Lluvia

Time for a serious update! Apologies to anyone who has been following our crazy farm adventures, and a public apology to all the flora and fauna i have neglected the past few weeks :) Now i know: "dry" tropical forest don't mean nothin during the rainy season, AND it's a very bad time to leave garden plants unattended. Just like with kids, you leave 'em alone for long enough, they go WILD:

As I could have predicted, the ayote squash once again claimed reign over the garden. Squash is a hearty plant in general, and here in our "dry tropical" climate, ayote demonstrates a supreme level of prowess. This time, however, I was prepared. Instead of planting 3 seeds to a mound 2 ft apart, as dictated by standard squash cultivation, I planted a total of only four seedlings, and several feet apart at that, so the voracious monsters have been unable to dominate completely.

Many fruit have already formed!

Thanks to my newly-acquired curcubit experience, this time around ample space was available for my sandía (watermelon) to finally spread her vines!

(Last fall during my first go-round in the garden, squash ended up obliterating all trace of my precious sandías. i cried.)

Other exciting developments include:

arbolitos!

Front and center is a cashew baby, started from a fruit i harvested (and ate) on the farm. Behind, do you recognize these two? The Jane Doe sisters! Unidentified saplings that i started from an unknown seed.

Espinaca!

While I transplanted my original espinaca (Basella alba) to the farm, seeds from the mother plant continue to sprout, providing us with fresh greens daily.

I think i finally got the hang of my favorite flavor of all, jenhibre (ginger),

though i'm not sure how to know when they are ready to harvest?

And.....

for the first time ever i am growing bell peppers!

Because of all the blight issues with the tomatoes, i am taking every precaution to protect the peppers from fungus. They will be transplanted to the ground in mounds where HOPEFULLY the daily downpours will run off rather than pool up.

This is only a small taste of the delicious overgrowth happening during our Epoca de Lluvia. Here, when it rains it really does pour. i am spending most non-rain hours, usually mornings, pulling a jungle of weeds which then re-grow during the afternoon. i love it! Recently i've found that getting down on my hands and knees and pulling weeds as i crawl makes me feel like a jungle cat. anyway....

While the weeds grow, i'm doing my own growing indoors--the kombucha keeps comin'!
Two new flavor discoveries, Zacate Limón (lemongrass) y Fresa (Strawbery).

yum!

At this point, i have more SCOBYs than i know what to do with!

and my real jungle cat, napping to the sound of rain on the garage roof

La Cabra Cabaña

Recently it has been more and more obvious that Ezmeralda needs more sufficient shelter.

the poor dear has been out in the rain, alone, tethered to a tree.

Lucky for her, it was Gansers to the rescue!!!!

Taking a break from volcano hikes, island boating, and sumptious seafood feasts, our dedicated visitors donated their own sweat and tears into the creation of a happy home for our Ez.

The ultimate product, La Cabra Cabaña, was a complete success!!!!!

Since the construction of la cabaña, we have added a newbie to the family:

Meet Lupita Maria!

Despite the bizarre fact that Ezmeralda is a (human) momma's girl, Lupita took to her right away and follows her every move. The girls can usually be found chomping grass and shrubs in various areas around the farm, or during a downpour, shacking up in their tropical luxurious goat accomodations.

Muchas gracias Adam y Alissa!!!!