Who’s The Boss on this Shrimp Farm?

Tags

cameronera, dady cuadrado, how shrimp are harvested, shrimp harvest ecuador, storks, white birds

Life on a Cameronera (Shrimp Farm)

Jama-Manabi-Ecuador  – July 2014

The shrimp ponds along Rio Jama are owned by a handful of families, and each one has a modest headquarters where pumps, feed and supplies are stored. Life is usually quiet on these cameroneras;  the pumps run when fresh ocean water ebbs upriver each day, and they are quiet when the river is low.

Many times a modest living area is located on the second floor above the bodega. (My house is this type of design.)  Having someone watching over the ponds day and night helps protect against theft (yes- thieves sneak in at night and steal shrimp!).   The employee also turns the pumps on and keeps an ear tuned for signs of mechanical problems.  When the river water levels get low, the pumps are turned off.

Storks clean up the leftovers after a harvest!

The health of the ponds is closely monitored from the time the tiny larvae are delivered to a small nursery pond until the day of harvest.    Oxygen levels are important, and sunny conditions produce healthier ponds than cloudy ones.   The ponds are deep enough that herons and egrets are not tempted by the shrimp that stay near the bottom.  If the birds line the edges, it’s a sign that something’s wrong – perhaps the shrimp need more oxygen, and they’re coming to the surface.  

Not-Quite Summer?

Tags

aguaji el matal, beach loss, ecuador climate, El Matal Ecuador, summer on the equator, summertime, vanishing beaches

Peeling Shrimp -“I LOVE my job!’ –  La Division, Manabi, Ecuador

Summer – “The warmest season of the year, following spring and preceding autumn.” (Webster’s II New Riverside Dictionary” 1984)

Krista at WordPress prompted us to share images of ‘Summer Lovin”, and she mentioned southern vs northern hemispheres.  I snickered and thought, ‘- Summer? What about those lucky ones who straddle the equator?!  We don’t really have a summer on this part of Ecuador’s coast!”

After enduring Central America’s oppressive Pacific heat for eight years, I remain enchanted by Ecuador’s more-forgiving climate.   Just south of the equator on the Pacific coast, the days and nights politely share 12-hour shifts; January escorts us into the rainy season (invierno), and the June solstice weans us into a dry-but-slightly-cooler verano, their version of summer.   The low temperatures might bottom out at 70, and the highs rarely hit 90, although the sun can bite very fast!  (This past week has been cool, and many people wore long sleeves in the daytime and jackets at night!) When the ocean breezes stop for a rest, and the temperatures rise,  the nearby ocean offers instant relief!

My perch on the river is nestled between two rapidly-vanishing beaches;  La Division is northeast from the river’s mouth, and Playa El Matal is southwest. The ocean stayed on its best behavior during mid July’s full moon spring/king tides, although another critical high tide will soon arrive in August.

La Division Ecuador – Nelly took a rare break from her restaurant for Mother’s Day 2013.

La Boca – Rio Jama

 

Once upon a time when the beach was much wider: “The Boca” with El Matal and Punta Ballena in the background. (Image from 2011)

Playa El Matal – “Where’s the beach?” – A concerned visitor assesses the vanishing beach.

Great illustrations of ‘summer’ can be found at Playa El Matal. As the ocean crowds the fishermen’s boats onto the road, the locals remain unruffled and adapt without any displays of frustration.  Let’s go on a beach-inspection walk and search for a sour face!

Timeout for Art: Runaway!

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art from driftwood, fun garden projects, garden art, things to do at home, timeout for art runaway

To enter, please pull cord!

“Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.”  Thyla Harp

Taped on the ugliest wall of the riverhouse is a growing assortment of clippings, scribblings and quotes, and the above quote always makes me smile. Today’s post gives you a little peek into the gates at the riverhouse, where the internet crawls slower than today’s low tide!

TIMEOUT FOR ART: Be Still, Seek and Find

Tags

ceibo trees, Pencil drawing, Timeout for Art

Pencil (Continued from earlier post)

All that you need is deep within you waiting to unfold and reveal itself. All you have to do is be still and take time to seek for what is within and you will surely find it. ~Eileen Caddy

I am writing from La Division, where I hoped to get away from smoke that’s been wafting ‘downwind’ from some sort of burn pile. The smoke seems to have followed me here! I was also hoping for a stronger internet signal. I was not planning to have many distractions, but they are here as the old battery runs down while the upload functions and pages fail to load!

Perdon for this hurried post!  The quote is quite ironic for a day when I was unable to be still in order to publish this post!    Two of four images loaded, and I am going to call that ‘a good day.’  The battery is now at critical —- some days it’s best to stay home and draw!

Z

One Wave at a Time

Tags

aguaji, boobies in manabi, El Matal Ecuador, gringo tree cuenca, gringo tree quito, high tide beach loss, spring tides july 2014

(retweeet)@Petchary @PanosCaribbean (ZeebraDesigns said: Beneath full moon will be at front line, feet in sand, staring mother ocean’s eyes (mouth?) one wave at a time. – 11 Jul)

Emma Lewis
@Petchary @ZeebraDesigns @PanosCaribbean “That sounds poetic, but sad… Will be thinking of you.”

