We bro't the rain back with us

I guess I whined enough because yesterday the clouds finally opened and blessed us with a little rain. We expected it to give us a downpour, which just rushes past, but instead we were blessed with short spurts of drizzle. Our cistern is slowly filling and I swear I can almost see the bushes smiling. Our precious dogs have quit panting so much and Bailey has more energy. I hope it works for me too as I don't handle the heat well. Today is for quiet activities as tomorrow is too since it's another Belize holiday. We're taking each day as it comes.

Can anyone Say "HOT?"

If you know of someone who wants to come to Belize, please warn them to not visit during April or May unless they love being really hot and sticky.  During this April and May the temperature reached over 100 most days and the humidity couldn't have been far behind.  Even the locals talked of little else as we watched the ground dry and crack and all the underbrush in the jungle dried up and disappeared and most trees lost their leaves.  I know I've written this before, but the hotter it gets the more the folks take advantage of the dry to burn their fields and anything else that gets in their way.  For the most part the fires burn along the ground, eating up the leaves and dead brush, but when a dying tree catches fire or a cohune, the flames can soar 30 or 40 feet, burning overhead lines and jumping fire trails. 

After suffering with the heat for weeks, we were pleased to head for Oregon and Washington for a couple of weeks.  We were sure that by the time we returned it would have rained here in Belize.  Silly us.  The weather in the Northwest was wonderful, heading into the high 70's and low 80's every day.  Folks there commented on how hot it was, but we basked in the drier and, to us, cooler air.  We returned on the 21st of May to find it even drier and still hot.  

We've been on the fringes of a controversy here between a neighbor who apparently bought the leases on all the property across our road to the north of us.  She hired a bulldozer to clear the road right- of-way and pushed the debris, thankfully, to her side.  This whole thing has angered the previous leaseholders, who choose to fight with death threats and setting fire to the lots.  We keep our property clean and hope safe, but is still worrisome.  One day I headed to town to run a short errand.  When I went down the hill, all was well, but when I came back up the hill 45 minutes later, the debris piles were in flames and they had jumped the road and were burning our neighbors property below us.  The fire on our side was just burning the leaf cover, but was still a worry.  I phoned all the neighbors, who didn't seem to be too worried, but we monitored it until it died back.  While we were in the US, another fire started, this time opposite our gate and the little house.  When a cohune ignited, sending flames shooting in the air, Rene and family were here to monitor it.  There is one fire truck in San Ignacio, which did come up one time and arrived in just 15 minutes, but with all the fires, we can't count on them.  Also, they've been known to show up to a fire without water.  

Now that we're back, things seems to be settling down.  It's been extremely hot and humid, but this morning we had a very short rain with the hopes of more.  The weather here is very unpredictable.  Watching the satellite photos, the storms can come from the SE, as well as the Pacific side.  They swirl and change directions so fast.  The best we can do is make do with today and hope that tomorrow will be a little cooler.  As soon as the rains start again, things will burst into life and we won't be able to keep up with the growth. 

Irish Setter pups

I just had a wonderful conversation  with friends up in the States and they are surprised and worried that we actually bought two pups.  Getting even one can be intimidating.  Well, I have to say that we both agree that getting two was the best thing we've done in a long time.  In most ways, rather than being twice the work, they're half the work because they keep each other company.  Right from the first night, there's never a peep out of them at night.  They curl up together and sleep until first light.  They do start hassling each other then, but I'm sure only one pup would start whining.  They sleep on the veranda and if I get up right away and put them in the fence, there aren't any messes to clean up.  The dog fence is about 100' x 100', so quite a bit of room and shade all during the day.

Their personalities are so different.  Rusty is Mr. calm and more elegant.  Shannon, with her cowlicks on the back of her neck, is the trouble maker.  Right now they're lying on the veranda, about a foot apart, just yapping at each other.  Noisy, but hysterical.  I think you have to have a sense of humor to adopt pups. 

I do have to qualify the recommendation to getting two pups at the same time.  We've owned a fantastic Old English Sheepdog and later a Yellow Lab.  I think I'd have been committed if we'd had two of either of these dogs at the same time.  But these Irish Setters are a different story.  They love people, are very bright and even tho' they're only four months old, they are picking up so much of what we're trying to teach them.  Shannon even occasionally rings the doggy doorbell to go down to potty. 

