The history of the hurricanes that this seagrape tree has experienced over the past 100 or more years is told in its shape. First knocked down by Gilbert in 1988, it established an architecture of resilience with limbs assuming the role of trunks embedded in the sand. But the force of the Melissa’s wind and waves, was still able to topple it from its base. Now to see if the hammocks can be installed without touching the sand, otherwise, a previous location may be deployed.
Synonymous with Negril is its Seven Mile beach, and here on our property is one of two pocket beaches tucked in between the volcanic outcropping that defines the West End and its equally famous cliffs.
Tapcon screws, West System epoxy and a new design has made the iconic veranda stronger than ever. It will be tested again. The memory of Melissa is fading fast, but of all the hurricanes, it will never be erased.
A new awning is on the way to keep out the sun, wind and rain and the painter will start this week.
As expansive, yet intimate as ever before, the lawn leading to the small beach is waiting for weddings. In the meantime, the small beach and boat landing will be the new launch sites for the kayaks and the standup paddle boards with their easy accessibility.
All the while, across the road where all the debris had been piling up, a front-end loader carefully removed it by nearly countless truckloads. However, its seven-ton weight was too much for the lawn to bear especially after all the rain in the past two weeks so it will be returning in January after an expected dry spell to take out the remaining stumps on the seaside.
Until then, a reminder of Melissa’s ferocity will remain as an unwanted feature in the landscape, an impressive stump with a diameter of greater than three feet.
There are very few photographs of the property and the changes it has gone through over the past 150 years. The roundabout had been developing into a very reasonable succulent and cactus garden, but now the hunt begins again for new specimens that are present on the arid parts of this west coast location. With nearly three weeks left to complete the restoration, we should succeed in making the house and property as welcoming as it always has been.