With little room between the high-tide mark and the buildings, Playa El Matal’s front street is choked with boats, fishermen, tourists and locals.

El Matal, Manabi, Jama, Ecuador

Mother Ocean was quite calm last night, and the night weaned into daytime without threatening and dangerous waves.  I peered out at the waves about once an hour and was glad to see dawn arrive with a gentle awakening.

With palm trees flanking each side of my friends home, I remained all but incredulous when they told me that in 2010, they could step 54 paces from the end of their lot to the edge of the dry beach that angled to the ocean!   I looked at their old photos, and I now sit with jaw agape at how much has been devoured by the ocean.

Timeout for Art: So Many Colors!

Tags

colorful paintings, fun songs about children, painting in watercolor, the Daily prompt, Timeout for Art

Oops, the sun turned into a flower, and the flower turned into — what?— fireworks? Who cares? It was fun to paint!

“If you could paint your current mood onto a canvas, what would that painting look like? What would it depict?” Ben Huberman –  WordPress – The Daily Prompt

Fighting the Good Fight

Tags

aguaji, aguaji 2014, coco beach village, El Matal Ecuador, geo tubes, july 2014 high tide, spring tide damage, tide charts

“What if it lines up like it did in the Trojan War … Athena versus Poseidon?”  

“I don’t know. But I just know that I’ll be fighting next to you.”

“Why?”  

“Because you’re my friend, Seaweed Brain. Any more stupid questions?”  ― Rick Riordan- The Lightning Thief

Late afternoon – Feb 02, 2014 – El Matal Ecuador – Homeowner photo

screen shot from video

Coco Beach Village/El Matal Ecuador

The good fight is the one that we fight in the name of our dreams.  – Paulo Coelho (The Pilgrimage)

Imagine having a nightmare where a wall of water threatens to wash you, your friends, your home and your village away.  You see it approaching on the horizon.  You’re watching as if a voyeur and unable to awaken others who might be able to help.  You’re screaming, yet no one hears, as if they are deaf or your voice is muted.  There’s only a short amount of time, and a cluster of neighbors and several strangers leap into your nightmare and project a united front as the clock ticks backward.

Will this woman’s home survive the high tides?

The monster’s first attack arrived in January, and a diet of sand and driftwood kept it quiet for another month.  Developing a taste for a more refined diet, it returned in February and nibbled at the foundations of homes while upending open-air boat shelters and pondering ways to devour the street on its next attack.

Full-Moon Vigil

Tags

coastal erosion, fighting mother ocean, high tides, kuna indians san blas islands, linda the task at hand, pacific ocean high tides, spring tides

El Matal – Ecuador — What will remain after this weekend’s full-moon high tides?

Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.   –  Paulo Coelho

Tapping into her sensitive powers of observation about her surroundings, Linda of The Task at Hand often trusts her own predictions instead of the local weather forecasts.  When not penning poetic salt-of-the earth stories about her life, Linda’s specialty is varnishing boats.  An unexpected change in weather can ruin her meticulous work.     Enjoy her post about the subtle weather-forecasting hints here: SCHOOLED BY SUMMER . 

High tides affect many areas – Bahia de Caraquez- ECUADOR – February 2014

This past week Linda inquired about my friends at nearby Playa el Matal, where Mother Ocean chomped away the shoreline during the January and February (2014) spring tides.   Everyone at El Matal is preparing for the third battle against  tides that will barrel ashore beneath this weekend’s full moon.   We are hoping there will be no need for new posts titled like the one written in February:   It’s Devastating

Coco Beach Village/El Matal Ecuador

Goodnight Moon – Pre-dawn at Playa San Miguel Costa Rica

Each evening when I gaze up at the waxing moon, a heavy sense of foreboding washes over my spirit.  I think about the combination of high tides, storms at sea, the direction of winds, and how they affect the fierceness of the waves, especially when they reach the shore at high tide.  Like those who live near the ocean, I am aware of the seriousness of the tides that will arrive this  weekend.

This full moon brings an extra-high sea, and those who live at or near sea level will surely be participating in sea-watch vigils around the globe, including Panama’s Kuna Indians on the San Blas Islands.

Staying Well

Tags

Aspartame, auxigro and grapes, auxigro and msg, Bursitis, Chemicals in Food, Dr. Sheel Tangri, Msg, Msg in Wine, Treating Old Injuries

A Toast to Good Health! (Can you see the sun through the stem of this glass?!)

Anyone who has hopped from doctor to doctor in search of a diagnosis and cure will agree that one needs to find out what triggered the symptoms.  The best treatment whacks at the root of the illness instead of throwing darts at possible reasons, masking the symptoms with temporary solutions and hoping to reclaim your wellness. If your body is retaining fluid, would you rather take a pill to flush your system or try to figure out what’s making you retain that fluid?

