Leon Levy pavilion
Indigo Bunting  X

View from SeaStar front porch. Of course this only shows a small part of the ocean view, which is panoramic.

Very little damage from Sandy!

We have had a couple of reports from Eleuthera about the impact of Sandy on Calypso. The houses came through fine, and we even appear not to have lost any roof shingles from any of the 3 houses. The grounds are basically fine too, though blasted by salty winds, and there are a couple of coconuts down, and some papaya trees too. Hopefully by the time we get down there late december everything will have greened up. We will post new photos when available. In the meantime, I will resume this blog using images taken earlier this year - sorry for the long gap, we have just been very busy (and we only rent jan-may)!
Here's a random image taken in the back garden, showing a hedge of pandora.

Here's a view inside "Woodstar", the pondfront house we stay when visiting (and which we don't rent) showing part of the living room and the fireplace, which only gets used a few times a season, when the nightime temperature dips below 65!

SeaStar Exterior Continued

Let's resume our tour of the immediate exterior of the larger of our 2 1-bedroom oceanfront cottages, SeaStar. Here's a view that shows the adjacent hammock area. You can just see SeaStar's roof and a glimpse of the ocean.

Here's a slightly more detailed look.

Here's the view from the patio.

In the foreground in the next image is a Desert Rose and behind it an oleander. You are looking towards the other rental cottage, Morningstar, behind the palms, and see a corner of SeaStar's patio.

Here we look at the outdoor shower (cold only) at the back of SeaStar. There's a large almond tree here too, which provides a shady spot to view the ocean.

SeaStar Exterior

The first image shows SeaStar's patio, which overlooks the ocean through palm trees. The flowering bush is oleander. The patio is paved in limestone. The roof of the living room has an unusual "dutch gable" finish.

Here's a different view angle. The other cottage Morningstar is hidden behind the dense grove of coconut palms.

The next view shows the oceanside facade, particularly the kitchen/dining wing/ Note also the very tall Norfolk Island pine on the right of the image. We will post more views soon.

SeaStar Kitchen

SeaStar's kitchen is quite small, with one window (overlooking the ocean), a sink, a 4 burner cooktop, a toaster-oven, lots of pots and pans, and 2 undercounter fridges, one of which has a separate freezer compartment. We suggest that to save energy, guests try to use only one of the fridges. Noise from these fridges is minimal, and in any case not audible from the dining room next door.

If you need small items such as spices etc (though some are provided) we can usually help.

The next image shows the entrance to the kitchen from the dining room.

In the next post we will look at the outside of SeaStar, and the immediate garden area.

SeaStar Dining Room

It's surprising that a 1-bedroom cottage should have a separate dining room, but this cottage is actually quite large (about 1000 square feet total). I'll incude the exact measurements of each room in a future post. Meanwhile, here are some images of the dining room.

Here you see the large dining table, which can seat 6 (if you invite guests: we do not allow more than 2 adults, plus 1 to 2 small children, to occupy the cottage). The window here faces the ocean, and there are 2 more windows. You can also see a twin bed, which is nice for daytime lounging, or for a child.

This view shows the open door leading to the bedroom, and various cabinets (with a large variety of crockery, cutlery etc, and a microwave). You can also see a corner of the dining table. The fish cut-out decorations where added by previous renters.

This shows a different view, with the opening to the small kitchen (to be featured in the next post). The parrot batik hanging is from Saint Lucia. You can see the large drinking water bottle.

SeaStar Bathroom

The bathroom is located behind the living room. There is a shower/tub combination, and 2 wahsbasins, a toilet, and a window facing east and viewing the garden, lawn, palms etc. There is lots of cupboard and closet space. There is also an outdoor shower (cold water only) located privately on the south side of the house, near a large clump of firecracker, which attracts hummingbirds. Of course we provide towels and all linen. The house is NONSMOKING! Also, please note that we encourage you to be economical in your water usage - do not leave faucets running! Our water comes from limestone wells in the back garden, and while it is perfectly safe to drink, it does have a high calcium content. We also supply a large container of drinking water (in the dining room).

The shower curtain is visible in the right-hand mirror.

The toilet and shower/tub are to the left of this view.
I will continue with the SeaStar tour tomorrow. In the meantime, you might like to look through an album of Calypso garden photos.

SeaStar Interior Continued

Now we move to the bedroom and bathroom. The first image shows the southwest corner of the bedroom, with a corridor that leads to the dining room (and has space to hang clothes).

You can see one of the 4 windows (this one looks over the rear lawn leading down to the pond, with various palms and flowering bushes). Under this window you can see the only AC unit in the house. However, since we only rent during the winter/spring (jan-mid may), it is not really needed (and is rather noisy). You can also see a ceiling fan mounted directly over the bed: on low speed this is almost noiseless. Also note that the 2 small refrigerators in the kitchen cannot be heard from the bedroom. Lack of neighbors and noise is one of the key features of Calypso. For us, the greatest luxury of all is to hear only the sound of ocean waves breaking on the outer reef, palms rustling, and the buzz of hummingbirds feeding at the immense firecaracker plant just outside the southeast window.

Here's an image showing the view through the north east window; this window is the only one in the house that does not have a mosquito screen, though these are hardly necessary in the dry season (jan-may).

Next, you see the queensize bed, and also the high ceiling.

Next, the view from the bed to the other side of the room, with the door that leads to the living room and bathroom.

Here's another angle, showing a futon seat that can be unfolded to provide a bed for a child.

We can also install a twin bed for a child (we do not rent to more than 2 adults), and there is a twin bed in the dining room too. I do not seem to have to hand a picture of the best view, through the northwest window, when one is lying in bed. I will add later.

Here's one more view. Bathroom pictures will be posted tomorrow.

SeaStar Interior Continued

Here is a view in the other direction. Sorry it's a bit dark. The room itself is very bright and cheery, with light from 4 large windows (but because none of them face south, and the ceiling is very high, it stays cool).

You can see the large north window, and the leftmost eastern window, both viewing the ocean. Here is the view through the north window.

The top half is a bit blurry because the bottom of the window is open so one is looking through mosquitoe screen plus 2 layers of glass. You can also see the front patio, which is paved in limestone. Here is another view of the living room.

The (very small) TV will play DVDs (we will post a list of those available soon) but there is no cable. There's also a CD player, and we have a large selection of classical music. The nicest thing about this room (apart from the views, and, for a 1-bedroom cottage, the size)  is perhaps that since the trade wind blows from the east (northeast to southeast) there is usually a nice breeze through the 2 open eastern windows. Also notice the honey-colored tile, handmade in Nassau (which extends throughout the house) - even on hot weather always cool to the naked foot.