It's hard to get used to how rangy and long-legged Irish Setters are.  At four months they both could be mistaken for grown dogs at a glance.   We're both having so much fun with how loving and fun these darling pups are.  What a blessing to us and even though Bailey might disagree, I think he's enjoying them a little too.  Hugs to all,    

Being retired in Belize

I often joke that we're not "retired", just tired.  Some days it's not much of a joke.  Sitting on our lovely veranda, watching the pups play and just enjoying the sights and sounds can easily use up a day.  More often than not, the sounds are only the birds and the gentle ringing of a wind chime.  It's hard to believe that we're really close to the village and San Ignacio.  

The weather right now is typical of spring up north in that it's very erratic.  We've had cold nights (50f) and a couple of hot days (110f with 105f in the shade on our east facing veranda).  I have to admit that I don't do at all well in the heat.   We are fortunate that we almost always have a breeze here on our hill and our fans are a blessing.  I keep feeling that I should get more things done, but I've just become more lethargic.  I can lose days sitting at the table on the veranda, reading and rereading books that I love.  I've been giving myself a good lecture this morning about being such a slug (my NW view of life) as my lack of exercise makes me feel my age.  I walked Bailey down our road this morning, but the loose rocks make the trip down a hazard and the walk up is telling me that I need to get more exercise.  Bailey is way too fat too, so we both pant our way back to the house.  

I get asked if spring is the same as up north.  In most ways it's almost the opposite.  Right now many of the trees are getting ready for the hot, dry weather by dropping their leaves.  Just like the trees in the NW preparing for winter, they protect their roots against the dry weather to come.  A few of our trees are just the opposite.  The Neem, which is a native of India, hates the rain and is now leafing out and starting to bloom.  The bougainvillea is at it's most glorious now also.  We can usually expect heat for the next couple of months with very little rain.  Since we're on a roof water collection system, we become even more conservative.  This year the dry has hit us a little early, so hope we'll have enough water.  At capacity our nearly 10k gallon cistern reads 9 1/2'.  Today we still have 8'.  From June on is the hurricane season, which means hot, but lots of thunder storms and occasional rain.  We'll head for Oregon the first part of May for Art to visit the VA and to get hugs from family.  It's hard to leave the dogs, but will possibly take the pups to play with their siblings at Claudia & Franklin's (breeders & friends) and Bailey will stay with Rene as he has in years past.  Still working on that one.  Many of our friends head north in May, as it feels like our hottest month.

The pups are a real joy.  Besides being exceedingly beautiful, they're loving and energetic.  They get me up with the sun to let them into the fence.  I've definitely had to change my sleep patterns.  At 3 1/2 months old they're trying so hard not to mess on the veranda, but it's still difficult for them.  We're pleased with our choice for the pen as it's in the shade all day.  They have room to tear around and have created mayhem with the snake plants and Moses in the cradle.  Oh well, not my favorites plants anyway.  We're going to have to start some serious training as they have so much enthusiasm and curiosity that I can no longer control their exploration of the unfenced yard.  Having them head into the bush is frightening.   It's lovely to have them curl up on or near my feet when I'm reading or painting.  Where our wonderful Bailey keeps close tabs on us and loves to be scratched, he doesn't encourage hugs, whereas the pups are happiest vying for all the love and hugs they can get.  Not a bad combination for us.

I feel myself getting older (which makes me sad), but I relish the peace and joy of our lives here on the farm.  I know we must sell and get back to the US healthcare system and help from family, but I'll never regret our decision to spend this special time here in Belize. 

Blessings,

Women's luncheon

Our group is expanding, but there are about 80 names on our list for Cayo Connections.  It's meant just as a way to get to know women in our area on a casual basis.  Not meetings, minutes, dues, etc., just a once-a-month lunch to chat and catch up on each others activities.  We get together the 3rd Thursday each month and just had a delightful lunch at the Aguada.  About 30 folks and we were thrilled to greet a couple of newcomers.  I think it's reassuring to know that there are kindred spirits near who are sharing some of the same struggles and successes.  I really enjoy having the chance to visit with so many friends whom I might not see otherwise. 

