Enjoying our Homes in the Bahamas

We love this time of year in the Bahamas.
First off, even though it's still hot, it's getting cooler in the evening and the humidity's down. The sea's getting cooler, but it's still warm enough to spend a Sunday afternoon plonked in the gin clear water off our favourite beaches, sipping something cold and enjoying a cup of peppery conch salad.
Our homes get a bit of a makeover.
Although our seasons are subtle, we feel them keenly. The evenings and mornings are softer. Our gardens are lush from the summer rains and it's almost time to start planting tubs of annuals.
In the next month or two, our entertaining will start to shift from the boat and outer island excursions, to our homes and gardens. Saturday night grills and Sunday garden lunches are always popular.
Although the Bahamas doesn't have Fall colours, the leaves will drop from the magnificent Silk Cotton trees and, as the rains become scarcer, the native flowering plants, such as hibiscus, oleander and plumbago, will bloom in full force in their vibrant reds, pinks, yellows and blues.
Many of us make over our homes, swapping out blues and greens for warmer colours, and hanging out Harvest wreaths.
We people of the Bahamas enjoy our celebrations. A former British colony, we celebrate Guy Fawkes with fireworks and burgers on November 5. And we also borrow Halloween from the Americans.
Of course, we're always up for a feast. Although Thanksgiving is not a holiday, many Bahamians invite friends and family to their homes to feast on turkey with all the trimmings.
Mouth watering smells drift from our homes between now and Christmas. Soon, the Grouper season will close, so we're all tucking into one of our favourites, boil fish and grits – wonderful and spicy - as often as we can.
With the climate getting “cooler” (it's in the low 80s as we write), the Balls and wine tastings will soon start. We love re-arranging our closets and hanging our dress clothes in a more prominent position in anticipation of the social events to come.
This is the Bahamas.