Rainy December Day

The internet is crap today due to the weather - lots of rain and some wind gusts that blow our dish around.  In the last 3 days we have had ~3.5 inches of rain with a steady drizzle right now.  Lots of lightning and thunder, too.

Clove, seeking comfort from the scary thunder.  The big baby.

Be sure to turn the sound to get the full effect of the rainfall.

We have a rain gauge on the deck railing.  There was more than inch when I took the video.  Even more now.

If I don't have to be out and about, I do love a good rainy day.  Plus we need the rain; we are shy about 25 inches (average for Englishtown while I have been keeping records is over 100 inches annually)  I do hope we don't get all 25 inches before the end of the year!  Five or ten would do nicely.

Dawn and a Fat Boa

We had a very much appreciated night of rainfall last night that cooled things off, relatively speaking.  As I was getting for my morning run (technically morning "jog"), I saw this wonderful color developing as the sun rose over the sea.

Despite the bright beginning of the day, clouds soon set in, which kept the temperature reasonable in the morning.  By midday, the sun was back in full force.  This afternoon, our batteries are charged and water vats are full.

The little boa constrictor continues to hang out in the tamarind tree outside our back door.  I don't see it every day, but I am pretty sure that this tree is its home, for the time being at least.  A few days ago I noticed that it had a suspicious bulge.  A hummingbird-sized bulge.

Boa with a bulge.

Happy snake.  Sad bird.  Well, I suppose the bird isn't sad any longer.

Falling On My Head Like A New Emotion

We could see it coming ...

6:30am - here comes the rain again.

6:54am - falling on my head like a memory.

7:00am - falling on my head like a new emotion.

Click here to dive into Annie Lennox's ocean.

7:00am - Rain over Black Creek to our west.

Blue-grey tanager getting wet in the tamarind tree.

7:06 - sun shining down on the eastern horizon.

7:27am - rainbow beyond Black Creek.

7:28am - A flock of white ibises flies across the rainbow.

Tamarind flowers in the rain.

Young pods mixed in with the flowers.

The flowers are orchid-like in appearance, but they are legumes related to peas and beans - as you might guess based on the seedpods.

The series of photos above was taken in the space of an hour during which a quarter of an inch of rain fell.  The day is now bright, sunny, and fresh with a light breeze.

September Stormy Nights Bring Calm, Glorious Days

Averaging more than 20 inches of rainfall, September is consistently one of the wettest months here in southern Belize, and this September is no exception.  Sounds miserable, doesn't it?  But it's not.  In fact it is fabulous - just look at this dramatic dawn sky.

We woke to this after a night of thunderstorms.

The nights are rainy, even stormy, and the days are calm and mostly sunny. The thunderstorms have been very intense and exciting during the night as we lie in bed surrounded by 8 (curtainless) windows and 2 glass doors of our cabana suite.  I am so glad we designed the cabana with 10 foot-deep covered veranda on all sides, or we would never get any sleep!

The view from front balcony is very moody and changes with the weather.  I have another post planned showing colors of the sea and sky.  The image below was taken at noon the same day as the dawn above.

The flat sea calls to me.  I just have to go wade or swim or kayak when it is like this.

The flat sea calls to Barnie, too.  Who is Barnie, you ask?  Barnie is our new dog.  I suggested the name "Bonnie" for her and in local style that has become "Barnie".  Barnie, she is.

Barnie - a rescue dog from the village.  At 9 months, she is still just a puppy!

Barnie expressed an interest in kayaking with me, so we are in the midst of doggie kayak camp.  On day 1, she managed to get on the kayak, with assistance from our neighbor Craig, and stayed on for about 2 minutes before she got spooked and jumped off.

Day 2, she got on by herself, but couldn't stop biting at the paddle.  She lasted about 5 minutes before, in exasperation, I made her get off so I could head out by myself.  She ran out to the end of the dock as I paddled out to the deep and let loose a heartrending howl before she flung herself into the water to swim after me.  I turned around to the shallow so she could get back on and we managed to paddle for another 5 or so minutes before I called it quits in frustration.  Then I got her back on the kayak and walked the kayak through the water while I kept one hand on her to keep her steady.  She liked that.

