The Tale of Two Sisters

With respect to animals, we thought we figured that our lives were in  balance.  In terms of mascots, of pets, of companion farm animals, we had already grown way beyond our limit.  

At this time our four legged dependents consisted of two dogs for protection, two cats for rodent management, and seven sheep for fertilizer production (we call them our little poopers).  And to be honest, we had begun to consider getting another huge dog to someday replace our current seven year old big boy. (There's no better insurance plan than having a huge dog.)

Then this past May, someone dumped two dinky Tico dogs on our property.  It's common that locals not neuter their pets, then when unwanted puppies arrive, they get dumped - often on foreigners door steps.  Even though this was the first time it happened to us, I was chapped - and didn't even want to look at the animals.

They were a miserable couple of ugly, flea infested, starving mongrels - and all I wanted was to get rid of them, the sooner the better.  Just being honest here.

Unfortunately it's not an uncommon practice for people to take their unwanted pets on a little drive into the farmlands and basically push them out the door, thinking they will be able to survive eating grasshoppers. I used to think this practice was so uncivilized and inhumane. I come from a civilized country where we have "animal shelters" entrusted with disposing of (killing) unwanted pets. (I'm just exploring - tongue in cheek - both sides of the excess animal management coin here.)

Baru, our white shepherd/husky, found the first little dog under a bush, howling and petrified.  The next day our friend Emma found the second little dog under his car - both obviously nearly starved to death, shivering, and whining. Weighing only 5 pounds of skin and bones, they were severely malnourished, parasite ridden discards:  the ultimate definition of pathetic.  What we didn't comprehend was that they were only about 6 weeks old.

At the time we had three volunteers consisting of a couple from Italy and Argentina plus another from France.  They immediately bathed them, gave them a full examination, made them a bed and got them something to eat.  Honestly it was a godsend that these young people were here and took charge of the situation, rehabing the puppies back to life. I figured that before we could try to find homes for them, we needed to fatten them up a little so that they could be at least a little bit attractive.

Those three great volunteers treated them like their own dogs, taking wonderful care of them, feeding them, training them, treating them like part of the family - hoping that they would someday be civilized and look health.

We named them right off the bat.  The cute one became Fhia, referring to a type of banana that we had just cut down for eating.  The other one became Nabo which means turnip, referring to the seeds we were planting when we found her.  That's where we started with these two inseparable  sisters. Here, take a look at Fia the day we found her:

The first picture shows Fia the day she appeared here.  The second foto shows Fia held by Lidio after being with us for less than a week.

They stayed skinny for weeks and weeks, making it seem like they were just permanently small, boney dogs that would never fill out.  During this whole episode of the puppy dumping, the puppies lived with the volunteers day and night. In other words, I had nothing to do with them - and refused to have anything to do with them.

A few weeks later two new volunteers from Germany arrived and took over the puppie care duties - and within several weeks they had fallen hopelessly in love with Fhia.  They decided they wanted to adopt Fhia even though they were traveling.  

In the meantime, the girls continued to grow and grow, to run around together, and to play incessantly.  They were inseparable.

In the meantime, life with the volunteers on a remote farm in Costa Rica continued, with work (downing huge canes of bamboo) and birthday celebrations, among other things.

After preparing Fhia's legal documentation for her trip to Mexico on the next leg of their travels, they got her a large-ish dog carrier, and began traveling around Costa Rica with the brightest light of their hearts: Fhia.

Here's a foto of the day all four of the volunteers left Musa Bambusa on their new adventures.  Two Germans, an Italian and an Argentinian (from left to right).  Both Fhia and Nabo are in the picture on the last day that the two sisters would ever see each other.  Both had grown amazingly by that time and looked like real puppies.

So all at the same time, all the volunteers left and Fhia left Musa Bambusa to continue on their travels.  But Nabo stayed behind as though abandoned.  Up until that time the puppies only responded the four volunteers.  That's who fed them, played with them, trained them, and put them to bed at night.  After the volunteers left, Nabo refused to leave the volunteer cabin porch. She refused to come live at our home.  She only wanted to sit in front of the cabin staring at the spot on the road where she had last seen her people and her sister.  She sat there for a week, waiting for her sister to return.  It was a real tear jerker.

Gradually she became entertained by Baru and Cora, our original dogs - and eventually by the two cats.

A month later when our next volunteer arrived, Nabo had bonded with us and WANTED to stay at our house.  Specifically, she decided to glue herself to me.  By that time I had stopped rejecting her, realizing that she actually possessed some precious qualities.  And since we both finally realized she was a delightful little girl, we decided to stop trying to re-home her.  

As a side note, our next volunteer was an amazing wood worker and he set about rehabing the front porch of the cabin.  Now it looks gorgeous.

