Life has been pretty amazing lately.
The weather is wonderful, things are growing in the greenhouse, and its been windy or breezy, and the rains are starting to come back...
In the greenhouses, I am eating lettuce, arugula, mint, basil, strawberries, dill and eagerly anticipating eggplant, broccoli, snow peas, beets, squash and other stuff. Am enjoying the orchids as they come in bloom, of which I have seen about 12 now. The plant collection continues to grow as friends, neighbors and others give me interesting and unusual plant materials. I am starting with bromiliads and anthuriums as well as adding to the heliconyas, but for now, its mainly just moving plants around, and watering to keep them alive, putting worm tea on them for fertilizer, and waiting for the rains to really kick in, so I can start putting plants outside (of the greenhouses). I have lots of little fruit and nut trees waiting for permanent homes.



Slowly, I am getting some finishing work done on my house, painting, varnishing, caulking, just getting things to look more “finished” than how my builders left it. One of these days, it should look pretty good.
I am also getting estimates on the furniture – cabinet doors, and two single beds for the guest room.
I will be opening up the place to people I know who want a retreat or a vacation, for “all inclusive packages” (ask me if you are interested.) and trading stays with my friends in Panama...



Lately, we have been getting little earthquakes, or tremors, as many as 70 counted in one day. Its like the mother is getting upset, and letting us know it...It is really disorienting to feel the earth as being unstable, like you can't trust even the ground you walk on anymore! Things shake, but not so hard to do any damage. Nothing as large as the one we had a few months back. Jessie doesn't know what to make of it, she walks around the perimeter of the flat area surrounding the house when its shaking, like she's looking for a solid place...there were some reports that the epicenter is a few miles offshore and a of Golfito, which is due west of where I live by a good 40 or 50 miles. Maybe Costa Rica will have a new mountain, or at least more land mass soon?

I have started teaching English. I have two classes. One class has teenagers that are high level beginners and intermediates, for a 4 hour class at the high school in town, and one group is rank beginners in my community who are 8 to 11 years old. Highly motivated, these kids cornered me one day and said “when will you start English classes”? Up until then, I wasn't convinced anyone was really interested. It's much more fun than I thought it would be, I make them laugh, and I think they are actually learning. The proof will be next week, when the intermediates get their section exam... The younger ones are learning short sentences, and how to ask for cookies, its kind of like Pavlovian motivation...

And the bananas just keep on coming. At last count, I think there are about 6 racks almost ready to cut down. The toucans are finally coming in closer to the house now, where I have the bananas hanging at the vivero. Other wildlife visitors have included a scorpion (killed it) and two loose cows who found their way UNDER my fence, and were trying to munch on my baby trees and gotu kola. A neighbor, who has cows (and paddocks) came and lassoed the big one, and took them over to his property for safekeeping, until the owner could be found. Seems that at this time of the year, when pasture is really low, people who don't have a lot of land just let their cows go to fend for themselves, not exactly the most responsible thing, but then, most Ticos are clueless with regard to personal responsibility. This is a remnant from the culture of the big fruit companies, who took care of everything...(albeit poorly)...Fortunately, as more people receive higher education here, this is changing....