Catastrophe

I woke suddenly, and not knowing why. Then I heard his faint cry. Or – more like a “RAWRE----RAWRE----REAAAWR!”

“no, no, no, no” was all I could muster, as I jumped up. I saw Matt was just waking too. He was nearly out the door, jumping over me. He was able to say what I was thinking, “flashlight!” We continued to hear Jack struggle.

I jumped back over the bed (surely rustling up Tetra). I grabbed the spotlight and brought it to the door. Nothing! The light wasn’t working.

“Get the next one! On the stove!” he shouted. I reached there. Jack’s noises stopped. The battery was dead.  - - - -

I finally found another one that worked.

We called and searched for long time. I had to pull TJ out of bed because she was upset we had left. She searched with us.

Finally, we went back inside. In silence. The girl went back to sleep. Matt said he heard a big animal, maybe dog size, trot right past him in the darkness—right after Jack stopped making noise.

We couldn’t sleep. Matt was clearly upset---going over the many things that made it right for the predator: unfinished fence; our dogs were away by the front cabana with the guests; didn’t latch the screen door; didn’t grab a flashlight fast enough; didn’t make enough loud noise to scare off the predator; etc., etc..

I sat at the back door for a while. I went back to bed. There were no answers. I could see his big eyes. I tried to imagine what happened.

Eventually, the tears came. How could I have let this happen? Why is the world so risky? Is he gone? How will I go on? (you get the picture)

Matt and I held each other. Both so confused and defeated.

I went to blow my nose for a second time, and thought I saw the shadow of an animal. Was I hallucinating? I looked closer. It was a cat? It was Jack?!?!?!?

I couldn’t believe it. This was like the craziest shared dream ever. Cat cries. Cat dies. Cat lives. All in pitch black darkness.

Of course, we showered him with affection, and Matt cursed a bit at him.

Note: I can’t get over how completely blind humans are at night. It’s something I never thought about as much when electricity was so abundant. Living with minimal power is a real eye-opener.

May is coming and going

We recently decided that the end of May is the absolute deadline for the house to be finished. This news seemed to surprise Luciano at first, but after an hour of pleading our case, I think we convinced him that we were serious.

The next day we arranged for Tito and Tony to come and put flooring on the ceiling. They've been at it for a few days, working on contract, and they're doing a great job. The old crew is currently working on the veranda, and that flooring is almost done too. Luciano was on task to find someone to do the bathroom. From what I've heard there's really no one available right now, so it might be the next thing we put Tito and Tony on.

We are really determined to get in by the end of the month. Matt has even been spending time on the house--getting the numbering off the wood, and helping the workers. Our current lifestyle is tolerable, but it's just not what we had in mind at this point in our lives.

We have been fortunate to see a lot of fun nature happenings, including bird mating dances, egrets  mating, sugar swimming like a fool, and all sorts of crazy looking bugs. I even found one dragonfly who's wings never properly opened. We spent the day together and I got to look at it's big round eyeballs for a long time. That was actually super fun for me: staring into his eyes and wondering what it was thinking, if it was scared, if I can help it… turns out I couldn't really help it, unless it enjoyed sitting on my hair as I walked around... so it could at least get the feeling of flying before it died. I don't know what happened to it. It was on my hair for quite some time, but one time I checked and it was gone.

Tetra is doing great. She continues to be a silly little girl, and she continues to test our patience when she runs away with something in her mouth, or throws her fork on the floor. Our parental goals include getting her to sleep without her mother, and better nutrition through solids. As soon as we move into the house, we're gonna rock that potty.

Tetra has a small vocabulary including the words doggie, baba, mama, dada, papa, bamboo, bike, boat. She's working on coconut, mango and bullet (as in bullet tree).

I'm afraid I can't post any photos at the moment because I have lost my iPhone usb jack, but I encourage you to continue to reference Matt's photo uploads.

Speaking of Matt - he is so determined to get the house done that every day, he spends a minimum of 2 hours working on the house. Without guests, he spends more time. It's quite moving for me to see. I know he despises manual labor, but his efforts mean a lot to the crew and to his family. :)

The 6 Month Mark

Don’t think I haven’t been thinking about you. I’ve drafted at least 3 posts that I have not published, due to the general tone, which may be considered “a downer.” But now, I’ve got some solid, uplifting news to share: I took a break.