The name Nabo got feminized, becoming Naba and Nabie.  She's been growing at over 2 pounds a week for months now.  We had thought that she would be a dinky Tico lap dog but now she must weight over 35 pounds and still growing strong.  Unfortunately her head isn't growing as quickly as the rest of her body so I'm hoping someday it catches up.  For now she's a pinhead.

In the meantime we got some chickens and built two long awaited worm bins next to the sheep platform.

All girls, all layers, all friendly.

And the best news, best-best news is that after not being able to get the property macheteed (cut down) for 14 months, some macheteros showed up and gave us a hand. That's Jeff in the foto:  in front of him the macheteros already cut and behind him was just waiting for the next day to be cut also.  Thank God.

Now Nabie is huge compared to the size I thought she'd become.  She's easy to train and just an all around good finca dog.  She and Cora run around like playful sisters, happy to be alive.

Several days ago we got word that our young German friends had made it back to Germany . . . WITH Fhia.  That's amazing.  Those kids were determined.  It's no surprise that they report Fhia doesn't want to travel anymore.  I guess she got tired of being in the cargoholds of buses and airplanes. Just between you and I, Fhia's a pretty girl, really she's lots prettier than Nabie BUT Nabie is so pleasant, loving, clever, and now relatively huge - that I'm certain she is the best of the two sisters.  The Germans would disagree, of course. 

There you have it.  The tail of two sisters.  We'd love to hear about what's up in your world lately.

Survived The First 4 . . . and ready for more!

Yep, we're coming out from behind the clouds here in the mountains of Costa Rica - and are very alive.  I realize it's been a long time since we've posted anything, so how 'bout if I just lay out a summary update of our shenanigans? 

Well at this point it's been 5-1/2 years since we left the sweet comfort of Washington state and all of our family and friends, searching for  . . . something.  And it's been a little over 4 years since we bought our property in the mountains of Costa Rica.  Remember when we bought it, it was just a ragtag, worn out coffee farm with 27,000 sick coffee plants and an awesome view.  

April 2014, one week after putting the cash on the line for the property some friends came by to see what we'd invested in.  Jeff's trying to explain why it was a good buy.  Those yellow leaves in the foreground are on a sick coffee plant.

Then, just to see if we could survive it, we moved into the 80 year old homestead cabin where we lived for the next 3 years. 

The cabin today - or rather a few days ago.
A delivery truck ran over the papaya tree yesterday.  Go figure.

We cut down at least 15,000 coffee plants and hundreds and hundreds of worn out plantain plants.  From there we began planting . . . and planting . . . and planting. Timber trees, fruit trees, plantains, bananas, bamboo, ornamentals, vegetables.  Thousands of trees, 30 different types of bananas, 70 different types of fruit trees, and several hundred bamboo plants.

Awesome Asper.
Magnificent construction bamboo 
that grows to 7" in diameter.

Deglupta eucalyptus:  This puppy is two years old and a delight to look at.

Purple sugar cane

Just a green flat?  Oh no!!
This is where we just planted
160 baby timber trees of
5 different types. Can you see 
Jeff?

And we built a workshop, a carport, a coffee drying tunnel, a greenhouse, and a house . . . and an outhouse, a bamboo storage shed, and a sheep shed.

The "green house".  Just a little cover from the pounding rain.

The tunnel coffee dryer.  Drying coffee is a major challenge
during the rainy season.  Notice that gorgeous
asper bamboo in the background - 3-1/2 years old.

But we've been waiting to write our next blog post because we SO much wanted our next blog post to announce:

OUR HOUSE IS COMPLETED
 . . .  but it's not.

THE WORKSHOP IS FINISHED
 . . . basically it is - but not.

THE OLD CABIN HAS BEEN RENOVATED
 . . . but that's not happening either.

THE NEW SHEEP SHED IS DONE
. . . but nope.

So are we just sitting on our hands down here in so-called paradise?  All I can say is that this homesteading life ain't as easy as it looks.  We undertook WAY more than two old farts should ever attempt - EVER.  We got that.

But by the same token, it keeps us moving . . . and moving . . . and moving.

So about the new house: the first half of it is complete . . . and awesome.  The second half is roofed, floored and ready for us to decide what to do next. 

Sometimes called the Long House.  
On the left end of the house is the 
guest bedroom, then the bathroom, 
then the kitchen.  On the right half
 is the unfinished area that I have
 come to LOVE just the way it is.

We are so, SO glad that we didn't just jump in and start building. Nicer to allow the painting to to emerge organically.

As for the workshop, it's fully functional and well designed.  It's just not painted yet.

And as for the old cabin that we wanted to renovate? We now realize it's much better to just leave it alone, enjoy it for what it is ... an antique.  

