Three Sheets on the Rocks

Three Sheets on the Rocks Life on a rock and occasional misadventures from St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. OM System photography, DJI Drone videography and writing by Jennifer Cole Simpson.

As we continue to work on the house, I find moments to shoot around the yard. As I poured fresh water into the little te...
09/09/2026

As we continue to work on the house, I find moments to shoot around the yard. As I poured fresh water into the little terracotta dish the bees seek out daily, a few buzzed around me, anxious to land when I finished. I may love these little guys, but their stings can kill me. I move slowly so as not to threaten them, not at all worried because I know they mean me no harm. And yes, I do have an EpiPen just in case.

05/09/2026

Mike has made me promise to never again say, “this should be a simple project.” He’s right, much as I hate to say those words too. Every time he’s tackled something, something else comes up.

Since we are converting downstairs into a gallery, we are replacing the floors and painting inside along with the work being done outside. Both needed to be done, whether we converted the space to a gallery or not. The structural walls downstairs are all concrete. In process of wiping the walls down, Mike found a few uneven spaces that, when tapped, sounded hollow. That is definitely not something you want in concrete walls. So he started digging out a few spots to repair, only to find some really large hollow areas with rusted rebar. We decided to bring in an expert to take a thorough look at the interior. We had no idea how much damage was inside our walls. So, nope, prepping the walls was not a simple project. But we’re still grateful we found the issues since in the long term, that could’ve been a structural nightmare. We’re also grateful to have found contractors who are so completely thorough as well as fair in their pricing. We are certain this is being done the right way while not breaking us in the process.

I can’t wait to see the end result! I’ll share some before and after pictures when we’re done, in the fullness of time. 😊

30/08/2026

The clouds parted and Dolly gave us a beautiful goodnight.

At 9:00am the sky was dark, so much so that we had no idea of the time and were still in bed. I heard the rain washing t...
30/08/2026

At 9:00am the sky was dark, so much so that we had no idea of the time and were still in bed. I heard the rain washing through the trees, pattering the roof top and running through the gutters. I pulled myself out of bed to look outside at the shiny wet streets, droplets of water spilling off every surface. The temperature had dropped significantly and for the first time since early spring, I didn’t start sweating the second I walked out of our air conditioned bedroom. This awful drought had turned St. Croix into a tinderbox with fires sparking regularly. Water has been scarce and as cisterns run dry, the public water systems suffered. Many residents have gone without water and even though most has been restored, people still have to boil it. We desperately needed this rain. I think all of us are breathing a collective sigh of relief this morning.

Thank you Dolly! You were aptly named, still helping those in need.

Also, thank you Jerry Merten for letting me share your drone shot for comparison!

Walking the dogs, we wandered along the waterfront just in time to catch the sun nesting on the end of the pier. As alwa...
29/08/2026

Walking the dogs, we wandered along the waterfront just in time to catch the sun nesting on the end of the pier. As always in the summertime, we love the sunset as much for the break in heat as the beauty of its vibrant light.

I’d love to wax poetic about watching the moon tonight and planning the photo, but the truth is, I happened to be standi...
27/08/2026

I’d love to wax poetic about watching the moon tonight and planning the photo, but the truth is, I happened to be standing on our back deck goofing around with the dogs when the moon popped in between the branches on the big tree behind us. “That’s pretty,” I said to myself, as dashed inside to grab my camera. With no time to grab the tripod, I had to shoot pretty dark. Not exactly a stellar artistic moment on any level.

Thinking of Dolly Parton tonight. May she be swirling in the stardust, slow dancing with moon.

The little bananaquits play, bicker and fight, making them so much fun to watch. I’ll add more shots in the comments, b...
25/08/2026

The little bananaquits play, bicker and fight, making them so much fun to watch. I’ll add more shots in the comments, but I love this little drowned rat. 🤣

23/08/2026

Exciting Announcement! I’ve been looking for space to open a small gallery for my photography but commercial rent in our town of Frederiksted is ridiculously high. When our tenants in our downstairs space decided to move, I found my solution. Our home is zoned such that allows for an art gallery and artist studio and we are working to convert it. We are two streets in from the main waterfront shopping area, but buildings are being restored all along the way and the roads are being repaved throughout town. If I’m going to give it a go, now is the time! I’d love to tell you our planned grand opening date, but we still have a lot to get done. Sometime this year is the hope, but island time is real. There are a few things outside of our control that I will have to wait on.

I’ve submitted a request to add the gallery to my business license. We are currently having the house painted, adding shutters and soon will restore the front porch so that it has proper railing. Inside we need to paint, install a hanging system and order some display pieces. In the meantime I’m trying to decide which photos to print, which to frame and how much back-stock to keep. Then I’ll need to take the ones I want to hang to a local framer to have them mounted. It’s a lot, but I couldn’t be more excited!

So, if you’ve been wondering why I’ve not posted much lately, that’s why. But once I’m further along in this, I’ll be sharing tons more photos. This time with the ability to better sell prints.

More to come!

With the drought, I’ve been scattering birdbaths, bird feeders and hummingbird feeders around the yard. Today the bath w...
04/08/2026

With the drought, I’ve been scattering birdbaths, bird feeders and hummingbird feeders around the yard. Today the bath was discovered by bananaquits and they have been playing in it all day. I was hoping to draw them in! We’ve got several hummingbirds now as well, but I’ve not yet captured one with my lens. One hummingbird follows me along the fence line when I water, patiently waiting for the mist setting so it can properly bath. It’s become a near daily routine.

We’ve had windy, dry days with no rain in sight. When that happens, I’m not just watering my thirsty plants. I spray th...
27/06/2026

We’ve had windy, dry days with no rain in sight. When that happens, I’m not just watering my thirsty plants. I spray the stone walls, palm fronds and mist the ground cover for the abundant anoles in the yard and keep hummingbird feeders fresh. I also keep a shallow terracotta dish on my porch railing topped off for the bees—they land on it as I’m pouring the water for them. Now I am in search of a bird bath.

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