rain

Wow, from my fingers to God's hear. Not quite. They've been predicting rain for about 3 weeks, but none appeared until Tuesday night. We're not getting lots of rain, just sporadic and quite a stiff breeze.

Sandy, bless her heart, sent me a comment about the fact that the rainy season is actually during summer months. That's because that's the hurricane season. It doesn't rain really often then, but when it does it comes down in buckets. (I have to tell you that most of my info comes from Rene, who has lived here all his life and has taught me so much about the land). During December, January it is often overcast and there are periods of drizzle. That's the good time to plant a garden. The dry spell was devastating to lots of gardens. Not sure how long this cloudy spell will last, but we do appreciate the little bit of rain.

Well, I'm off to the dentist. I get my crown put on today. I think I already mentioned that we have a wonderful dentist here who is gentle and VERY reasonable. My crown cost $350bz total. In Oregon they're $1k US at least.

Have a great day dear friends. Gale

weather

I know the weather in the U.S. is really awful in some places. Unusually cold and lots of snow. I just looked at the road cams in Central Oregon. Lots of snow and cold. I loved the snow when we had lots of wood stacked outside and food stocked up. I could just savor the beauty of it all in the mountains. It is always a time of worry tho' about folks driving in icy conditions. Sunriver is a resort area and folks visit who are there to have a good time skiing and enjoying the winter, and have no concern for the hazardous road conditions.

Our concern here is Belize is just the opposite. We're having the most gorgeous weather, which I'm sure the tourists are enjoying. It's in the 80's during the day and high 50's at night. Sounds ideal, but our big worry is that this is supposed to be the rainy season. Usually it rains most of December and on into January. We haven't had rain for several weeks. The ground is dry and cracking and any of the trees have started to lose their leaves. We do have the morning mists, but they're not enough to provide water to the earth. Farmers have planted beans and corn, staples here, and what has sprouted is drying up. The Mennonites are trying to irrigate some fields, but most will be a loss. I hear that the government is trying to find sources outside of Belize to get folks thru this tough year. Prices will go soaring. Because of the weather and struggling economy here, most of the population is out of work. I worry about how families can survive.

We're extremely conservative in our water and electricity use. When we came down we were prepared to have our cistern go dry, so we developed ways of recycling our water. We collect our gray water in a tank (this is from showers and washing dishes) and use that to water plants. We also use composting toilets. As is turns out, our 10k gallon cistern is still 90% full. This dry weather will be a test for our usage. If we continue to maintain our water supply, we may opt to install a regular toilet here in our house. I have to say we're not fans of the Biolet toilet system. We much prefer the homemade composting toilet in the guest house. Anyway, right now we're just concerned about water.

We had standing water in a spot near my garden. This is curious as we're at the top of a ridge. The ground slopes down quite seriously behind the guest house. Art & Rene decided to dig down to determine the source of the water. Rene dug a hole about 3' across and maybe 4' deep and water is leaking below the topsoil at the top of the marl. The water is clean and odorless. Rene remembers as a boy they used to hunt in this area and there was a spring fed stream around here in the bush. When our "ship comes in", what a laugh, we'd like to dig a well and hopefully supplement our water supply.

Moving to Belize is such a fantastic experience. To develop our little place with limited funds and off-grid is a little like pioneering. Of course they didn't have solar, so we know we're pretty lucky. We also couldn't do most of the work on the land without our good friend, Rene. He's a wealth of information and common sense and he works extremely hard. He's so proud of what we've all accomplished here and doesn't hesitate to take credit for much of our success.

This seems to be a very confused year weather wise, everywhere. None of the usual conditions are happening. I hope the spring (that's for the U.S, there really isn't a spring here) will bring a gentleness back to the land for all of us. We're praying for a little rain here before the expected dry season hits.
Blessings, Gale

Aracari - little toucan

This little fellow visited a few days ago and I tho't it might be interesting for anyone who doesn't get the opportunity to see the differences, to see the little toucan also. I've found that the keel-billed toucan stays high in the canopy, where the Aracari has come down to eat berries very near the house. This little one visited the same trumpet trees as the big toucan. Wish we had lots of fruit trees so that we'd see them more often. I'm just pleased and excited about these visits. Even tho' folks here call it the "little toucan" it's still a fairly good sized bird at about 16". The keel-billed can be about 21". (I love my "Birds of Belize" book).