We've been thinking that this little retreat needs a place for people to gather and chew the fat, cook meals, play guitars, kazoos and didgeridoos, sing in the moonlight, and snooze in hammocks.  So that's what we're building now - a community kitchen and dining area.  All open air with  corner pillars, set in one of our most spectacular view spots on the property.

Supervisor hard at work.

Just getting started on the Lookout Cafe.  By the time you arrive,
it'll be ready for you.

The new sheep shed is another key project. Designed to keep 10-15 sheep dry and happy, it will also feature a slotted floor and a raised platform for easier manure harvesting into our composting process. That project has been bouncing around and changing for months, but is now coming together. Jeff's working on that one in between his other jobs.

All six sheep are happy and healthy.  We've got 3 adult females and their 3 lambs which are just over 2 months old.  And Molly, the mother of the herd, is expecting 2 babies in a couple of months.  Why sheep, you ask?  It's all about the poop.  Since we're Organic, we need lots of organic fertilizer.  Plus we totally like having sheep.

Sonny grazing with mom (Moose) and grandma (Molly).  He
was born skinny and we nearly lost him. But now he's a total
character - maybe even my favorite.

Cleopatra at 2 days old.  This girl is enormous, much bigger
than her twin cousins who were born the previous week. She's a stunning animal, although a bit slow. Yes, gorgeous but stupid.

We'll explain it later . . . 

Also we're slowly edging forward on the beginnings of a detached bedroom for us.  Edging, not running.

In other words, it's all coming along nicely.  The place looks gorgeous.  People love to visit us because we're at a cool and pleasant 4,100 feet of elevation - not at all like the hot tropical lowlands.

Our little village:  the new house on the left, followed by the carport.  On the right of the road is the workshop, the old house and the revamped migrant worker house.  We love it. 

A couple old dogs grabbing a nap.

Ila and Tava, my niece's
daughters, sure liked it.

Surinam cherry or
"pitanga". 

White grapefruit sizing up nicely even 
though the tree is still quite petite.

 

Biriba is becoming more plentiful.

Some of the fruit trees are already offering their bounty, such as the starfruit, biriba, grumichama, sweet oranges, sour oranges, Hawaiian guayaba, Peruvian guayaba, native guayaba, pitanga, grapefruit, achiote, sweet mandarins, sour mandarins, sweet lemons, mecino lemons, avocado, papaya, black sapote, araza and cas.  And we're waiting patiently for 50 other types to fork over the fruit.

BTW, yes we are certifying organic - though that's an discussion beyond interesting - and better left for later.

That's us:  the white dots in the center.

GREAT NEWS:

We were excited to find out that our neighbor wants to sell his 20 acre property above us.  We think that could be the most awesome opportunity for the right people!!

Coffee, plantains, pasture, internal roads, incredible view, fantastic neighbors (we're the only neighbors). Forested natural reserves along two sides, even reaching the extensive old trail system that goes all the way to San Jose.  Complete with water directly from a mountain spring (the same spring we use), a worker house, a mountain cabin, and a new 2 story "view" home ready for finishing - 30 minutes from a regional town with lots of nice expats in the area.

EcoTourism or AgroTourism anyone?   

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor,
Would you be mine?

The asking price is a fraction of what you would have to pay in the U.S. for a similar property.  But even still, we're sure he'll come down to a much more comfortable cost.  If you're at all interested, let us know and we can talk about it.

Think about it.  We sure do.

The obligatory Costa Rican bug shot.

 

In the meantime, when the basic work is done with the Lookout Cafe, the workers will go home and we'll have room in the old cabin for guests.  So far a few groups of guests have stayed in the cabin -  and enjoyed it. 

 
Here's looking at you!! 

Reaching for the HIGH Hopes

Four years ago, I never would have believed it.  Not a chance, not the slimest chance:

That we'd both quit our jobs, get rid of nearly everything we owned, and take off with no idea of where we'd end up. 

But essentially, that's what we did. 

That is: 

We've lived in an 80 year old homestead mountain cabin and a coffee picker shack
with no electricity for months
no indoor plumbing
bats in the house at night, every night

and two years of hand washing ALL clothes and linens.

A romantic vision of a peaceful life. 

And now, in a couple of more months (3 years after leaving the U.S.), we'll have a nice house in the moutains of Costa Rica.  Huge sigh of relief . . . although we've enjoyed the adventure.

To survive the drama, we told ourselves that we were retired, that we were living our ultimate dream - and on good days we believed it.

Honestly, we wanted a home, a real home, sooner (with hot water and everything).  

We even tried to get the building started last year- but nothing worked out right.  

