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):
We are still here! Lately the daily RealFeel of 50C (115F) has been absolutely awful. We have been up at 3am doing our stuff in the cool of the morning (still RealFeel 30C/86F). The heat has frazzled my brain and the inspiration to write just wasn’t there!
Gnome has been charging on full speed and managed to set up the water tank for the imminent (well, we hope) rains. This is the new look tank in Belize called Best Tank:
New Water Tank.
I think that these tanks are made within the country so they have stopped importing the Rotoplast type.
Rotoplast Water Tank.
I mentioned to Gnome:
“Hmmmm…I don’t really like the colour of these new tanks. Quite bland.”
Gnome replied with:
“My dear, are you going back to your Ikea days when you wanted everything in spring green stripes or pastel blue? I’m afraid that we don’t live like that anymore.”
We’ve been working all weekend to get our new gutters up to catch the rains tomorrow.
Working On Guttering.
AccuWeather have forecasted rains for Monday and Tuesday. Metaphorically speaking, we were lining up “bananas” because, if you are familiar with Belizean construction, nothing is straight. Gnome used a laser level (yes, ha-ha…what a joke!) to line up the gutters but discovered that he had to strip it back down because the roof was not straight. After much sweating and roof gymnastics, he lined the gutters against the line of the roof which ended up having a slight downward angle to the right anyway. This is actually quite amusing because the downward spout used to point towards the left! That’s why the gutter leaked in so many places!
So, Gnome had to climb on the roof and perform all manner of gymnastics to get the gutters up…
Gnome On The Roof.
At one point he said,
“It’s scary up here!!”
It’s Scary Up On The Roof!
And I replied,
“Yeah, it’s scary looking up at you!”
All the hard work has been done…now we just have to wait to see if it actually rains! This rain which usually occurs once during the dry season is known locally as the “Iguana Rains” because it is supposed to soften the ground for iguanas to lay their eggs.
It was quite a while when we had discovered that our well pump was broken…apparently by a frog getting caught in it and sliming up the whole contraption (remember the thrilling installment of Pump Vs Frog??). Anyway, we have been thankfully saved time and time again by the Toledo rains. Lately we have been getting dry season weather…you know, that stifling heat with some young plants starting to wilt in the ground. Our water supply is fast dwindling and we are now on red alert ie. back on bucket washes and hand-washing clothes (boo-hoo). What a life…living in Paradise. Anyway, it is about time we started sorting out the water situation!
Well Water Tank.
We have decided to replace the whole mechanism of pumping with an air compressor. This utilises the “air-lift” effect which was a Gnome brain-storm; just so happens to be more elegant plus you can buy all the parts here (which is very important if you live in Belize). Basically, compressed air goes down which in turn, displaces water upwards.
Now to find an air compressor and would you believe it…none to be found in the Toledo region. Looks like we are going to have to take a trip to the big city to get all the equipment. We have to get this done quickly or we will be out of water within a week or less. It’s a race against time!
Hello Everyone. We just spent the last two days chilling out and relaxing. We still have the same ongoing problems…yes, life goes on but we decided just to take a break from our usual mad running around. Pause to think about life.
It was partly due to this; it was raining buckets. When the weather decides not to co-operate with outside activities, it is best to co-operate with reality and do nothing. We are learning.
Heavy Rains.
Also, we had a visiting froggie that looked like he was contemplating life and so we thought to follow his example. Sometimes slowing down can be a good thing.
Sleepy Froggie Contemplating Life.
Aside from the froggie, we have had another house visitor…a bat. He just hung (ha-ha) around for a day or so and then left.
A House Visitor.
It reminds me of the time when we first moved onto this farm; the wooden house was just one big room and a whole army of vampire bats had taken residency on the ceiling. So, on our first night in this house, we bravely (or stupidly?) slept on a mattress perched on wooden boards (rather precariously, I might say) in the midst of a house with the to and fro fluttering of about a hundred vampire bats. They squeaked, chirped and swooped all around us…it felt like a scene from a horror movie. Needless to say, we didn’t sleep very well on our first night and still to this very day I wonder why we did it…was it an initiation into ascetic living perhaps or learning to live with all creatures? Anyway, ten years on, we have house rules…only visitors…and we don’t mind the odd rat snake, tarantula or bat but the rules are that they can not take up residency in our house. So far, so good…everything seems to be co-operating.
This title sums up up the last three days since we have missed a couple of daily posts. Firstly, we have been on the road again and as usual played our “Fridge on a Pick-em Up” game in which there is a points system allocated to various white goods, and assorted loads spotted on the back of pick-up trucks. The fridge gives the highest score of 1000 points hence the given name. Well, look what we managed to find on our travels!! Gnome says, “This Changes Everything.”
Washing Machine on a Car!
This is white goods on a car…not a pick-em up! With the eye of faith, the driver who is on the left-hand side has his arm up to help secure the load…we know that because we overtook him (but, I was in too much of a tizz to get another drive-by shot) and he had no free hands to give the customary cordial wave.
Gnome commented rather blandly,” We are going to have to change the points system.”
Hmmm…yes, indeed we do!
Onto the next thing: It has been pouring down the last 5 days in Toledo. This sudden, unexpected wet spurt during the dry season is called “The Iguana Rains” because the rain is supposed to soften the earth for the iguanas to lay their eggs. This happens every year without fail…but we have noticed that every year, people forget about this anomaly and scratch their head wondering why it is wet during the dry season. And, as if by magic, we had a lovely iguana appear on our water tank today; I am sure he/she knows what the rains are for!
Hello Mr. Iguana!
He was nice enough to pose for a second picture since I saved him from our Shaneeka-Doggie:
Second Pose.
And, last but not least: do you remember when Gnome was making a mysterious fermented drink that required my nice lilac sheets?
Mystery Beer!
The mystery beer was unveiled today with a tasting and bottling:
Siphoning Beer.
Gnome is happy with the clarity:
Mystery Beer.
The Beer is Rice-Banana-Coffee all rolled into one! Who would have thunk it!! Still tastes very young with a roasted aroma from the coffee.
We’ve been working all weekend to get our new gutters up to catch the rains tomorrow.
