We finally got around to having a fish fry with all that fish we brought back from the coast last month. So we invited a few friends over and fired up the ole disco. We have only used the disco once here and that was a year ago for whole fish.  This time we had fillets and that delicious batter mix that our son shipped down to us. The Capeador batter mixed with a Belikin beer was perfect, and everyone loved it. We supplied the fish and some smoked barracuda dip and everyone else brought something to go along with it. Besides the fish, there were fries, clam chowder, potato salad, coleslaw, shrimp on the barbie, mac salad, cookies, creme brulee, and of course some tequila. It was a 3 day late Cinco de Mayo party.

Since we had oil in the disco, the next day we tried our hand at some more chicharrones (pork skins). Last time we made them we boiled them and then baked them in the oven. This time we threw them in the smoker for a few hours to dry them out and then into some hot oil. They turned out much better this way especially with a little salt and hot chili powder.

A few weeks ago a friend of ours was ordering a bunch of crawfish from Louisiana for a big beach party. Since we love crawfish, we couldn’t let this go without placing an order for ourselves. So boil up time it was. Crawfish from Louisiana, homemade hot link sausage, corn, potatoes, and a bunch of Marie Sharps habanero pepper sauce. Not quite the meal you think of when you think of the jungle, but boy was it a special treat. There never seems to be a lack of good food around here.

Last summer our worker found a baby owl next to its dead mother at his farm. So he contacted us and we called the raptor center to rescue it. The raptor center raised it until it was able to be re-released. They released it on our property and said that it should stay real close to where it was released.

For the past few weeks, we have heard an owl and have even seen one in the tree in front of our house a few times. We talked to the gal at the raptor center and she said that it was probably him and he was looking for a mate.

When we bought our property there were 2 different roads that led to us and both were about 12 miles of very rough dirt road. They have been working on the roads over this past year and now they are mostly paved and very wide. This week they were working on the section that goes past the road heading down to our place. Of course, when you get a big piece of machinery digging up the road you just know they’re going to dig up the main water line. The good thing was that they had it repaired in a few hours.

Update: They dug up the water pipe again a few days later. All the water pipes along the road have been clearly marked with bright pink paint. Maybe the equipment operator is color blind.

Another update: You guessed it, the water pipe again.

Another update: No water. I assume this will continue to happen almost daily until they finish the road.

The coffee plants are loaded with blossoms this year. The plants grew quite a bit last year and they seem to have a lot more flowers this year. If everything goes right it looks like we should get some pretty good coffee later this year. The last harvest of coffee we dried and then stored for later use. When someone comes down that likes coffee we’ll get the roaster out and make a fresh pot for them to try.

This past week we had visitors for a few days. Ron was down again looking for some property over on the coast and brought his buddy Mike along with him. I don’t think he really found anything yet, but he’s still looking. It sounds like they had a great time over on the beach and I’m pretty sure they had a great time up here in the jungle. It’s great to have visitors again and in a couple weeks, Darren will be here.

I try to get a blog out every couple of weeks or so to keep everyone updated on our jungle life and as a reference for us to look back on.  It seems like sometimes there is really nothing worth sharing or writing about, but as those couple of weeks go by I manage to fill it up with stuff. Since we are working in the yard and garden every day there is always something new happening there. Then there are all the fun things we are doing with food. Other times we go to the coast or explore caves or ruins around here. Plus we never know what animals or other creatures we might see. Hopefully, you are enjoying our blog and it encourages you to come visit sometime. Hope to see you soon.