Blog friends

After several attempts we finally met with new friends, Chris and Liz here at the farm.  We've been communicating for some time, but never seemed to connect in person.  They have explored Belize and have now settled on a place in Unitedville, which is partway between Santa Elena and Belmopan.  What a delightful couple.  We sat on the veranda on that very hot afternoon and  had a wonderful time.  They're also dog people, so eventually the pups and Bailey joined us.  We were so pleased as the dogs greeted everyone and then politely went to sleep under the table.  Chris and Liz didn't bring their dog, John, as Bailey isn't really thrilled with meeting other dogs. 

Belize is a small country, with an even smaller population.  We travel all over the country to shop so

even tho' we don't live in the same village, we hope we can keep contact with our lovely new friends. We go a kick out of their car as they were leaving.  They said it's actually a great little car, but is small and very basic.  It's Russian and it gets them everywhere.  Like they said, they can't get away with anything because everyone knows the car.  It's very unique.  How fun!  Their visit was definitely a bright spot in our week. 

Fence for the dogs

We've wanted a fence for Bailey since we moved in, but everything else seemed to take preference.  With the addition of the pups to our family, we felt we could no longer put it off.  The pups have been doing really well on the veranda and we take them out 2 or 3 times a day into the big yard.  By using bacon bits as a reward, they're getting good at coming when called, but still getting quite adventurous.

I bought two roles of field fencing and had planned to try to buy some sapodilla fence posts.  The problem was that there weren't any posts available, but I did find a pallet of various 8' long sapodilla pieces at Yalbac Lumber.  At a dollar a board foot, it was quite a bargain, but, how to get it home????  We tried to find a trailer to haul this load, but nothing was available.  The problem was two-fold.  First, with the butane tank in our 6' truck bed, our load length was diminished.  The second part is that, sapodilla is extremely heavy.  Some of these pieces were also ironwood or logwood. We struggled to find an option, but the only one that was available was for us to travel to Iguana Creek, making  as many trips as needed.  We were able to get almost half the pallet on the truck.  Praises to our valiant Toyota Tundra.  We decided to take the back road between Spanish Lookout and Bullet Tree.  That way we wouldn't be on the "highway" with our heavy load.  Sounded good until we got to the hill just past the turn to the ferry.  We heard and felt a whoosh and the whole load slipped onto the road.  Bummer!  The darned bed liner on the truck is slippery.  We had thought that the heaviness of the boards would keep them in place, but the hill and the bouncing proved us wrong.  We had to start reloading on that hill.  When we were part-way finished a van loaded with Mennonite tourists fro ng turned out to be fortuitous as they were aiming for Spanish Lookout without realizing that they were headed in the wrong direction.  By stopping to help us, we got them turned in the right direction. 

We limped towards Bullet Tree at about 15 miles per hour, stopping every couple of miles to be sure everything was still intact.  We were worried about the steep entrance to Paslow Falls Road and then up our road.  Even though ours is much improved, it's still steep.  Art had the great idea that we back up these steep parts.  At Paslow Falls he got out to stop any cars coming our way and I backed up the road.  Voila!  It worked.  I have to thank my training as a long-haul truck driver some years back, for my comfort in driving backwards.  The bumps and holes on Paslow Falls Rd., forced us to stop again to adjust the load and then our road up.  Art's strategy worked fine as I backed the quarter mile up our road without incident.  The really tough part was that we had to off-load the lumber and go back to get the second half.  Quite an undertaking for a couple of old duffers all in one day,   Before we made this trip we loaded up with all the rope, bungy cords and a come-along.  Roberto at Yalbac helped us tie it on and his experience did the trick.  I'll just say that, by the time this load was on, it didn't have a prayer of moving an inch. We were able to drive back on the highway, driving carefully, but taking all the hills straight on. 

We left this load on the truck and Rene and two of his boys came yesterday and built our fence.  What a thrill to be able to let our kids out and not worry that they'll head into the bush.  This is just one more job to thank Rene for. 

Our road - update

I'll preface this with a view back to our beginning.  When we first looked at the property, there wasn't actually a road visible.  Under the two foot high grass was a track, long unused.  On the plat map it shows that the road up our hill is a 60' government road, but they weren't interested in helping us.  After struggling with mud and close calls with a tree, we had about a 400 foot section at the top fixed with a base of rock that has proven fantastic, but the bottom part remained a trial. 

