At some point, somehow, I lost/deleted my Belize blog Part 119 (April 27 to May 7). Based on some photos in my photo collection all I know about that I installed an exterior wall in Andy’s bike shed and I received my first 10 baby ducklings from Joseph across the river.
May 8
Life in the jungle: Today I pulled off the forms from the concrete steps I poured almost two weeks ago. I was told to wait about two weeks before taking those forms off. I then moved a whole bunch of gravel mix to prepare for a bunch of cement blocks being delivered later in the day.
After lunch, they were delivered and I laid them alongside the greenhouse to make a cement block floor to add 50 square feet of greenhouse space (on the outside).
New concrete steps
Added square feet to the greenhouse floor – on the outside of the greenhouse
May 9
Life in the jungle: Today I washed and painted areas of my house deck and final coat on a few sections of Andy’s bike shed.
Andy’s new bike shed with exterior wall added
May 10
Life in the jungle: I spent the day washing and painting areas of the house deck and some exterior trim on Andy’s apartment. Andy finished wiring and got power hooked up in his apartment and the front entrance of the greenhouse. (That job was started last week.) He still has to wire up the greenhouse itself.
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May 11
Life in the jungle: First thing I went to the ponds to water seedlings. Then I headed to the village. I ran into Saul. He promised lumber by the end of the day. I then visited Orlando about putting a railing on the steps of my rear deck. (A few weeks ago, he helped me build cement steps.) I also told him about my plans to build a cabana next to the house next year but I wanted to get the footings in the ground before the rainy season. He was cooking a bunch of food to sell in Boom. He was cooking gibnut, Hickatee (turtle), turkey, and chicken, except the chicken wasn’t ready yet. He offered me a plate and I told him that I don’t eat wild game meat. So, turkey I got. I am totally against eating Hickatee and he had slaughtered a massive female. I asked him for the shell. He uses the turtle shell as a dog dish.
A little over a week ago I realized I have to build another living space (cabana or tiny house) for the next person who might want to live on the farm like Andy chose to do. I decided that would be next year’s project. A few days ago, I realized that I should get the footings in before the rainy season in case I needed to speed up this project. There is no way to get footings in the ground during the rainy season if the ground is flooded. Orland felt we could form and pour cement for railings and get the footings in the ground in a day. So, I then headed to River Valley for concrete for the cabana footings.
After lunch, I completed some odd jobs and then started re-bagging a few seedlings that I was growing in bags that were in rough shape. And then Saul showed up with lumber.
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May 12
Life in the jungle: Today is my day off. First thing I sorted out and moved yesterday’s lumber delivery. And then I finished bagging the few seedlings I was re-bagging yesterday. After lunch, I attempted to take a nap but sleep wouldn’t come. I did manage to post Belize blog Part 81.
May 13
Life in the jungle: First thing I headed to the village. I needed some 12ft 2x4s to start building a new compost chicken coop. Andy would like a chicken coop built that houses the chickens all day instead of letting them range. The idea is that we can collect all their waste and use the coop as a compost maker. The chickens will also be safe from predators and the hens won’t be able to lay their eggs wherever they please. On Saturday Saul brought a load of lumber but no long pieces of lumber, hence the need for some 12-footers as the coop will be 12 feet by 12 feet. After lunch, I spent the whole afternoon framing the chicken coop. I got all the wall sections framed.
My Ziricote tree is blooming
May 14
Life in the jungle: Today was an extremely long day. Orlando showed up to help finish the cement deck railing for the stairs. We built the forms and I mixed the cement. We also put in four of six footings for a new cabana.
Concrete railing form
May 15
Life in the jungle: After I woke up, I went back to bed. I am still tired from yesterday. First thing I moved my ducks (which I acquired the other week) from a rearing hen house into a coop. I also have two sick hens that likely have fowl pox. It’s been over a year since I had sick hens. I also found a chicken nest in some bushes with 8 eggs in it. I then mixed cement. I finished the last two (new) cabana forms and made a dozen patio stones. I spent the rest of the day continuing to frame the next chicken coop.
Baby ducks
This evening it looks like Jamie and I figured out our Belize River canoe trip start date. I asked Wayne about renting his canoe for our trip. It looks like we leave on the 23rd. We were supposed to leave on April 7th.
New cabana footings
May 16
Life in the jungle: Again, I woke up tired, so I stayed in bed a bit longer. I spent most of the day catching up on the odd jobs. I removed the forms from the new cabana footings. After breakfast, I headed to the village for the rest of the lumber I needed for this new chicken coop and some zinc sheets for its roof. Later on, I painted some exterior trim on the apartment. I then removed the forms for the cement deck railing. And after that, I headed to the ponds to water my seedlings. Never have I seen it so dry here. Even my jackfruits which I have never needed to be water in the past were looking pretty rough.
May 17
Life in the jungle: Today was a hot and humid day. I spent the entire day framing the newest chicken coop. The coop is framed and the roof over the hen house portion is 95% completed.
New chicken coop
Belize Part 119 (April 27 to May 7) – LOST
Belize Part 118 (April 19 to 26)
Belize Part 117 (April 10 to 18)
Of Note: At this time I am currently 8 months behind in posting my Belize blog posts due to having no internet for the first 18 months of living in Belize.
Glossary of Terms
Glossary of words or people that may or may not be part of this blog post. This glossary will be at the bottom of every blog post for Belize.
Wayne – He is the son of the original owners of the farm (both owners are deceased). The original farm was two – 30 acre parcels minus two – ¾ acre parcels for my house. In 2017 Wayne sold me 40 acres of land from the original 60 acres (one 30 acre parcel plus 10 acres from the second parcel). Wayne lives in his parent’s house and has a few cows on his remaining 18 acres of land.
The ponds – I have two large (300ft long x 50ft wide x 10ft deep) ponds on my 30 acre parcel of land which is basically a jungle. I have about 60 coconut trees (mostly mature) around the ponds. In my first two years of living in Belize, I also planted about 250 assort fruit tree seedlings (Lime, jackfruit, custard apple, pomegranate, and avocado).
The coconut field – I have about 400 coconut trees planted (various growth states) on about 3 acres of cleared land of my 10 acre parcel. I have planted about 350 assorted fruit trees (lemon, starfruit, mango, soursop, cashew, lime, orange) all raised from seed since my arrival in Belize in 2021.
The river lot – my house sits on an ¾ acre lot. I have a second joining ¾ acre lot that allows me river frontage on the Belize River. I call that my river lot.
The dry – Belize has two main seasons. The rainy season and the dry (no rain). The wet is obviously the rainy season.
Chopping – using my machete to clear brush, vines, weeds, and unwanted trees. Generally, when I chop I am removing unwanted vegetation around my baby fruit trees.
Andy – A fellow Canadian who rode his dirt bike from Canada to Belize. When I offered him the use of an apartment that I recently built and the use of my greenhouse Andy decided to stay in Belize permanently and start a hot sauce company here.
Orlando – Orlando is an older gentleman from the village. He’s the guy I call on when I need construction help because he is actually fair with me.