Day 3, a breakthrough day!  She hopped onto the back of the kayak with no prompting as I was pushing off and settled right down.  We paddled about 1/2 mile, all within 30 feet of shore.  Later that day, I measured her for a CFD (canine flotation device), which I ordered on Amazon.  It will be here in about a month.  Until she is wearing her CFD, we will stay in the shallows near the shore.  I can't pull her up out of deep water back onto the kayak and she is so dense (in a physical sense) that it is hard for her to swim any great distance.

Today was Day 4 and Dennis took some photos of us heading out and coming back.  Barnie is making great progress.

Get in the back, Barnie!

 She hopped up like she knew what she was doing.

Now sit, Barnie.

She did sit, and we were off for a fine 15 minute paddle.  She sat most of the time, but got antsy after about 10 minutes.  I will make some alterations in one of the seat cushions to give her little more stability and comfort in the back.  More comfort for me, too, if it means she will stop breathing her hot doggie breath on my neck!

She is looking down at the submerged breakwater just beneath the kayak.

 Closing with a sunset shot.

A promise for an exciting night, whether we want it or not!

Good Things

For various reasons, we celebrated Dennis's birthday over several days this year.  On one of those days I made one of our favorite fancy drinks - a sparkling St. Germain cocktail.  The classic recipe calls for champagne, but we had Prosecco on hand so I used that along with the St. Germain ( a fairly sweet Elderflower liqueur) and a small spritz of Key lime juice.  I apparently had not mixed it as well as I should because Dennis commented as he reached the bottom his flute that he had hit the St. Germain motherlode.  I asked if that was a good thing or a bad thing.  He sang sadly into his empty glass "Good thing, where have you gone?" Click here to see FYC sing about their Good Thing.  It's a good thing that we have enough to make more cocktails!

Some other good things have been happening and some not so good things as well.  Sand continues to accumulate on the beach.  I estimate that since mid-September we have recovered almost 1/3 of what we lost and it is still coming in.  Another good thing is the increased numbers of White-necked Jacobin hummingbirds that have been at our feeders.

Immature male White-necked Jacobin at the feeder.  We see a lot of these and the similar looking, but smaller, females.  We don't see adult males with their stunning blue backs and white fronts very often, but perhaps these youngsters will come back when they are adults.

Insect egg cases are not always a good thing, but we welcome the egg cases of mantids. The nymphs and adults eat lots of plant damaging insects like aphids and soft scale insects.

Mantid egg case on a veranda post. I think the young have already emerged through the small openings along the "backbone".

It has rained an impressive amount - 10.5 inches so far in November.  This is a good thing and a bad thing.  Good because our water vats are filled.  We have enough vats now that we could make it through a a year of drought with little trouble.  Bad because the Monkey River Road is flooded, as is the village, and we have standing water on our property.  I found a chrysalis that the wind and rain had knocked out of a palm tree over-hanging the deck. It was lying in a puddle of water and seemed saturated.  I hung it in a plant on the deck using dental floss and planned to check on it periodically to see if anything emerged.  When I looked about an hour later, the chrysalis was empty.

Empty chrysalis.  Good thing - where did you go?

The emerged butterfly was flat on the wet deck.  I helped it onto the garden hose and moved the hose over the pot of plants.  I was amazed that it had emerged at all, even more that it had happened so quickly.  In retrospect I realize that I should have tied it so the chrysalis was secure against a leaf or stem so the butterfly would have something to hang onto as it emerged.  I'll do better next time.

Drying out.

It looked like its wings were stuck together by the rain water, but the wings themselves looked well-formed.

"I could eat."

After watching it for a while, I realized that a little nourishment might be helpful.  I placed a paper-towel saturated with sugar water in front of it and right away out came its proboscis.

Lapping up the sugar-water.

