May 5
Life in the jungle: Two days ago, I pulled my back muscle. I have never experienced this before, and I’m still in a lot of discomfort. [Over four weeks later, I would still be in discomfort.]
This morning, I shared my Raising Chickens and Ducks in the Belize Jungle: What Worked for Me (and What Didn’t) blog post. I spent most of the day working on the Mexican chapter of my memoir – Mexico the Generous.
In the afternoon, I slaughtered two-layer (egg-laying) hens and cut grass in the yard. Months ago, I increased my flock of layer hens a little bit too aggressively.
It might have been a degree or two cooler than the last bunch of days.
Suriname cherries – I have 2 established shrubs and at least 20 young shrubs around the house.
They don’t taste as good as a traditional cherry, but in the jungle, I will take any kind of cherry.
May 6
Life in the jungle: This morning, I continued working on my Mexico chapter, and I can say, pending a quick proofread here and there, the chapter is officially DONE!
In the afternoon, I painted primer on one exterior wall of the smaller cabana and a first coat on the deck of the larger cabana.
Today was breezy, and temperatures were down a degree or two again.
My back is still sore, and no noticeable improvements, and I’m feeling it
May 7
Life in the jungle: My back is still very sore. I continued editing my memoir first thing this morning.
I ended up taking a nap partly because of my back, partly because I hate editing my book.
After breakfast, I did a little painting until I got a call from Elton to meet him on the road to spread the two loads of stone. A few days earlier, I had two dump trucks of stone dumped on the road. These two loads helped repair the two worst spots on my road.
Months ago, Elton, the guy who bushhogs my coconut field and the road, mentioned he had a blade for his tractor to help spread piles of stone.
Returning home, I did some more painting. Later in the afternoon, I slaughtered two more layer (egg-laying) hens.
Getting road material spread over my road
May 8
Life in the jungle: I woke up with very bad allergies. Between allergies and my very sore back, I ended up in my hammock instead of editing my book. I had no choice.
After feeding the chickens, I wiped down and cleaned up the smaller cabana interior before going to the village to drop off eggs and get groceries.
Returning home, and after lunch, I did a little painting of the smaller cabana. My allergies were bad all day.
May 9
Life in the jungle: This morning, I’m finally noticing some improvements in my back. This morning, I cleaned the larger cabana interior. Both cabanas are getting very close to completion. After breakfast, I built a second seedling shelf in the seedling greenhouse and spent the rest of the afternoon doing greenhouse work.
I built a second shelf for my vegetable seed germination greenhouse
May 10
Life in the jungle: Along with my recent back issues, I woke up with a swollen wrist. I’m not sure if I got bit by something in the night or if it’s an external allergic reaction.
As per my Sunday morning routine, I spent an hour on the riverbank in silence and then took my mandatory Sunday morning nap. I also did a little housework in preparation for a cycle touring guest arriving tomorrow.
I did a little reading from Jaguar, another Sunday routine I’m trying to cultivate. I also took a walk to the ponds. It’s been a few weeks since I visited them, and with the heat, I was worried about my seedling fruit trees. I was shocked that they looked fine. I can only imagine how good they would look if they were watered regularly.
The rest of my afternoon was filled with a few video chats with family in Canada.
Jaguar – a most enjoyable and recommended book
May 11
Life in the jungle: First thing I got things prepared for the bike touring guest. I then headed to the village to drop off eggs and get groceries. The guest arrived just as I finished breakfast. He’s an Italian cycling from Panama to Cancun. I think he’s the first Italian cyclist I have hosted.
Not too long after he was settled, he took a nap that ended up lasting the whole afternoon. I did yard work and greenhouse work while he slept.
May 12
Life in the jungle: My guest left pretty early, and I biked out to the road with him. I can’t even remember the last cyclist that came through, and he’s the first guest since Andy left in early December. Having a guest is fairly disruptive to my routine, which is fine. I recognize the need for my routine to be shaken up every once in a while.
Returning home, I shared photos of the farm to Belize Facebook groups in the hopes to attract like minded people interested in living here. This post is rather time-consuming to share with groups, as I include a description of 17 images. I actually ended up taking a bit of a nap in the hammock. The afternoon was quite hot with virtually no breeze. With my routine already off and things being so hot, I worked on blogs. I published Belize blog Parts 213 and 214.
Later in the afternoon, I cleaned (pulled weeds) out seedling bags in the greenhouse.
My back was still bothering me this morning, but it is finally feeling like I am close to good by tonight. The swelling in my wrist and arm continues to slowly go down.
A Pepper or Milky tree frog – Belize’s largest tree frog
May 13
Life in the jungle: First thing, I posted Belize blog Part 215. After feeding the chickens. I slaughtered two more layer (egg-laying) hens.
After breakfast, I did a tiny bit of painting on the cabanas. I then planted two fishtail palms that were gifted to me from a friend in the village.
And then I moved dirt. Last year, when I had heavy equipment work done, I had them leave numerous piles of dirt so that I could fill in low areas by hand. I can really only move the dirt in the dry season, as the clay is too sticky to move with a shovel during the rainy season. Now that the cabanas are basically complete, moving dirt is my new priority. I probably have a thousand wheelbarrow loads or more of dirt to move by hand.
The last part of the afternoon was spent weeding Mahogany seedlings in the greenhouse.
My back is still sore, but the swelling in my wrist is almost better.
Two Fish-tail palm trees I received as a gift. Mature trees attract roosting birds in the evening.
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.
