Author: villagerainbows

Recently I have been trying my hand at amateur videos. This is my most recent effort. Give me some feedback – like, dislike, technical advice, etc.

A strong harmattan morning was settled in over the coastal region of Ghana yesterday morning. This drilling rig has been anchored just outside the fishing harbour at Sekondi for many years. Its purpose, its origins, it futures are obscured from most of us, much like the rig itself in this photo. And like the the obscured rig, the various agendas of big business and local politicians are equally unknown to those of us who walk the streets and tend the farms and work the markets in this West African country. We have seen what has happened to other African countries which have the double-edged “blessing” of black gold, and we all hope for better things in our country. Yet each day’s newspapers carry stories about this discovery and that rumour and those promises… and we remain with our questions unanswered and our hopes yet to be fulfilled.

Be very certain

that

You can taste the salt air

in every snowflake that touches your tongue

and that

The energy that crumbled houses in Haiti

quivers in the foundation of your own home

An old friend stopped by the African Rainbow a few days ago, driving his good old trusty Citroen sedan. It was wonderful to catch up on each other’s news – he lives in the Eastern Region and he and his wife have been operating a community kindergarten for some time. We also share an interest in cars, and he was showing me some of the electrical “challenges” that he has been facing with his car. As we walked around the vehicle, I spotted the decal pasted on the boot. It struck me that it represents a wonderful approach to life and so I thought I would share it with you.

Sunsets near the equator are always a rushed affair – one minute the sun is there in the sky, and if you take your attention of it for a second, the next thing you know, it is gone. It is Universe’s way of reminding us to stay focused on the issues that we consider to be important and to be open to the unexpected.

I almost missed this shot yesterday because I had not given it my full attention. A short time earlier, my youngest daughter, who lives in East Africa, suggested that the last day of the year would present a wonderful photo opportunity, with the sun setting just as the full moon was rising.

Seizing her suggestion, I went to the rooftop, camera and tripod in hand, about 20 minutes before 6:00p.m. A lovely red sun was sliding towards the western horizon, with pink clouds adding dramatic effect, and initially I thought I could capture the event without the aid of the tripod. I took a few shots (one which I have posted) and then decided the tripod would provide a better platform for those last few rays from the sun. By the time I attached the camera and extended the legs of the tripod, those lovely pink clouds had utterly obscured the sun and I completely missed those last rays which I had been intending to capture.

The Universe has many ways of influencing the way in which we experience our lives. Once the sun had set, I turned my attention to the moon. The Harmattan intervened, and prevented me from seeing the moon rising above the horizon.  The moon only became apparent an hour or so later after it was well on its nightly ride across the sky. Once again, it was Universe’s way of instructing me to embrace the unexpected – the anticipation of seeing the new moon on New Year’s Eve was certainly not lessened because I could not see it when I thought I would, but rather it made me more appreciative when it was possible. Thank you, Universe.

Blessings to all. Happy New Year.

Today I connected with a new Facebook friend, Bee Bronson, who posted an item in her blog http://undergroundcoyote.blogspot.com/ about something that she witnessed at her home near Berkeley, California. It reminded me of an incident that I witnessed three years ago here in Ghana. Here is the account that I wrote at the time:

Last Friday, I took people to Accra to catch their flight back to Canada. On the way I passed through a road construction area. There were three large trees beside the road and the bulldozers had cleared the area around them. I remembered these very old trees and that section of the highway from the time when I used to ride my motorcycle from the Western Region of Ghana to the capital city, Accra in the early ’70’s – it was always one of the high points of the trip – one could sense the power and wisdom of those old trees, visible for several miles in the distance, acting like sentinels guarding their domain of scrub and bush on the coastal plain as they had for likely the past hundred years or more.