Ants like sugar-water, too.

It is an owlet butterfly, probably in the genus Opsiphanes.  There are many species that occur in this part of the world.  It could be a scallop-winged owlet or perhaps a tamarind owlet.  Or something else entirely.

I finally moved it into a small container with a new supply of sugar-water, so that the ants wouldn't bother it, and placed the container in a protected area on the north side of the veranda.  It became more mobile as the day progressed and was able to flap its wings.  By morning it was gone; I am hopeful that it will complete its natural lifespan after its rocky start.

Alarmingly Delicious

The sunrises earlier this week have been astoundingly beautiful.  These next 5 images are all from the same sunrise.  I didn't adjust the color, just the exposure time over the 15 minute time span during which the shots were taken.  As usual, I was standing at the end of the dock to get these shots.  The sea was wonderfully calm.  Are those rain clouds on the horizon? Cue rain music here.

Pink and blue sky.

The gold and oranges build as the sun gets a smidge higher. And what name can you give to that fleeting color glowing in the heart?

Fickle clouds promise rain. 

The drama lingers.

Geese fleeing winter fly south against a Van Gogh sky.

That was the morning of October 12; we got no rain that day.  Dawn clouds on the 13th are more promising.

Rain clouds?

But they don't deliver rain either, not that day.  A bit of rain on the 14th, and then boy did we get rain - 3.2 inches yesterday and 3.5 inches today.  So far.  There are still heavy dark clouds out there.  Such a storm last night; waves pounding, wind howling, rain pouring.  The dock took a beating and 4 boards at the end broke loose.  The breakwater worked a treat, though.  Whew.  I watched as it persuaded wave after wave to crest and break before reaching shore.  I say persuade because you can't force water to do anything it doesn't want to do.  Water will always win, the only thing one can do is play on the water team and follow the water rules.  Under current conditions, the water is breaking on the breakwater and sand is accumulating on the shore.  We shall see if the rules change as the seasons change and adapt ourselves accordingly.

All that rain cooled things off and we have been at near 100% humidity for 3 days now. Even though Tina can't stand the rain, we are happy to get our vats filled up again.  Still, we are feeling a little green and fuzzy from the humidity, just the time for baking and roasting, so a'baking and a'roasting I have been.  Baking the double batch of shortcakes yesterday dried the cabana out nicely, so I thought I should use the oven more today.  I made an alarmingly delicious dish of roasted butternut squash and onions.  It was so very simple.

• 2 butternut squash peeled and cubed
• 5 small Mexican yellow onions, cut in radial 8ths (I know it is odd, but that is how I like them; you can cut them any way you want.  The Mexican yellow onions are so very sweet, not quite Vidalia onions, but very nice.)
• 2 thumbs of local, fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced - the local ginger, which grows in the Maya Mountains, is a mild, yellow ginger.  If your ginger is hotter, you may want to use less.
• 1/2 a bulb of garlic, smashed and minced - all we can find here is the Chinese garlic, sigh ...
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• salt
• black pepper coarsely ground
• ~1/4 c olive oil
• SECRET INGREDIENT FOR ALARM AND DELICIOUSNESS - Marie Sharp's Smoked Habanero Sauce - scant tablespoon or less if you aren't a fan of habanero heat.  Read about Marie and her hot sauce company here.  Her newest sauce, the Smoked Habanero I used here, is not on her website yet.

Throw all that together in a roasting pan, stir it up well, and put it in a 350F oven for 60 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes.  The sweetness of the carmelized butternut and onions is set off perfectly by the smoked habanero flavor.  The ginger and coriander keep things light on the tongue.

Alarmingly Delicious.

Need I say more?

Morning After The Storm

We had such a storm night before last!   Howling wind, crashing waves, torrents of rain, booming thunder, strobes of lightning.  It seemed our little cabana was rocking-n-rolling all night long while we were trying to sleep. Click here to hear the music.