We’ve been in Belize for about 6 months now, and we’ve all felt the stress of the new life. Sure. We’ve also felt the joys, like the beautiful sunsets and moon risings, and the daily swims. But we’re at that 6-month mark. It happens with any relationship. Matt and I were ready to break it off with Belize, but we choose to take a short vacation instead. I planned for it to start on Wednesday.

I booked 2 nights for us at the Trek Stop located in the Cayo district, near the Guatemalan border. The Trek Stop is a friendly little arrangement of tiny Mennonite-style houses coupled with a kitchen, dining deck, medicinal herbs, and a butterfly atrium. This first night, I saw 3 hummingbirds all in the same moment-just sitting on the dining deck!

Our drive here was successful. We stopped at the Hattieville Prison Gift Shop and purchased fine woodcrafted items and some hoop earrings. The entire room was filled with very beautiful hardwood sculptures and some functional items – mostly for the kitchen. In the corner of the glass case, I found some black hoop earrings. They looked metal, like iron? They were hammered out though, and have a fine swooping clasp. Carlos was very helpful and offered to call the artist to get a price. Apparently the earrings had been sitting there for years, and Carlos had found them when he was cleaning up. He got us a great price - $15. Thanks Carlos.

Then we ate sweet bread while we continued our journey to the Trek Stop, outside of San Ignacio. I also peeled off the price tag from the earrings, and found untarnished silver! Then, Tetra sang her dada to sleep. And when he woke up, he read books to her. I drove. After entering Cayo, I noticed we were passing the BAHA Office. I remembered that the woman who helped us get Doug’s paperwork was at that office. I turned around so that I could stop and thank her personally. It was great getting to say hello to Melody and shaking her hand (in standard Belize form, which is always loose, whether male or female).

Not but 5 miles down the road, I saw a post with 5 or so green circles attached vertically, each one with a different word and in the style of the Land Rover logo. Sure enough, it was a Land Rover parts dealer! TJ was asleep, so I stayed with her in the car while Mateo chatted with the man behind the counter. The property was nice. I wonder if LR sent him to Belize or if he’s doing it of his own accord. There was a strong breeze blowing, and eventually TJ woke up. I got her out of the car and we checked things out. There was a old small plane with a light dusting of moss, another metal building with a loading dock, and the garage/shop that we were standing in. Matt got a temp. sending unit that he needed, and we were on our way. Oh – we also found that the man was familiar with Steve, the dude we bought our Rover from.

It wasn't much farther til we got to a little town whose name I forgot. We ran smack dab into a wooden high-chair that was in a shop at the T section of the road. I insisted we buy it, then we continued on our way.

Within a mile, we were meeting a shallow riverbed, complete with people splashing and enjoying themselves. A simple but sturdy bridge took us to the other side. This was San Ignacio.

The city got more and more cute and we drove through. Mateo pointed out a promenade, and we parked the car. Walking around was nice. We found a complete unit stove/oven for use with gas. We also came across a beautiful park with food vendors and Raw, Vegan, Smoothie joint. Roots, as it was called was a nice place to take a stop and finally get some food in our bellies. The owner, waiter, and even patron were all very friendly and the food and smoothie were quality made.

After leaving there, we picked up a few bananas, seeds and a mango from a street vendor and got back on the road. I drove us back to the main road. We drove about 6 miles before we saw the sign for the Trek Stop. We drove past it and toured the next little village; then came back to finally settle in our accommodation.

Mateo and Tetra have been in bed for a while, and now that I’ve got this blog post drafted, I should go to bed too. Thank you, good luck, and good night.

It's Like This

What’s it like living here in the jungle of Belize? CRAZY

Matt works super hard to keep everything running smoothly. He’s always doing something, and I think he enjoys keeping busy. I know how he feels. I think I mentioned before that there’s never a dull moment.

