Randomness

This has happened many times on this visit, I sit absorbed in my book, or my work or my mundane musings and then hear a bird call and look up to see the marvel which surrounds me. How can it be? Deep inside my mind it is dark and textured, somewhat cartoon-like in the internal balloon vision. It keeps shocking me, the mountain, the lake, the scent of the moist gardenia out the window.

Being surrounded by so many short and beautiful people I feel like a pale freak, the ancient abuelos on the street, less than 5' tall and thin and brittle but tough as the dry leaves on the avocado tree that rattle in the wind. The scenes in the street so much chaos and dust, sweetness and need.

I find the sites and sounds don't startle me as much as they used to, a good thing? What will tomorrow bring and can I open my mind to blur the line between internal and external....

The Feria Santa Catarina

Today is the opening day of the feria for Santa Catarina, a festival celebrating the town, it's protector Cofradia, an association of the town fathers, and the protector saints. It is a fair complete with lots of food vendors, huge marimba band, lots of stuff being sold, kids, rides etc., etc., etc. I stole the girls and we headed over the mountain in the back of a pick-up truck. We took a turn down by the lake to see the view and again how high the water is. We had thought there would be more happening this morning, tomorrow is the big day, but it was nice to see town preparations without the chaotic crowd factor.

During the time of the feria the tradition is for local families to present one another with a vat of their own pulic and tamalitos. Pulic is a rich caldo or stew and each cook has their own twist on it. Miguel's mother is famous for her recado, the base of the caldo. She specially requested a photo of herself stirring the giant vat of recado that she made. As you can see already half of it is gone, they receive many visitors and exchange Pulic. We carried a huge portion home for Miguel and the family to lunch on. This soup is a many layered broth made with onion, tomato, achiote, cilantro,
mashed and run through a sieve for smoothness and thickened with masa. The traditional vegetables are potato & guiskil, the meats are beef and chicken. It is served with lots of tamalitos that in this case are made from the corn grown by the family made into masa and steamed in wrappers of green corn leaves that are from their field.

I need to revise the recipe a bit to make it make sense and so I will post it another day.


Not tomorrow as I will be cooking for a gringo thanksgiving in Guatemala! I couldn't resist this photo of the boats lined up at the edge of the lake, a classic tourist shot.

Morning Light on the Lake

Here is a new video of the morning volcanoes. In the background is the sound of the water rushing down the stream that runs through the garden. We start out looking to my right towards Panajachel then to Santa Cruz and then pan toward volcan San Pedro moving to the space next where there is a cove and that is where Santiago is. Next pan toward Cerro de Oro the small bump, behind is Volcan Toliman and then the back is Volcan Atitlan. Next I pan toward the garden to the star of the neighborhood, Pote' the dawg!

Papaya Salad

This is the second time this week we've had Papaya Salad with dinner. The idea was green papaya salad but they are all ripe at the market so I made it the same way and used the ripe fruit and it is very yummy! Sliced pieces of Papaya (1 large fruit) , thinly sliced pieces of cucumber (1 ) , slices of tomato (1), diced onion (about 1/2), hot chile pepper rocoto (about 1/2 depending on how spicey you like it). Then I added a ton of lime juice and juice of one sour orange, lots of salt, a dash of sugar and a large handful of purple basil chiffonade, and minced cilantro. Let it sit and blend for 1/2 hour, or while you make the tortillas for dinner and then eat it all up. It really makes your stomach happy too! Here's what I forgot in the original post...THE GARLIC, about 3 cloves finely minced and if you have it a splash of Thai fish sauce. The idea is that it is spicey, salty, tangy and sweet all at the same time.

pups in the calle

On this street I often come across these same 3 dogs curled up for their afternoon nap. In fact, I don't know if I've ever seen them up and roaming around! It is one of the few quiet streets where a dog can actually sleep unmolested. It is the back road to San Ju Yu, the boat launch. This next is the vinery growing on the walls here, bouganvillea and orange trumpet vine (Pyrostegia venusta). This shot doesn't do it justice because I was taught to not put pink and orange together but it totally works. I'll try again tomorrow for a better shot if it is cloudy the colors will translate better.
This is a shot of Brazilian Red Cloak or Red Justicia (Megaskepasma erythrochlamys) in full show these days mostly in the fancy gardens around town here in Panajachel. It is grand to see these plants familiar to me as potted plants growing as shrubs and trees in the ground. I get clues about their care by observing them in a more natural habitat. Okay a garden isn't totally natural but it is a step closer.

I'll end with a photo taken after a large boat landed at Santa Cruz with many people heading up to the town's central square for some celebration. If you can note many of the women in their beautiful huipils (hand woven blouses) and cortes (skirts). And of course Abuela with his jazzy straw hat and the ubiquitous tuk tuk!

Chuwa'k chik!

Bird Sounds, an explanation

After 3 fruitless hours trying to load the bird sounds I will have to find another way to share it. I guess my bandwidth doesn't have what it takes to get through! here it is finally!

