Snowy Riverboating

We took a quick trip down to the island this weekend. Melissa's family was in town, and we had the opportunity to show them our fun hobby.

We also went for a ride around the river while it was snowing, which was a different experience.  The river boat ride turned out to be really fun, though some of the boaters were starting to ice over.

Another ⅛ of an Acre

We ended up ordering 50 of each variety of vine, instead of 30.  This is due to a volume discount.  It was significantly cheaper to order the 150 vines instead of 90 vines.  As a result, we needed to til and fertilize some more ground.  Melissa rototilled an eighth of an acre.  that brings us to a quarter acre now.
We also put up some poles.  I've decided to rent an auger machine to drill all the holes, as there will be many to be dug.

Wheelbarrow

I recently got a new resident for the island: a wheelbarrow.  Another fine purchase from craigslist.

Coffee Rant - Komodo Dragon

     The sun scorched desert.  Not many things live in the desert.  It's deserted.  Dung beetles, sidewinders, mice... might be here or there.  The inhabitants of the desert are hardy, and have well defined methods of protecting themselves.  Cactus have uninviting spines.  Sidewinders have nasty big pointy teeth.
     The wood in the desert is cracked and dry.  Dwellings left to the desert's devices become parched and sun-bleached.  The conditions of the desert preserve some aspects, and decimate others; embalming the remnants of the once living.

     Generally, the things to eat in the desert are slim pickings.  A bite of cactus spines. A mouthful of dusty sand.  It seems there aren't many flavorful things in the desert, though there might be a rare treat of such things as sugary flowers.  The prickly pear cactus has little flavor; aloe vera the same.
Characteristics:
Strong flavor of charcoal.  A hint of wood: like sucking on a cedar fencepost left in the middle of the Sahara for aproximately 20 years.

Gutters and Trellises

Put a gutter on the shack.  Now it can collect stray rain into a barrel.  

Shiny White Gutter

Parzival - January 2010

I've recently been reading through Parzival, by Wolfram von Essenbach.  This book is the epic poem about Percival, written in the first quarter of the 13th century.  I'm reading a translation of the original German.  It contains many of the stories that make up the canon of Arthurian legend.  A fun read, though it requires a slower pace.

     I also recently received a copy of Decision Points by former President George W. Bush.  It will be interesting to see what kind of points were attached to the tough decisions of the previous presidency.

Coffee Rant - Casi Cielo

The jungles of Guatemala have brought us something special.   The beans are dark, like little ampules of browny darkness, containing lustrously viscousness inside.  They're fragile too; about one in twenty is partially pre-ground.  The grounded coffee delivers an extraordinarily smooth cup filled with luscious vegetable overtones.

This cup of coffee might be what early explorers of the new world were secretly searching for.

A cup of Cielo is an immersive experience, perhaps akin to crashing a plane into the jungle.  The canopy of the jungle swallows you whole; the plane disappears into the canopy floor.  Now, surrounded by unfamiliar sights and sounds, the jungle becomes a whole new world.  Bugs and insects are everywhere.  You hear strange birds.   Kookaburras, Toucans, and Macaws swirl in the midsts of your imagination, as large primates in search of bananas begin banging the cockpit doors open.

Characteristics:
Rich vegetable, smooth... with a hint of Toucans