I returned on Saturday from Accra and the traffic was stopped at the same place on the road. From my vantage point, it was quite apparent what was going on ahead. A dozer and an excavator had been assembled at the site – two of the trees were already down, and those of us in the line-up watched as the third one was pushed over. The dozer charged at the base of the tree while the excavator used its bucket to push high up on the trunk. The tree did not give up without a struggle – finally its roots could hold no longer and it tilted over and slowly came crashing down. As the main trunk hit the ground, the larger limbs snapped under their own momentum, and the tree lie there, broken, like a slaughtered animal, looking up at the sky in shock and bewilderment.

I felt a sharp pain in my chest and experienced a deep sense of loss at that moment. I wondered if anyone else on the road who witnessed the event shared my feelings.

I had recently been reading Patrice Somme Malidoma’s book “Ritual”, in which he discussed the connection that his people in Burkina Faso feel for their natural surroundings. Malidoma’s condemnation of the “Machine” culture of the Western world was ringing in my ears at that moment and I wondered if there are enough people left who can still “feel”. It was tradition, and still is for those who practice it, amongst the Plains Cree where I grew up in western Canada to make an offering to a tree that they were about to harvest, asking the Tree Spirit for forgiveness for their action, and explaining their understanding that the Creator had placed the tree there for their use, and thanking the Spirit of the tree for its life. It was a matter of respect for nature and the earth mother.  I have seen similar rituals performed here in Ghana when traditional herbalists are collecting the various ingredients for their medicines, but increasingly this does not happen as Ghanaian society follows the West in its quest for “development”.

While the human race tries to define “progress” and “development”, we often forget the trade-offs. I am quite certain that the engineers who were re-building that highway could have found some way to route it around the trees, providing an momentary blessing for travelers as they passed by. The presence of those trees would have reminded them of the bounty and the beauty that the Universe has provided. No doubt the “budget” would not allow such an expense, and so the trees had to go.

Yes, I guess I am a ‘tree hugger”. My father and my grandfather both planted trees on our farm, and I continued in that tradition, planting and tending trees on the farm on which I lived in Canada, and also on my small farm here in Ghana. Today when I read Bee’s dismay at the loss of “her” trees, I felt a connection with her, as well as gratitude to know that I am not alone. We must then be grateful to those who do still feel. It is not easy to be optimistic as we watched the environmental degradation that continues around the globe, but we have no choice. To give up is not an answer and so we all move on the best we can. 2010 – here we come…

There is a cautionary tale being played out in the inner courtyard, just a few yards from where I am sitting. A very large and very colourful spider has cast a web and is busy luring in his/her prey. Two butterflies and an undetermined number of other insects have been caught and the wings dangle from the web like forlorn skeletons swinging aimlessly on a thread.

Anansi (the Twi word for spider) is known as the trickster, and he/she is very adept with his/her words. He/she is a charmer, conjuring up lovely images to draw his/her audience in, all the while plotting ways in which his/her personal situation will be advanced. He/she weaves his/her web with great dexterity, knowing which strands are safe for him/her to walk on and which to avoid. Beware Kweku Anansi, masterfully setting a trap for the naïve and innocent. He/she comes in many forms, as politician on the podium, as pastor at the pulpit, as lover in the lovenest.

The African Rainbow Resort was blessed with serendipity when it opened in December 2002. The walls in the dining room and bar were bare and our decorating budget was exhausted. Just about that time, a young artist from Takoradi was looking for places to display his art work. He brought some samples to show us and right away a relationship was formed. Since that time, Kwabena Nyarko has gone on to display his work in various prominent locations in Ghana. He has gained widespread acclaim, within Ghana and abroad, and he has become a well recognized artist of growing repute.

Recently, on the opening of West Coast Wine Outlet at the African Rainbow, Kwabena was invited to display a selection of his paintings in the flower gardens. Fishes swirled through the bushes and gathered along the walls. It made for a very colourful afternoon, highlighted by the presence of the artist himself.

To see more of Kwabena’s work, go to http://www.crossgalleryghana.com. Or stop by his gallery in nearby Azani. You can also reach him by e-mail fishgallery_99@yahoo.co.uk and by phone +233(0)20-9306202 or +233(0)277-459992.