Finally, toucan photos

I've been so frustrated trying, first to catch a glimpse of our toucans and then to try to get a photo. They fly in and vanish into the trumpet trees. My photography skills leave a lot to be desired, but I keep trying. I'm slow and so is my camera, but today I finally got a shot of our elusive friend. He seems to come in and just get one piece of fruit and then fly off, out of sight. It's hard to realize that so many incredible birds visit our yard. I'm including a couple of less than perfect photos to show the colors on the body. What an incredible gift.

watercolors

Ok! Like I told you, I keep thinking I'll break out of my rut, but I keep trudging away, doing my birds and critters. I do love them tho'. Maybe I'll surprise myself and try something different next time.

I don't see many watercolors down here, probably because the humidity is so hard on paper. They would all have to be archival matted and framed to keep out the moisture. Also, the truly frustrating thing is that, at least here in the Cayo District, I have yet to find a place to buy supplies. Got excited when I passed a place in Belmopan called the Art Box. Silly me! It's full of ticky tacky and not much else. Oh, a few of Caroline Carr's painting on the 2nd floor. Doubt that an art supply store would do a booming business, but sure wish someone would be able to stock paints, brushes, etc. Luckily I bro't quite a bit when we moved, so can keep busy, when my lazy bones get ambitious.

Happy New Year

Hard to believe that it's 2011. Seems as tho' the millennium was only a couple of years ago. Hope this is a good year for all of us. We stayed home for New Year's eve and watched a couple of videos. It's hard to go to sleep early here because they celebrate everything with fireworks. Not pretty ones, just noisy. We did have a great time yesterday tho'. I decided to make pizza and ten of us had a great time just visiting, eating and generally enjoying our lovely weather. (Sorry all you up north). It's now gotten quite warm and today is threatening rain. It's still warm with a wonderful breeze. It was hard to make the pizza because we have a really small oven, but managed just fine. Lots of lovely desserts found their way up also, so we were all pleasantly stuffed.

Today was back to normal with laundry and watering the garden. The really tough part was then sitting down and reading a really good book for the rest of the day. I truly savor not marching to the demands of the clock and employers.

Happy 2011 dear friends.

After Christmas

We had an extremely quiet Christmas, but managed just fine. Nice to have friends to visit. Didn't hear much from our family, but know that everyone is very busy. We're still in the midst of a cold spell that has been going on for over a month. As I've said before, it sounds wimpy to complain when the temp gets down to 40 here, but that's really cold in the tropics. Last night we had two extra blankets on the bed and closed the shutters. We layer. Two sweatshirts in the morning and then shed them down to a t-shirt in the afternoon. It hasn't rained during this same period, which is a little bit of a concern. This is usually a really rainy time. Hope it rains soon to fill the rotoplas' that I use for laundry. The big cistern is still nearly full, so no real worries. We're extremely conservative in our water and electricity use. Since we had never lived off grid before, we weren't sure how to judge our usage. At this rate we could have put in a regular toilet instead of the composting one. Would have been cheaper and more comfortable. It's all a learning experience.

We are struggling to keep machinery working. One of the good things about the cold, dry spell is that things aren't growing very fast. We have a big weedeater in for repair (has been there for 5 months) and our regular one bit the dust today. It started life as a Truper (made in Mexico) and later the engine was replace with a Homelite. I guess you can only squeeze so much life out of them when they just give up. Bearings jammed and it welded itself into a non-usable lump. With tears and a nearly empty bank account, we had to buy a new one. Found a "deal" on a mid priced one, bro't it home and the darned thing won't start. Art went back to the store and THEY WERE CLOSED! THEY CLOSE ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. It's all right. This is Belize. Get a grip, Gale. Tomorrow is another day.

I did paint a couple of watercolors the last couple of weeks. Nothing great, but nice to get back into something creative besides weeds. I keep thinking I'll break loose and create something bright and splashy, but always end up with realistic something.