On the upside, we did manage to level the ground for our homesite and to nearly finish the background rock wall.  But when the rainy season started again last April, it was too late to begin building.  So we had to wait until the following December when the rains would stop again. 

Yep, that's the leveled homesite.

And the building of the great wall.  Nearly 200 feet long.

Oddly enough, by a series of accidents we ended up constructing a workshop building with a secure tool room, a laundry room, a toilet room and a shower.  It's been dubbed "the accidental workshop."  But it's not fully finshed yet . . . something to do with problems with various groups of workers.  However it IS functional now. (No foto included)

So this brings us to the present time.

The rough construction of the carport is pretty much done:

Jeff says that it will be for parking next to the wall and for lounging, sipping coffee, and enjoying the view from the other side.  It's built to also be used for a classroom, a dance hall, and as a stage for speakers or musical groups.  Right, like we're going to have speakers . . . .

See?  The right hand side will be for hanging out.  A bamboo curtain will separate the relaxing area from the parking area.  And a cement bench is built in all along the short outside wall (not in this foto).  Sweet.

Plus, every carport needs skylights, right?  Yes, eventually the metal beams will be painted.

The house is "framed up" with the roof going on soon.
(This group of workers has been great to work with.)

We decided we needed more entertainment so brought home one pregnant sheep.  Then seeing that one sheep is a sad story we brought home two more sheepettes 5 months old.

Here are some pictures of the construction as it progresses and some of our new sheep.

Before the construction crew began their work, we had a bonfire on the homesight. 

OMG what a mess they make.  Such is construction.

Inch by inch . . . .

Bar by bar . . . .

Wall by wall . . . .

Never seen anything like it.

Ever play with tinker toys?  Or lincoln logs?

A romantic vision of things to come.

The kitchen in rough, real rough.  Stove in front of the left window; sink in front of the large window.

Front sidewalk 5 feet deep, split roof with upper windows and skylights.

Manuel covered in cement dust - but he doesn't care.

Protection from the sun is mandatory.

The young 'un of the builders.

Giovanni, the welder, pausing for the camera.

This guy always reminds me of Lawrence of Arabia.

View from above the rock wall.

Back of the kitchen.  In the next stage of building, this will go into the dining room/ living room/ hang out room and master bedroom.

Man to man support.  Julio's a good friend.

Dennis, our mentor and angel, who knows so much about construction and has adapted it to the Central American issues (of which there are many).  Thank God for Dennis.

 
And just to prevent any boredom, Viola and I took off for a buying trip to David, Panama. (Things cost a lot less in Panama AND the selection by far exceeds that available in Costa Rica.)

Viola and I in front of Pricesmart in David, Panama with our booty.  Note the 100 ft. long industrial quality hose.  When I shop, I shop BIG.

David is so friggin' hot that most "establishments" are air conditioned.  This restaurant was REFRIGERATED.  I had to use my only possible cover available to ward off a case of pneumonia - and aim for a local fashion statement.

Not only does Pricesmart in Panama offer great deals, the sunset from their parking lot can be awe inspiring.

And the coffee is blooming again.  Next year the harvest will far surpass this year's - but it's still just a little bit of coffee.  This year our finished, dried, cleaned harvest came to about 80 pounds of organic, delicious, homegrown coffee.

This is about an acre of coffee that WAS inside of totally overgrown brush.  Alvaro cleared it out then we selected the coffee plants that appear to be resistant to coffee rust and cut them down to the requisite 20" height for regrowth and renewal.  We'll see how many live and how many THRIVE.

 

Recently Jeff and I decided we need more animals around the homestead. Meet Molly. We took her to Victor's sheep farm to visit her boyfriend where we hoped that they would have a fiesta.  She's now come home with us and we're hoping that in 5 months we'll have 1-3 more sheep.

They're working it out.  We're seeing possibilities.

But Molly was lonely. So Jeff showed up with two 5 month old girls to keep Molly company.  We call them "the Kids".  Looks like we're onto something.

Really?  Company?  YeeHaw!!

Molly, meet your new roomies:  the Kids.

Victor, an organic sheep farmer, is full of information.  He's teaching Emmanuel about making fish fertilizer.

Oh, just one more thing:

We're negotiating on the second 3 acre piece of property next to us.  It's not because we're bored.  We're not bored.  But we want the protection of owning this piece on our side.  This will make it so that we will be the legal protectors of this land from the creek on one side to a little past the creek on the other.  From monkey to shining monkey.  Dang, that'll be a good feeling.

Visitors Urs and Umi from Switzerland also bought a property at the end of a road - and actually have to build a road up the mountain into their property before they can even think about building a home.  Shannon, one of their daughters is talking to Baru in the foreground.

We're not bored.  We're up to our same ol' nonsense, hanging out and waiting for visitors to show up.