It was Worth Every Bite

Emergency Committee, El Rodeo
Remember that huge landslide a couple of years back? Remember all the El Rodeo people getting stuck in the muck trying to cross over the abyss on their way to work/school in Ciudad Colon? One neighbor sank up to her shoulders in the muck, handing her baby up to bystanders who rushed to help. Our construction workers wore huge plastic bags over their boots and legs to wade through the mud, determined to get to work…

Well, the road is still a mess. Soon after the landslide, a group of neighbors formed a committee to get work started on the road. It has been a long, steady haul for some dedicated people, but it looks like, after two years and a lot of meetings, involving the mayor and a whole parade of public officials, work is about to begin on Monday. As always, the issue comes down to money and, with municipality coffers nearly empty due to the construction slow down, they need donations to finish the road. We are raising funds to get the job done right, once and for all. Can you kick in a hundred dollars or so? Please contact me as soon as possible if you would like to contribute towards our road works. Someone from UPAZ has generously offered to handle the admin on roadwork donations. We all need the road open to Ciudad Colon! Even the most reclusive people need to get out for supplies now and then.
Meanwhile, Teniente (lieutenant - but everyone calls him ‘Capitan’) Azucar, from the Mora Police Department, has been meeting with a small group of villagers, on Tuesdays in the Village Hall, to discuss a wide range of community security issues, and is now helping us to set up an Emergency Committee for our village and environs. After the recent forest fire, I realized that we are living a fragile, precarious existence on a forested mountainside in Costa Rica. Over the past 3 years, our area has suffered fires and landslides, and we can only expect more emergencies in the future, including even the terrifying possibility of an earthquake - a big one! Thus, we decided to be proactive, rather than reacting to the next event, and form an emergency team of people living in the community, ready to act.

Our first task is to invite everyone in the village to join a telephone network, so that they can receive immediate information in the event of an emergency. Anyone in El Rodeo reading this who has not yet been contacted, please e-mail me if you wish to be part of this network. Over the next several weeks, we plan to work on emergency protocols, resources, etc. A key aspect of this is to have direct contact with professionals: police, Red Cross, MINAET, fire fighters, etc. Thank you.

Newsflash: The Little Theatre Group is presenting ‘Twelfth Night’ (Yes! It’s Shakespeare) on weekends all this month at the Salon Garbo Theatre. See www.littletheatregroup.org for details/reservations. Get on out and support your local thespians!

It was worth every bite!

Gerry took this shot on Sunday, two days after the root canal. It looked even worse before, ghastly. I appear much better in the picture, but still very much as Gerry now likes to call me: his wife, ‘The Hamster’…

The tooth started to ache last Thursday, so I called our dentist to have it sorted out the next day. The receptionist told me that she could fit me in the same day at lunchtime. Unfortunately, however, that wouldn’t do. I had a lunch date! Didn’t she have anything on Friday or even the following Monday?

Why would I not go to the dentist right away given the chance? Because we had been invited, that same day, to the lovely garden home, adjoining Braulio Carrillo forest, all the way across the valley, of some dear friends, Robert Whittington and Phylliss Crist. They are both culinary artists of the highest degree, and dining with them is always a memorable event. Couldn’t Dr. Gil see me tomorrow?

Lucas Gil’s receptionist responded in the usual, sweet, Costa Rican way and insisted…
“I can get you in today at 12:15. You have an aching tooth. You need to get in here.”

Luckily, Phylliss was able to organize a delay to the lunch until 2pm. Thank you Phylliss!

I got to the appointment and barely got seated, when Dr. Gil came in and banged on the tooth with some metal instrument. “Does that hurt?” He asked?

“Yes.” I replied, while inside my body, I howled, “OOOUUUUUCH, …!”

A quick glance at the chart and Dr. Gil reminded me of a chat we had several months ago. I remembered it well. He had to do a deep filling, and in choosing a treatment plan, advised me that the root only had a 50/50 chance of surviving the filling. I was feeling invincible back then - never say die, keep innervating for as long as possible. What is health, but clinging to the back of the Titanic - staying alive as along as possible. Well, it turned out that I was on the wrong side of the 50%. The root died and began to decay, causing my jaw to ache. I needed a root canal.

Could Dr. Gil do it the following day, I asked, brightening at the prospect of arriving at Phylliss’s in time for the first course! No, Dr. Gil doesn’t do root canals. But he would refer me to a specialist for the next day, Friday.

Delighted, we left the dentist’s office and began the beautiful drive up to Braulio. On arrival, we were introduced to our dining companions, and then spent a lovely afternoon, dining, imbibing and enjoying good conversation with fascinating people. As always, I learned several new things, including solvents and distillation techniques for extracting citronella essential oil; and even how to make sour dough bread. Phylliss gave me a starter for sour dough to add to my growing bacterial collection - for yoghurt, cheese, etc.!

Andrew showed us incredible photographs of birds from all over Costa Rica: the Resplendent Quetzal; hummingbirds in full flight, feeding on - hey, isn’t that bird hovering over that invasive plant Justicia aurea? Well, at least the hummers love it! No wonder it escapes all the gardens!

We spoke at length about New Orleans. Did you know that there are more restaurants open today in New Orleans than before the Storm? The city is just as vibrant as ever, despite the lousy economy. Fun New Orleans Fact: The inquisition came to New Orleans and New Orleans sent the inquisition packing!

Phylliss and Robert are spending a few days in the Big Easy in September, with Larry and Dorothy Boone. Sadly, we will miss them there, as we arrive in town later, but we did have plenty of restaurant suggestions, including our favorite, August, the flagship of should-be Iron Chef, John Besh. I just wish we could enjoy the Vieux Carre with them! Dorothy and Phylliss are both very dear to me, like older sisters; they had a huge impact in my life at a time when I needed it! We worked together as volunteers, and I learned much from them: courage, honor, loyalty, grace under fire, compassion - anger management… and lots of laughter and fun times… I believe I became a better person, though still hopelessly flawed, by aspiring to be more like them. And we met other fascinating women along the way…

It was a leisurely, culinary, delightful afternoon that wound up at twilight. And then, as we drove back home off the Braulio mountain, I could feel the tooth starting to throb…

The infection flared up overnight. I couldn’t sleep for the pain, and could feel my whole face on one side puffing up. I woke up on Friday morning looking like a hamster eating, and feeling just horrible. However, even so, even while groaning in the depths of misery, it was still worth every bite of that wonderful lunch. The tooth would have flared up anyway, right?

So, we hightailed it to my appointment with endodontist, Dra. Ana Lucia Perez Clare, M.Sc. (Baylor College of Dentistry), at Cima Hospital. She quickly reassured me that, even though I was shocked at what was happening (and how I looked…), she saw cases like mine every day. She said, “It’s my work. We are going to fix this.”
And she did. Thank you Doctora Lucy!

It’s not fair. I’m diligent about dental hygiene but still end up with the toothache, whereas GRAK is far more neglectful but doesn’t suffer half the problems. He goes to the dentist every ten years or so, whether he needs to or not…
By the way, it’s true that you can get excellent healthcare for a fraction of the cost in Costa Rica.

Spotty and Grandpa died.


Photo from 2007, shortly before Samantha was killed by a Terciopelo.



Armando holds Samantha - a poodle/pekinese mix with a killer hunter instinct, and Armando Jose holds Samantha’s offspring, Spotty (not an inspired, creative name to be sure but, at least, descriptive...). Spotty inherited Samantha’s hunting instinct and it was only a matter of time before she ate the wrong thing and followed her mother to an early grave. Sure enough, very sadly, Spot died of liver failure a short while ago, on August 23rd.

Years ago, back in Ciudad Colon, Samantha surprised us by delivering two pups on the bathroom floor. The father was a mut living down the road. Spotty was the second born, and it appeared that Samantha had abandoned her after birth. She wouldn’t even chew off the umbilical cord. She just groomed her first born, Dillan, and ignored poor Spotty who just kind of dangled there by the cord. I went to the internet to figure out what to do, and there learned about using dental floss to tie and cut the cord. But then it took another hour or so before the tiny Spotty could open her mouth and feed. She couldn’t, just didn’t have the strength. I was at the desk, crying. I called Beth and she called a dog expert and the dog expert said that some new born pups just die. We were going to lose her. Suddenly, Janet ran in and said that she had got Spotty to feed. Thus, she survived and thrived, looking every inch like her father, the mut living down the street. Sammy was promptly neutered, so we would have no further surprises…

Spotty died peacefully and Jose helped me bury her out back. And yes, like everybody else, as well as feeling sorrow, also feeling no small degree of relief. Spotty was such a ‘necia’- barking all the time at nothing! Such sweet solace there is now here, silence. Gerry used to mutter at Spotty all the time, “She’s such a coward”! She used to bark at something and attract the other dogs, and then skulk off leaving the other dogs to face the poor beleaguered bufo toad, for example. Luckily, nobody touches the toads - dogs vomit up anything that doesn’t suit them. And like humans, dogs are pretty much one trial learners, if they survive the lesson.

