The deck out back needed a makeover after almost 5 years in the jungle environment. First, the spa was removed and we gave it a good scrubbing. Everything else was then taken off the deck and I went to work sanding and refinishing all the wood. The bar stools got refinished as did the tables. Even the back of the house got a new coat of varnish. Our old table umbrella was looking a little old so we ordered in a couple of new ones. Only one table had an umbrella before, but now each one has a nice big red umbrella. Plus we got a couple of LED lights for the two tables. Now we’re ready to have some company over for a BBQ.

To christen the backyard makeover we thought we would invite a few friends over and make some Sonoran style bacon-wrapped hotdogs. We had just finished smoking about 40lbs. of bacon earlier in the week so this was perfect timing. We sliced some of the bacon thinner than we normally do just like they would do in Mexico where we used to live. Then we wrapped those dogs up and got them on the griddle. Of course, we had the grilled onions, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, mayo and everything else that you would put on them. No one here had ever had a hotdog like this before, but I think they enjoyed them. I know Kelley and I sure did.

We got the bamboo cleaned up and dried before I gave it a good protective coating. Then we got it all cut and set in place around the house to form some flower beds. We set the bamboo in place with some 8″ nails that were pounded into the ground to hold them so they won’t get washed away. We tried to get 9″ nails, but we couldn’t find them.  🤣

The guest casita also got a little bamboo to form the pathway to the steps and out around the front of it. We think it looks good and adds a little more of a tropical feel to the place. The best part of all was that the bamboo was being cleared and then burned from a friend’s property, so it was all free for the taking.

Ruben is just starting to harvest his Roma tomatoes from our farm lot. So far he has picked and sold about 3,500lbs. There are still a lot of tomatoes on plants and he should be harvesting them well into next month. He told us that he should end up with around 5,000lbs this time. The good thing is that he’s getting a premium price right now and that makes him very happy. As soon as we get time we will head over and pick a bucket or two for ourselves and Kelley can get some more canned.

There are still some other vegetables growing on our farm lot. Recently we got a yellow watermelon, some green chilies and some corn. We think it’s great that Ruben is farming on our lot and making some good money, plus we have access to different fresh veggies throughout the year.

Our dragon fruit cacti are loaded this year. There are at least 75 big flowers that are blooming and many more small buds appearing. This should be the best year so far for our dragon fruit. Our trellis for them is now 60′ long by 4′ wide. We are constantly cutting the cactus back and giving it to friends. The cuttings grow easily and very fast, and will usually produce within a year or two. If we planted all of the cuttings we have taken off, we could have an entire farm of nothing but dragon fruit within a few years.

A friend recently gave us a Butterfly Pea Vine (Clitoria Ternatea). It’s still in a garden bag waiting to get a little bigger before we put it in the ground, but it’s already starting to get some flowers. One of the most remarkable features of the Butterfly Pea flower is its ability to change color. When the flowers are made into a tea the water is blue, but can shift from bright blue to purple or even pink, depending on the pH level of the environment. This natural color-changing property has made it a popular ingredient in herbal teas and beverages. Bartenders will add the blue tea to a drink and then add lemon or lime juice to change the color from blue to a purple or pink right before your eyes. Once our vine gets going, we will have to make some blue or purple margaritas just for the fun of it.

Our Caladium plants are starting to come up again this year. Once the rains started it didn’t take long for them to poke their heads out of the ground. We planted these about 5 or 6 years ago and every year they come back bigger than the past year. This year so far the leaves are the biggest we’ve seen yet.

We have wild passion fruit vines growing around here that get the most beautiful flowers. It seems like we never see them bloom and then all of a sudden there they are. They only bloom for about a day which is why we really never see them, but when we do we try and get some pictures of them.

A few years ago we were walking along our creek and saw this plant that looked like a lily, so we dug it up and replanted it near the house. It turns out that it’s a white spider lily and blooms every year around this time. It just amazes us of all the beautiful plants that just grow wild around here. We know that there are so many more plants on the property that we haven’t discovered yet, as they might only bloom for a short period once a year.

Kelley recently made some homemade ice cream that was very rich and delicious. It was vanilla with chocolate chunk and a raspberry swirl. Of course, the raspberries were from the garden as well as the homemade chocolate and even some homegrown vanilla beans. With all of the things we are growing around here, the ice cream possibilities are endless.

We rarely see snakes, but this week we had a couple little Parrot snakes visit our porch. I mean little, the wood he is on in this picture is only an inch wide and he was only about two feet long. I put my hand near him like I was going to pick him up and he dove off the porch and disappeared.

Then about a week later there was another one about 3′ long on our front window. This one scurried off the porch, grabbed onto a plant and then took off into the jungle, but not before looking back at us and sticking his tongue out. Parrot snakes are beautiful, completely harmless, and usually run off as soon as they see you. Out of the snakes we’ve seen around here this is the only type we have ever seen on our porch. They eat lizards, frogs, and insects such as grasshoppers, and If they’re eating grasshoppers, then we definitely want them around here. Like I’ve said, we rarely see snakes around here. The chance of you actually seeing one if you come visit us is pretty slim.

We see a lot of critters around here, but we don’t always get a picture of them to share with you. For instance, the other day our dinger went off on our back trail which meant something of size was walking by. I jumped up and glanced out there and I saw two good size fat gray critters through the trees. From the looks of them, I think they were Peccaries, (Javelina for all our Southwestern friends). After talking to a neighbor she confirmed that there is a pack of them in the area. Then the other day I was walking up in the garden and I almost stepped on a 4′ long orange iguana, plus we have seen a few green iguanas around the house lately. And the other night Kelley and our neighbor next door Amanda were woken up by the Howler monkeys, that had to be on the property somewhere. Our other neighbor right next to us has posted pictures of a puma and an ocelot from her trail camera. There are a lot of animals around here that we never see, we are just lucky to see the ones we do and even luckier if we can get a few pictures of them.

It’s a great time to come visit us. Everything is very green, the animals are quite active, lots of fresh stuff from the garden and the temperatures have been around 90° during the day and down to mid 70°s at night. Hope to see you soon.