We had the pleasure of our first bearing mango tree this year and it was wonderful! We ate mangoes non-stop for 4 weeks!! This type of mango, that we have on our farm is the smooth, hairless (sans fibre) kind with a taste reminiscent of syrupy canned peaches.
We enjoyed our last big bowl of mangoes today. For a treat, we drizzled Lemongrass Elixir to give it extra oomph!!
Boozy Mangoes:
A Big Thank you to our Mango Tree!!
We haven’t been writing lately because the Internet has been on and off with the bad storms. Right now, it is on but I don’t know for how long so I will take this opportunity to write.
It has been absolutely pouring down and in the daytime, we have been wading about in ankle-deep puddles! Needless to say that no one work can be done outside! It is mostly raining at night and early morning…I will remember to mark July on my calendar as “wet, wet, wet!!” to remind myself of this every year. Otherwise, I will get frustrated and feel that I can’t get any work done…
Wise words from Gnome (whilst staring out of the window at gigantic puddles and grey skies for the last week):
“Hmmm…July is a time for contemplation.”
Munchkin replies with,
“What is there to think about?!!”
Alas the saga continues…you can’t get away from truck problems especially when you live down a dirt road. We’ve been having car problems on and off for a few weeks with the clutch sticking. At the beginning, it was so infrequent, Gnome was able to hook it back up with his foot. On Friday, we had a fine run-around in Punta Gorda seeing patients and that was the day of all days (of course 😉 ) for the things to get worse.
The clutch ended up stuck down for good! Arrrgh!!! We managed to pull over safely and the ever reliable Gnome managed to improvise by attaching a rope to the clutch to hoist it up.
That was indeed the last straw but we had one more thing to do; drop off stuff at Belcampo Lodge. We both pictured the steep hill (30 degree incline) and we stared aghast at each other! Imagine the clutch failing on that hill!! Luckily I phoned Belcampo and they very kindly came to pick up the stuff. Phew!!
We managed to get home without a hitch and we did all the sensible things like lubricate the clutch pedal and check hydraulic fluid levels; Gnome-brain is postulating leaking master cylinder seals (whatever that means) which he can’t do anything about.
We’re stuck at home right now!!
To all our friends from the United States, Happy Independence Day! I never realised it until now but we never celebrated it in the UK!! 🙂
Here’s something for the hair from the House of Mascia! This is actually a Golden Oldie and was one of our first products; it is now back by popular demand. It’s just one of those things…as soon as we stopped making the product, we received emails asking, “…where is this?” and, “I bought this a while ago and I can’t find it anymore.”
And so we have it available in The Apothecary and if you live in Punta Gorda, it is available at Vance Vernon Pharmacy.
This is a hot oil treatment that can help re-condition dry and damaged hair:
And this is how you use it:
Warm vial of hair oil in glass of hot water while washing hair. Dry hair and apply oil to hair. Wrap in plastic for 20 minutes. Relax. Re-wash with shampoo.
With all the rains from the last two weeks or so, everything is bushy again!! The grass is growing…needs another mow…oh no, more work!
Here are some pictures;
This one was shot with a “fishbowl effect” just for fun!
We are getting lemons again this year and it looks like it will be a bumper crop…
Lots of fresh callaloo to pick…
African oil palm seeds…the piggies love these:
And this one is lemongrass; great for tea and to flavour food.
We are pleased to inform you that we have Cacao Elixir 8oz bottles for sale in The Apothecary. Usually they are snapped up by chocolate connoisseurs at Elixir Tastings before they even get into the on-line shop.
The Cacao Fruit was gathered in May of Last year; the pods were cracked open and the Elixir has been through a lengthy process of infusion and regular siphoning since then.
It started with the Cacao pods:
The Final Product:
This is our Profile for the Cacao Fruit Elixir:
Colour: Amber brown with hints of burgandy.
Clarity: Very slightly translucent.
Nose: Musky, earthy and reminiscent of freshly cut hay.
Taste: Sweet and coats tongue with an unctuous velvety layer. Complex taste with chocolate tones.
Medicinal Indications.
Digestive Stimulant. Mood-lifting properties.
Serving Suggestions.
Cacao Fruit Elixir Alcohol Content: 33% w/v.
With the start of the rainy season in Belize, the bugs have come out; the whole army of biting bugs include mosquitoes, botless flies, sandflies and noseeums. It can drive you crazy especially when they get aggressive and start buzzing around you. Here are a few tips to keep the bugs at bay:
Check out The Apothecary for more information.
I’m flabbergasted…usually when Gnome takes pictures they are out of focus, poorly composed and just generally awful! Oh but look at these pictures:
And he even took a short video of Mimosa pudica:
So What Happened?
Gnome beamed a big wide grin and said,
“Oh I just read the GnomeWiki (TM) entry on how to take photographs!”
It’s Monday; dull and gray and it’s the full moon! I can feel the frenzy…or perhaps it is the strong cup of Yorkshire tea I had this morning.
Well this certainly a cuppa that hits the spot…Gnome also agrees because he felt the whizzy feeling with it today.
For all you British connoisseurs out there, there is a couple in Cayo (Britishfoodsbelize.com) who are selling British goodies.
This is the Munchkin Selection but there is a whole load of stuff on the website. If you are familiar with these products you probably be saying “Ahhhh!” and “Oooohh!”
Gnome was quite funny when he said,
“I recognise all of these from Singapore!”
