The new pathways are really starting to shape up. We’ve got them lined with logs and have wood shavings down the middle. We’ve also started lining the border with different types of colorful plants. Inside the open areas, we have some grass planted that is starting to take off. In a few months after we get some more plants in and the grass fills in, it should be looking pretty good.

The best part is that this isn’t costing anything. The trees for the paths were ones we cut down, the plants are ones we’ve grown from cuttings, the grass is from the yard and the wood shavings are free at the lumbermills. All that was needed was our labor, and there was a lot of that.

In the beginning, we did frequent the plant nurseries quite a bit, but not anymore. Just about every landscape plant around here propagates very well. We are constantly cutting or trimming the plants and rooting them. At any given time there are 50-75 plants in pots around here waiting to be planted or traded for others we don’t already have. There are times when it actually does looks like a nursery around here.

A couple years ago we bought a Brazilian Torch that gets these big, beautiful red flowers. At this point, we have gotten at least a couple dozen more plants from cuttings off this one plant. The same goes for our Lobster Claw plants, we started with only a couple and now they are everywhere.

We are excited to see that our peach trees are getting blossoms and new leaves. Peaches don’t do well in this sub-tropical environment, but we thought we would give them a go anyway. It really doesn’t get cold enough here for the trees to lose its leaves and go dormant. Ours was full of buds for the past three months, but they just wouldn’t open. Finally, I just stripped the tree of all its old leaves just to see what would happen. In about a week all the buds started to open with new leaves and flowers. Now if the flowers get pollinated, hopefully we might get some peaches.

We still have some scrap lumber left over from the house build that I am constantly using for different projects around here. We decided that where the two new trails come together there should be a milepost sign. You know, in case you get lost or want to know how far away from home you are.

At this point, there are 19 places on there, mostly relating to places we’ve been to or have a connection with. I have another 13 blank signs ready to be painted, we just haven’t decided where to put on them yet.

Okay, so we still had some bananas left from the last bunch, plus about a gallon bag of raspberries. I’m sure they would make a wonderful tropical rum drink, but we just don’t really drink rum. So it was time for some more banana raspberry bread. It’s so moist and delicious that we will definitely have to make some more when visitors come. Banana raspberry bread and a cup of coffee, all fresh from the garden. Take that Starbucks!

It seems that everyone here grows something and it’s really common to share their harvests. The other day at the bar, a woman came in with a bunch of beautiful red habaneros and asked if anyone wanted some. We said we would love to have a few of them. It turns out that no one else there wanted any, so she ended up giving us the whole bag of 155 beautiful habaneros. We will dehydrate them and make a spicy habanero salt mix that I love so much.

At this point, we had about 40 pineapples on plants. We know that critters will eat some and hopefully leave some for us. But in two days something has chewed on eleven of them. Usually, the critters will wait until they are ripe, so we pick them just prior to that. This time they are taking bites out of the small ones that aren’t ripe yet and at this rate there won’t be any left for us. So it was off to get a roll of chicken wire to put around the pineapples to try to deter them a little. As we pulled into the drive with the wire there was the culprit, just standing there, a coatimundi. We assume it was him because I think I saw pineapple dripping from his cheeks. So time to get our little fence up around the pineapple patch and see if we can salvage a few for us.

Last week our neighbor stopped by again with some more fresh pork. Of course, we had to buy some (60 lbs.) so we could make some more sausage and ribs. We love to experiment with food and try new recipes, so this is what we did this time. We put the ribs in the same brine that we do for the ham, and when ready, into the smoker they went. Ham ribs,  just another way to enjoy pork!

Since we had both full sides of the ribs, we thought we would try one more way of making them. These were cut into individual ribs and seasoned with brown sugar, sriracha salt, and a little smoked habanero powder. After they sat in the fridge for a day, they were then wrapped in homemade bacon and slow smoked. Pork on pork lollipops, what can I say.

Three years ago on Cinco de Mayo, we left Bedrock (our home of 24 years in Mexico). This Cinco de Mayo we raised a glass of tequila to all our friends, good times, and great memories we had in Cholla Bay, Mexico. ¡Salud!