Category Archives: Belize

Belize, Food, Plants

Back To Work!

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Gnome has had his seven days off to recover from his neck injury and we went back to working on the farm today. He is a lot better and he was hauling heavy stuff, digging holes in the earth and moving wheel-barrows around without any problems. This is what he said to me this morning:

“…hang on a minute…why did you end up taking a week off too??”

I sort of shifted uncomfortably from side to side and stared down at my feet and replied:

“…well…I was looking after you…and it was Chinese New Year…and I wanted a week off too!”

(I thought to myself… that was plenty of reasons to take seven days off !!)

He shook his head and laughed at me.

Anyway, it started off as a grey and rainy type of day so we decided to plant our last lot of plants outside. The malibar chestnut and jackfruit have been planted in the area behind the pond.


Planting Cleared Area.

Tomorrow we will be planting a row of peach palms in the coconut area:

Peach Palm

These palms produce fruit that the geese love. This is another tree that they camp around hoping for fruits to fall from the sky.

Peach Palm.

We have other plants that are not quite big enough to plant outside so they will have to be cared for over the dry season. Luckily, I had the foresight to remember not to fill up the nursery over dry season this year so we only have akee, pomegranate, giant molly apple and rambutan plants. This is the Sardinian pomegranate; we have 10 ready for planting in July; Gnome’s Mother will be pleased to see these!

Pomegranate Seedling.

We have been harvesting taro which means we are eating this everyday right now; we probably have a whole sack full. This year we managed to surreptitiously plant them in places where the geese did not notice…in-between tyres and underneath trees. Beware…they have a keen eye for every edible plant!

Harvesting Taro.

Cleaned up and peeled, they look like this:

Sliced Taro.

We had a lovely day working together and will continue to do so as it keep us fit and out of trouble!! šŸ˜‰

Belize, Farming, Plants

Delightful Day!

The title of this Blog post is a bit tongue-in-cheek because Gnome looked up the weather forecast for today and it stated “Delightful Day.” What does that mean exactly? Anyway, as soon as the alarm clock went off at 6am this morning, the clouds were right on cue to let loose a down-pour. Ha-Ha!! Did they mean Delightful (Rainy) Day? We had a chuckle and promptly went back to sleep. We can’t do anything on a farm in rain and besides, we are giving Gnome the full week to recover from the neck injury. He is getting better by the way but this morning he over-stretched his neck muscles again in the nursery…he just moved a tiny plant pot! Anyway, Gnome is in charge of germinating nursery seeds so he’s got the aubergines, sage, rosemary, mint and other things started. Here is a picture of some basil seedlings that are ready for transplanting…

Sweet Basil Seedlings.

We are both resting and staying out of trouble so I am catching up with some recent photos from the farm. This is the view from the west side of the back veranda which used to be obscured by akee trees. Gnome has cut them all down so that we can spy on the geese looking for nesting sites: right now they look like they are exploring for possible places but there is still no sign of egg laying.

We are Watching You!

This is a picture taken about two weeks ago; we had another fun ride through coconut palms and orchard trees to move cut wood from the pond area to our charcoal making site. We even got right next to the charcoal bin…only squashed one porcupine plant on the way!! Backing out was a bit of a palaver but it was still manageable. It beats using the wheel-barrow!!

Unloading Firewood.

This is a the Peruvian Corn planted on Christmas Eve. They are getting taller and we have planted adzuki beans in-between the rows to add nitrogen to the soil. They are looking good:

Peruvian Corn.

I will keep on writing for as long as we are stuck indoors…

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Food

Early Jackfruit.

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Hello, I am writing a bit more since we are both stuck at home. Gnome’s neck injury is getting better but as soon as he tries to do any type of lifting, the pain comes back again. I am giving him a full week and will re-assess for light activity on Wednesday. He is keeping his humour up and is reading up on silly things like Groundhog Day (which was yesterday) and asking me if I would eat a groundhog; my answer was “Yes…I am Chinese…the Chinese will eat everything!” Oh yeah, he was also looking at the protein content of millipedes to see if we could supplement our diet with it! He’s not kidding by the way…he’s also asked me to re-start the wormery as a protein source and asked me: “…how would you cook them?” and I cheekily replied with,”…Kung-po Worm! Sweet and Sour Worm, name any Chinese-Style and I will make it into a worm dish. I am of course not kidding too and will in the future post up worm dishes once I get enough of them to eat.

