Rewind!... Back to the Barbados!

I offer my apologies to regular follower.... for skipping ahead and not addressing her very good question about the appearance of a windmill in my sketchbook... and the windmill's importance in the Barbados.

I made a segway from that plan to wish Allison a "Bon Voyage" ... and to muster interest in for her in the sandwich contest. You can still vote for her fabulous Divine Chicken Pesto entry at www.countryharvest.com/contest/gallery.php for her sandwich daily until May 15th... once vote each day. We enjoyed it on the weekend... SUPERB!!!!

Our visit to the Barbados linked many previously unrelated bits of earlier "school larnin" as we travelled about and became familiar with landmarks and facts about this paradise. When one feels the constant presence of the warm Trade Winds... it becomes much more obvious as the whys that caused the Barbados to be the first point of landfall... and entry to the New World for early European exploration.It explains why the native population there are descendant to the shiploads of slave ship survivors who arrived and were enslaved to form the work force on hundreds of plantations that existed on the West Indies and in the Colonies prior to Independence and the Civil War.

Sugar was king in the Barbadian trade with England up until the mid Twentieth Century. Cane sugar was the major export... along with its bi-products molasses and rum. Rum was first distilled in the early 15oo's. Each plantation's fields of sugar cane was cut by hand and delivered to sites where windmills were used to grind the cane into powder, using the constant power of the Trade Winds to maintain production. Today... only a few remain in their original running condition and are maintained for historic reasons only. Sites to visit for bronzed... sun -worshipping subjects of the new "King"- Tourism!

The mill that I sketched is the Morgan Lewis Mill in the parish of St Thomas which ceased active operation in 1946. One can easily see the Dutch influence in its construction. Sugar cane mills operated for over 200 years in the Barbados... and at the height of the sugar trade it is recorded that the Barbados had 506 mils island wide. Today... the Barbados has the second largest number of windmills per square mile in the world... second only to Holland. I wonder if that will remain so... given the current technological impetus of many countries to create vast fields of wind turbines/windmills to supplement hydro-electric generation!

I am once again including my sketch of the Morgan Lewis Mill.. Like Caroline, I never expected to see such a thing in the Barbados. Along with this sketch... I will include an example that represents what most other windmills look like today. This one was located at Apes Hill where we were staying. It is well-maintained... and serves as a lunch facility for the groundskeepers and security staff at Apes Hill... as well as offering a very panoramic view of the sea coast from the crenellated tower... which no longer house any windmill gear or roof.

I hope that this satisfies your interest and question adequately Friend Caroline. Sorry for the segway!

I am currently working on a not too "largish" canvas... 30x24 inches... my first major piece related to our trip. Something different!.... I will leave further discussion until completion. One never knows where the process goes... sometimes... no where! HAHA!!

Stay tuned!

Good Painting to ALL!