Things are very muddy after two back-to-back Tropical storms.
December 2
Life in the jungle: Today was not the busiest of days. The first thing I did was head to the village for groceries. It’s been about a week since my last trip so it took a bit longer than usual. After lunch, I did some yard work as a result of the recent flooding. Things are turning into a muddy mess quickly. Tomorrow, I start on my next project.
December 3
Life in the jungle: I spent the whole day framing my rear cement deck exterior. It went smoother, and what was accomplished went quicker than anticipated. Back in March of 2023, I ripped down a large section of my rear deck because it was rotting prematurely. I replaced only a small section of the deck with a concrete deck. Getting this job completed has always been delayed by one thing or another.
The framing of the exterior of the deck is to facilitate an exterior skirt to seal in the underneath of the house. Today was perfect weather.
Red Rump Tarantula
December 4
Life in the jungle: I spent the entire day working on my cement deck. I finished the framing and started installing cabbage palm lumber (exterior skirt) to enclose the deck. I am about 95% through my cabbage palm inventory. Which is not enough to finish the deck. The weather was perfect. My allergies are very active for some reason. I sneezed nonstop today and was completely stuffed up.
December 5
Life in the jungle: Last night was pretty cold at 17°C (63°F). This morning, I slept in keeping warm in my blanket. In my world, there is little that feels better than snuggling in blankets in the morning. The problem is that I feel immensely guilty for wasting the time.
A cold morning
First thing, I headed to the village mostly for some hardware for my deck work. After breakfast, I went back to work on the deck. I used up all my cabbage palm lumber and am short about 18 pieces. It’s anyone’s guess how long it will take to acquire them.
Cabbage Palm is the outer portion of the Royal Palm tree and is a bit of work to harvest. I then started working on the installation of the railings. I am refurbishing the original railings from the wooden deck and I think this part of the job will be a bit of work to complete.
A Royal Palm – where cabbage palm lumber comes from.
My day was cut a little short as I took a video-call from a couple in Florida who were interested in the possibility of moving to the farm. I suspect their first visit won’t be for a few months, if ever, but I liked their vibe. I hope they visit.
Framed and then cabbage palm attached
December 6
Life in the jungle: The first thing I did was go up to the village to pick up broiler chicks (meat chickens) and layers. Layers are raised exclusively for laying eggs. I want to raise a flock of them in what I call my compost coop exclusively.
At the beginning of the year, I built a chicken coop that was large enough to house a dozen chickens and not have to release them to graze. The idea is to throw all our organic scraps in and, along with the chicken waste, create a source of compost. By not releasing the chickens to graze, they are safe from predators.
Also, for over two months, possibly three months, our egg production has been non-existent. I want to see if I can get a more consistent supply of eggs by using layers and keeping them on a layer diet. After breakfast, I went back to working on the deck. The same beautiful weather as yesterday.
December 7
Life in the jungle: This morning, I went to the ponds to collect 100 coconuts for Wayne. Every other month, I collect about 100 coconuts from my ponds for Wayne to deliver to his cousin, who makes coconut oil.
After breakfast, I continued working on my cement deck. I finished three of five railing sections. The weather continues to be perfect, 29-30° during the day and 19-20° at night.
What 100 coconuts looks like
December 8
Life in the jungle: It’s my day off but I wanted to get this deck railing job done once and for all. The railings are now installed. I still need to do caulking and a coat of paint but I never figured this job would ever get done. After lunch, the rest of my afternoon was a knap in the hammock.
Railings installed
December 9
Life in the jungle: Last night I went to bed at 8:30 PM and set my alarm for 5 AM this morning. I find myself too tired (or lazy) in the evening to be productive and my addiction to TV and reels takes over until bedtime. I know I could be more productive with blog writing or editing my book but as I have said in the past about myself – I am the laziest person I know.
He’s back
I want to see the effects if I make a greater effort to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. I always thought it to be sacrilege to my sleep to wake up before 7 AM and felt setting my alarm for 6 AM was a sacrifice (for productivity) enough. Lately, I have had a hard time getting out of bed at 6 AM; at the same time, I am feeling uncomfortable with the fact that I am losing valuable daylight time in the morning. At the same time, I am uncomfortable with the fact that aspects of my life are too comfortable. I am determined to make this a new habit.
After slaughtering a broiler, I headed to the village. On the road, I came across a flock of crested guans. I have only ever seen two at a time. I also came across an abandoned dead sheep carcass on the road.
I honestly am trying very hard to have a better attitude about the people here, and then this happens. A dead sheep carcass was dragged down my road, left to rot. How stupid and ignorant!!! That sheep will attract jaguars and mountain lions. In turn, they will acquire a taste for domestic animal meat. They will kill and eat more sheep. The jaguar (or mountain lion) will be blamed and then killed for killing farm animals. When a domestic farm animal dies, you burn the remains! And why is it for me to smell the dead animal every time I pass on my road?
The reason the animal was not burned was pure 100% laziness. The reason the animal was left to rot on my road for me to smell is 100% pure arrogance.
On the way home from the village, I came across a Swedish cyclist named Axal leaving Bermudian Landing. Even though he was about ten minutes into his ride for the day, I convinced him to come to the farm and then spend the night. That pretty much was the end of my day.
Finally, after months, two chicken eggs.
Another opossum at the chicken coops this morning
Belize Part 143 (Nov 26 to Dec 1)
Belize Part 142 (Nov 19 to 25)
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 assorted 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, and orange), all raised from seed since my arrival in Belize in 2021.
The river lot – my house sits on a 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.