Talking of food…this year we have early jackfruit from a newly bearing tree. The tree is about 30 yards from the house in an area away from our normal walkways. We didn’t notice until this week when the geese stopped going to the pond in the morning. We scratched our heads and wondered what was the matter and then we saw the main goosie group camping under a jackfruit tree. Any other goose (not from their group) that happened to cross their path would get pecked and screeched at.

Goosies Camping Under Jackfruit Tree.

On closer inspection, we saw that a ripe jackfruit had fallen to the ground and head goosie was pecking at the fruit as if he was trying to get into the Guinness Book of Records for the “Fastest Time a jackfruit can be eaten by a goose in one sitting.” Then we stared up at the tree and saw four humongous jackfruit just ripe for the picking. Aha, the dastardly geese were waiting for the next one to fall down and feast upon! We managed to harvest just in time…look at these beauties:

We normally harvest jackfruit on our farm in July and August. February is very early but it is actually a better time because with the dry weather at this time of the year, they are less likely to rot and get damaged by torrential rain. Plus, this is an unusual time for fruit trees to produce so it is a welcome harvest on the farm.

Yesterday, I prepared one of the jackfruits and attempted to process it in a different way; Gnome’s mother had sent me a link where there was a very skilled person peeling the fruit in a spiral-like manner in a matter of minutes.

utube.com/Nila’s Kitchen

It was one of those videos that made it look so easy peasy! Well, I tried it and found that the jackfruit was too heavy (20lbs/ 10kgs) to manipulate in this way. I did however modify the method by cutting it into 3 inch rings and peeling the rings from the central core… then the fruit could be readily popped out like on the video. This took me less time compared to my old method…30 minutes instead of one hour so I will continue with the new improved approach. Once I am more skilled, I might be able to spiralise it and make a 2 minute video!!

Jackfruit:

Jackfruit.

Okay, I will write more since we can’t get out right now to do farm work!!

Belize, Medical Related

Pain In The Neck!!

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Gnome has been out of action since Wednesday morning with a neck sprain. He was chain-sawing a high branch of a tree (the chain-saw is heavy and he was on his tippy-toes); I saw his face contort and luckily he could steady himself to switch the chain-saw off safely. I ran to his aid as he complained of neck pain and shooting pains down both arms (well, he was going ARRRGH ARRRRGH a and there was a lot of body language). Oh, poor Gnome!! I helped him back into the house and put my Doctor hat on (luckily we are both doctors so can stay collected and calm under these stressful conditions). With a couple hours of rest, analgaesia and observation we decided that it was not a medical emergency.

We have had accidents on the farm in the past and have just suffered and got through it together in our stoic sort of way! This time, we took a different approach and decided to “share the anxiety and stress.” So, with Gnome loaded up to the eye-balls with pain-killers, off we went to the Social Security department in Punta Gorda to report the accident. They were soooo nice and helpful and I was relieved to have done it. They said to us that it was important to report any accident on the workplace immediately because even although it might start off looking like a minor problem, the fact that we have reported a case allows them to follow up with medical investigations, treatment and care should the problem become chronic and ongoing. What have a learned from this? We really should remember to ask for help when needed…because we are doctors and the buck usually stops at us we often think that we have to bear the pain ourselves!!

I am happy that we live in such a small community in which we are not just a (social security) number and because we have been living in this place for such a long length of time, we are recognised by our positive interactions within the town. Everyone involved was lovely.

Last but not least, I need to assure Gnome’s parents and family that everything is okay and that he is recovering. He is resting and I am treating him with medication and acupuncture daily. He is not allowed to do any work right now (says me and I am the law on the farm!!) so he has to stay put. He is getting a bit bored which is a good indication that he is doing better!

Belize, Farming, Food

Hello!

I think it’s been a while since I have written something; Gnome’s Mum is probably wondering what we are up to! Anyway, the weather has been very erratic; the beginning of the week looked like we were heading straight into dry season and now it’s grey and cold again. It seems unpredictable right now so we have to take each day as it comes. This week, we have been cleaning the area around the house. There were far too many trees encroaching upon us and blocking our view so Gnome chainsawed whilst I stacked the wood. After this, we will probably do a big mow around the cleared areas. There are a few more trees left to plant before it starts getting dry so we are actually hoping for some gloomy wet weather over the next few days! Ha-Ha…you would never think that I would say that…

Gnome Working.