ANYWAY, a photo of the delicious flowers we prepared for lunch on Saturday, up the hill in St. Cruz. Still having trouble narrowing down what it is, upon closer inspection the flower seems more like a bean, there are many wild vines here that are used. This one Miguel calls behuque or enrededora, in Caquchikel tzu re'k. Trouble is enrededora is a universal term for vine. I'll keep looking. The flower was prepared by removing only the petals to use lightly sauteed with onion and a dash of fresh tomato and added to noodles! Another way to eat them is a tamalito prepared with the cooked flower, tomato, onion and added to masa and steamed in a corn husk. I hope to get to make some of these since I love the tamales in any form!

A nice walk along the lake with the girls, Otilia, Delia, and Nancy gave them break from the daily work routine. It is hard to tear Otilia away from her work. Hmm, she reminds me of myself... Since it was Sunday there were more folks along the shores, at first the waves were ferocious and strong and then within an amazingly short span of minutes the lake calmed to a glossy, smooth sheen. Every day has so many different weather patterns. As you can see in the photo with the submerged willow the lake has risen at least 3-4 meters causing lots of changes. This water rise is due to all the rain in May during the deadly storm Agatha and also again heavy, destructive rains in September.

Bird sounds at Lago Atitlan

The first tortilla of the visit! RICO!

Nancy and I have walked down to the lake for me to see how things look for this year. There is plenty of damage from the storm Agatha earlier this year and then again in September during some more horribly heavy rains. I wish nature would let up a little bit on this beautiful place! However, it is surprising cleaned up and as lovely as ever.

This morning was all about getting things set up here, phone card, groceries and just looking around to see what has and has not changed. We're having some yerba Mora for dinner tonight, it was exceptionally fresh at the market this morning, also a broccoli that I bought off the back of a pickup truck, 2Q for the head which is about $.25! The bridge is all repaired (again since it was rebuilt after hurricane Stan) but the little tienda at the edge of Jucanya as you can see is dangling over the edge of where the river washed out.

I had my first delicious latte at Crossroads just in the nick of time because the shop was inundated with a large group. I beat a hasty retreat.

I've been trying to load on a video for the last 3 hours so I give up. I'll try again in the morning and make a new post. here is the video

Halloween in my Maine

Today is Hallowe'en, a brisk and windy day, a sample of what's to come. I've been studying my spanish each morning in preparation for my upcoming trip. This is my study nest. The morning tea and sun pouring in through the oaks.

Pulled the beets and made pickled beets today and a batch of green tomato mincemeat, which will be yummy baked into a pie later this winter. As it simmered for hours the whole house has the scent of vinegar from the beets and spices from the mincemeat. These tomatoes being chopped up were so beautiful and here's the simmering pot of sweetness. Now you can almost get a whiff: If you want the recipe I can post it tomorrow!


The colors are so amazing right now, it can make you weep for the fleeting beauty. This is our old friend, Euonymus alatus, now on the invasive species list, but I mean, just look at these colors. Leaves in the woods range from the palest pink to this deep red with these seeds (the evil culprits) in flaming orange red with deep burgundy wings, an exuberant ball gown for the autumn.
We've also had a flock of turkeys roaming the shop where I head each day to keep a look on the current experiment in organic hydroponics, looks and tastes good! What is the drift? There were so many industrious things to do today I never got to Hallowe'en.

A rare blooming.

A rare treat and I am late in reporting it but it was lovely. This is one of 2 plants raised as seedlings that are now 3 years old. The vines graced my dooryard all summer and put on a wonderful show, starting with the lovely silver green leaves and robust twining vine stems. And then gracing my home with several lovely blooms in September. This is Argyrea nervosa in bloom in MAINE!!! (aka: Hawaiian baby wood rose) I took the picture just before bringing it into the greenhouse for the winter.

The shipping season

Hi to all my imaginary friends that I think are reading this blog since no one posts any comments!!!! That means YOU! Early morning and we have been shipping plants out like crazy, still maybe one week to go. Arms are sore, fingers scratched up, Oh and the finger I slammed in the car door last week during the heat wave, it is fine - if a bit bruised. That is when I know I am over the edge when I start getting injuries. Spring shipping is like a 4 week marathon, everything has to be in a fine rhythm. Starting with food, rest, vitamins and a positive mental attitude. The breakfast of choice has been a smoothie packed with goodies: nuts, yogurt, banana, fruit of the day (pineapple, blueberries frozen last summer, strawberries), a stalk of celery, 1-2 leaves of dinosaur kale, golden flax seed meal, flax oil, maca and sometimes ginger and lots of filtered water. Now the combo with pineapple is particularly pretty because the kale green carries the color. This is good fuel for 4-5 hours!

The plants are looking really good this year, despite the losses in fuchsia land ( the freeze night was also very windy and the remay blew off!) I now have a foolproof system to hold it down but that will be for next year, sigh.

I have been expanding my herbal studies and also my perfume studies. A good friend just went to Longwood Gardens and visited the making scents display, rave reviews. It is definitely on my field trip list for this summer.

I will have some exciting news to break later this month as soon as things are in place, I don't want to jinx it! It is growing related and fun!

That's it, off to be a "hose jockey" for a few hours.

Time for beautiful weather.