The day after we buried Spotty, Grandpa died peacefully in Florida. Mom and Cy were with him. We had already posted a card with a daily “Hi Grandpa” greeting, to help keep his mood up while convalescing from congestive heart failure. However, his lungs got too congested, he needed too much Lasix and his heart just gave out. But Grandpa had a very fine run on this planet. We loved him so very much. Grandpa was healthy right up until the end. As mom said, he used to take fewer medications, and had fewer health problems than most people half his age. We used to joke with him that he would outlive us all! I still treasure those summers with him and Grandma at the lake. And, yes Grandpa, you were right, I was too young to go to the Grosse Lake Rock Concert Festival.

We cannot say thank you enough to dearest mom and Cy, who took care of Grandpa and Grandma with total dedication over so many years. In fact, it has been four years since they last visited Costa Rica, because they didn’t want to leave Grandpa alone for even one day.

Janet’s girls, Karla and Geovanna have grown up in those 4 years. Take a look at this shot of Geovanna and Karla, with Eddie the Beagle.


The girls have grown up but still can’t wait for mom and Abuelo Cy to come visit again. Nobody reads stories to the kids like Abuelo Cy! And he will find new kids eager to sit down with him for story hour: Armando Jose, Amanda and Bayron.

Here’s a shot of Marcia with Danny and his very fast growing hermanito, Bayron.



Everyone is doing well and, after a lot of training, all the domestic animals wander together in relative harmony - dogs, cats, chickens, and now, Lola the cow, join the horses when they go out to pasture. We’ve managed to control the biting insects this season after many years of trial and error. It’s a strange El Nino season of less rain and, thankfully, less bugs! However, Flopsy has a torselo in his hind leg, but raises such a yelping howl that he won’t let us squeeze it out of him.

I trot the dogs daily down the public road in order for them (and me?) to blow off steam. We keep moving to keep them out of mischief. If I want to botanize or birdwatch, I leave all the dogs at home, except Flopsy of course. Flopsy never strays from my side and doesn’t harm anything, not even a nestling fallen from the nest. He does kind of look at me first, “Is it okay if I just sniff at the little bird?” Flopsy is my constant companion.

Here’s a shot I took of a pair of hummingbird nestlings.



Birds are such amazing camouflage artists! I never would have even seen the nest, hidden well amongst the palm leafs, had a gusty wind not blown one of the lowest palm leafs way up almost vertical, and I could see the nestlings hunkered down in there and holding on. I took the shot quickly - when no curious dogs or cats were around to see what I was doing, and then I stayed away from the nest and watched it from afar. The parents would not feed the nestlings if they saw me watching. The fledglings grew up and flew away safely, despite being raised in a most vulnerable spot, just off the ground and very close to the terrace, where numerous dogs and cats lounge for much of the day. But none of them had the slightest clue.

Nature never ceases to amaze me.

Meanwhile, on the home front, Janet discovered a line of ants leading up the outside wall to a tiny hole into the utility room. You can build a fortress against insects but they shall simply invade you from within - up the drains or through gaps into crawl spaces between the walls. No matter how clean you keep the house, one dead moth on the floor will attract the clean-up squad - tiny ants which just seem to appear from nowhere. We make them run with squirts of vinegar or borax. But lately, I’m beginning to rethink my approach to ants. Rather than adversaries, I’m beginning to think of them as friends. They clean up after us. They dismantle the moth and take it away. Army ants are welcomed as natural fumigators. And we maintain a laissez-faire or ‘without harm’ principle to all species, as advocated by my tropical nature mentor, Alexander Skutch. However, the forest is one thing and the house is quite another, and tiny ‘sugar’ ants will settle in the house if given the chance.

And if you tolerate one species in the house, next thing you know, you’ve got monkeys swimming in the pool! It’s a continuous lesson, keeping the insects out, harmonizing with the forest, and doing no harm. It all comes back again to good housekeeping.

Here’s a shot of Janet and her helper, Laura, dusting down the library.



Laura is raising money to return to University in Nicaragua, where she studies Civil Engineering. Remember all the odd jobs you did while at school, trying to make ends meet (or, at least, to buy a bottle of wine…)?

Since the economy has gone to hell, I’ve been thinking of new ways to save money at the grocery store, and am having lots of fun learning new things in the kitchen. Apart from drinking it, we also use Lola’s milk to produce both yoghurt and cheese. The starters keep getting better the more we practice with them.

Margarita and Janet have helped me experiment with orange preserves. We tried several recipes, until finding a Seville Orange Marmalade recipe, which we only use as a rough guide, adapting it to our own citrus fruits, both sweet and sour, growing at Reserva El Tigre. My first attempts produced truly nasty concoctions. I recall taking one bitter-tasting jam down to the forest for burial, where even the chickens couldn’t get poisoned by it. The next try ended up too syrupy, but had an interesting, intense flavor. I added alcohol to it and produced a perfectly drinkable liqueur (much to GRAK’s delight). Tomorrow, we shall try another batch. I think that we’ve now got the sugar balance right for this crop of oranges, we know the right amount of seeds to make the pectin, and how much of the white pith to remove to avoid a bitter taste. And then it’s just experiment after experiment.

There is no greater pleasure than orange preserve spread on sourdough toast!

Menguante de Mayo

Introducing the latest arrival at Reserva El Tigre! Bayron Jose, son of proud parents, Jose Parra and Marcia Porras, born on May 4th, 2009, weighing in at 3.275 kilograms and measuring 51 centimeters (no mistake: Bayron was that big!).
As with Danny, Marcia carried Bayron for 41 weeks! She delivered at the hospital but left ASAP for the healthy countryside back at El Tigre (H1-N1 infection scare at its height!).


Here’s a shot of Marcia, Danny and baby Bayron a few days after birth.
Other Reports from Costa Rica:
The generator needed to be put on for an hour or so very early this morning - the day GRAK had to return to the Labor Court, of course... What a way to start the day! Why? Because the cats had been playing on the solar panels, leaving dirty paw prints all over, thus reducing solar power to the batteries; the consequence being - no electricity… Armando was cleaning the panels just as poor, frazzled GRAK left home at 7 o’clock in a taxi (he hates mornings at the best of times) so I asked him if the cats were also scratching the panels. Certainly not, Armando answered. Nunca! Just dirty paw prints, that’s all, easy enough to hose right off! Armando will always protect the clan and take the heat himself. There is so much of GRAK in Armando, though the two will always deny it. I see GRAK mannerisms in husbands of girlfriends. Men are so alike in so many ways! But they will always deny it! “I am nothing like him at all!” We gals just nod sagely.
I have felt for a while the need to get better acquainted with the neighbors. After the forest fire fiasco here, I realized how fragile this world is and how we really need each other as a community. We might have continuous, petty disagreements, but we need to stand together for common threats - earthquake, fire, landslides, adolescent troublemakers, etc!
I realized that, apart from Margarita and the Gloors, our Swiss neighbors who are even more reclusive than we are, we didn’t really know anyone well in the neighborhood of El Rodeo. So, I decided to hold a small lunch; then one of our neighbors, Luisa, held a lovely tea for some of us girls - all lovely and fascinating women; then we organized riding and hiking mornings; and, suddenly, I am getting much better acquainted with the greater world of the hamlet of El Rodeo (employees, problems, troublemakers, etc.). And now things are beginning to happen, as people start connecting. We’ve had our first meeting on security, hosted by the Ciudad Colon police officer, Capitan Azucar (Captain Sugar…) unfortunately poorly attended (major football match on TV) but it’s definitely a start. Tonight, we attend the second attempt, to be held in the village community center. Will anybody be there? Stay tuned! A recycling center is also now being talked about. Poco a poco.
Other good news is that, at long last, I now have Permanent Residency here in Costa Rica - Libre de Condiciones - which means no more visits to Immigration until 2012. Visiting the Immigration Office here is a lot like visiting a Drivers’ License Bureau anywhere else in the world (The Driving License Office here is another thing altogether…). You get a look at people that you would not normally ever come across - a complete slice of humanity - except this is at a global level, people from all countries wading through the crowds in search of the correct queue. When Gerry and I moved here 12 years ago, his company assigned us to an immigration lawyer - Esther Rodriguez. Over the years, even after Gerry retired, Esther and husband and fellow attorney, Alfredo Bolanos, have guided us skillfully through all our legal matters in Costa Rica.
With respect to immigration, Esther loves her job and does it well - with heart and joie du vivre. It’s her attitude that is really special - with Esther, Immigration becomes the most wonderful place in the world - nodding, greeting, gliding right through, occasionally queuing up for each other, talking about all sorts of things, especially our mutual passion - gardening. Esther has a lovely garden in Ciudad Colon, where she is always experimenting: bromeliads, agaves, orchids, and many other tropical delights. Actually, we both rent the same truck guy for garden expeditions to La Garita and beyond. Someday we’ll get a pickup truck, Esther! Who will be the first? For me, only after we drive the Jeeps into the ground. After retirement, you rediscover basic survival skills - reuse everything, never say die. But, one day, I shall get that Ford Pickup Truck!
With typical, immaculate timing, I officially retired from pharmacy practice last year (placed license on inactive status, Sept.08) just as the world entered the worst economic cycle in my lifetime. Gerald retired back in 2006. I was first licensed in Michigan and, most recently, in Pennsylvania, but haven’t worked in Pharmacy since moving to Costa Rica back in 1997.
After moving to the Tropics, I shifted my focus to the study of tropical plants. However, after years of courses and fieldwork, I still just totter along as a beginner. As Tommy, a friend who owns an herb farm, says, “Plant people can’t resist getting together to talk Latin over a bottle of wine” - unless we’re all talking Spanish with Costa Ricans, of course. And then we all fall back on the common names for native trees - Jorco, Guanacaste, Targua - we all do it! Even you, Maestro!
Every new gardener to Costa Rica takes the courses and makes the rounds: Lankaster Gardens, InBio, C.A.T.I.E., Monteverde, La Selva, Wilson Gardens, Ark Herb Farm, private gardens and the national parks, both above and below sea level… But, in May, you will always find gardeners at home in their own gardens, feverishly planting during the most critical time of the year, El Menguante de Mayo. All planting/pruning is done during the menguante, the waning moon, when, according to local lore, energy is drawn down to the roots. However, if you wish to collect sap, flavor or fragrance, then you collect the plants during the creciente, the waxing moon. Have we verified this with experiments? No. Armando comes from the Huetar indigenous line, where, traditionally, lunar activity guides garden planning. And for planting, the May waning moon is THE time!
This year, the rains began late - not until the second week of May - which coincided with the menguante. This meant that we really had to hustle to get everything planted. Armando finally convinced me that we didn’t need to go to Garita to buy more plants! Everything we wanted was already growing beautifully somewhere in the forest at El Tigre. We simply needed to collect/reproduce a few of these plants to harmonize the garden with the forest. Also, it appeared that the sturdiest trees had seeded naturally, dropped by a bird - we simply needed to recognize and tag the important species that had popped up all over the place. Is that weed really a treasure? Armando is a master at recognizing valuable species that just sprout. Just as one example: we have tagged 3 species of Cedrela seedlings that have popped up: odorata, salvadorensis and… Expert botanists and good friends, Agustin Contreras and Luis Poveda, are helping us to finally nail that mysterious third species. It’s not easy…
We’ve also had a productive planting season: Zapote, Nispero, Psidium, Bread Fruit, Papaya, Cashew, Coco, Citrus, Ingas, Cacao, Chicasquil, Zorillo, Mangas, Zapotillos, Eugenias, Actinus, Ardisia, Jorco, Picramnias, Syzygiums, figs, and a few exotics from La Garita, like Averrhoas and Pitangas. And, after the horses ate all the Poro Gigante seedlings last year, this time around, Armando hid the tasty Erythrinas well inside the charral…


