At the Marriner street frontage of Le Petit Hotel, Martine has some Lavender of the ‘Grosso’ variety growing. This particular lavender is a (heavy oil bearing) hybrid between Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula latifolia.
At this time of the year, the brilliant purple/blue flowers of the lavender draw hundreds of friendly bumble bees, small youngsters and large adults, who climb up & down each flower head, while probing into each tiny separate flower. Unlike honey bees…bumble bees eg. Bombus Terrestris are not normally aggressive & can be easily watched closeup, especially if they have become intoxicated with flower fragrance or just tired with hard work. The larger queens often find their way indoors accidentally as they seek a place to make a home.
Le Petit Hotel, St Martin
Le Petit Hotel, St Martin, is a superb – on the beach, Caribbean Hotel, on the shore of Grand Case Bay.
Le Petit Hotel-St Martin offers unique world class resort accommodation and guests enjoy easy access to the Island’s nearby renown French restaurants.
Owners, Kristin & Marc operate Le Petit Hotel together with L’Esplanade Hotel and both St Martin/ St Maarten hotels provide exceptional Trip Advisor Winning comfort & service.
Scottish Terrier : Lessons from a dog’s life at Le Petit Hotel
A French philosopher whose name I can’t recall, once wrote that to understand fully one’s soul, you need to first love & understand a dog. I often ponder this view, as Martine & I move onwards with Kara, our new Scottish Terrier. Here at Le Petit Hotel, we look at our Juscot Scottie, her physical disability, and her ability to surmount the difficulties it presents her; and then ponder her unmistakable happiness at the thoughts which obviously flood her mind, when she anticipates being taken for a simple walk by either of us. It’s a constant reminder that the simplest things in life can & should be enjoyed.
And so it is with an American NY Times contributing writer Dana Jennings. Dana’s New York Times Health blog is an ongoing story of one man’s brave journey with cancer. It’s an exemplary human story of adaptation, courage, gratitude, resilience, and the ability of the human spirit to rise above adversity…and well well worth a read.
Lessons from a dog’s life ( See Dana’s posts about his 13 year old dog Bijou)
Obituary: Maggie Whitfield, Le Petit Hotel
Le Petit Hotel’s well known & truly loved Scottish Terrier finally succumbed to liver cancer in the early hours of Monday 28th September 2009.
Although we had been expecting it, when the final hours came, it was truly heart wrenching stuff. As the old saying goes, she died with her boots on. I let her outside at about 2am for a little slow walk. She came back into the hotel, sat down by her water bowl for about an hour, with me beside her. About 4am I picked her up gently and made her comfortable on a rug on the floor, alerted Martine that the end was very near..and with us both beside her, after a few gasps, she gave up the fight……[ Insert: volumes of huge tears]….in her own way, her final parting gift to us…was for us not to have to call the vet.
Maggie was “huge” in spirit, determination, & courage; sensitive to all those who had the privilege of meeting her, and above all an unlimited giver to those humans she had bonded so well with. Maggie was a dignified, exceptional character, no bite dog, who took time out to smell the flowers, taste the grass, look at birds with interest, and who could always see a cat at 1000 paces. Her joy at going for walks knew no bounds until age limited her outings.
Maggie’s departure from this world has left a huge gap at Le Petit Hotel, Sumner, and irreplaceable memories with Bruce, Martine, Scott, & John. Bless her soul, Maggie was a dog apart, she lived happily with us, fought a good fight, and is at peace now.
Maggie Whitfield; a Scottish Terrier, Born 13 December 1995, Died 28 September 2009 at Le Petit Hotel, Sumner, NZ. Pedigree of Greenock Mallaig, Sire: MacPrain Mintmaster & Dam: Shortbread Briar Rose. Black with some Brindle, her breeder was Adele Willis, 97 Soleares Avenue, Christchurch, New Zealand. She will be remembered.