Anyway, today we went into town (Punta Gorda) and I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of tourists. I mentioned this to someone and they said that it was PG Day. I have been here for 15 years and I did not know what PG day represented so I asked the local Belizean: “What is PG Day?” They shrugged their shoulders as if they were baffled too and said:”…well, it’s the party after Christmas and the one before Valentines Day!”

Punta Gorda Town.

Yes, there is always celebrating going on around here! Anyway, it is nearly the end of the month already and I haven’t shared all my pictures from the last party season so I will finish off with some left-over pictures…

The goosies took over the hill at Christmas time despite Gnome taking a chunk out of it. We will re-claim the hill…the power struggle continues…

Goosies on Hill.

During the festive period, Gnome dug a cooking pit into the side of the sand. We spent two weeks baking a succession of au-gratin dishes:

Potato au gratin…we had this one many times. It is a hearty meal for cool weather:

Potato au Gratin.

This was a bread and Twix gratin with sweet bechamel sauce. Gratin is basically any dish topped with a browned crust usually with breadcrumbs. Also, bechamel sauce is the most popular type of sauce in these dishes. Basically, this gives you a lot of room for creativity:

Bread and Twix Gratin.

Okay, I’ve caught up with my pictures so I’ll be taking some new photos tomorrow…

Amusing, Belize, Farming, Food, Plants

Catching Up With Pictures

It’s another grey and miserable day and we are feeling it…where is the sun? Wahhhhh!!

Miserable!!

I opened the front door this morning and from the veranda view, I spied my eggplant (aubergine) jiggling up and down on a raised bed. Plants don’t jiggle! There was a piece of zinc blocking my view so I stepped outside to see what was happening and it was My Goosie on my vegetable bed munching away! “My Goosie” was the very first baby goosie that I looked after last year; she came from a single egg that we found plop in the middle of the yard on New Year’s Day. While she was growing up, she would follow me around as I harvested vegetables from the raised beds. Learning from imitation, she got into the habit of nibbling on unusual things like aubergine leaves, rocket and mustard.

Goosie.

Well, My Goosie has had a sudden re-collection of childhood days and is eating all our vegetable plants. I have also lost my dandelions to her; fortunately she has not pulled up the roots so I will transplant them to a safer place today. I have tried talking to her but she refuses to listen…must be that adolescent time! šŸ˜‰

My Goosie.

Anyway, goosie antics aside I wanted to catch up with farm news with a few pictures. By the way, talking of aubergines, this is the variety I am harvesting right now; they from Thailand. They are about an inch in size and are really nice cooked slowly in olive oil.

Thai Aubergines.

Gnome did a Christmas Eve planting of special Peruvian corn:

Planting Corn.

The ducks and geese like to walk round and round this enclosure hoping to find an entrance to these sweet tit-bits! This is the corn about 3 weeks later; doing very well and faring nicely in this rainy weather:

Corn Planting After 3 Weeks.

Oh and pigeon pea is in season again; I will write more about it soon since we are harvesting and eating this everyday:

Pigeon Pea.
Amusing, Belize, Farming

Adventures With M & G…

First of all, I have to tell you that it is freezing cold, grey and miserable right now! I think it is about 20C (68F) or less. Right now, we are wearing woolly hats, scarves and many layers including a t-shirt, jumper/long-sleeved shirt and a body warmer all zipped up to the collar. You would think that this is ideal cool weather for working outside but you can actually get sick because the sweat does not evaporate from your clothes and you are left feeling wet, cold and shivery. Hot water showers are a must right now. We are so used to 40C (104F) that it is difficult for our bodies to adapt quickly to the sudden drop in temperature. Having said all that, we still like this short winter time because we know that the dry season is coming soon and that is extreme in the opposite way.

Okay, I promised some pictures from Sunday; Sunday was a gloriously bright day and Gnome (the Adventurer!) had the notion that he wanted to drive the truck to the newly cleared area. Note that in all this time that we have been on the farm, we have always parked the truck in the driveway and never ventured forth into the unknown. There was no road so we had to weave in and out of coconut trees, dodge geese, stumps, bumps and little trees to boldly go where no Munchkin and Gnome had gone before. Weeeeee!!!

Bush Driving.