Here’s a shot of Armando leading the way inside the charral to one of the Poro hiding spots.
We also planted several first-year Ceiba pentandras, second-year Ceibo verde (Pseudobombax septenatum), third-year Jabillo (Hura crepitans) and many other plants down in the charral.
We are now into June, and are ending this menguante de Junio with herbs and vegetables in the garden, and sugar cane in the pastures for the horses and - cows… Take a look at our new bovines!

Lola La Vaca and her 3-month-old calf.
Marcia has been craving fresh milk, and now we can also make cheese and yoghurt. Pharmacy is most fun in the kitchen! Lola is a small (perfect for mountain living), young, Jersey-mix, milk cow. She came home to El Tigre with her first calf, and carrying her second. Jose built a byre for them, reusing materials from the house reconstruction. As with all the other household animals, we secure them at night.
We learned early and well, that native (criollo) is best for all flora and fauna! Locally bred animals - hens, horses, dogs, cats and cows - are already well adapted to tropical living and rarely get sick if you maintain parasite/hygiene control. They won’t let insects alight on them, much less bite them. In fact, the dogs and cats eat, with great gusto, anything that buzzes too close to them. Here, all creatures must adapt to the ubiquitous insects. And with the late start to the rainy season, the bug season has been much more intense than usual.
We have all sorts of organic techniques for breaking the insect cycle, and are very old school in our approach, using the food chain where possible to keep everything in balance. Criollo chickens are the best for feasting on larvae around the stableyard. The horses get lots of help from the birds, especially the Anis, flocking around them in the pastures, feasting on insects that the grazing horses disturb. Matchi often walks around with an Ani perched on his back. It’s a symbiotic, truly natural scene to observe. I have learned to use repellents sparingly, and then only plant-based whenever possible. I have found citronella by itself too short-acting, so am still working on finding the perfect safe/effective repellent, experimenting with mixtures of citronella, lemon, rosemary, lavender, Siparuna, etc. In my experience, the most effective product you can buy here (sold in agricultural stores and by vets) is called Scavon - a mixture of Linseed, Eucalyptus, Natural Camphor, Acorus calamus and other pleasant, exotic-smelling, Indian herbs. The insects hate it. Oh Joy.

Forest Fire, Zona Protectora, El Rodeo

Photo of fire from house, Saturday:



We dodged the bullet. The fire is contained. The forest stands. But this vernal equinox changed me forever. As Dr. Bob says, it is one thing to see a conflagration on television, fires burning in Australia or California, but quite another thing to be in one…

Here are a few salient facts about what happened to us, summed up by Carlos Arguedas C and published on Sunday by the newspaper, La Nacion (translated by me):

…Fires started by unknown person destroyed 15 hectares of Zona Protectora de El Rodeo, Canton de Mora. The first fire started Thursday afternoon was controlled by Friday morning; but then another fire was started that same day and was controlled Saturday around 2pm, according to officials from the National Fire Management Section of the Environment Ministry (Minaet). This is the fourth forest fire so far in the El Rodeo Protected Zone. There have been 43 fires this season, destroying 430 hectares of Protected Zone forests and 9,000 of private lands… (Ref. La Nacion, March 22, 2009).

We were involved in fighting this fire from beginning to end.

The fire was started on Thursday, March 19, 2009 around midday, by an agricultural worker attempting to clean up pasture for planting (the easy way is to simply burn the pasture…). When the flames started licking at the forest, Armando arrived with trained & equipped staff from the University for Peace (UPAZ) to help control it. However, the worker did not want Armando’s help, and treated him more like an intruder, rather than a concerned neighbor rushing forward to help him control his fire. A fire starter will always insist that his fire is under control until too late… and believe me, as you have seen on TV, fighting a forest fire is hard, scary work. The UPAZ guys and Armando used shovels, axes, soil and brute force, to contain the fire.

Then the following morning - the Vernal Equinox - the winds started up again, whipping smoldering ash back into fire. That’s the problem with forest fires. The fire looks tamped down and you turn around, exhausted, going home But five minutes later, the wind gusts and the fire is back, often worse than ever!...

Or, maybe, somebody set a new fire…

Why would anyone start a fire in such dry, windy weather anywhere in this country - during an intensely hot equinox - much less near a forest containing countless innocent species of fauna and flora?

Remember Yogi the Bear? “Only YOU can prevent forest fires!”

We called for help and Ciudad Colon firefighters responded. But it was getting late, and Costa Rica doesn’t have the resources to control forest fires by using planes from above like you see on TV in the States. They fight it on the ground. And fighting a forest fire on mountainous terrain is exhausting enough during the day - way too dangerous after dusk.

Gerry and Armando watched the forest burn out of control from the road below, together with the firefighters. They stood there watching the fire run up the line, parched dry scrubland igniting like a tinder box, flames racing with the wind, engulfing tacotal, charral, and … trees. Gerry watched tree after tree burst into flames like huge, oil-soaked torches, shooting fiery debris up into the sky and feeding the fire. Once fire has engulfed a massive Guanacaste tree, unfortunately, you can do nothing but let it burn and clear the area around it to contain the fire. But when tree after tree ignites, resources are few, and night is coming on, there is nothing anybody can do.

Gerry stood there with the firefighters watching, helpless to do anything to stop it. It was now dark and one of the firefighters had already gotten jabbed by a snake fleeing the flames. Luckily, he was suited up safely in protective boots and pants, but nobody else was going back in there before dawn.

The firemen told Gerry that we needed to be ready to evacuate immediately if the winds shifted eastward. We needed to remain vigilant all night.

Photo taken by Jose of fire on Friday, Vernal Equinox, 2009:



I was already exhausted. Jose and I had hiked down the mountain earlier in the afternoon on Friday to try to reconnoiter the situation with the fire below El Higueron. However, on the way back, we got separated because of the fire and smoke, and I was never so glad to see him as when he came back for me - even though I’d told him on the mobile to find his own way out, that I was okay. He still came back for me. And later, as I followed him at a quick trot up the mountain, we stopped and ate an orange. Never has an orange tasted so good! You can get some idea of how scary these fires are by watching the tall, strong firefighters on TV coming back from the frontlines, covered in soot, completely exhausted, eyes blank from hours of focused activity, staying calm, working in a team.

Saturday at 5:40AM, Armando began fighting the fire from above the mountain with our other employees and Jorge from Finca Hamadryas. Also, dozens of Ciudad Colon firemen and Minaet volunteer forest firefighters tackled the fire from below, supported by Memito and his team from the neighboring finca where the fire started. They worked hard all day, eating nothing but oranges provided by El Tigre. Had I known, they would have had big piles of sandwiches, and anything else they wanted. That was another faux pas and a new lesson learned: never forget to feed and support the firefighters - be proactive! When they left late that evening, both the fire chief and the head Minaet man really felt confident that this time they had got it under control. Gerry spoke to them when he drove down there to pick up our guys, who were also just coming off the mountain. They all piled into the car, filthy, scraped up and utterly exhausted.