My daily goals are pretty straightforward: work and Tetra. I also care for Douglas, and share responsibilities for the other animals daily–Jack, Lucy, Sugar, Clive, Lady Baltimore, Jenny, Salbutes, Empanadas, and the other white chicken. Completing these goals has been rather challenging for the past five months, but this week, we hired a nanny/bodyguard/gerker.

Claudio had been working on the house, but they got to a point where they couldn’t use him as often. Matt suggested right away that he watch Tetra for us during the day. She really likes him, so it works out perfectly. I can’t believe how much more productive I am becoming now that we have additional help. I mean, look. I’m writing a blog post! Today, I even had time to do art.

Having help has been a difficult thing for me to adjust to, and I’m certainly still adjusting. However, in just this one week, my quality of life seems to have improved greatly. It’s a huge comfort to know my child is nearby and enjoying herself while I’m working. She’s often in eyesight, and I can look up from my work to see her laughing, walking or talking. She still naps once or twice a day, and Claudio’s been able to help me with that as well. I’m still struggling with getting solids into her. I feel that she needs more of them, but I also feel that this will eventually work itself out. It’s a matter of getting it into a routine, and of being able to offer food every couple of hours. Moving into the house will probably help that quite a bit.

What is the status of the house? Well, it’s not finished. There have been 2 workers on it this week. They’ve been working on the framing. I see today that the frame for the ceiling has begun. I think siding is next, and then flooring. The roof also goes in there somewhere too. I had imagined these to be quick things, but when I saw the slated siding, and considered the unconventional windows we will have, I thought better. Now, I’m hoping it will be done, at least while mom and dad are here.

I honestly did not expect it to take near this long, but I also think that I envisioned a more basic design with simpler material. Matt’s instincts for architecture have always been creative and appreciated, and I’m sure I will appreciate what comes out of this venture.

Tomorrow is Domingo, and I plan to garalo suave. I hope you can take it easy too.

Also, I wrote this on Saturday, but am posting on Tuesday.

I'm still hopeful that you can take it easy, even if it's only Tuesday.

Folks here say it's important to work hard and to take breaks.

Almost Perfect

“Almost perfect” is a phrase my dad uses from time to time. Whenever he’s said this, I’ve written it off as perfect. After all, there is always room for improvement. “Almost perfect” is perfect for now, but maybe not yesterday, perhaps not even tomorrow.

This phrase has been top of mind since it made a debut appearance yesterday in Douglas’ cabana. I had come to the orchard to visit the boys, and after our visit I took TJ up to Doug’s house for a visit. Doug was not living there, but we had recently arranged the sticks and it was almost ready for her to move in.

I set Tetra on the floor, and she began playing independently with a few small sticks that were lying around. I thought it was a good opportunity to sweep, and so I did. When I was done sweeping, she was still occupied, so I decided to stretch.

The following day, Douglas joined us. Tetra and Lucy took a nap while Matt searched for a good data signal.

It was then that I heard the phrase “almost perfect.” As a child, I dreamed of assembling an airport tower that we had lying around in Ava to be a dance space. The tower is still there, and the dream never faded. Sometime in the past couple of years, I had a dream that seemed to be in another world/dimension. I was atop a wooden floor high in the sky. The ground was far, there were no walls. There were two voices of encouragement, telling me to dance, and so I did.

My moment in Doug’s casa brought me back to those dreams. I realized I was living them. I tried to write the file to memory, as I stretched, and watch Tetra explore her environment. “I never pictured this with a charming little daughter in front of me,” I thought. “But, how happy am I that she’s here!”

The house is moving along. The posts for the veranda have been set, and the beams for the 2^nd floor and veranda are being hoisted. We’re eager for it’s completion.

Two of the posts were leaning slightly. Here, they work on putting up the natural stick for the veranda railing, but you can also see the ropes from efforts to move the poles to a more vertical position.

Now, I see a new dream – one that I’ve been painting in my head for a while. I am in the new house – on the deck, or in the big space. Everything we need is within reach. Visitors in the form of guests or friends/family visit occasionally. Tetra has a natural environment to explore and learn from. Matt and I also take advantage of this optimal learning environment. He develops skills to work the land, and continues with his experimental noise. I grow as a professional and as an artist. Douglas is the happiest she’s ever been. Lucy feels friendship and freedom every day, and Jack is loved. And now the chickens have joined in.