I actually never thought I'd be able to say this, but OUR ROAD IS GETTING FIXED!  We've struggled with the ruts and mud for so long.  We'd approached our neighbors, but Mary didn't want to use the contractor we had used to build the section we had repaired.   Since Mary and family are developing a track at the bottom of the hill, she told us she would fix the road.  Wow!  We weren't sure it would actually happen, but, hallelujah, it has.  We're somewhat disappointed that they cleared so much, but we can't complain as we weren't paying the tab.  She had a bulldozer push all the brush onto her side and they cleared most of the road property.  Yesterday they brought in some gravel to cover the new road bed.  We're hoping that they'll complete the job, but at this point, we're so pleased with the part that's done.  It's definitely not as well done as the section we had Victor do, but this sure is a huge step forward.  The road has intimidated several of our less aggressive friends from coming up.  When you live in the bush on a limited income, getting a drivable road is better than a new wardrobe.    

Puppy progress

We've survived three weeks with our new family members and we're all doing fine.  It sure has caused a change in our schedule tho'. They wind down and head for their kennel at dark, which is currently about 6:30pm and get up with the sun (ick! about 6am).  They try so hard not to mess in the kennel that we try to get up right away and get them outside.  Our big problem is that they stay on the veranda and our house is on stilts.  They are terrified of the steps, so we carry them up and down.  They're both fairly small, but getting heavy fast.  Shannon was next to the smallest female in the litter and Rusty was the smallest male.  I hope everyone who bo't one of these pups is as thrilled with theirs as we are.  Of course they're absolutely beautiful, but also so much fun.  Art chose Stannon because she seemed so shy and snuggled right up to him.  Ha!  She starts out shy and then becomes a crazed little fury, attacking her brother ruthlessly.  Rusty gets his licks in too, but is basically calmer.  I started to say he's quieter, but not true.  She growls when they play, but Rusty barks.  It started as a yip, but he's getting his big boy voice and surprises even himself with a regular bark.  For the first time, today Bailey and Rusty played together.  They each got down with their fannies in the air, waiting to see who'd flinch first.  Then they barked and took off on a run around the veranda.  Bailey chasing the pup.  I couldn't stop laughing.  Poor Bailey has seemed so put upon by having his peaceful life disrupted, but as we'd hoped, I feel they're going to become a family too. 

This week I plan to buy fencing & posts to build a small yard so they'll have a little more freedom.  It should also be a place where Bailey can finally be off a lead.   We take them out into the big yard and use bits of bacon to try to keep them close, but they're getting too brave and independent.  Everything takes time and lots of love.  We have lots of both, so trudging on.   Blessings

Weather (& dogs)

As you might guess, I'll probably be posting a lot about our new family members.  Two 9 week old pups tend to dominate your life.  Bailey is very frustrated and confused as to how to relate to them.  He tries to run away from them and when they get right in his face he barks.  It's so loud that I'd think it would pin them to the floor, but they're non-plussed, so he must not be swearing at them.  I really feel that as they get older and settle down, they'll all become friends.  The pups are trying really hard not to mess in the kennel, but we don't always catch the signs, so the veranda is still ok in their minds.  I hope we can get funds together to put up a good fence so that all three dogs will have a place to roam.  For now, Bailey seems happy to spend lots of time in the house, out of the reach of the red menace.  

The weather right now is unexpected.  It's usually pretty mild this time of year with May being the really hot month.  Well, it's February and we've had several days in the 90's.  Thankfully it's rained the last couple of nights to cool it down.  I dread the really hot weather,  I don't bother "glowing" like a lady, I just drip and sweat.  Hoping to return to Oregon in May before our grandson reports to the Air Force.  He graduated a little early & is only 17.   Pooh!  He's our oldest and it's going to be hard to have them each head in their own direction.  I just pray that they'll find happiness and a satisfying life. 

Pups!