Early Sunday morning, however, our guys had to return to the frontlines again, as flames had reappeared and an apparently new fire had started and was approaching the Finca - and, this time, we were on our own…

We made at least four calls to 911 that morning but nobody showed up. Gerry’s last phone call was at about 2pm, hoping against all hope that professional firefighters were on their way.

However:

Gerry to 911 Operator: “I phoned hours ago. Is anyone coming to help us?”

911 Operator: “Please hold while I check with the firemen….no, nobody is coming.”

Gerry then called Carlos at Minaet again, who was also frustrated - nobody wants a forest to burn: “I’m really sorry but we have nobody working on a Sunday.”

Luckily, Armando was being more productive. Gerry had called Armando during the morning and told him that he feared that the professionals were not going to arrive, and that he should try to recruit (persuade, bribe, cajole, whatever was needed) volunteers from the village to help Jose contain the fire from encroaching further up the mountain - and closer to us...

And, amazingly, that’s exactly what he did. He recruited six guys from the village and, together with Jose and himself, they successfully managed to keep the fire from reaching Reserva El Tigre! They worked all day and they worked smart! You can’t just charge into a fire like horses out of the stable yard. You need a strategy, tactics and resources, carving out a fire barrier, sometimes fighting fire with fire, choosing which fires to fight, always working together as a team. Always Safety First!

Now, on Monday, I wish to say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who helped us save our precious woodlands at Reserva El Tigre. Here’s the team who worked so hard yesterday, and who managed to contain our fire damage to mostly charral, 200 meters inside El Tigre, when so many hectares on the other side were destroyed:

Photo taken by Jose of Sunday team on his mobile:



Armando, Jose, Victor, Alejandro, Armando Jose (who fetched water and supplies back and forth to the firefighters), Israel, Joaquin and Jaime, thank you.

And then, we really got lucky. Last night, the wind died down to almost nothing, and Mother Nature gave us a cool, completely still night, which meant that, by this morning, only a few puffs of smoke remained - although Jose and Israel returned to the fire-lines again early, just to make sure… Thank You Mother Nature.

And a final thank you to anyone else who helped in the fight, who either we forgot to mention, or who we never knew was there. Thank you for helping to save a forest this past equinox weekend, March 20-22, 2009.

And now, an apology.

I am sorry if we seemed a bit rude to all of you innocent weekenders, hiking, riding, biking in El Rodeo or Piedras Negras. All you wanted to do was escape from a hellish work week and enjoy a nice day in the country. I am sorry we drove so fast, spraying up road dust. But, when there is a forest fire, and nobody works on a Sunday, things get a trifle fraught…

But, Never Again on a Sunday. We - that is me, Yaneth, Armando, Jose - plan to sign up for firefighting training with Minaet. If we can recruit a larger group of committed locals to be volunteers, trained and equipped, then more people will be available, and able to respond faster and more effectively to the next fire - although Yaneth thinks I’m too old and Minaet won’t have me!

Everybody felt the weight of possibly losing the forest this weekend; everyone cried, aching and feeling helpless to stop the fire. All weekend long I cried, wept, sometimes howled in despair, whenever I watched another magnificent Guanacaste tree burst into flames. Once, I actually screamed in empathy. But for Gerry’s sake (“I can do nothing if I also have to worry about you!”) I took the proverbial deep breath, focused, smiled, encouraged the kids, and tried to be useful in any way possible. Yaneth even saw a large troop of monkeys down at the massive higueron tree, waiting out the fire, very quiet but with some of them whimpering. Everybody felt it.

The Zona Protectora of El Rodeo is the last remnant of primary forest extant in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, and much beloved by all nature lovers. Why should anyone care? El Rodeo is just a remnant, not even connected as a corridor to anywhere! Well, there could be corridors soon, if we humans would just stop burning and cutting in forest areas; if we would just let nature connect the dots: corridors of forest, like highways for wildlife.
This remnant forest recharges untold gallons of mountain-fresh water back into the Jaris and Virilla rivers. And it also clears tons of carbon dioxide from the air, with carbon-fixing giants like, Ceibas, Pochotes, Balsas, Bernoullias, etc.

Now, on Monday, after the fire this past weekend, I feel more strongly than ever that I was born to protect this forest - and to become a firefighter, if Minaet will have me…

Also, our firearms training is still on! The training will do us good. Just like with firefighting, using firearms requires a zen-like calm.

In other news:

GRAK was back in court (on behalf of Merck, of course…) last week.

Municipality people visited El Tigre to assess the fines for our overdue renovation permit. After everything that has happened, all we could do was laugh.

P.S.
Sorry hiking buddies! It’s still not safe to hike the mountain this soon after the fire - the natives are restless! We have seen snakes on the move this morning, trying to find a new spot to settle down. Snakes normally never move about during the day - especially in this hot weather. We need a few more days for everything to settle down.
----

Written on Thursday before the fire changed everything, but more relevant than ever:

Thanks to our Tree Pals in Costa Rica, we are beginning to identify less common species of trees at El Tigre! I recently sent out an SOS requesting help (sorry Kathryn, Maestro Humberto, Ingeniero Forestal, about hard to open format).

Agustin Contreras promptly nailed both species - Coccoloba acapulcensis f.Polygonac; and Lafoensis punicifola f.Lythrac!

Who is Agustin Contreras? Well, just for starters, Tin is a student of El Gran Maestro Luis Poveda, of the Universidad Nacional. Need I say more?

My questions piqued Tin’s interest. So, the next day, he came over and promptly nailed more species! Bam, Bam, Bam! He found two Swartzia species: S. cubensis and S. simplex. Also, Cedrela salvadorensis! We haven’t had so much fun since back in 2005, when we carried out our first review with Ingenieros Forestales Manuel and Yamileth (elmundoforestal.com). We nailed a lot of species then, but many remained ‘unknown’.
There is still much work in this premontane forest for many dissertations and theses - vines, butterflies, eco-systems - for so many students, now and into the future.

Armando hiked with Tin, while I wandered the gardens with his wife, Satia - a Tica but with parents from Michigan, and with whom I felt an immediate connection - and their 5 month old baby, Urun - named after the third largest mountain in Costa Rica. Urun is already a great mountain of a baby - wanting to burst forth from his baby constraints and plunge forth into the world. They visited on the Tuesday before the vernal equinox - under a hot, burning sun - so Urun just loved getting plunged into the swimming pool by Yaneth and Marcia while we ate lunch. Next time they come over - which I hope will be soon - we shall teach baby Urun how to swim. He is at the perfect age to begin!

I grew up in Michigan with all the lakes and, like most everybody else in Michigan, learned how to swim before walking. I don’t remember learning how to swim - my dad just put me in the lake water and it went from there. I have no fear of water - I respect and understand it, especially stormy waves and undertow - but I fear it not.

Many people are terrified by water (never learned to swim)…

Or earthquakes…

Or hurricanes (New Orleans)…

I fear fire. Something deep inside me from generations back into the DNA - has imprinted this.

Farewell to Rover the Vagabond

It’s all over for Rover…in this particular doggy world. We came across Rover at the local soccer field a few days ago while out horseback riding. Poor Rover! He looked and smelled awful!

“Remember this dog?” Asked Jose

I sure did! A couple of years ago, Rover spent a couple of weeks with us and we all just loved him! Rover with the bright eyes and wagging tail - he was just irresistible! However, Rover was a classic vagabond and, sure enough, a few weeks after enjoying all our comforts and attentions at Reserva El Tigre, he left us - off to the next household of adoring fans. He was a heartbreaker that dog - over the years he wandered all over the landscape, enjoying farm and village life alike. But, like everybody else, we could never entice him to return back to us!

Well, on this day, it looked to us like Rover had reached the end of the line. We brought him back to the stable and bathed him with shampoo, which perked him up a bit. We could almost see the old sparkle back in his eyes. But he was very sick and probably contagious to the other animals, so I wanted Rover safely away from El Tigre as soon as we could organize it.


Well, our vet didn’t want Rover at the horse clinic either - and not just because Jorge was still cagey over Lucero. He took one look at poor Rover and said he was too far gone and risked contaminating the entire clinic - they had no isolation room - and were still boarding horses from a recent equestrian event.

Unfortunately, we understood only too well. In fact, just as Rover left for the vet, I whispered to Janet, “Make sure you sterilize everything Rover came into contact with: clothes, surfaces, everything!”

Janet gave me the usual Look, that says, “Do I look clueless to you, O Ye Who Bringeth Home All The Strays…?”

Well, Anna* found a vet who admitted Rover into his clinic, but we soon learned about the cost of treatment - lots of money, with no good prognosis despite all of it. Sadly, I’d been down this road too many times before and, therefore, didn’t hesitate to say,

“Have the vet put Rover down.”

This was soon done and Anna stayed with him until the very end, when Rover drifted off to, as Gerald says, “The Great Kennel in the Sky”. Farewell to Rover. He lived a full and happy vagabond life, and spent his last day in caring arms.

Still, animal rescues continue all over the country. The recent earthquake at Poas Volcano brought out the best of people all over Costa Rica - reports say the vast majority of Costa Ricans and residents alike offered some kind of aid to those who suffered. In the case of the animals, perhaps it was the television images of cows all over the ravaged hillside, lost, hungry and sick with mastitis, mooing disconsolately for want of milking. People all over Costa Rica responded, from donating time and/or money to animal rescue groups, to individuals adopting animals.

