Greetings from the jungle. First of all, we can’t believe it was last June when we made the big move to Belize. I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun, or working hard or getting older. Whatever it is, it’s hard to believe it’s been a year. Anyway here’s what has been happening down here the last few weeks.

Our Mahindra truck we have now had for almost a year, and it has proven to be a great truck and we are very happy with it. The tires were getting a lot of wear on them so we thought it would be best to get some new ones before the rainy season sets in. Last year the dealer was talking about putting a lift on the truck and I said I would think about it when we needed new tires. Well, new tire time was here so why not get bigger tires and put the 4” lift on the truck. The dealer installed the lift so there will be no problem with the warranty on the truck. The truck rides great and has a taller stance now and it also looks a lot better. We have talked to other Mahindra owners who have 2-300,000 km on them and they still say they are great trucks. There is even an article here where Australia named the 2019 Mahindra “The truck of the year.” https://www.whichcar.com.au/reviews/4x4oty/4×4-of-the-year-2019-mahindra-pik-up-s10-review.  I think we made the right choice when we decided on this truck.

Last time I mentioned about the neighbor who showed up with the pork bellies. It has been well over a year since we made our last batch of bacon, but now after about 10 days of processing, we now have some jungle bacon. One belly is brown sugar and black pepper and the other is brown sugar and paprika, both smoked over hickory wood. At this point, we have been giving some to friends, but other people are asking to buy it and one restaurant even said that they would buy all we could make. Who knows, maybe after the smokehouse is done we be make’n a lotta bacon.

We ordered some metal cabinets for the shop on Amazon a few weeks ago and they finally got here. Yes, you can order Amazon, it just won’t get here overnight. The order has to go to a shipper in Houston and then into a container and shipped down. It takes anywhere from 2-4 weeks, but you can get Amazon in Belize – all you have to do is pay the duty and freight charges. We recently ordered 12 electronic plug-in bug repellents, the shipping and duty were only $12, very reasonable. There are a lot of things that are not available in Belize, but if you can shop Amazon for the best price and then figure in shipping and duty, it’s really not that much more than you would pay at a retail store in the states with all the taxes. Anyway, the shop is coming along quite nicely, there is now a bunch of cabinets for storage, a rolling work table and of course a fridge dedicated just for beer, what more could we need.

During the dry season, a lot of the trees shed their leaves leaving the hillsides looking very dry. With the wet season approaching and the few rains we have had so far, all the plants and trees are all back to greening up very quickly. And it’s not just the wild plants, our fruit trees all have a lot of new leaves and blossoms coming out everywhere. Even the flowering plants we put around the house are starting to bloom. This should be a good year for all our plants now that they have had some time to establish themselves.

Every morning when we get up we open the front door to let the fresh air in. The morning sun comes in and shines brightly on our red kitchen cabinets and really illuminates them. The problem being is that it also attracts hummingbirds into the house. Most of them will just come in and cruise around checking things out and then leave. Then there are the ones who come in and head straight up to the ceiling and just can’t figure out how to go back out the big door they came in. About the only thing we can do is to wait for them to tire themselves out and land so we can pick them up and put them back outside. It is really cool to have the hummingbirds come in the house and come up to you as if to say good morning and then leave, I just wish they all were that smart. The picture below is not a hummingbird but a beautiful Black-Headed Trogon that just sat in the tree and let us get real close for some pictures.

I don’t know if it is because the dry season is coming to an end or some of the rains have started, but we have seen a few snakes around here lately. In the last year, we have only seen a handful of small snakes around here, but in the last couple of weeks, we have seen eight, all between 2-3 feet long, except for one who was a good six feet long. He was a brown vine snake and cut right in front of me across the driveway as I was walking. He didn’t seem to care too much about me and just went on his way back to climbing vines. The vine snake is not a threat to humans and is beneficial to have around so we just took some pictures and watched him go away. Yes, there are snakes here, after all, we do live in a jungle. You just need to watch where you walk and be aware of your surroundings. The other day I thought I saw a big green vine snake, but it turned out to be just the garden hose.

We have been very busy trying to get more projects done around here before our guests Randy and Darren show up next week. That way when they are here we can take a break from everything and have some fun. They will be up here with us for about six days before we head over to San Pedro for a few days for Lobsterfest. LOBSTERFEST WOO HOO!!!! The first lobsters of the season. I know we will partake in as many different lobster dishes as we can, but I sure hope someone is making a lobster grilled cheese sandwiches. The ones we had last year at Lobsterfest in Placencia were over the top! We can’t wait to have some fun when Randy and Darren get here and of course, eat a bunch of delicious lobsters.

That’s about all for now, all’s good with jungle life. Stay tuned next time for The Adventures of Randy & Darren.

We just received a note from the realtor saying that a lot on our road in our little ‘hood’ has become available. It is a 5-acre parcel with water and electricity to the property line.  The price is 32K. If anyone is interested, let us know and we will send you the realtors info, otherwise, we can answer a lot of questions. Just remember…. we would be your neighbors.