Atmospherics

Poor quality telecommunications is a frequent fact life here in Belize.  Early on when we complained to various providers of mobile phone and satellite internet services, the one answer we could count on getting was atmospherics; atmospherics is the cause of all the problems.  It got so that we used it as a catch word for all of life's travails.  Burned dinner?  It was atmospherics!  Stubbed your toe?  Atmospherics.  Generator on the fritz?  Obviously atmospherics!  Five years down the road and the answer is still atmospherics.   This blog is about good atmospherics and you can listen here to some of the best.  Seriously, follow the link right now, listen to the radio; you won't regret it.

Lately, the atmosphere has hosted some intriguing cloud formations.

If we had seen this in Minnesota, we would have headed to the basement in fear of a tornado!  No worries about tornadoes here.

Late yesterday afternoon, Dennis called to me to come see the flock of white birds out over the sea.  It was terns going wild for what must have been a large school of little fish.  They were soon joined by a flotilla of brown pelicans. While I was getting the camera, the most fantastic double rainbow appeared.

Double rainbow. The barely visible specks are pelicans floating on the water near the base of the less intense rainbow at the right.

The rainbow arced without interruption over Greater Monkey Cay toward Craig's Barebones Beach Bar to our north.

That is Greater Monkey Cay at the left.

 Meanwhile, swallows flew in to feast on the mosquito-laden atmosphere.

Swallows in the air and pelicans on the water.

 The atmosphere was thick with swallows.

Swallows somewhere over, under, and through the rainbow.

The north end of the rainbow at Craig's place.

Three Greater Yellowleg birds flew north, illuminated by the setting sun.  The yellowlegs have been hanging around our shore for a coupe of weeks now.  They come through each winter.  This year they seem to be lingering longer than they usually do.  They must like the atmospherics this year.

Yellowlegs headed to the other end of the rainbow.

From up on the balcony I could see that the pelicans were still out on the water, although the terns had mostly continued south.

Birds on the water.

 Also heading south to their evening roost on Little Monkey Cay were some white ibises.

White ibises up high and terns down low with rainbow.

Some good atmospherics for a change.  I could get used to this.  I think I'll listen to the radio and enjoy it.

The View from the Generator Shed

I went to the generator shed this morning to turn the generator off and was struck by view.  It speaks for itself.

Hard to beat this view. 

I have spent the last couple of days painting inside the cabana.  Our interior walls are finished with bead board made of tropical yellow pine instead of the sheet rock we were familiar with in the states.  You can get sheet rock here, but I have visions of it melting into a pile of mildew with all the humidity.  That is why we chose the bead board instead.  The biggest drawback to the bead board, aside from its cost, is that it doesn’t have a smooth finish. The finish is rough, with many saw marks showing.  It soaks up a lot of paint.  And my biggest complaint about its installation is that even though it is tongue-in-groove, it was nailed up with the nails showing!  Big nails with big nail heads.  L  Oh well, that is what happens when you have things built in your absence.  I think we will do better when we get to the expansion we will add soon.  It looks better already with a more even application of paint.  I made a deal with Dennis; if he would prep the walls by removing things mounted to the walls and filling in the holes, I would do the actual painting.  Nothing elaborate, just oil-based white paint put on with a brush.  A roller might be easier, but we can’t find a roller cover with a thick nap to get into the grooves of the beading.

A few days ago, Dennis looked out the window and saw a huge flock of tree swallows careening around just in front of the cabana.  They were feasting on a swarm of mosquitoes, chittering maniacally as they barely avoided colliding with each other.  It lasted for about 20 minutes and then was over, just like that. Yea for swallows!  Today I saw another flock flying with purpose to some spot just north of us. But it made us wonder, how do they know where to the latest mosquito hatch is?   Check out my “small stone” about the swallows on my other blog.