Fundraising helps to support the hardworking, front-line animal groups, who put up with so much grief caused by irresponsible humans. The main goal uniting all animal groups is this: spay and neuter them all; also making the mixed breed the most fashionable breed! Don’t purchase an animal - go adopt one at your local Shelter! We have found that mixed breeds are healthy, sweet and easy to train.

Times are tough and needs are many, so we were thrilled to learn that Penny Santomenno and her dedicated team will, once more, but perhaps for the last time, put on the famous Rice Table - Rijstafel - Indonesian Banquet in support of the Animal Shelter in Heredia. All of the food and drink has been generously donated, and the event takes place in Penny’s beautiful Heredia home. Email me or Leigh Moynihan for details on this March 7th event: donation - 30K colones, or about US$58. Thank you, Penny, for doing this once more - seeing your sweet smile again is alone worth the admission!

Now, with the current economic situation, our animal rescue friends are busier than ever - everyone I know has taken in more animals. It makes me so proud of Costa Rica! We are just one among many households with a slew of dogs, cats, horses, chickens, etc.



Here’s our latest arrival, itty bitty Dilly-Doo, who showed up at the Finca with a vastly larger female dog who just towered over him, but whose honor this little fellow most valiantly protected. He guarded his lady all day long, growling and snapping at any other dog that happened to get too close to her. The spectacle caused great amusement for us all. After a few days, however, the female went back to live with Armando’s daughter, Elena, in the hamlet of El Rodeo, and little Dilly stayed with us - now neutered. I initially named him P.C. - little gentleman in Spanish - but the kids would have none of it and renamed him Dillan.

So many more mouths to feed…

Is there any GOOD NEWS out there in the world today?

Yes! Turns out that 2009 will be a most bountiful year for seeds! Armando predicted that this would be a good seed year last November, when he observed earlier than normal leaf drop, followed by many more forest trees flowering and seeding this season when they had not the last. In fact, we have seen trees produce seeds for the first time in years!

Brightening up the forest and roadways right now are the dazzling display of the Tabebuias - yellow- Cortez amarillo (T. ochracea, f.Bignoniac.) and also the pink Roble de sabana (T. rosea).

There is too much flowering and seeding at Reserva El Tigre to list everything - like bucketfuls of Madero negro, Guapinol, Thounidium and Guanacaste - come and get them! We have collected and identified the following seeds so far this February, 09:



Dalbergia retusa (Papilionac.), ‘Cocobolo’. Yes, that’s retusa as in ROSEWOOD! This is the first time in 3 years that we have seen seeds produced by these endangered trees. Reserva El Tigre protects perhaps the last naturally occurring stand of Rosewood in the Central Valley!

Other Papilionacs seeding: Lonchocarpus salvadorensis, ‘Chaperno’; L.velutinus, ‘Comenegro’; Gliricidia sepium, ‘Madero Negro’.

Also,
Cedrela odorata (Meliac.), ‘Cedro amargo’;
Hura crepitans (Euphorbiac.), ‘Jabillo’;
Albizia adinocephala (Mimosac.), ‘Gavilancillo’;
Brosimum alicastrum (Morac), ‘Ojoche’ - just getting started - also, B. Colorado;
Diospyros salicifolia (Ebenac.), NOT Diospyros digyna, ‘Mabola, Sapote negro’YET;
Cochlospermum vitifolium (Bixac.), ‘Poro Poro’;
Gyrocarpus jatrophifolius (Hernandiac.), ‘Volador’;
Plumeria rubra (Apocynac.), ‘Frangipani’, Yellow, White, Pink;
Terminalia oblonga (Combretac.), ‘Guayabon, Sura’;
Pseudobombax septenatum (Bombacac), ‘Ceibo Verde’.

Last year, we collected Ceiba pentandra seeds and they germinated quickly. We already have several saplings planted back in the charral, with more to go in during the rainy season.

Take a look at a first year sapling of the mighty Ceiba pentandra tree:



It’s windy here in Costa Rica, and that makes the bees and wasps ornery. While out hiking in windy weather this time of year, make sure to stay alert. Give beehives, like the one pictured here, a wide berth.


The wind knocked this tree down, bringing the beehive down with it - still intact, right onto our favorite horse trail - and the bees are still going about their normal business. We are still observing it to see if they stay or go. A beehive like this is not normally so close to the ground, but the horses seem to graze next to it quite undisturbed. I took this photograph in still weather, but I’m sure the horses will keep their distance too when the wind kicks up again.

Feeling a bit morose from the gloomy events in the world? Go check out your local theatre group! You never know who you might run into either on stage or off. The other night, we went to see ‘Calendar Girls’, put on by Costa Rica’s English-speaking Little Theatre Group, and saw friends on stage for the first time: Sheila Pacheco (the British Consul) plays Brenda; and Debbie Jean plays crying Cora, adorable in her cute rain gear. The show was hilarious, with the strongest actors - Karen Rae, Vicky Longland and Ann Antkiw - carrying the show, albeit with fine support from the rest of the cast. Go see this wonderful show! You will leave with a smile on your face - and maybe thinking of getting on stage or helping out with the fun people behind stage…

* Anna Coy Dalton recently moved here from Colorado. She teaches people how to breathe consciously, and it can cause life-altering experiences. In Anna’s tapes, her voice and music put you into a hypnotic state - relax - all suggestion is positive - breathe health, love, spirit - everyone has a different experience. I liked it - it goes well beyond ‘stop and take a deep breath’. Anna’s method helped me to ‘breathe’ through to my capering horse and relax him. It also has helped me to cultivate ‘qi’ in doing Hunyuan Taijiquan. If you are interested in Anna’s method of conscious breathing, contact her directly at: www.inspiringyourlife.com or email: anna@inspiringyourlife.com

Lucero goes to the Vet

A face only a mother could love: Lucero El Terrible pastures foreground with Eddie the Beagle and white horse, Solo, behind down in the pastures.



As I’ve mentioned a number of times before, our horse, Lucero El Terrible, does not like farriers or vets. He doesn’t like shots or shoes - doesn’t like people coming at him with syringe in hand; doesn’t like anybody banging on his feet - and he can sense when such people approach. The last time our horse vet, Jorge, came to El Tigre to treat Lucero, he walked away, fear and disgust in his eyes, instructing us that he would not return until we had built a solid structure to secure Lucero El Terrible…

Well, we never built anything, because we decided to retire Lucero to pasture (stabled at night) sans shoes and shots!

So, all goes fine for quite a while - we even started riding Lucero again. And he was just a joy - better than ever - more balanced and settled, more mature. I even felt confident enough to trust him with other riders; even the Finca kids are riding him now! On top of that, Jose and the kids stroke and pet him like a cat! He still gets a bit jumpy, however, when getting treated or groomed but, with Jose, he submits gracefully. And he will only tolerate Jose for something like administering eye drops for a bad case of conjunctivitis.

We hoped for the best, but no dice! After a few weeks of Jose treating Lucero’s eye without improvement, we went calling on our horsey-friends and neighbors in search of a structure solid enough to secure Lucero El Terrible - thank you so much, Jan and Krysia, for your gracious offers of help! Only then did we call Jorge and request that he come out and treat Lucero (Dx.: Conjunctivitis secondary to naso/lagrimal/duct obstruction; Rx: nasal lavage).

Well, cutting a long story short, no structure would be strong enough to tempt Jorge to come out and treat Lucero El Terrible. The only way our vet would treat him would be at his veterinarian facilities in Ciudad Colon, where a team of men could properly secure, anesthetize and, only then, safely treat Lucero.

Done. We trucked Lucero over to the vet’s stable, and Jorge performed the procedure the following morning. However, when it was all over, he had a few things to say to us about his patient, Lucero El Terrible…

“(loosely translated) Lucero is evil (mal intencionado) and wants to do harm! He doesn’t respond to sedatives! We injected enough anesthetic to knock out a horse twice his size, but he just kept bucking and rearing - it took 3 guys to hold him down - he’s a bad horse - a bronco - El Diablo! He will kill somebody someday!”

By the way, I just want to say that we love our vet, Jorge, who has been treating our motley crew of animals for these past 13 years! We also love his wife, Ligia, who has a very fine, Argentine-style grill & restaurant located at their stables, called, you guessed it, ‘El Establo’. Follow the signs for it when you get to Ciudad Colon. They only open Friday evening thru Sunday lunch.

We trucked Lucero back home late afternoon and settled him into his stall with all of his favorite snacks. At sunset, I stood with Jose watching Lucero feast on all his goodies, when he turned to me and said, “I hope I can regain his trust. It was the first time Lucero has ever been trucked anywhere and he gave me that - look…”

Yes, I knew that - look…! A few years back, when the guys were straining to restrain Lucero for an injection, he gave ME that look - like he was communicating, “I blame YOU for this torture!!!”