Yes, it's not a typo.  Pups it is.  We went over to pick up our little Shannon and found that two of the males haven't been spoken for.  Claudia & Franklin are such sweethearts and have done such a wonderful job with the huge litter, we just couldn't resist.  We brought home Rusty & Shannon.  In so many ways it's much easier to have two small pups than one alone.  We brought down Bailey's big kennel and they will sleep there.  They didn't even cry last night.  They are so dear and very people oriented.  Our veranda is fenced with screen so they can have the run of it.  Walking for us is a chore as it's like walking in water.  There's a pup under you feet at all times.  It's so cute to see them running after each other. 

Shannon seemed so shy at first, but boy can she explode into a little spitfire.  She really stands up for herself.  Rusty is a tiny bit darker and an independent little soul.  We really struggled with a name for him as he came as a surprise.  Rusty seems a little cliche, but very fitting.  Probably half the male Red Setters are named Rusty, but that's ok with us.   With two nearly identical tiny creatures are running around we're happy that Shannon has a little cowlick on the back of her neck.  We laughed that we should have named her Alfalfa, but it's to be our lovely Shannon. 

We weren't sure how Bailey would react, but are pleased that at least he didn't try to attack them.  He's so huge and they're so small.  We didn't give them much contact until today.  Of course, they were fascinated with him, but he seemed almost afraid of them.  I'm guessing it's going to take a week or two before he can see any reason to have something to do with them.  They were following him and getting in his face.  He finally had enough and turned and barked.  Boy did that stop them.  At least for a minute.  We won't leave them alone together, but can see that eventually it's going to work.  Already Art & I are getting more exercise, just keeping up with the dogs and all the stuff that pups need. What an elegant little family we have.  Two gorgeous Irish Red Setters and our spectacular Akita, Bailey.  So much love,

I've been so busy that I didn't take time to get really good photos of our kids, but will add some later.  For now you can see that the pups have made the area around Art's exercise bike, their own. 

This & That

I've had a very strange day.  Had one of those crazy nights where I slept a long time, but woke up tired.  Just wanted to stay in bed with the covers over my head.  Not really, but tempting.  Looking back on it now, I'm thankful I didn't have a bad accident because I sure couldn't seem to do anything right.  I got thru the morning ok, just bumbling along, but frustrated because I wanted to do laundry, but it rained, so changed that plan.  In the afternoon I decided to kick myself into gear and try to get something done.  I wanted to paint a couple of wooden chairs that sit on our guest house veranda.  I found the paint, thinner, brush and drop cloth and took a broom to the floor to make my space.  I'd noticed some droppings on the table, but attributed them to the darned gecko's.  As I moved the table I realized that these weren't just a few droppings, but a lot.  I pulled on the closeable shutter and let out a scream.  Behind hung about eight small bats.  I'm not really afraid of them, but they sure startled me as they fluttered in all directions.  We realized that this was an ideal spot for them as it was clean and dark and the wood siding was a perfect surface for them to cling to.   I really appreciate bats as one bat will eat it's weight in mosquitoes every day and a pregnant female with eat 2 1/2 times her weight.  The way the bugs attack me, I'll take the bats any day, but don't really want them to live on our veranda. 

After my little girly moment, I continued to spread my plastic and got down to work.  I had almost finished giving the two chairs their first coat of paint when I bumped the can and spilled the whole can of paint.  Well darn!  Luckily I had several layers of plastic down and only a small portion went onto the floor itself.  All I could do was use the brush and pick up as much paint as possible.  I salvaged most of it and using paint thinner and an old t-shirt I got the paint off the floor.  I was also grateful that I had painted the floor with linseed oil & diesel just a couple of weeks ago, so the paint didn't sink into the wood.  Right then I decided that I would do our little place a favor and retreat to the house veranda with a glass of juice and a book for the rest of the day. 

It also gave me time to ponder the fact that we are going to get one of Queenie's pups.  A little girl they call Amy, but who will probably be Shannon when she gets home with us.  The pups are only 6 weeks old and Claudia and  Franklin want them to have more time with their siblings and to get their 8 

week old shot before heading to their new homes.  I know she's going to demand a lot of time and work, but we have lots of time and need to work more, so a terrific fit.  I keep telling Bailey about his new friend, but I'm sure he hasn't a clue that his calm life is about to be upset.  Will do us all good. Maybe by the time she gets here I'll have all the blue paint out from under my fingernails. 

Blessings dear friends