I have this old tree beside my chicken coops that I enjoy taking a photo of every once in a while
September 12
Life in the jungle: Last night I attended a community meeting in Double Head Cabbage regarding the fish die-off last month. It was very late (for me) by the time I got to bed, so I turned off my alarms knowing full well that my day would largely be messed up. I slept in until 8 AM (instead of my usual 4 AM wake-up). I also suffered from a pretty bad allergy attack that left me largely incapacitated. When I was finally mobile, I had a video chat with a guest coming next month [who a few days later cancelled on me for no reason given].
After a late lunch, I cleaned up after yesterday’s work on the water tower. I then raced to the village to pick up some Cokes (my guilty pleasure), but my supplier wasn’t home. I really didn’t have that kind of time to waste. On the road, I saw a gray-necked wood rail with a chick. I also came within close proximity of a Collard’s Forest Falcon.
At the end of the day, the swelling in the arch transitioned to my ankle. On Sunday, the top of my foot swelled, then the swelling moved to my foot arch; now it’s moved again.
September 13
Life in the jungle: There was a little rain in the night, thank goodness. My allergies took me out for a second morning in a row. Two days in a row doesn’t happen very often. I spent my hour on the riverbank and then took my Sunday morning nap.
My afternoon was largely uneventful, but I did take a little time to work on my memoir.
September 14
Life in the jungle: I wrote Belize blog Part 231. I then worked on greenhouse work. I installed an irrigation line down a second row of pots on the greenhouse expansion floor.
After breakfast, I headed to the village to drop off eggs and pick up groceries. Returning home, I cut grass in the yard.
September 15
Life in the jungle: First thing, I shared Frustration: It Will Make You or Break You in the Jungle to Belize Facebook groups and How to document your bike tour or adventure to bike touring Facebook groups.
I spent the morning doing greenhouse work by planting some watermelon and tomatoes.
After breakfast, I cut grass. The whole yard is now cut. I love my yard after the grass is cut. It looks like a park.
I then cleaned a small section of the greenhouse for a coat of paint, and then cleaned my eavestroughs in preparation for collecting rainwater for the cistern.
September 16
Life in the jungle: I started my morning by writing Belize blog Part 232 and 233, and published Belize blog Part 229.
After breakfast, I painted the section of the greenhouse I cleaned yesterday. I then headed to the village to drop off eggs and pick up a few supplies. Returning home, I did a little greenhouse work.
September 17
Life in the jungle: I spent the day digging the trench between the new water cistern and future pump house behind the chicken coops (80+feet) for the water lines and electrical conduit. For much of the day there was thunder and dark clouds, but no rain.
Water line and conduit trench for my water cistern
September 18
Life in the jungle: I continued with my waterline trenches (which I completed) and laid as much of the PVC pipe that I had. It was another day where the sky wanted to rain, but didn’t.
Laying PVC in those trenches
September 19
Life in the jungle: I headed to the city today for supplies. It rained just prior to my return home, and it looked like it rained quite a bit on the farm earlier.
Hummingbird moth
September 20
Life in the jungle: As per my Sunday morning practice, I spent an hour sitting by the river. I then took my mandatory Sunday morning nap in my hammock. In the afternoon, I did a little house cleaning. It was largely an uneventful day.
September 21
Life in the jungle: This morning I worked on updating my Stealth Camping blog post. After feeding the chickens, I worked on setting the electrical wire and wire conduit for the water pump for the water cistern.
I had to deliver eggs to the village early as today is a holiday. Returning home, I got stuck in a rain shower. After breakfast, I decided to work on proofreading my memoir for the afternoon. At the end of the day, I returned to working on the pump electrical.
September 22
Life in the jungle: I shared my Morning Routine for Jungle Living in Belize: Why Starting Your Day Right Matters blog to Belize Facebook groups and shared my Stealth Camping on Bike Tour blog to bike touring groups.
After feeding the chickens, I continued working on my cistern electrical line. I buried the section of conduit running from my tool shed and properly finished off the area by laying patio stones in front of the shed.
After breakfast, I had to do some electrical repairs to my water pump at the river. Ants got into the outlet box. I also had to swap out a switch in one of the cabanas for the same reason – ants. I then filled as much of the cistern waterline trench as I could. The job is half finished because I’m waiting for more PVC to be delivered.
The sky convinced me it was about to rain. I headed inside to work on my memoir, but the rain never did come.
September 23
Life in the jungle: This morning I did greenhouse work. I realized that the cloth pots in my second greenhouse were unnecessarily spaced too far apart. (The guy living here last year had them spaced out this far for hot peppers.) I moved 13 cloth pots into my outer pot row. After breakfast, I set up the watering line for this row. In the mid-afternoon, I was forced inside due to a fairly heavy rainfall. I’m frustrated that I can’t collect water in my cistern until it’s finished.
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 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 completing 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.
