Spanish Creek is a 2000 acre nature reserve in Belize. 75 acres of the property are used to support orchards, gardens, bamboos, and palapas. They are a strong proponent of agroforestry, and rely heavily on the expertise of local Belizeans. This is a video that was produced by our friends over at Green Living Project. Green Living Project's mission is to educate and inspire individuals and communities to live a more sustainable lifestyle through stories focused on unique and diverse examples of sustainability from around the world.   We were fortunate enough to have the crew come and visit us ealier this year and spend a couple of days filming Brooks, the owner MArc, the crew, and more. they do a great job in all that they do. be sure and check them out here: Green Living Project

The month of May brought about many new and exciting things for us. May yielded more births than deaths in the animal department, which is a nice change. One of the lambs gave birth to a male, which is also nice because we lost our ram a few months ago to blood poisoning. Although the name of this new little guy is 'Bar-B-Q'. You can probably guess why... The farm cat, Dilly, had 4 little kittens that just opened their eyes in the last few days. There were two new baby chicks in the coop - although one alredy died. Brooks and I went to Alabama for a wedding. It was nice as usual to go from the farm life to good 'ole American civilization in a matter of a day. It was rather shocking to go from the heat and jungle to A/C and country clubs. I personally did some golfing, fishing, and lots of eating.   Before we had even left Belize to go to The States, we were dealing with sporadic bush fires. They continued while we were gone but were contained as much as possible by the crew that works out here during the week. Once we got back and even until today they have been constant; burning all day and all night and taking up nights and weekends. Literally everyday in the afternoons the fires crank up and burn until the moisture of the night sets in. So we have been driving all over the farm in a tractor and Land Cruiser pulling a trailor with a water tank and pump and two hoses, buckets and machetes and just doing the best job we can do. We have successfully kept the fire away from the house and palapas (with thatch roofs that would go up like a mtch stick), fence lines and most of the bamboo patches. We finally got a couple of rain showers in the last couple of days, but not enough to completely extinguish them. Before yesterdays rains it hadn't really rained since March. The locals say it is one of the worst dry seasons in the last few decades. Much of what is burning are the piles of debris from the hurricane cleanup that took place last fall after Hurricane Richard came through... On Tuesday the fires finally appeared on the treeline that surrounds our palapa. No bueno...              

With the new addition of a front porch comes an update as to how our humble palapa is looking these days. For the longest time we have been wanting to add a little bit of cover for the front stoop and an entranceway for our future steps that will go upstairs. Currently we are still using the trusty aluminum ladder, but high on our To-Do List is a proper ladder up to the second floor. The new porch also makes it possible to hang our new mahogany swing that was a gift from my Dad during his visit last November. It was purchased at the Orange Gallery on the Western Highway here in Belize. The beach chairs that we did have there are now inside. This is now the favorite morning and evening spot. As you can see half of the house is painted blue and I think that we will continue with the same blue on the exterior of the upstairs. Downstairs we have a newly painted concrete floor which is a nice change from grungy, stained concrete to a fresh terracotta that matches the ever-growing plant collection. Finally, the cherry on top, is an original painting by Lucy McGowin of a toucan that hangs on a panel of Pocono Boy Plam above the kitchen sink. When we have the place lit up at night you can see the colorful close up of the toucan from a couple hundred yards away...To See More Paintings by Lucy McGowin Click Here