GRAK requires lemons (not limes, heaven forbid) for his Gin & Tonic – a key ingredient for a drink ever so necessary for tropical forest living (water, quinine, juniper berries, alcohol, citrus) and all so fortifying for the constitution! Thus, we grow three varieties of yellow lemons at El Tigre. Here’s a shot of them – Barry Hammel knows their individual names, but one variety looks very similar to the yellow lemons you can buy in stores up north. Why do we grow them here? Well, you can find green limes and sour oranges at grocery stores everywhere, but the only semi-reliable place for buying yellow lemons, other than very occasionally at local markets, is from a guy in the cellar of the Central Market in downtown San Jose. In our experience, the big ugly variety goes off the fastest – the peel soon gets covered with a kind of greenish-white mold, if not refrigerated quickly. The other two varieties will last just as long as the more common limes and sour oranges - up to several weeks at room temperature here in The Tropics. We grow many of the citrus varieties- green, orange, sweet, sour - but only a slice of yellow lemon will do in Gerry’s Gin & Tonic at the end of a long day…
Marj and Dave playing with Lemons!
Gerry has been grumpy since returning from New Orleans. It has been overcast and rainy just about every day, all day long. Usually, Costa Rica gets a morning sun during the rainy season – ample for charging up the batteries via the solar panels. But weeks on end of cloudy days and rain requires generator backup – for us at least 3 hours every day or two to cover our electricity needs. We started a Captain’s Log – daily tracking of the weather, solar energy system and generator back-up use. It helps us to stay on top of the situation and, at this point, after five years of living ‘off-the-grid’ on solar power, we have all become solar engineers (with the invaluable help of our real solar engineer, Carlos Oreamuno). This is especially true of Armando, who maintains it all with his own log and notes. It’s all part of living life in the jungle...
One reason for Gerry’s grumpiness is that the rain brings more insects! And insects bite; and they seem to have a penchant for his nice, sweet blood; and bites itch; and multiple itchy bites make him irritated and grumpy…
We do keep a sharp eye out for mosquitoes – just occasional pests so far, but if one exists in the house, it will go straight for GRAK. We try to break the breeding cycle to keep the population down, by keeping the drains clean and all water flowing. Dengue is the enemy!
However, many of the insects in this forest are colorful, fascinating creatures - and they attract lots of birds! All birders will tell you that if you want to see birds, go look for insects and fruiting trees. We have seen large flocks of parrots and parakeets recently, some visiting from the Parque Nacional Carara, joining the resident birds to feast on the Aguacatillos – little avocados – now fruiting. The parrots chatter loudly in flight and continue chattering, even after they land and settle down to feed. Then, after feeding quietly for a short time, the chatter begins again: starting with a complaining pair; followed by others who join in to chatter, scold and natter; and then the racket continues increasing to a great, noisy crescendo until, finally, the whole flock flies off in a cacophony to another tree.
Other species call and sing, keeping the music going all day, especially during the rainy season. Birders can identify and locate birds by ear: Toucans, Oropendulas, Trogons, Wrens, Warblers, Fly Catchers; we have them all here, and many more - all with distinctive voices joining in the chorus. The Masked Tityra also returned to El Tigre this year. And there is a lot for them to sing about, with so many trees fruiting right now: Ficus, Ingas, Cupanias, Jacartias, Casearias, many species of Rubiaceae, Solanaceae and Myrtaceae, and that’s just for starters!
And there’s not only fruit and insects to eat. Armando actually saw a Mot Mot snatch a Coral snake out of a stone wall and chomp it down!
Here’s a shot of Armando and me discussing the ripeness – hear them shake? – of the Apeiba tibourbou seeds.
Here’s a shot of a Dalbergia retusa seedling that Armando raised from a seed collected from Cerro El Tigre. Most of the seeds germinated and now we’re planting a bunch of Cocobolo! We also planted/donated arbolitos from Armando’s vivero of Bernoullia flammea, Carapa guianensis, Ceiba pentandra, Citrus species, Diphysa Americana, Garcinia intermedia, Guarea glabra, Hura crepitans, Lafoensia punicifolia, Samanea saman, Swietenia macrophylla, some native fruiting trees and a slew of native plants brought up from the forest for cultivation. We are especially pleased with the lovely Palicouria and its yellow flowers.
Thanks to C.N.F.L. for the seedlings we received, that were donated as part of their Virilla River & Watershed Reforestation Project. We planted Cedro Maria, Guachipelin, Laurel Negro and Caoba.
Here’s a shot of Armando in the vivero. Rainy season is also great for growing lettuces (Asian lettuces – Bok Choy, etc., do great in this climate) and many other edibles of all sorts. We’ve had to move some of the Mediterranean herbs under cover – lavender and rosemary will wilt quickly under direct tropical rains. Armando has gained a lot of experience planting in small clearings above the orchards, as ‘organic’ means rotating crops and spots! In general, we have learned that the best success in the garden comes by planting natives. Armando actually planted a shrubbery of Chicasquil – a nutritious, tasty shrub, with a flavor kind of like spinach! He has also succeeded in propagating many varieties of chili peppers, all thriving even during the rainy season. And, yes, we make lots of salsa!
Here’s a shot of Lola La Vaca with her second calf, ‘Little Gerry’, out in pasture with the horses.
There is no doubt that her milk has improved after giving birth to him. We continue to practice making yoghurt and fresh cheese, but would like some more training on the art of cheese-making. Agustin’s wife Satia’s family – originally hailing from Michigan – live on a farm up near the Cerro de Muerte and have decades of experience making cheese and bread.
Here’s a shot of Karla and Geovanna with our littlest dog, Lulu.
Time flies. Karla turns 15 next month – a very big deal in this country (kind of like ‘Sweet 16’ in the north). It seems like just yesterday that we were celebrating her 5th birthday! But Karla doesn’t want a party – she wants to ride and hike.
Unfortunately, now turning to a topic of disharmony, we’ve had another incident with thieves in the neighborhood! Here’s how it went down. One of our guys, Jose, spotted two thieves breaking into the Muehller’s house down the lane from us. He immediately called one of the Muehller employees, Alexander, who called the police, and then also alerted the other finca workers along the lane, Jorge and Alirio! The police arrived and nabbed the thieves, handcuffed them and put them in the patrol car. Then they drove up to our place to see if they had struck here too! Armando recognized them as the same guys who had tried to break into the brother’s house of our Swiss neighbor, Paoul, some months ago. At that time, they were given a good talking to and told not to come back! We thought that, after Paoul gave the scruffy thugs a dose of his grumpiness – not to mention dealing with all our guys and the Mora Police – we would never see them again! Well, some youngsters learn their lesson, go find a job and earn an honest living; but others… Apparently, they live near the Quitirrisi mountains and know how to quickly move through the countryside and forest. They target unoccupied houses, grab something quickly, and then they’re gone. That’s why the Ticos call thieves of this sort, ‘guatusos’ – animals that live in the forest, move quickly, and are opportunists, darting here and there, snatching this and that and gone in seconds. Pura Vida!
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