la lluvia, es buena

October is deep rainy season. While it is sunny, and there are blue skies over the balcony as I am writing this, this is the month of torrential downpours. The rains start to recede in November, and by December we are back in the sunny season, but this time of year shares it's own special gems. The wildlife thrive, and although everyone runs for shelter when the torrents are here, the breaks are for taking care of business...

Living in the Jungle gives you a whole new appreciation for living in harmony with the other lifeforms that share the planet. It's one thing to raptly watch an Attenborough commentary on Army ants, and another altogether to watch them from your porch cheering, as they clean out that pesky infestation of stinging ants for you "organically."

This season I've decided to post some pictures of various things that we have planted within the last moon cycle. (not just a hippie thing, moon cycles definitely have a drastic effect on plantlife too) Costa Rica is the first place that I've lived where you can just stick cut up plants into the ground and have brand new plants grow. This is a shot of our Piña Garden, which is simply the tops cut off of the pineapples that we serve with breakfast stuck into the ground. Check back in 6 months for samples....

Aloe, this poor baby has put in lots of service for the folks who came back from Tortuga island without following sunblock advice...

Oregano.

Palm Trees

Porter's weed and Hibiscus (next to the sign). The car in the background is from our neighbors, who suffer from flatireitis, a common affliction here during the rains, as the roads fall apart from flash flooding. For chronic sufferers, make sure to fix your spare and/or make friends with the neighbors. For other chronicles dealing with this common, and serious affliction, check my myspace "time of the tico."

..Discontinuity..

There are some that call Montezuma the Vortex. Mainly because time happens differently here. There was a newfie who once put it like this: "one day I spent a month in Montezuma."

It can happen like that.

It can happen other ways too, even linearly, but only in a rod sterling kind of way. Personally, I believe that it has something to do with a Coriolis effect, but since it's all relative you are going to have a hard time pinning it down anyway.

I am rapidly approaching a year since the last post, and although it's easy for me to put into words, I'm afraid that the affect of time here boggles the mind unless you've lived it. Last December seems like just a eyeblink ago, but if i were to reflect on all the changes and events, it seems to add up to at least five years worth of experiences. It's like I get extra time, but it is still the same day, all the same. It's not quite like every day is Groundhog's day, but it's pretty close.

The main addition to the family is the casita, our new lodgings behind the garden that houses my brother, our live in employee Morgan, and the work stay or backpacker folks. The main house is still the center of the community, but it's nice to have the satelite space, which is complete into itself, and useful to have in case the party needs a seperate venue....