Matt is dedicated to his carrots. Today he weeded for an hour.

When Matt and Luciano came home yesterday, he kept telling me about this surprise he had. “Guess! Guess what it is!” he said. “Cake! Cake! It must be Cake!” I declared. “Guess again!”

He brought me up to the rover and told me to look in the passenger window. I peeked in and jumped back in shock. It was a clump of red feathers! “Dead chicken?” I looked again, and actually the rooster and hen were sitting next to each other in opposite directions. The rooster had his wing over the hen. They seemed frightened, and he was protective.

Today is their first day with the rest of the hens. They all seem to be getting along fine. When we move out to the orchard, we’ll bring them all to a new coop under Doug’s casa.

So, it’s all coming together, and I hope it keeps coming.

The guests continue to bring new ideas and company. One of our most recent guests told me about how useful clay was for fighting infection and more. I learned that the darker clay is more for molding and the lighter clay is more medicinal. The white, white clay she said, can be diluted with water 10:1(ish). You can drink the water to cleanse out your digestive system.

The road is dry and bumpy. The weather is overcast and probably in the low-mid 70s. Perhaps 50% humidity.

Well, that’s the news from Honey Camp. You can log on at www.honeycampranch.com

Three Day Delivery

Every day brings a new adventure for those boys. Today, I got to share in the excitement as the lumber was finally delivered to our place.

It all began last weekend, when Matt told the lumber company that the road was very bad. They didn’t trust themselves to deliver the wood, so they returned the delivery fee. It was up to Matt and Luciano to come up with plans A, B and C.

So, they hired a guy with a big British army truck to make the delivery. That afternoon, the Rover followed the army truck down Honey Camp Road. They watched, as about 5 miles into the trip, the truck veered off the road and into soft ground.

This heavy load could not escape it’s fate.

The boys left the truck to find one of the few tractors on Honey Camp, but the driver was too drunk to help. And on their way out of the long road to inquire, they got the Rover stuck! That ensued a whole new train of complications, which they eventually freed themselves of and returned to the truck.

They began unloading the “small stuff” into the Rover and driving it to HCR. They got all the floor delivered that night. It was getting dark, and after many attempts to get out using only 4-wd, the driver decided to stay the night with his truck and the lumber.

The next day, Luciano had found a man in town who had a tractor. The tractor didn’t help and the truck remained grounded.

The driver was spent. He was ready to go home. He and his passenger began unloading lumber. Claudio was left behind to guard it, as Matt and Luciano went into town to borrow Neto’s trailer. With the trailer in tow, they worked all day moving the 2x4s to HCR.

Sometime around midnight (just after they finished moving the 2x4s) the truck driver did get out. I hear that he had to jack up the truck and put stones under the tires.

Earlier that day, Luciano did get ahold of Mr. Bull—another man with a tractor. He was already busy for the day, but said he could be out first thing in the morning to move the remaining lumber to HCR.

Matt woke early the next day. They had left the heaviest and most expensive lumber in the road… and he was hearing things. He jumped into the Rover while it was still dawn (perhaps 5:30) and went to check on the lumber.

After confirming that it was still there, he returned. But it was no wasted trip! Matt collected the rocks from the truck escapade and brought them back to help repair our dead end road. He also dug a trench to drain the water from a small lake at the entrance of our road. And all that before breakfast! After eating, the boys called Mr. Bull, who said he would meet them at the site.

I was left once again with a ton of work to do, and a sweet charming baby. I had been here before—for the last two days, and I wasn’t hopeful.

A couple hours passed when I heard the Rover coming up the road. I braced myself for another tragic detour.

I walked out to the road, and saw not the Rover, but a tractor climbing the horizon!

I was overjoyed. If I wasn’t so busy taking pictures, I would have been dancing.

It took Mr. Bull and his crew of 2; and the Rover, carrying Matt, Luciano and Claudio 3 trips to carry the remaining 8x8 lumber. 

When they were through, it was 11:58am, and I was beside myself. It was one of the greatest mornings ever at Honey Camp Ranch. Mr. Bull is indeed a bull. He’s larger than life and a king upon his throne.