Our Cup Runneth Over...

A salute to the dry corners of the earth, wherever they are (cause they ain´t here.) The last month has been, let´s just say, a wet one. True, it has been interspersed with days of glorious sunshine and perfect temperatures. But the Uruguay River swole over 12 meters (!), which means our little creeks who feed into it also grew. Our cute little Babbling Brook which runs just by the campsite grew into a water-bellied barage of swift-moving energy, which stole a beer and challenged our bucket-fridge. Luckily, we all survived, staying "mostly dry" under the roof, and deepened our appreciation for sunny days and dry winds!


Paloma, the cow, also survived, and even enjoyed the refreshing rainstorms (as you can see by the smile on her face in the photo below.) We are getting more used to each other now, and I dare say, she likes us. Well, at least she has stopped headbutting us, mostly because I bring her treats like banana peels and corn cobs, and let her lick salt off my hands.

Rambo, on the other hand, did not quite know what to do with himself on those rainy river days...

The Cabin: We´ve moved in!! Not to say the cabin is finished (blasted rain!) or that we are not in our tent anymore (cause we are)... Actually, we are in our tent in the cabin. So, I guess we have a partially enclosed tent platform that we live in. But soon it will be a real non-tented cabin with windows and walls and even a loft and floor! We are inching along, but now that summer and dryness are predicted, we should be out of the tent soon enough. (The photo is pre-tent set-up...) Oh, and we installed ur solar panels, which work even on cloudy afternoons. We get enough electricity to run our kitchen light, a small radio, and charge all our batteries, and then some... Halallujah!

The gardens: We have several, all experimental, and in-progress as we speak. There are hoed and bermed beds, potato tyres, sheet mulched beds, untilled earth beds, and broadcast wilderness kamakazi beds... Our inspirations: all the books we have and are reading (by experts and the like), and our generous neighbors and local farmers. Learn as you go, as usual. So far, so good. The only problem is that the grasshoppers and the cutter ants have taken a particular liking to a few corners, and we have to "organically encourage" them to move elsewhere (like that delicious jungle that surrounds us!)

These are some of the culprits who munch our chard...

Speaking of creatures... this is full on butterfly season, which also means caterpillars!! They are everywhere! And most of them are hairy and itchy (from the juices on their tiny hairs). Some are totally impressive in size and color, and will certainly be gorgeous gigantic butterflies one day.

Bonus photo: A walk through the woods to one of our swimming holes...

Holy Cow.. in the jungle!

Her name is Paloma. She just moved in. She´s 7 months pregnant (due in December). She´s getting used to us and the farm. I´m wooing her with banana peels and dried corn (her favorite!) Now she lets me rub behind her ears...

But this cow business is all new for us!! Learn as you go... The neighbors are letting me practice milking on their cows. (I am also making lots of cheeses, yoghurts, and other milkty delights!)

In the meantime, Marcelo and a neighbor are putting up the outside walls of the cabin. Hopefully the weather will cooperate, so we can keep working... and move in soon!

FYI-- the outside wood is Eucalyptus, the hardwood heart of the tree that the paper and plywood businesses usually toss out or burn.

We also transplanted 90 little trees this week, as part of our reforestation project... just in time for the rain!!!

And, of course, we must take time to enjoy the dipping spots in the river. Playtime is very important in the jungle farming world.

Bonus photo: lots of these long-legged hoppers loafing about the kitchen lately...

Oxen, Compost and Birds Nests

In the last couple of weeks, we´ve been busy (as usual).

We finally finished the Earthbag wall in the kitchen, and of course, painted it red (with lime putty and oxide pigment.) The kitchen was somewhat put together, but then we took it all apart to start working on the floor to get it level and prepped for rock-and-cementing it... We didn´t take pictures of that mess.

The first friend to find the wall!

And with the help of our super volunteers, we built a new and improved double sided compost bin!! We used old pallets and some creatively recylcled things from a local junkyard. So far, so great!

Also, Marcelo and a neighbor used oxen to cut up and haul old fallen hardwood trees from the forest, and take them up to our local sawmill. We are having the trees cut into boards to use for building the inside walls of the house (and other future projects). This is Minero and Fasero-- they spent a couple of nights with us in the valley. Though not very social (they don´t like hugs much), they sure were hard workers!

