A Ghost Anole
January 19
Life in the jungle: I was not impressed with yesterday’s rain, and this morning was seasonally cool. Things were slowly starting to dry out.
I finished my post How to Thrive and Be Self-Sufficient in the Belize Jungle which actually won’t be published until February. I SEO and AI improved What it’s Really Like to Live in the Jungle blog post.
After breakfast, I wired in two new light sockets in the greenhouse apartment, one in the compost toilet, and one in the shower. I also did a bit of painting of the cabanas, and then I was called to the village because my Christmas package from my parents arrived. No rain today.
I discovered my first seed pod from my Dutchman Pipe vine
January 20
Life in the jungle: I shared What’s it Really Like to Live in the Jungle to Belize Facebook Groups to discover, for the second week in a row, my posts are not being shared and put into spam. This has caused me to shift strategies. I’m now posting the blog feature photo with a link in the comments. Facebook has a way of pissing me off.
I was inspired to write a blog post on the Maya names for Belize’s more iconic jungle creatures, so I got some of that written. After feeding the chickens, I went to work on the largest cabana to finish some trim work. After breakfast, I had to head to the village (again) to pick up two broiler (meat) chicks that arrived. Returning home, I continued working on the cabana.
Some interesting birds around the house today – Merlin App
January 21
Life in the jungle: Rain started early this morning. I worked a little on Belize Creatures in the Mayan World Names, Meanings & Cultural Significance post, and then I was inspired to start and work on a Mayan tree post called The Sacred Role of Trees in the Maya World: Life, Spirit, and Survival in the Belize Jungle.
Because of the rain, I didn’t get outside and feed the chickens until after 8 AM. The rain kind of messed with my day and how I planned to use it. I decided to watch a podcast that caught my eye the other week about discipline, called Discipline Expert: The Habit That Will Make or Break Your Entire 2026! I recommend checking it out. And I got in my Sunday nap that I missed the other day. It was pretty much light rain all day.
Later in the afternoon, I continued working on my Mayan creature post. It’s basically written, I just need to have it proofread by someone of Mayan decent which I have already lined up. There was light rain the entire day and into the night.
A Ghost Anole
January 22
Life in the jungle: After raining all day yesterday, it seemed like a good idea to spend the day in front of the computer. I focused on the Belize chapter of my memoir and actually made good progress. I was able to eliminate about 10 pages (or about 6,000 words) of content. Because that chapter is mostly about my experiences for the first 2-3 years, there is a lot of repetition that needs to be removed.
The other day, my parents did a road trip to Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. In my Facebook memories, a memory of me camping in Walton, at Walton Pub six years earlier in -14C popped up. I suggested that they stop for lunch on their way back home, as the people there were very nice to me. They did, six years and two days after my time there.
On my bike ride, I arrived there for dinner after biking from Truo. I asked permission from the owners if they would mind if I set up my tent in their parking lot. It was pretty apparent they didn’t believe me, but still said sure. I still remember the look on Marilyn’s face when I asked for permission to set up my tent. As I was packing up in the morning, they came in early just to make me breakfast and return the money I had paid for supper the night before.
Six years ago
Marilyn with my parents this afternoon
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January 23
Life in the jungle: I have pretty much finished the Belize chapter of my memoir, and I think that I’m happy with it.
I didn’t quite realize it, but I think I wrote the last chapter (Chapter 10) of my memoir called The Call to Adventure. I thought it was part of the Belize chapter, but then realized that it didn’t fit, and then realized that it would make a good closing chapter.
I also did a proofread of Chapter 4 – America the Beautiful. It wasn’t my intention to work on the book all day. Only to about noon, but I was making good progress, and there was a short rain shower that deterred me from going outside.
January 24
Life in the jungle: I had some minor SEO work to complete on my latest Trees Belize blog post. I then started to update my Are you interested in living in Belize? Here’s a unique opportunity post. I need to start getting ready to advertise for like-minded people to consider living on the farm.
Before breakfast, I headed up to the village to deliver eggs and pick up groceries. After a late breakfast, I had some bike maintenance and a few small projects that took the rest of the afternoon.
While feeding the chickens later in the afternoon, I had this amazing experience where there was a huge flock of Montezuma Oropendola birds. They’re one of my favorite species that periodically show up on the farm. Generally, there’s always a small flock, but nothing like today.
Glossary of Terms
Glossary of words or people that may or may not be part of this particular blog post. This glossary will be at the bottom of every Life in Belize blog post.
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 parents’ house and has a few cows on his remaining 18 acres of land.
Top-Gallon – The local term for when the Belize River floods its banks during the rainy season.
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, 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 season (no rain). The rainy season starts around June 1 and goes until the end of the year. It seems June, November, and December are the wettest times of the year.
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.
I arrived at my home on November 25, 2021, by bicycle from Canada. I have journaled my daily adventures every day since. Since I have arrived, I have built a 1,000 sq-ft shade cloth greenhouse, a tiny apartment that I refer to as my greenhouse apartment. I also started and am close to completion of two small cabanas that I refer to as my smaller cabana and my larger cabana. The apartment and cabanas are for visitors and people wishing to move to my farm. I’m also getting close to completing an additional 1,600 sq-ft shade cloth greenhouse.