Paying attention to diet and the chemicals we put into our bodies might help pinpoint possible triggers.  Sometimes those triggers are obvious.

Check That Hot Sauce Label for MSG

For over thirty years, I’ve dodged MSG (monosodium glutamate) which almost immediately makes my fingers and feet swell.  Sometimes if I unknowingly ingest a double dose, my heart starts beating faster, I break out in a sweat and feel weak.   If I consume an overload of MSG, my symptoms are similar to being drugged, and I cannot think well.  Once several days passed before I emerged from the fog of an accidental MSG “overdose.”

Figuring out my sensitivity to aspartame took longer, although losing one’s vision and then getting it back will get anyone’s attention!  Several of these MSG and Aspartame stories are here: G for GALLO, GARZA, GARROBO, GAFAS AND – GASP – GLUTAMOTO MONOSODICO.

Beware!  MSG and Aspartame

This past week during the Ecuador Expat Journey tour, I told this red-wine story to a new friend:

  “…About four years ago after experiencing MSG sensitivity two different times after drinking red wine, I conducted a random online search: “RED WINE, MSG.”  

 

…I was not expecting to find links to stories that linked red wine and MSG with a product called AuxiGro, but they were there staring me in the face!  Yes, AuxiGro contains “Glutamic acid” and was used on many food crops in the USA and throughout the world!  The product not only helped crops mature at the same time, but it also enhanced the sweetness of grapes!  

 

I was stunned…”

A Salute to the Red, White & Blue!

Tags

fourth of july colors, red, red white and blue, white blue

RED

Red Hibiscus and Quinoa “Quinouli”

“Red Capes” in progress; Watercolor by Lisa Brunetti

Red Coffee Cherries!

WHITE

White scorpion’s tail – Ecuador

White for Peace – Jama Ecuador

WHITE EGRET – “Have a great day, wherever you are!”

BLUE

BLUE MORNING GLORIES

Blue Swirl!

BLUE FOOTED BOOBY!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Red, White and Blue!

Check out Steve Schwartzman’s Portraits of Wildflowers post for another dose of patriotic colors! (For anone interested in technical details and trivia about the Spanish language, see his Spanish-English Word Connections.)

Sandia anyone?

Happy Fourth of July!

Z

Timeout for Art: Pencil Practice!

Tags

drawing trees, PENCIL DRAWINGS, things to do when bored, Timeout for Art

Go ahead; pick up a pencil and have fun!

“To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.” Kurt Vonnegut

The ritual of sharpening pencils preps me with anticipation for drawing. Those of you who feel as if the talent fairy passed over you – stop long enough to sharpen a pencil and practice for half an hour per week, and most likely you will spend much more time in communication with your pencil and paper!  An extra benefit is blocking out distractions and getting in touch with your true self!

Shading the background made the bamboo come forward (Lapiz – Pencil Punta- Point

Choose a forgiving subject and sketch the main areas, make very light notations for dark and medium shading, and be very careful around those light areas! Let the bare paper represent the lightest lights. For those of you who are celebrating holidays, try sketching an ear of corn or a wad of firecrackers, then shade the negative space that surrounds them! (Are firecrackers still allowed in the USA?)

The absence of erasers (while drawing) disciplines me to be careful and to think ahead, and the drawing stays fresh. I also use a second sheet of paper to cover my work. If there’s no available sheet around, I’ll use a paper napkin or a thin board – anything to avoid smudges!   Students often spend as much time erasing as they do drawing; learning to sketch without the crutch of an eraser will reward you with drawings that are not overworked.

Someone requested a pencil drawing of a ceibo tree, so i’m having fun with a series of small drawings!

Pencil drawing allows you to stop at any time and resume later. Little by little, the sketch evolves into a stronger work of art. Trees are my favorite subject to sketch, and after working from life, I can complete the drawing days or weeks or months or even years later! Many times my preliminary sketch is filled with notations so that I remember where the lights, darks and middle values are located.

Slaying Dragons – The Copyright Demon Strikes Again

Tags

copyright and videos, copyrights and art, paul taggart

Mirror Border (left) and WHO’S SLAYING THE DRAGONS (right) Images copyright – Lisa Brunetti

Join me in being baffled at a story about YOUTUBE and copyrights.   How can Google strip away the intellectual property rights/ownership of instructional videos that were obviously and rightfully owned by Paul Taggart?

Visit Oil Pastels by Mary for the story:    http://oilpastelsbymary.com/2014/07/02/youtube-copyright-and-piracy-concerns/

In the above copyright/piracy post Mary notes that Paul, “…  has generously shared over 260 art tutorials via YouTube, where he earned YouTube Partner status…” 

Yet go to his Youtube site, and this is what one finds:

PaulTaggart YouTubeChannel

Take a cyber trip to Scotland and visit a delightful, kind and highly-talented artist who shares his story about this YOUTUBE nightmare HERE:

PAUL TAGGART (Paul shares his story via video.)