As Jose and I stood there talking about regaining his trust, Lucero’s ears suddenly bobbed our way and then he arched his neck all the way around from his goodie bin to look at us. His now rapidly healing eye, fully drained from infection, was looking right back at us. But his expression was open, grateful, like saying: “Hi guys! I just woke up from this horrible nightmare with 3 awful men torturing me but now I am awake and back home again…”

Lucero never lost his trust in Jose. With me, he was a bit more circumspect – it took lots of carrots and bananas out in pasture…

In botanical news, Guayaquil (Pseudosamanea guachapele f.Mimosaceae) is now in bloom at El Tigre. Some trees have the typical creamy flowers, but one tree has yellow flowers! We have not yet observed any Cenizaro (Samanea saman F.Mimosaceae; syn. Albizia saman f.Huell) at Reserva El Tigre!

Katie Tanzi helped Armando and me to clarify the difference between Cenizaro and Guayaquil a few years ago back, when all the other visiting tree experts had identified the trees as Cenizaro. She helped me nail those Cenizaro as actually being Guayaquil. We simply looked at the leaves and found glands on the petiole as well as on the raquis! The confusion is easy because they are very similar. Both have bipinnate, alternate leaves with stipules, and both have puffball flowers typical of Mimosaceae. However, Cenizaro has rose-colored flowers and Guayaquil has cream-colored flowers - usually... The bark has differences also, but location alters it too much for ID use. The main difference has to do with the glands on the leaves! Cenizaro has glands only on the raquis, not on the petioles.
Take a look at the typical cream-colored flower of one Guayaquil tree at El Tigre:




Now, take a look at the yellow flowers of another Guayaquil at the same time at El Tigre.



And we’re not talking about yellow flowers changing to creamy later on either! The yellow flowers stayed yellow.

Why do so many botanical experts have problems differentiating Guayaquil from Cenizaro? Could the trees transform properties according to variables in the environment? I did see a Cenizaro tree right next to a Guayaquil tree at Katie’s farm. So, they are separate species – yet they seem soooooo close and confuse everybody. For more info on Cenizaro vs Guayaquil, check out in Spanish: www.elmundoforestal/arbolesdelparaiso.com
Or google data base at Universidad Nacional or InBio. English: google Univ.Missouri’s data base at : www.mobot.org

Many plants are not what they seem upon taking a closer look. That’s why the more I study, the more I say, “I don’t know”. Armando either knows or does not know. He is wonderful that way, he doesn’t try to guess.

Earthquake in Costa Rica

Yes, we felt it - everybody did in the Central Valley.
From inside the house, I could see Armando cleaning the swimming pool. He yelled up at me to look at the water - it was chopping all over like a very restive Lake Michigan. The ground was moving too, and Armando was crouching low, always in balance with any situation.

Inside the house, we didn’t actually feel the earthquake, so much as HEAR it. Months ago, our architect - Luis Flores, affectionately called, El Profesor (UCR) - told us that, in event of earth tremors, the steel in our house would kind of ‘sing to us’. Well, sing it did! Three of us stood at the bottom of the stairwell together throughout the entire event: me, housekeeper Yaneth, and our head construction guy, Carlos. We stood together, stunned, as the entire steel structure moaned, rang and vibrated from the force coming up through the mountain below. About mid-way through the event, Carlos abruptly turned around and went over to open a door that was banging. Then we went through a few aftershocks, although the house didn’t sing as much with those as during the main event.

For me, the vibrating, singing house reminded me of my spinal column after taking a bad fall a few months back. It was like a second shock wave going through me…

After about 10 minutes of waiting - without saying a lot, I must admit - I heard Jose restart the chopping machine to process sugar cane for the horses. Armando went back to cleaning the swimming pool and, inside the house, we went back to hanging some pictures. Normal life resumed. Then the phone calls started coming in - first from mom, then from others. Thank you all so much for your concern. We’re sorry that the phone service didn’t work all that well though. Phone service is spotty at El Tigre even during the best of times!

So, everything remained in perfect ‘estado’ at the Finca, Thank God. But then, Finca El Tigre is located a fair way south of the earthquake epicenter, which was just east of the Poas Volcano. Those located anywhere near the epicenter, however, suffered horribly!
Remember La Paz Waterfall Gardens? We know it well, and have visited the magical place many times over the years, with mom and friends. Even if clouds obscured a viewing of Poas Volcano, we could always count on a wonderful time over at the waterfalls! One time, while touring in Sarapiqui, a friend started having a major allergic reaction to something. En route, taking her to the hospital, I decided to stop at the actual La Paz Waterfall. As soon as we walked behind the waterfall overlooking the bridge, the cool water spray and ‘positive energy’ of the place completely revived my friend, and we were able to avoid the emergency room for her later - though we did need to buy her an inhaler!
Over the years, I have so many wonderful memories of the waterfalls there, and so enjoyed sharing the magic with visiting friends. A little while ago, the Waterfall Gardens built an amazing steel structure, at huge cost, so that tourists can safely scale the mountain and view all the waterfalls. What a magical place…

The whole terrain up there at Poas is so different from the rest of the country - a fresh, green, pastoral setting, like the Swiss or Austrian countryside. However, there is so much suffering there now, and utter heartbreak. We also live on a mountain, and are very much aware that an earthquake could also overwhelm us, no matter how good the construction engineering is.

Now, on a more positive, lighter note:
Our exceedingly long-awaited kitchen and ‘vestidor’ are scheduled to be installed by January 28, (yes, 2009). What a joyous New Year gift that will be…

Christmas at the Del Rey

Take a look at the lovely violet canopy of the Chaperno tree –

a Lonchocarpus - one of 29 species mas o menos in Costa Rica (f.Papilionaceae). We have 4 or 5 species at the Reserva which we shall ID one of these days. As you can see, Matchi now grazes happily barefoot at El Tigre.


Happy New Year to dear friends and family!

Costa Rica installed an onerous (GRAK calls it ‘barbaric’) new drunk driving law just in time for the holidays, which altered our plans considerably. The new law worked! According to press accounts, DUI associated traffic fatalities dropped by half compared to last holiday season here in Costa Rica. I say BRAVO for saving lives. Other celebrants might refer to the new law as MUY BRAVO!!!

It certainly altered our behavior. We stayed home for practically the entire holiday season - feasting and merry-making in the legal safety of Janet’s kitchen. Yes, we are still taking meals in the housekeeper’s apartment. However, she was more than happy to celebrate elsewhere.



On the 27th, we held our Annual Employee Party and, this year, 40 or so people showed up from the Parra-Campos-Quiros-Argujo clans to join in on the fun. Armando’s mother and father, Rosa and Marcos, pictured here, raised 9 (!) children, and many of those came with their own children - a very nice group of people with beautiful babies. And, as we personally learned on New Year’s Eve, the Parra clan makes the best chicharrones this side of Puriscal - absolutely zero fat and 100% flavor!

The one exception to us staying home was going to celebrate Christmas Day at the Del Mar Restaurant downtown - located in a grand old mansion built many years ago by one of the prominent coffee families, just opposite the (in)famous Del Rey Hotel. Due to the above-mentioned, new D.U.I. law we decided to play it safe and checked into the Del Rey for the night.
We feasted in a splendidly appointed private room connecting directly with the restaurant gardens - here the ladies wandered between dinner courses, whilst the mates held court at their own well-appointed bar.

Who were ‘we’? Why, the Four Horsemen, together with spouses and one delightful child, Natasha. We ate, drank and played on a big pink exercise ball and skipped on a Suiza (as they call jump-ropes in Ticolandia)! And the day whirled by most delightfully.

Here’s Natasha skipping rope:




Marj described the day best in a post-bash e-mail:

Hi guys,

Kudos to Tim for pulling off a spectacular Christmas dinner. Despite the
chef mashing the pud and stuffing the turkey with cheese. Personally, we
wouldn't have known there were any disasters in the kitchen if he didn't
tell us.

Best present award goes to Victoria for the big ball and jump rope. It took
only minutes to put a smile on Natasha's beautiful face.

Thanks for the photo history, Brian & Zayda. Without which we would have no
record of how much we really did drink.

Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. Sadly Dave's attempted back flip
didn't quite come off. But the injuries he sustained were minor.

Have a great week. See you all in the New Year.

Zaida sent a few well-taken shots- here’s a silly one:


After Christmas dinner, Natasha’s older siblings arrived and whisked her away back home to the countryside, for which I am sure she was grateful. Imagine yourself as a six year-old little girl - and your mother tells you that you have to go spend Christmas with mom and dad far away from home in the middle of the city with a bunch of dad’s goofy friends. What a bummer! Thinking of that gloomy prospect from a child’s point of a view led me to think of a fun Christmas gift for her that, hey, we could also play with! And we did!
It was nearly dusk when we said goodbye to Natasha. Afterwards, the rest of us - the Four Horsemen plus accompanying long-suffering-merry-makers - headed over to the Del Rey Hotel & Casino….

And on Christmas Day! My Taijiquan teacher just had to throw a damper over everything when I was recounting the events to her a few days after, “Well did any of you become conscious, even for a minute, of the meaning of Christmas?”

Well, actually, I did make a conscious connection. I was waiting for the rest of the party out in the restaurant parking lot and saw a lady handing out flyers to people in front of the Del Rey. So I took one and read it a little later. She was a pleasant-looking, plainly dressed, blue-eyed lady spending Christmas in front of the Del Rey, trying to do Good Works. We didn’t speak but made eye-contact for a few seconds. It was enough.