More Pictures; adventuring into the wilderness! This is the newly cleared area:

On the farm

Another picture from further away:

Adventuring further afield

One of the geese (Chinese goosie) poked his head out of the pond to see what all the fuss was about. I don’t think he felt as excited as us:

What’s Happening?
Amusing, Belize, Farming

Double Squeak!

The goosie noise level has quadrupled in the last week or so; there is shrieking, cackling, screaming and squawking every-day and throughout the night. Noise levels start increasing at about 4am in the morning right outside the house. Interestingly enough, the levels reach a crescendo at our waking time which is 6am and do not stop until they hear our bedroom door open. As soon as this happens, we see all four goosie groups scattering off in the direction of the pond. I swear…I am convinced that they have diabolical minds and are deliberately making our lives difficult!

Anyway, yesterday I wanted an extra hour in bed…just another extra hour! My sleep had been broken all night by the sound of Squeaky…there is one goose that squeaks (not squawks) but actually squeaks. The noise is very high pitched and occurs constantly every two seconds ; it felt like he was just standing right outside the house all night and had not moved an inch. Finally we could bare it no more and got up at 6.30am and I opened the front door to shake my fist at Squeaky and tell him what a terrible night I had…of course, it was really just for my own benefit…goosie would be totally un-fazed by my gestures of indignation.

Goosie!! Quiet!!

When, I opened the door, the squeaking was still constant and close but the goose was nowhere to be seen. Gnome looked out of the window and spied Squeaky about 50 yards away going off towards the pond. However, the constant high-pitched EEEEEEEEEEE noise was still outside our house…

Oh no…we both realised it at the same time…we have spawned a second Squeaky!!

There was indeed a Squeaky Junior standing proudly and all puffed up giving his best. The all-new Squeaky doesn’t look like his father…he is a Chinese goose. Here is a picture: the Chinese goose type is the one in front; normally these types make a quacking noise like a duck but we seem to have hybrid that squeaks.

Gnome says that in order to preserve our sanity (and our ears) we should try to breed the squeak out of our goosies. šŸ˜‰ Ha-Ha…project #312 Breeding the Squeak out of the Geese!!

Goosies.

Anyway, that was just a little amusing story for a Sunday morning. The weather is bright and sunny today so I will go out and take new pictures to post up later on.

Amusing, Belize, Farming

Back To work!

We had a lovely two weeks holiday together; this generally consisted of switching off our phones (do you remember the good old times when we didn’t have mobile phones and people had to contact you at appropriate times on your land-line?) and switching off other communications including FaceBook. We did still have other forms of communication for family to get in touch if needed. I informed (mostly) everyone that we were off camping in the mountains and so we cut a trail off in to the mountains and carried food and goodies back and forth from the farm to the camp-site. It was nice to do something together and we ate very well. We did come back regularly to make sure that the goosies were behaving themselves.

Beyond the Boundaries.

So now that we have packed on the calories we are ready to start work on the farm again. Gnome said that eating lots of food over this festive period was the perfect way to store energy for the physical labour ahead of us…after all, this is the traditional way that farmers sustained themselves through the seasons and we feel that this is a more natural way for the body to gain and shed energy. I guess that it is important to point out that if you choose this lifestyle, you do have to increase food (caloric) intake in order for your body to remain fit and healthy. Incidentally, I also had to give Panda guidelines on increasing caloric intake with specific food preparation instructions since he is now upping his level of physical activity. I have worked out that Panda (and also Gnome) has to eat 3 whole chickens a week (or protein equivalent) plus the other food groups to sustain this type of lifestyle. Now, we can all eat bacon and eggs in the morning and not feel fat and guilty…Ha-Ha!! This life has its advantages…

Anyway, back on the farm we are trying to get back into the swing of things. Gnome started today by moving wheel-barrows of sand to our designated root/tuber beds…what a way to start! There is a reason why this has to be done quickly… it’s because the geese are having too much fun running up and then sliding back down the sand pile. ARRRRGGHHH!!! It’s ruining our lovely pile! We decided that the best course of action was to get rid of the sand as quickly as possible so that it doesn’t whittle down to nothing on the ground.

Sand Pile.

You should see the geese at feeding time…they are all on top of the sand pile giving their best to shriek and honk at me and when I do come out with their corn, they all slide down the hill in the midst of complete and utter chaos and mayhem. Yes, oh what fun!! Here are two goosies walking on flattened sand.

Goosies.

Wishing everyone a good start to 2019!!