And it seems our volunteer popularity is growing, so this week we grew to a big family. We have been doing lots of craft sharing. We are using vines from the jungle to make baskets, carving peices of wood into tools, making macrame hangers... and loads more. We love to learn new things, especially when we can use the materials in the jungle.
Of course, springtime means lots of feathered company. This is a Surucua Rojo-- a spectacular bird who moved into a dead tree near the spring. She and her partner take turns guarding the nest and looking at us walk by. We also have been discovering birds nests in our backpacks, the seed boxes, and other tucked away dry places in the toolshed-toilet house. Some we let stay, but others, well, we have to encourage them to move outside. It´s always fun to see who shows up every morning!

On one of our night hikes, we followed the croaks of this little guy and found him by the babbling brook.

Ode to Marcelo...

We celebrated his birthday this last week, with a big asado lunch shared by our friends and volunteers. Marcelo confessed (post-vino) that he feels a little left out of the blog, being that we never post photos of him. So, happy birthday, mi amor. This part is all for you...

Tacuara, Mariposas, y otros Projectos

Spring weather is finally here, and we have been busy busy busy in the sunshine. Lots of projects going on simultaneously, which makes for interesting workdays, and mild exhaustion at night!

Water update: We now have water running directly into our kitchen and to our gardens! Marcelo installed the water tank (which gravity fills up with water from our spring) under the apricot trees just above the upper garden beds. The photo is of Marcelo´s legs and our volunteers working hard not to let him roll down the hill (oops!)

And since the summer sun is on its way, we added a shade awning on the north side of the community kitchen. We harvested the giant bamboo (called "tacuara" here) from the river, split it, and wove it into a fabulous shady covering, which will one day suport some lovely fruiting vine!

Here´s Eleanor, Danielle, and Libby modeling the awning.

Also, we are plastering the Earthbag half wall in the community kitchen. This is a photo of the first plaster (sifted earth with dried grass) and Rambo installed in his new favorite nap spot. This week, we should finish the final plaster and start painting it.

Also, we took a little afternoon outing to our friends Butterfly Reserve. They are creating a project focused on attracting butterflies and birds (their passion is nature photography), and conserving the jungle and reforesting with the native flora. They have lovely trails through a bamboo forest and this ittle bitty waterfall...!

Oh, and the wooden cabin now has a lovely sturdy plank floor (sorry no photos yet) and this week we should start putting up the outside walls (with salvaged eucalyptus rolls) and putting in the loft floor (with mixed leftover hardwood pieces.)

Also, the gardens are growing, and we are trying to organically encourage the cutter ants to find some other greens to eat... but I might not be so nice if they keep eating my arugula!!

Lots to keep us busy!!

Bonus photo this week: Bug On A Stick!

Map of Mama Roja... so far

Danielle, one of current volunteers, got stuck in her tent during a rainstorm and drew a lovely map of the farm´s living spaces... It´s hard to believe this was all overgrown weeds and jungle vines just two months back!

(It was requested by Rambo-- who changed his name recently to "Rambeax"-- that we add this photo in honor of Danielle, who he still howls for in the wee hours of the night...)

And let´s not forget those blue overalls...

Towards the Within... and Green Bugs too

There were lots of butterflies around this week. They especially like our toes (and the uric acid left on the ground after peeing.)

So...... The wooden cabin is framed... that´s Kim standing in the loft.

And it´s crowned with an aluminum roof...

... this week we will put in the floor, and start thinking about walls, windows, (a) door, etc.

We also installed our Cool Box for storing our veggies below ground, thus keeping them fresh and bugless. Yup, it´s an old refrigerator, sassied up with anti-rust paint (Marcelo picked the color) and stuck in a giant hole by the kitchen. So far so fresh!

What did we do with all that dirt from the hole, you ask? Why, we built an earthbag wall with it, of course! It´s a lovely arching halfwall in the kitchen, which protects us from the raindrop drips splashing in from the forest trees, and makes a nice sitting bench/earthbag yoga stretcher. This week we will plaster it with straw, lime, and love!

Bonus photo: this is a snapshot of the Rio Uruguay, which is the big river into which the little rivers at Mama Roja eventually run. It also divides Brasil from Argentina. This was the viewspot on the way to do Kim´s border run. We also saw toucans munching berries and a giant hollowed-out tree so big that you could do yoga in it!!