The "SXM: A Visit With Barbara & Dee" Story

Barbara offering a treat to Anna, her rescued cockatoo.

It was an ordinary day.  Sunny day with white puffy clouds in the sky.  Perfect day to visit Barbara and Diederick whom we met years ago while visiting Sint Maarten.  We actually had met them online through the Traveltalkonline website.  Wasn't long before I found she had grown up in Williamsport, Pennsylvania which is maybe two hours from my home in Lancaster.  She invited Carol and me to visit with her and her husband Dee on our next trip to Sint Maarten.  They live on the Dutch side of the island and Dee owns and operates a retail store in Philipsburg, the capital of the Dutch side of the island.  Barbara has been busy recently with a law suit she and a few others have brought against the government concerning the safety of the local landfill.  

Barbara and Dee's beautiful pool.

Seems it has been burning and spewing smoke and fumes into the air for several years now and no one in government will do anything about it.  Today I read on a website that a recent visitor to the island posted online that she and her family will not be returning until they get rid of the dump.  Said she had to put up with the toxic fumes her entire vacation and will not have that happen again.  For Barbara and Dee, it is a daily medical problem since the dump is visible from their home.  

Ana showing us her pretty belly.
Oh yeah, she's telling us about it also.

Dee and Carol bonded as soon as we met them a few years ago when she found out Dee had a large garden to the rear of their home high up on the hills above Philipsburg.  Carol has brought, and mailed, seedlings to Dee and he in turn still has some of those plants growing in his garden.  Today we entered through their front gate and were met with the shrill call of their newest rescued pet, Anna, who is a large white cockatoo who thinks she runs the place.  Also greeting us were Charlotte and Amber, their two rescued dogs.  Today, much to the chagrin of both dogs, Anna was the star of the visit with her constant talking and head bobbing.  Beautiful white bird with a yellow underbelly.  The four adults sat on Barbara and Dee's patio for drinks and croissants before our tour of Dee's garden.  

We can see the dump on our way to the garden.

Carol and I had talked several times about not expecting too much since the island suffered a tremendous hurricane about a year ago and we assumed the foliage had not returned to it's former majestic growth.  Wrong!  Dee's garden displayed a verdant and lush green as well as bright colored flowers.  Take a trip with us through photos as we walk through Dee's garden.  After our tour we thanked them once again for their hospitality and wished Barbara the best in her quest to bring clean air to the Dutch side of the island.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Coral plant or firecracker flower

Plumeria

Mexican Petunia or Mexicana Bluebell

Fern with small spores on the underbelly of the ferm.

Palm leaf

Throughout Dee's garden are small pieces of glass that beautify the pathway.

Banana plant

Leaves of an Hibiscus

Carol and Dee examine one of his many trees and ferns.

Large bamboo stalks

Ginger plant

Ti plant