What a beautiful week we had, the weather warm and sunny, just what was needed to recover from the extreme storms we've been having. The plants are all growing happily now. I had a wonderful brunch with friends at my favorite restaurant, Tulsi . What a spread and it was all delicious. Brunch is served every Sunday from 11:30 to 3:00. Check it out, you will be glad you did. We are going to be growing some plants for the restaurant garden. It is a small garden but enough for edible flowers for garnish, greens, tomatoes, herbs and bitter gourd. Oh, and of course, tulsi the holy basil after which the restaurant is named. You can tell that food is always a theme for me!

Another new direction is the raw food thing, one of my co workers got me excited about it, now I am not rabid but when I eat this way I feel so good. Tonight I am making some "crackers" and breakfast snacks for the busy week. The base is soaked whole oat groats that get blended to a smooth paste and then I split it up and add to the different batters. For the basic cracker it is oats, sage, a dash of flax oil, a dab of onion and soy sauce . For the breakfast bars I pulse in the food processor walnuts, dry cranberry, sunflower seed, apple and raw ginger. Then I add that to the plain ground oats and add cinnamon to taste. The two batters are then dotted onto wax paper about 1 tablespoon each and spread out a bit (this part is challenging) then the whole deal goes into a food dehydrator for overnight to "cook". I know, sounds weird, but they are tasty and nutritious! REALLY. I will post a picture of the finished product.

Earlier this month I took the weaving from my Guatemalan friends to show and tell at the meeting of the Southern Maine Guild of Spinners and Weavers. It was fascinating to see what is going on in the world of spinning and weaving.
They were also working on a color project and many fantastic textile projects were shown by the group. This image is a scarf that was spun, dyed and woven to depict the similar colors in the photographic image, stunning! hey, gotta go make those crackers, more later! Leave a comment if you are out there reading!

The Big Wind Storm

What a fortunate set of circumstances surrounded the latest offering from Mother Nature! I was ready with the generators but never imagined it would be for so long.

This is the neighbor's house about 3 houses up with an uprooted, gigantic spruce on their roof. Luckily no one was harmed, it came down around 11:30 and it is a miracle they were not upstairs in their bedrooms!

The large oak out front is still standing and that is a miracle!

The night was warm (ish, this is New England after all.) I was waiting expectantly for the automated alarm call from the other greenhouses but it never came. I thought that was amazing but great luck! Also great luck that a friend was visiting and offering moral support. Then at midnight as I was filling the generator here for the night I decided I should go up there and check. That was when all the fire trucks and police were flashing up the street so we abandoned the trip. Good thing I didn't go out because further up the street was another huge white pine down in the road with lots of wires, another tree on a car, etc etc.

After a fitful night of sleep I went to Eliot to check and the power and phone lines had been down probably at the same time as the damage on our street. The good news is that it was warm enough for a greenhouse full of cold crop spring material and the wind didn't damage the un-inflated plastic! We grow in double wall hoop houses with air pumped (by electric motor) into the sandwiched layers. My storage shed did get a new look however ,this is minor!

So Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday making runs to Eliot fuel the generator every 6 hours
and the set up at home, one generator on the greenhouse and apartment and one for the house I feel fortunate to be so well set up. The weather did get much worse, rain, snow, wind, inevitably at midnight when I was driving to fill the tank. The sun didn't come out, which was lucky because no pumps for water either!

Back to plants here are some lovelies plucked while sticking cuttings: Vigna caracalla with it's exquisite snail shaped bloom, and Mannetia flowers that are like little glowing fireflies! The plants are as happy as I am to have the power back on, little details like water, air fanning from the horizontal air flow and a grower, after a few naps and a good night sleep, who can see again to take care!

Post Valentines, Phew

At long last a new post, having gone into a paralyzed depression and now back out the other side. Coming back to January in Maine was painful, snow, ice, wind, and that pesky work! The pansies are now transplanted and growing happily. We have been having great weather and they will be in bud and bloom in 4 weeks.


Meanwhile taking cuttings and getting all the rooting going resulted in this scrumptious collection of flowering abutilon:
That is a bowl of Abutilon: dark red is Nabob, Big Pink & Apricot Belle.

Cuttings on the bench at present, all the Pelargoniums, Lavenders, Abutilons, all of the fuchsia and many of the tropicals:
So far, very happy. Critters are under control and the sun has been adding just enough during the day to keep things growing.


We got a big snowstorm the other day and it was lovely and thankfully the worst of it has already melted away. I can feel OK about it now that spring is in sight, my hands and shoulders however were not too impressed. That's what happens when you get out of shape. No snow to shovel most of January and February keeps mama happy. This was the lovely version, a white frosting on everything and then enough breeze to dislodge it before it takes the electrical wires down! These are the things we think about here.

I will have to indulge in a dog photo opportunity because they have been so darn cute lately. These are the sunbathers at lunch time.

did I mention Valentines? No? Well, lets just say if you have ever been thinking of splitting up with your spouse, don't do it on Valentines day because it makes all the subsequent valentines days kinda suck for the one that got ditched. just saying. And that's why I prefer dogs!