After recently being over on the island for a few days, we got a hankering for some seafood. So we managed to round up a couple octopus to throw on the grill plus we made some lobster rolls. We couldn’t find any avocado that day for the lobster rolls, so we used lobster with a strip of red bell pepper and some wasabi. The octopus got cooked the same way we always do. Boil for a couple hours until tender, then brush with a spicy red chili sauce and toss on the grill for a little char. It was delicious.

Our Jamaican-Sorrel plants are flowering big time. Jamaican-Sorrel is a type of edible hibiscus that has many health benefits. Such as antioxidants, lowering cholesterol, boosting the immune system, lowering blood pressure, anti-inflammatory, and a bunch more. It can be used to make jellies, wines and my favorite, a wonderful refreshing beverage. If you have ever been to a Mexican restaurant and seen a dispenser on the counter with a bright red drink called Jamaica (pronounced “ha-mike-ah”) that’s what this is.

The plants will flower in the morning and then the flower will be gone by that evening. Then in 2-3 weeks the red fruit will be ready to harvest. Ours will be dried and saved to make a Jamaica Tea, plus we will dry the seeds for the next planting since the plants only live for about a year. You can usually find bags of dried Jamaica in your produce section at the store. If you don’t want to make this at home then look for it next time you are at your favorite Mexican restaurant, you won’t be disappointed.

A couple weeks ago we picked a stalk of about 90 apple bananas and hung them on the porch to ripen. Usually they will slowly ripen, but not this bunch. Over night they all got ripe and turned yellow. At least these are the small delicious apple bananas, so eating a few at a time is not a problem.

We had to do something quick with all those ripe bananas, so Kelley made 13 small loaves of banana-raspberry bread (that used up 26 of them). Next was some chocolate covered frozen bananas (there went another 20). Eat as many as we can and give some away, because there are three more big bunches on the plants that will be ready fairly soon.

It was time to trim the Moringa tree again. Some of you might know what it is and even take supplements, for those that don’t know, it’s called the miracle tree. There are many health benefits to this plant and the leaves can be eaten in salads, rice, pasta or any other dish. Kelley will put it in soups and on salads, but the most common way we eat is in a tea form. Here’s a link for more information on Moringa and some of the health benefits of this wonderful tree. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319916

The new hot tub is finally up and going! The water is clear and we got the chemicals where they need to be. After working around the yard all day it feels sooo good to relax in the tub with a cold beer or a glass of wine. The evenings have been getting down to the upper 60’s, and it feels great!

Okay, so the other night I go out to grill like we do every few days. I open the lid to the BBQ and get ready to light it. To my surprise, it was full of leaves with a big, pissed-off possum sitting on the grates. Needless to say, I quickly shut the lid and waited for my heart rate to return to normal. Then I went in and got Kelley and a camera so we could get this thing off the grill. It looked like she was nesting up and possibly getting ready to have babies. She was the only one in the BBQ, so we chased her back into the bush. It looked like she got in through the vent holes on the back of the BBQ, so I guess it’s time to put a little wire mesh over those vents.

Other animal sightings around here recently have been an armadillo. We were sitting out back on the deck and here comes this armadillo strolling by just a few feet from us like we weren’t even there. The next one was a jaguarundi (wild cat). We were sitting in the garage one evening and he walked by the front gate and paused for a second. Of course, there wasn’t a chance of getting a picture of either one of those. Although a few years ago we did get a picture of a black jaguarundi with three babies walking on the property. The one picture we did get was a turtle, and Kelley had to chase him down because he was moving pretty quick.

When we bought our property six years ago the road getting to it was a rough dirt road that took at least 45 minutes off the main highway to get here. They have been working on the road for the past two years and it is now mostly paved and takes us about 15 minutes to get to the main highway. I still have mixed feelings about the road being paved, but what can I do? At least our place is still a good 3/4 mile off the pavement.

Speaking of roads, our property entrance was where our road ended. There are two lots beyond us but the owners have never done anything with them. One of the lot owners from the states came down and is ready to start building next year. So now the road goes about 100 yards past us. They had to install a big culvert where the water used to flow across the road. They’ve brought in lots of gravel for the road and have a small clearing done on the opposite side from us, back on a hill. We have met the new neighbors and they will be a great addition to our little hood.

On September 30th, 2015 we sent out our very first blog of our new adventures in Belize. Here it is six years later and we are sending out our 200th post. A lot has happened in the past six years and it has turned out to be the biggest adventure of our lives. I hope you’ve enjoyed following us along on this crazy little adventure. Hopefully, it might have inspired some of you to get out of your comfort zone and try something new. And when you’re ready, we have the guest house waiting for you.

Happy Halloween!