Timeout for Updates!

The daily designs are drawn on the boulders with cracked corn, and the birds slowly erase the designs! Can you guess what this image in the foreground is about? (Will this work as a Timeout for Art?)

Several people have recently written to be sure all’s fine, as I’m not usually so silent.  Thanks, amigos – the past few weeks have been busy, and I also dedicated some extra quiet time for remembering Joe.

The flowers were rescued from a fallen tree in the public road. The painting makes a fun backdrop! Will this work for a Timeout for Art?!!

Last week brought an assortment of ‘helpers’ to the property.  Pedro, the all-in-one great kind of assistant, helped with some electrical repairs and then put on his birding sombrero and helped identify some birds.  Here’s Pedro/Peter at his top form — the fact that he’s also a rapelling guide might explain how he so easily accomplished the task.  I tipped him twenty dollars for his heroic efforts…

His younger assistant had trouble climbing the tree, so with sensitivity, the Maestro shimmied up the tree, then later explained it by saying, “I was wearing jeans, which helped.”

With machete strapped to his hip, he climbed the tree, cut the limb, then used the rope to descend..

Great work, Pedro!

He doesn’t look so high unless one steps wayyyy back!

Another helper, Ivan, helped locate a leak in a hot-water line in the cement slab.  Since he was the one who put the stone on the house, he was the best one to remove the stone to access the problem area.  He found a split in the threads on a fitting, and he also replaced the cold-water fitting which had a tiny little leak. The hot-water-leak problem is now ‘history.’

Before covering the repair with cement, a photo moment was taken to recall what was done…

Look who came to lunch!

Jefferson eyes his lunch companion!

Can you find the toucan? Ivan’s 8-year old son spotted the toucan from the porch!Young Jefferson is already a great guide!

This is the normal view – how did that young lad spot that toucan?!

Before leaving, Ivan insisted on helping move large, medium and small rocks to a new ‘drive-through’ canal the municipality road grader left in its wake.     We won’t curse the driver, as the muni has done an excellent job of keeping the roads clear during heavy rains. I was a little late for helping greet a new tour group (Ecuador Expat Journeys) that arrived in Mindo about the time we were moving the rocks. The group was lovely, and I enjoyed meeting and visiting with them that evening and the next morning before they departed for the Pacific Coast.  (I spent the night in town, but there was little time for internet!)

Ivan and his cousin and son moved many rocks.. I was extremely grateful for their kind-hearted help.

When Barbara was here last month, she brought a gift:  a new rain gauge with numbers large enough to see without using a camera or binoculars.  Now we can tell from the porch how much rain this “El Nino” brings us each day.    * (Andalyn, the thermometer jumped off the porch last week, and I think it’s unfixable.  Boo Hoo! 😦  )

Thank you, Barbara, for the easy-to-read rain gauge. True to Nature, there’s a surprise behind the gauge…

Surely it will give any unsuspecting person a surprise smile when they empty the gauge for the first time!

There have been many new bird sightings (Life birds for me…)  It’s one thing to read about the unique Cock of the Rock or see photos, but when one sees it up close and personal – wow.. its beauty stunned me into a visual shock that lasted hours.  Unfortunately it gave only a ‘fleeting glimpse’ and went deeper into the canopy.  I did see a female about ten minutes later on the neighbor’s property..  What a thrill!

The female Cock of the Rock is not as brilliant as the male, but she’s still impressive!

If you’d like to take a walk around the pond, a new post just sailed out showing the trails and some unique species.  Enjoy if you’d like, and we’ll have some coffee or tea waiting back at the house!  Start here:  STARS ON THE LIVING STAGE

Barb painted that lovely sign, and her presence lingers.  The otters miss you, BB!

Thanks again for your support!