Loud noises that sounded suspiciously like furniture being dragged across the back veranda outside our bedroom windows really got our attention - we don't have furniture on the back veranda.  And the sound of the rain coming off the roof intensified. What the heck was going on?  All we could do was close the windows so the rain didn't blow in and try to get back to sleep.

After very fitful sleep, we were awakened by silence.  And deep red skies.  Here is what we saw:

The most magnificent dawn ever.  And a calm sea.  What a relief from the night's cacophony!

It was still too dark to see clearly, but there was on shape on the ground in front of the cabana.  As the sun rose, the daylight revealed a shade panel from the pergola on the back veranda on the sand in front of the cabana.  The wind had blown it up and over the roof to land, undamaged, on the sand below.

Shade panel from the pergola, covered with Coolaroo(TM) fabric, survived intact its airborne journey up and over the roof.  Another panel, also intact, was on the roof.  No rips or tears in the fabric - amazing.  All we had to do was shake the sand off and screw it back down on the pergola.  We used additional screws this time.

A total of 3.6 inches of rain fell during the storm, which is great.  So far the rainy season has not been rainy enough, especially for those of us who rely solely on rain for all of our water.  And also for the many farmers throughout Belize who are suffering through crop failure due to the unseasonably dry conditions; another effect of the El Nino.

The sea was calm and perfect for working on the breakwater.

The crew preparing to set more bags for the breakwater.  The far end of the breakwater is just below the surface of the water behind the boat.  I took the shot from the dock.

 They made great progress, getting 5 loads of bags set.

You can just make out the white bags of the breakwater just below the surface of the water on the far side of the boat extending all the way to the dock.

 A great day for this work.

One of five turtle gaps is visible here.

It was a lovely calm day and we made a lot of progress on Stage One of the breakwater.  The calm was short-lived, however - the wind picked up around 5:00pm and is still blowing hard as I write this 15 hours later.  The wind-fueled waves did bring in more sand to the area protected by the breakwater.  The section to the north where we haven't built the breakwater yet is not faring as well.  So we will push to get Stage One finished as quickly as possible.

After the Rain

The morning sun shines onto the veranda after the rain.

 

Laundry in the Sunshine

Woke up to a beautiful, sunny dawn promising a delightful day.  This was after a torrential downpour that lasted about 3 hours yesterday evening.  We finally got some serious rain (4 or 5 out of 11 water vats are full now, a good start) following almost 10 days of cool, drizzly weather that provided neither warmth nor water – the worst of all combinations. 

So what did we do this fabulous day?  Probably what everyone else around here was doing – washing clothes and hanging them out to dry!  When you generate your own electricity, you don’t waste it on drying clothes.  We don’t own a clothes dryer down here.  In fact, we don’t own a washing machine; I washed the linens in the double kitchen sink, using hot water heated in the kettle on the stove (we also don’t have a water heater).  Dennis helped me wring them out and get them on the line.  Who needs  a gym for a workout? We also aired out the mattress.  The previous 4 or 5 nights the bed had felt a little damp when we went to bed.  Not a pleasant sensation. I had visions of turning green with mold starting at the toes.  The hard work is done and now the sun is doing its job with help from a nice breeze.  I am looking forward to getting our solar power system installed so we can splurge on a washer and water heater.  Doubt we will get a clothes dryer; I really prefer line drying the clothes.  

The mattress is precariously balanced on the rail of the back veranda.  It is in desperate need of some good sterilizing UV!

The other morning I took photos of a lovely dawn as it unfolded across the sea.

 

A great blue heron flew from our south beach across to Great Monkey Cay for its breakfast fishing.

 

Those low clouds on the horizon came over and kept us cool and damp for most of the day.  Dawn was the highlight.  :-(

 

The shot below is of a red lored parrot in our old mango tree.  I took it from the top of the steps, hand holding my long lens, so it is not very sharp.  The parrots have been stopping by lately to see what is ripe.  

Have any mangoes? Guava? Cashew fruit? 

We don't yet, but when we do, I should be able to get some better photos.