Lots of work happening around the Toucan Hideaway, yes that is what we are calling it. First of all the little casita is coming together very nicely. The walls are getting some paint and a few personal touches going in.

As for the outside we ordered a truck load of white gravel to put around the house to keep the mud down. Eventually the grass will grow through the rocks and it will be a good solid grass yard. Ruben, Kelley and I spent most of last weekend landscaping around the house, moving rocks, spreading gravel and putting in plants. I know what you’re thinking, don’t you already have enough plants? I guess I should say that we mostly went hunting around the property and found plants that we thought would look better in a different spot.

We found a nice Philodendron that we re-positioned on a tree next to the house, we also found an orchid that we moved to a stump next to the  house and some tropical bird of paradise. We also discovered that right next to the porch is a passion fruit vine.

We also are starting to get a few plants in the garden, the herbs patch is doing well with lots of basil, oregano and some new dill seeds.

Ruben also brought over some red and pink torch ginger that we put on each side of the stairs. He said that it grows fast and before we know it we will be giving it away. He also told us that the red one is for the men and when he passes one on the right he is the boss, but if a woman passes a pink one on her right then she is the boss. So we planted one color on each side of the stairs so that when one of us goes into the house that person is the boss, but when you come out of the house the other person is the boss.

Now that the back yard was level and mudless, it was a great place to put the bbq. Our first official dinner guests were Rob & Carol from Cholla. It was a wonderful night with great friends, good food and a little of Darren’s left behind Big Titty rum.

And if you were wondering about all the bugs, well I guess they did not get the invite… because there weren’t any.

As for the main house, all the footers are set and the septic is done. Judging by the size of the septic I assume he must think we are really full of shit.

So all the cement work is done and now it is time to order all the lumber for the house. Off to the lumber yard where we got all our other lumber only to find out that there is no more of the Nargusta wood available. Not too much of a problem there is a lot more lumber yards around. Yes that was a problem, no one had any. Our original lumber company said that had some uncut logs but they weren’t cutting or selling any now. I guess after they saw the size of the order and our sad faces they finally agreed to cut some. That was a big relief, until we asked when we could expect it. It turns out that the mill is shut down for two weeks for maintenance and after they open back up it will take a couple more weeks to cut it and then it has to dry. Since the contractor would then be without work for awhile and we were afraid that he might take on another job, we decided to have him start on the garage. Since the garage will be built out of all cinder block he will be able to stop at any time and get back on the house as soon as the wood is ready.

While Carol and Rob were here we did manage to head up to a small spot on the river where we could cool off and have a few cold beers. After that we took a cruise up to Rio Pools so that they could check it out.

They had also brought back a dozen lobster tails from lobsterfest and some Sonoran beef from Mexico, along with some of Carol’s potatoes stuffed with cheese and crab. This was all taken over to our friends Julie and Gary’s place above the river where we used to stay and we all enjoyed our own little lobsterfest. Sorry Darren.

Just more good times in Belize….