June 4
Life in the jungle: Being my Sabbath I sort of did nothing today and maybe, possibly spent too much TV today which contributed to me going to bed way too late. Oh well. I did write the poem My Confession this morning. I spent a good part of the day posting a few blog posts to my website. I have close to 80 pre-written blog posts to eventually post to my website!
June 5
Life in the jungle: I had plans to get back to making patio stones. But last night’s late bedtime didn’t help. Then I had to deal with the guy from the internet company who screwed up my installation at every turn calling me. I declined five phone calls. As I “blocked” him he sent a message that he was on his way over. I waited about 45 minutes for his arrival (he’s only about 5 miles away give or take away). I figured if there was going to be some kind of altercation between us better to get it over and done with now. Except he never came.
So, I biked to the company office to pay my (standard) installation fee. They charged me the standard $165 USD installation, security, and first month’s rate plus an extra $50 for the extra wire to connect the radio (75 ft high plus at least 40 ft to the house). There was nothing said about the guy who had been trying to call me. There was no drama at the office and I met the owner’s wife. So, I am now a paid-up customer in good standing. For the first time, I feel secure in my internet connection after the last 18 months of trying to get this connection. What a friggin gong show to get to this point. [A few days later] I wrote a blog post that outlined and detailed the 18 month challenge. You can read it HERE.
The day was hot. After the drama of the last few days, I felt the very best thing I could do was crash in my hammock for a very long nap. So basically, nothing was accomplished today. This evening, I discovered that one of my young hens. The last remaining “chick” alive from the chicks I got from Verna Mae last year finally decided to sit on some eggs. Later in the day, I would discover a second hen that decided to sit on eggs. I have been keeping the pullets that I got from Orlando the other day in a chicken hen coop. I want to let them out but they are ultra skittish. I don’t even know if I can catch them without hurting them. Temperatures were the most reasonable today than they have been in a long time and it rained tonight.
Finally, chickens that want to sit on eggs
June 6
Life in the jungle: I discovered my waterline had air in the line. It took some time to get the water pumping. I’m not sure why it took so long to get the pump back running. Thankfully, the modifications from last year continue to help me get the pump running and not have to drag water from the riverside. I was also able to finally get back to making patio stones.
My patio stone numbers continue to grow
After breakfast, I used up the rest of my (internet tower) rust paint to touch up any scratches on the bottom section of the internet tower received during installation and I put a light coat of paint on the broiler chicken coop roofs. Most of my afternoon was spent trying to figure out how to build a set of steps for my concrete deck. The angle of the steps is a little steep because of a cement footing that was poured last month to help secure the future steps in place. [I would end up abandoning this project for almost a year and finally have the steps made out of concrete.]
June 7
Life in the jungle: I started my morning making patio stones. Yesterday’s reasonable temperatures had completely disappeared. My phone said feels like 42C/107F but it had to be hotter. This morning, I let out my new chickens from Orlando. They did great. One chicken attempted to roost in a tree this evening.
A new hen attempting to sleep in a tree tonight
I’m so tired. With so much work to do, I would normally feel guilty about lying in my hammock but being tired on various “human being” levels I was unable to feel guilty. I went to sleep in my hammock. In the afternoon I did my first video call on Messenger with a past acquaintance living in Ecuador. He does an English tutor job that I expect I will need to do to start paying my bills. The very frustrating part is that my video call failed the internet speed test. The video chat froze multiple times. I have a 5mbs plan for $45 USD. The online English tutor company requires a 10mbs speed. I can upgrade to 12mbs for $77.50 USD a month. I can also add/connect an ethernet cable to my laptop to speed up my connection which was always a plan. Nevertheless, still a frustrating discovery. [In the very end I would never end up pursuing a job as an English tutor.]
There wasn’t much left of the work day after that. This evening, I took a few minutes to write I’m Tired in an attempt to articulate my current situation.
June 8
Life in the jungle: I sense that I am going through a short period of little motivation. But of course, I can’t afford to slow down. The excessive heat is not helping. I plan to make sure that I continue making my dozen patio stones every morning as that is a necessary commitment that is going to take a significant amount of time to accomplish. Patio stones aside I think I am going to focus on posting my backlog of blog posts to my website as sleeping my days away until this heat dissipates is not an option. I posted an assortment of blogs today plus I finished my Internet Connection blog post and I wrote Belize Parts 77, 78, 79, 80, and 81. There was lots of thunder and a short rain shower tonight.
June 9
Life in the jungle: Another killer hot day. I made my dozen patio stones first thing. Then I worked on my computer. I spent some time organizing my files and editing photos. I can’t focus on what’s important when I know things are a mess (even when I can’t see the mess inside my computer). I also caught up on my Belize blog posts and finished writing # 82 and this current post.
This evening, I started giving thought to some kind of online business, specifically a Print On Demand business. Part of me is not overly excited about this idea, which should give me pause. But at this season of my life, nothing would give me any excitement. At this point, I am definitely not excited about starting anything here in Belize. I am definitely not excited about becoming an online English tutor. I have to figure out something long-term for a source of income. In my situation, all things point to POD. I spent this evening organizing my notes and files on my business idea brainstorming.
It would appear that I now have a third chicken sitting on eggs tonight.
A third hen wanting to sit on eggs
Of Note: At this time I am currently 11 to 12 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.
Jack & Jill – These are my ex-property managers (names changed). They are Canadian, they introduced me to Belize in 1997, sold me their house in Belize in 2003, and rebuilt my house from 2014 to 2018. I have known them for over 30 years. After almost 20 years of me supporting their life here in Belize Jack decided quite unexpectedly to declare “war” on me right before Christmas 2021. They would end up stealing my business license and causing me a lot of grief. They live on the farm, but not on my land.
Wayne – He is the son of the original owners of the farm (both owners are deceased). The original farm was 2 – 30 acre pieces minus 2 – ¾ acre parcels for my house and 2 – ¾ acre parcels that Jack & Jill own which were all originally purchased from the original owners. In 2017 Wayne sold me 40 acres of land from the original 60 acres (30 acres plus 10 acres). Wayne lives in his parent’s house and has a few cows on his remaining 17 acres of land.
The ponds – I have 2 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 2 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 the 10 acre parcel. I plan to add various fruit trees to the same field as soon as I can.
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 2 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.