I've been hesitant to say that I planted another garden. Moved it down the hill where the marl isn't so close to the surface. Most things are doing ok, but the cold is taking a toll. I'm dragging hoses down there and watering from the gray water tank. That's our shower and dishwater water. Like I said, we're very conservative. I don't sprinkle, but put water only on the ground, not on the plants themselves. I planted carrots and yellow onions and nothing came up. Two weeks ago I planted more of the same seed and they're doing great. This time during the full moon. If I actually get something from this garden I'll post photos and, of course, will have to brag. Isn't it weird to plant a garden in December. My Oregon brain has a little trouble with some of this. Of course, where were lived in the mountains, we couldn't have a garden at all, so this is really a treat.

Ok, I've babbled enough for now. I'm going to dig out some photos I took of interesting fungus that were out before this cold spell hit. More soon. Gale

Christmas

It doesn't seem like Christmas this year. Last Christmas Art was Santa for about 650 children in a sweet little restaurant called "Mom's". Sadly Bill closed it down a few months ago. It will just be us this year. Just had a call from a dear friend and we'll have a get-together with several friends this Wednesday. We're so pleased.

I really miss Christmas in Bend and the States. What a storybook place with snow and living Christmas trees all around. Every Christmas, in our house in Oregon, I loved putting lights on the outside of our lovely log home and decorating the inside with a tree, garlands on the stairs and the decorations we've acquired in 50 years of marriage. It was always lonely in a way, as Art was a professional Santa, so was gone from Thanksgiving until just after Christmas. I loved being close to our daughter and two of our grandson's and sometimes spending it with our son and his three children and my brother & sister-in-law. I sure miss all of them.

Christmas is so different here in Belize. It's almost a non-event. Few decorations, people in shorts and flip-flops and almost no mention of Christmas. You can say what you want about commercialism in the States, but what a wonderful time of year. Decorations, music and folks dashing around, trying to find the perfect gift for loved ones. Sharing gifts, food and love can't be all that bad. We're also reminded so often that it's really a celebration of the birth of Christ. I guess here it's more of a private acknowledgement. We try to give our neighbors children a little treat, but don't even hear a "Merry Christmas" from anyone. You don't appreciate the generous hearts of Americans until you're away from it and you realize that the whole world doesn't feel the same way. How sad and how proud I am to be an American, even tho' we live in Belize.

I hope you all have a lovely holiday and are able to share it with loved ones. I know our weather here is lovely, but there's something incredible about snow and lights and generous spirits at Christmas.

Blessings and Merry Christmas.
Gale & Art

Shopping in Belize

This can be EXTREMELY frustrating. I dream of strolling thru Home Depot and Costco with their neat shelves stacked with goods and materials made for the U.S., with instructions in English. Here, it is only a dream. The reality can drive you slightly nuts. We're in the process of plumbing our guest bathroom and planned to install an on-demand, gas hot water heater. We have one in our house and, at the time, we had no trouble finding one. This time, it was like a conspiracy. We traveled to Spanish Lookout first, as the bastion of all things in the hardware line. (Isn't that a hoot that the Mennonites market the best machinery?) Well, this time, the only heaters to be found were huge, ranging from $1,000 on up. Wow, this is for a room that is rarely used and then only for a sink and shower. Come on guys! We used to hear this when we lived in a little coastal town in Oregon - "We just sold the last one and we're not sure when we'll get more." SCREAM! Yesterday I went to every shop & store in San Ignacio and Santa Elena and no one sells ANY hot water heaters. OK, the trips weren't a total loss as I/we had to go anyway to buy more fittings that we didn't get previously. All this is frustrating tho', because I burned $20 worth of gas in two trips to town. Please, don't tell me have to go to Belize City to get one. I really hate that trip and that town. Another problem is that, we have yet to see a phone book anywhere, so we have to gather phone numbers as we visit places. I found the number for Builder's Hardware in Belmopan and gave them a call. It's about 40 miles there and I'm tired of burning gas for a wasted trip. Hallelujah, they had only one, a 6 liter heater for $380. I practically scream at the fellow on the phone, hold it for me. Today, we traveled to Belmopan, and returned with our prize.

We're having Carlos, Rene's youngest son do the plumbing. He usually works in Placencia, but there isn't work for them right now. It's so nice to not be climbing on the ladder and trying to figure out what goes where. This time I'm just the gofer. Within an hour of returning with our purchase, Carlos had it installed and water running. Oops, we forgot the gas line and regulator for the butane. Oh well, another trip to town, but we're almost done. Whew!