Now, one of you has asked (and, I’m sure, more have thought) “Holy mother of grace, you Goof, have you no other friends to celebrate Christmas with than the Four Horsemen? Yee Gads, isn’t the Annual British Birthday Boy Bash in March quite enough?” But then, you would have to be there to understand…

Now, as long as we are on the topic of the British Birthday Boys - the Four Horsemen all came into this world during the month of March (11, 12, 14 and 15 - 13 is missing, which is probably a good thing!) and have celebrated together since meeting and realizing this somewhat spooky coincidence some 10 years ago. I started the whole thing, when I called Dave the Dude at Radio 107.5 to host Gerry’s 50th Birthday Party. He agreed, charged me an exorbitant amount of money, and showed up with his ‘assistant’, Tim…

Many of you remember, I’m sure, the surprise birthday party I pulled off for Gerry’s 50th with the help of a number of his talented personal assistants from over the years, who showed up at his party sporting buttons saying, ‘Yes, we survived Gerald Kirk’.


Thank you so much Liana, Sue and Francesca - roaster, toaster poets – also fellow sufferers and mischief makers!

Fast forward 10 years and I am now planning Gerry’s 60th Birthday Party. Stay tuned and contact me by email if you would like to provide good roasting material. With such a rich subject matter as GRAK, I expect we will be in for some rousing entertainment here at Reserva El Tigre. Provided the kitchen is done.

The miserable economy has unfortunately caused us to hunker down and cut out a lot of discretionary spending. Sadly, we had to let go our horse-whisperer-trainer, Alan, whom I can strongly recommend! He has a high degree of sensitivity for feeling and ‘reading’ a horse: he quickly settled down Matchi from jumping and charging all-out, to responding smooth as silk - with the slightest of signals - to up/down transitions. Alan also calmed Lucero, El Terrible, turning him into my favorite cross-country horse. Over the time Alan spent with us, he trained all our horses in all the paces: a nice walk, collected/extended trots, cantering, and, if we so desired - because the horses always did - a flying gallop (in a suitably safe place). He also paid close attention to grooming and parasite control, and always left our horses well-pampered and prepared for stall or pasture. Please write me if you would like Alan’s phone number.

Gerald has a big smile on his face today. He found a great fare to New Orleans and heads off in a few weeks to check things out at the flat.

Breakfast at the Higueron

Gallinazos blooming at El Tigre



Trees flowering much earlier this year than last and this will be a banner year for seeds. Everything that did not seed last year, now flowering.
Where to begin? That cascade of yellow, blooming trees brightening up the entire Rodeo canopy is mostly Gallinazo (Schizolobium parahyba f.frijol); also Vainillo (Tecoma stans f.Bignoniac), Stemmadenia obovata (also fruiting), and Senna emarginata (2prs parapinnate leaves and gorgeous yellow flowers). The stunning, orange blossoms you see in El Rodeo belong to the rare, Bernoullia flammea (f. Bombacac.) - the Yuco Tree - which grows here at El Tigre, and which we have committed to protect. Also blooming/fruiting: a slew of Fabaceaes, especially Bauhinea species; Luehea speciosa; Eugenias; Lysilomas; and also a slew of vines and herbaceous plants too numerous to list - including Passifloras, Philodendrons, Tradescantias, Sweet Peas, Tithonias, Cleomes, Daisies, Morning Glories, Begonias, Solanums and, of course, the bright Heliconias, Musas, Costus, Calatheas, Gingers… The show is just getting started.

Photographed just a few curiosities that birds et al brought into the garden.
Aechmea sp. (mariae-reginae???), f. Bromeliac. Rescued from fallen tree and brought back to the garden.





Aristolochia sp. F.Aristolochiac. Look what a bird dropped into the garden! Armando found this in the driveway underneath the agaves.


Jose shows one of Marcia’s blooming Oncidiums.

The forest is a place of childlike wonder, joy and awe. I hike every morning with 7 or 8 dogs in tow and, usually, end up carrying Lula, the tiny Chihuahua, because the other dogs roughhouse too much out in the pastures - Sol has already broken one of Lula’s legs twice… In the forest, we move quietly but, if Eddie the Beagle loses sight of his girl, Chispa, he will raise a huge racket baying and howling. Hikers! If you hear that beagle baying, he’s not hunting prey in the forest - he’s hot on Chispa’s scent. Chispa is this small Chihuahua mix, who loves to dart and chase butterflies and can easily outrun Eddie. But in the end, Eddie always catches up to his girl. Sometimes, he gets to howling so loud that our neighbor’s Rotweilers join in, and then Eddie responds to them by howling even louder. At that point, you’ve got a bunch of dogs howling back and forth at each other all over the mountain. All because Eddie still hasn’t caught up to his girl, Chispa. Once he catches up to her, they settle down quietly and forest life once again takes over the senses.

This morning, we all settled down and watched White-nosed Coatis and White-throated Capuchin monkeys feeding together in the big Higueron tree. I’ve never seen these two species interact together before and they provided quite a spectacle. A young monkey scrambled around the branches of the huge tree with a young Coati following behind him like a pet dog. A male and a female monkey spent time grooming their baby right next to a large Coati on the same branch. The monkey family let the Coati ramble right past them, but then the male money reached out and pulled the Coati’s tail - kind of like teasing him - making the Coati squeal, mostly in indignation. Then they all fed on the figs companionably together for a while, before a monkey teased a Coati some more.
But they weren’t the only critters having breakfast on the higueron. The most colorful to my eye today: Fiery-billed Aricari, Montezuma’s Oropendulas, Yellow-crowned Euphonia, Blue-gray Tanager, Red Tanager (not sure which one), Blue-crowned Motmot, Lineated Woodpecker, and the usual fluttering of Flycatchers, Wrens, Vireos, Warblers, and…
Yes, Polly, we saw a slew of butterflies.

Polly reminded me never to forget the butterflies. So, I think of her whenever I see a strange new butterfly - a common occurrence at El Tigre. This morning on the Lantana plants, I spotted something like a large white Swallowtail - kind of like Eurytides protesilaus, but more white than black stripes, with lime-green body and no red spot seen.
Two great ladies deserve a toast at our next Obituary Cocktail:

Polly Ivenz of Easton, PA, sadly passed on recently. Her obituary was published in the Express Times, Easton, PA in November this year.

Polly inspired me many years ago to go into the woods, open up my eyes, and SEE. It was a pivotal moment for me that day in the Mariton Preserve in Pennsylvania: awakening, life-changing, even though my friends knew it was a time of some internal suffering in my life. Polly brought me back to life using nature as a conduit. How many more lives did she inspire?

Another gifted naturalist and humanist also recently left us - Margot Frisius - whose life’s mission was to help repopulate the forests of Costa Rica with green and scarlet macaws. Thanks to the work of Margot and her husband Richard, rescuing, hatching and releasing Macaws back into the wild, the population has noticeably increased. Armando has seen scarlet macaws visiting El Tigre to feed, although they always return before dusk to their home at Parque Carara. Armando pointed out that we already have a corridor connecting Hacienda El Rodeo to Parque Carara - via the waterways! Over the past 10 years, the national electrical company, CNFL, has planted thousands of trees to protect the watersheds, and you can now see the ribbon of trees growing up the canyons from El Rodeo all the way to the pacific coast, via the rivers! I have not personally seen macaws at El Tigre but the forest continues to grow, connecting with remnants along the river and forming the corridor. Someday, we shall see them more regularly and, yes, I will definitely think of Margot and Richard Frisius. You can support their Foundation by writing: Hatched to Fly Free c/o Richard Frisius, Apdo. 2306-4050, Costa Rica


Well, we’ve been back in Costa Rica now for a few weeks, but we weren’t back 24 hours before Gerry wanted to turn right around and return to the (in)sanity of New Orleans. We hadn’t even unpacked yet - take a look into the suitcase of the world’s best packer, once world traveler, now retired, and general schlepper, schlepping stuff from New Orleans to Costa Rica and vice versa: stuff like vet supplies (much cheaper bought in bulk online and shipped within the US). But it wasn’t a few fleas on Zinky that troubled Gerald. The cause of his foul mood lay elsewhere: the unfinished house, the country’s bureaucracy, the economic madness, just for a few examples…

And soon after returning, I took a bad fall. I slipped on a wet floor, my feet went up, and I slammed hard onto the Nicaraguan terra cotta tiles, flat on my back. Luckily, Gerald was with me when I fell. At first, I felt only shock waves rolling all through me, but I was still conscious and, from far away somewhere, I could sort of hear Gerry, who was leaning over me on the floor anxiously saying, “Are you seriously hurt? Have you broken anything?” I couldn’t speak, but managed to mouth the word, “No”.
“Oh!” he said, “You are only in shock then. Just rest there for a while and then we’ll move you over to the sofa.” Ever the British understatement but, at least, I knew even then, that I hadn’t broken anything and that meant NO HOSPITAL.

Why don’t I like going to the hospital? CIMA is not that far, and several visitors have had to pop in there for x-rays and other emergency care on the way home, after hiking at Reserva El Tigre.