Just wandering around the place

It's still hard to wander around our little Dreamer Farm when the temp is in the 70's and realize that it's so cold up north. I love the blue vine that winds itself around our veranda, with the double hibiscus at the bottom. We've cut the brush in about an acre below the houses and are creating paths and planting for our "park". Right now it's not that impressive, but it is a quiet refuge where you can look up at the trees and watch the birds. We've planted some dwarf palms near a winding path that I created. I'll add more plants and flowers as we get them. I was going to have Art bring back some impatience seeds as they love the shade, but then I realized that it's December in Oregon and they're selling snow shovels and mittens rather than seeds. I'd love to hit the local nurseries, but the budget is a little tight, so will see what I can snip and start from scratch.

As Rene chopped and cleared, he'd find medicinal plants and I asked him to save them. He tells me how each can be used, but I'm a very poor student. He laughs when I tell him that his wonderful stories tend to go in one of my ears and falls out the other. I feel like the little boy who said "teacher, I need to go home because my brain is full." I'm trying to write some of it down. He knows so much of the Mayan methods. I'm trying to come up with a way of labeling these plants so that we don't accidentally cut them down. I'd like to get a printer and put together a book of photos and a map of where things are.

These are just random photos. The darker single hibiscus is near our guest house. The photos doesn't show the deep red center very clearly. The light purple bougainvillea is a dwarf plant and now full size.

Art's home

Art made is safely back on Friday. What a shift in gears he had to make. From nearly 4' of snow in our back yard in Oregon to 70 degree weather here. He had a safe, but long trip back with 18 hours of travel time due to long layovers in San Francisco and Houston. I had to have William of Belize Shuttle pick him up at the airport as I'm, once again, struggling with a broken tooth. I had a temporary in place, but it fell out Thursday evening. Luckily she could get me in Friday morning for a replacement. Get a permanent filling on Tuesday and then a crown. Luckily, it's not hurting me as it seems to have missed the nerve. Bailey is sure glad to see Art. He was wonderful company when Art was gone, but I could tell that he was confused that his special person was missing. He now seems content that his family is back in place again.

I'm excited to hear that my brother, sister-in-law and two of my cousins will visit us in Feb. In over a year, this will be our first visit from family. We'll be busy sprucing up the place.

Right now, I wish we had visitors to share the wonderful smell outside. There's a tree that has tiny blooms on it that smells wonderful. It's such a tall tree that we can't really see the blooms, but they fall to the ground and create a beautiful carpet. We're also starting to see some of the migrating birds from the north. Caught a glimpse of a toucan today, heading for a trumpet tree, but they're too fast to photograph. Rene stopped by with the Trooper today and brought a bunch of plants to add to our "park". He's so proud of it and wants to help make it pretty. As soon as I can get some decent photos, I'll share with this blog. He told me that when he worked on Friday, he saw 4 Great Curassaw birds cross our yard. They're seldom found here, but he thinks that Hurricane Richard pushed them here from the Tikal area. He's heard that the Ocellated Turkey has also been seen in the area. Talk about a funny looking bird. It has a bright blue neck and then bright orange bumps on it that look like pieces of plastic. Don't you just love the bright colors of the jungle birds?

I know reading my ramblings would be more interesting with photos, but right now I've not had much luck. Will try to be more obliging soon.

Hugs from the jungle, Gale

Art in Oregon

Poor Art, I talked to him last evening and the snow is still falling. Over 2' and more coming down. He spends most of his spare time with the snow blower. Our house is about 25 miles south of Bend, Oregon, across Lave Butte, adjacent to Sunriver. (Not in the resort as their rules and costs would drive us crazy). We're at an elevation of 4200'. Bend is closer to 3200'. Anyway, Art went to Bend yesterday and there wasn't any snow there. Our place is the perfect location for skiers as Mt. Bachelor ski area is less that 1/2 hours away, but can be tough on us. It is extremely beautiful there tho' and our handbuilt log house is like a lovely small ski lodge. Oh well! Art will be glad to get back here to our 60 to 80 degree days. (I know there's a degree symbol somewhere under one of these keys, but I don't know where). Bailey and I will sure be glad to have him back here, safe and sound.

I'll post more about Belize, but right now it's just maintenance and putting one foot in front of the other. We sure can't complain about our weather here tho'.

Blessings, Gale