I don’t like going to the hospital because they don’t always let you leave… One time, after my favorite cross-country horse, Matchi, threw a shoe, which sent us both sailing through the air (of course, we were at the time galloping at high speed) I went to CIMA to x-ray my scapula to see if it was broken. When the ER doc walked in with the x-ray in his hand, I asked, “Is it broken?” He said, “No”, and I was ready then to just jump off the table, go pay, and leave. But he wouldn’t let me! He wanted to talk about anti-inflammatories, shoulder slings, and so forth and I just had to sit there politely and listen to him. It cost me more money when I went out to pay, and I just ended up chucking the sling and pills in the first-aid kit back at home!


My back is flexible again now and I can resume riding, but not on Matchi, unfortunately. Several weeks ago, Matchi developed a persistent case of bursitis and was also diagnosed with a large bone spur. So, our vet urged us, for safety reasons - his and ours - not to ride him anymore for a long while. Apparently, he could fall suddenly and take his rider with him - my favorite sprinter Matchi! Years ago, I regularly raced my highly competitive Matchi with other horses, especially Francie’s also highly competitive mare, Xicha. We would fly like the wind for miles on end. Oh, how I loved to see the gleam in Matchi’s eye, when he would let an approaching horse come just within his sight and then we would surge off, leaving everybody in the dust. Al Romeo used to call us ‘the blonde streak’ and, one time, our horse trainer, Alan, saw us racing past him and tried to catch up on his Arabian mount, but he had no hope. We were long gone, leaving him in the dust.

Yes, I probably ruined Matchi racing, but he loved every minute of it too, and he is still very young - only 10 years old - with many years of happy pasture-living in front of him with his other horse pals. We took his shoes off him and now he pastures barefoot, like his stable-mate Lucero.
Lucero is a better horse now in many ways since we removed his shoes - more relaxed, more trusting, less jumpy. Perhaps the same will also hold true for Matchi - just give all his bony joints a nice long rest. We can already see that he delights in going barefoot. I visit the horses every day out in pasture, and already can see the change in Matchi. Just like Lucero, he moves even better - more balanced and more settled on his feet - than when he wore irons. Now, only Volcan and Solo have shoes - and, yes, on these horses we can still fly.

Krewe of Boo ‘Deboos’!

What a night…!


What an amazing debut for a new Halloween Krewe for ’08 New Orleans.



Imagined, created and organized by Blaine Kerne, the creator of the famous Mardi Gras floats, the parade of 16 Krewe of Boo floats, a few of them featured here, as only pictures can truly communicate the reality(?), came past our flat on N. Peters St. to the howling approval of thousands of partygoers.


Everybody came out to see the spectacle - people of all ages, colors, and persuasions… Forget the economy and the politics, this is Halloween!


It was an awesome Mardi Gras-style Parade - huge floats, marching bands, dancing girls, trotting horses - moving past an enormous, festive crowd.

Thousands of people came down to the Quarter to see it, most dressed, or undressed, in every imaginable costume.


Everybody was there: Barack Obama, Sarah Palin, Hilary Clinton, the Duchess of Devonshire - all walking along congenially with assorted witches, ghouls and cartoon characters; everything you can imagine (and much you couldn’t possibly unless you were there…).


Despite many hours out on the streets, we never managed to find our ghostly friends who we were supposed to meet, but did manage to connect up with some new ones. Everyone is your friend at the Parade. And yes, the joyful shrieking reached a fever pitch when a sudden shout went out, “Here comes the Queen!” And now it was all hailing the Queen! The Queen! And from high up on the Queen’s Float, her entourage showered us with beads and plastic glasses.

And still more floats and dancing girls came…

It was still early in the evening when the Krewe of Boo finished winding past us, but the famous, and so much more irreverent, traditional street parade was just getting started up at Molly’s on Decatur St. And after that riotous, outrageous display, the crowd, which seemed to just surge bigger as the night went on, began heading to parties, bars, music venues, and/or just meander amidst the huge party out on the streets.

We took the camera and collected beads back to the flat after the parades - but turned right around and plunged back into the madness out there, not getting to sleep until after 4am (and even then the streets still teamed with the hard-core hedonists).


It was a night for leaving everything behind; for replacing your actual identity with your imagination and then living it - being as goofy and silly as you want to be! Everyone was smiling, laughing and enjoying themselves, and so it was mostly good clean(?) fun. There was only one stabbing on Bourbon St. - well after 3am - when the kiddies were safely in bed.

Happily, we woke up this morning to find the front door of our apartment building still intact.

Take a look at the picture!


Last year, a couple of drunks smashed it to pieces at about 4am. We know the time when it happened, because a reveler recorded the culprits on his cell-phone. However, as he had imbibed a few too many adult beverages, he went home and forgot all about it, until a few days later when he looked at his phone. It took us weeks to get that door fixed. So much of this town reminds us of Costa Rica…

Why Swim Home to New Orleans?

When some say it will someday sink underwater like Atlantis! Thank God for the scuba gear!


When corruption is so widespread that…

…the local Navy intelligence is reputed to treat New Orleans like a 3rd world country (i.e. no sharing of info with local officials).
… voters keep reelecting the same guy that the feds found $90,000 in his refrigerator.
…ACORN is based here.
… corrupt councilmen refuse to name names of other corrupt councilmen because squealing on the mates is dishonorable.
…our Mayor is most famous for wise-cracks, like, my all time favorite – “I’m sick of helicopters overhead – I want to hear some jazz!”

Go to the Times-Picayune for the scandal du jour on the usual elected suspects. Hey! Kind of like the Scandal du Jour in La Nacion back in Costa Rica. Guess we all love what we know best!

Why swim home to New Orleans?

Well, where else would we go? From sea to shining sea there is no place like it! It’s not just the cuisine, music, art and entertainment to suit all tastes. It’s the people, the atmosphere, the joie du vivre and what else?

You shall just have to come on down and see for yourself! But remember, as a Costa Rican fan of jazz fest said of his more cynical friends – “If you come to the Big Easy looking for maggots, you will find them.”

Hey, you with the Ponytail! Have you got ID?

That was the scowling bartender yelling at me, as I took my first sip from the glass of wine that Carolyn had just bought me. That was it. She was serious. We were getting kicked out of the bar!

What could I say? All I could do was laugh, get up from my seat and walk out of there - along with about 15 other Obiters. We hastily poured our drinks in plastic cups and walked out en masse.

Now, I might have been wearing a girlish ponytail but, believe me, I, and everybody else in our party, looked - if maybe not acted - the 50 something that we all are! And yes, it was hysterical being tossed out of a bar for not having ID…

The group had dwindled somewhat from the big crowd that had gathered earlier at the Ohm Lounge in the Royal Charles Hotel for our first cocktail. This was a big night. The Grand & Secret Order of the Obituary Cocktail was embarking on a night of bar-hopping along the St. Charles Streetcar line. It was a large, raucous crowd that queued up for the Streetcar, unfinished cocktails in hand of course, as we all piled aboard, to the quizzical looks of commuters and tourists alike. I sat next to a woman sporting a martini glass tiara, a bit bleary-eyed, after just finishing her birthday lunch at Galatoire’s Restaurant. We all know that Friday lunches at Galatoire’s so easily turn into all-day affairs, and it was now well after 6pm...

The birthday girl had heard of us Obiters, but had never seen the crowd in action until watching us climb aboard that Streetcar and, a few minutes later, honor her with a rousing rendition of ‘Happy Birthday to You’. Well, we managed to make good friends with everybody on board by the time we got off at our first stop - The Column’s Hotel - a beautiful place, where many of our crowd decided to settle in for the rest of the night.

Thus, we were far fewer in number when we departed an hour or so later for our next stop - Delachaise - and then lost more of the crowd when we departed later on for another Streetcar ride down to The Avenue Pub. This is where the absurdity really began. You can’t make this stuff up. I mentioned before, that about fifteen of us rolled in there, and were welcomed immediately by the bartender with the warm greeting, “You’ll need ID to get served in here! This is a video-poker bar”! We hooted at her joke and some of us sat down, while the others lined up to get served. We never carry ID with us around town, but we soon realized that the bartender wasn’t just flattering us or joking! She would not serve anyone - not even the really old wrinklies - without proper ID. I saw Gerry arguing with her up there, to no avail, but we finally got drinks from others in our party who did have ID and who kindly bought us our badly needed libations. But no, just as I took my first sip, she roused the entire bar when she yelled and pointed at me, “Hey, you with the Ponytail…!”

Well, we all found it just hysterical, getting thrown out of The Avenue Pub, and so remained in good humor (the prior beverages helped, of course). After all, in New Orleans, it’s perfectly legal to walk down the street with cocktails in hand (in plastic, not glass) so that’s exactly what we did, laughing at the whole thing and talking to the lawyers in the group - can bars legally throw out ‘senior citizens’ for not having ID? All our (admittedly not very sharp at that point in the evening…) legal minds could do was laugh at it some more. So we ended up over at Zea’s for a bite to eat. But those of us with plastic cups were not allowed in there either - tossed out of two bars within 10 minutes! Is that a record…?


It was obviously time to catch the Streetcar back to the French Quarter, where all is allowed - and then some. So we ate ravenously at Felipe’s Taqueria (excellent Margaritas to boot) and went home contentedly to bed.

P.S. Got an email today from somebody who was with us that night, about how everybody was meeting up at the Kirk apartment for Halloween. Apparently, after my third cocktail, I’d invited the whole gang over to watch the ‘Krewe of Boo’ parade down the street past our place! Better go buy some crackers and scrounge up a costume…