SpringFlowersButterfliesGoodLife!

Flowers poking their heads out of the jungle, butterflies flitting about, gardens getting planted, mud forming into buildings... it's spring at Mama Roja!

The flutterers are about, as are the creepy-crawlers in all their magnificent outfits dressed up for the springtime parade..

Our new kitchen is getting lots of use! We didn't paint the walls yet, but that rich red-brown is it's own lovely color.

The pantry: lime-painted, and full of preserves (and more coming.)

Look closely for the bird in one of his favorite observation spots.

And look for the cat in her sneaky watch-spot...

It was a rainy winter, and it is proving to be an equally rainy spring. So, our interns are in full workshop mode, here making papaya jam and peanut butter. Sandwiches for lunch?

Lemoncello and orange-lemoncello on their way! 

Out of the kitchen, into the jungle: New composts and worm bins set up for all organic donations.

Gathering flowers and other herbs for our skin-tastic salves.

The gardens are growing! We recently opened up a new spot higher up in the valley where we are putting in lots of beds and plants.

Hugelkulture joy!

Our neighbors have been helping us harvest the yerba mate and prep the fields for crop planting.

In between the yerba goes the mandioca, peanuts, and even some tumeric. Later, we'll add in some sable beans for nitrogen, and some experimental quinoa.

It's a mandioca hoe-down!

One of our many  visitors: this one's eyeing the loquats and other high-growing tree fruits.

Careful where you land, little friend.  That's our meal table!

Mushroom delights after all these rain storms.  The fascinating world of forest fungi!

But we can't just frolic in the woods all day! We have a cabin to construct. Here's the roof frame going up up up...

And the stem walls (with bamboo rebar) for the adobes going on top.

The adobe bricks lining up on that gorgeous red floor.  The walls are on their way!

Bonus shots:
Looking closely at the trees, there are so many things growing...

... the trees are full of life...

A match made in heaven: Taca and Josephine teaching each other to dance and draw.

August Gifts

The threshold where the two world meet, Winter turns to Spring. The temperatures are rising, butterflies are crawling out of their cocoons, and flowers are saluting the sun with their open petals.

We are also celebrating the wonderful power of the sun.  Our solar cooker is providing us with gorgeous meals and treats. 

 Mmmm, perfectly moist and exquisitely delicious sun-cooked cake. (Yes, we're bragging.)

 We use the sun-cooker everyday (that it doesn't rain), and everything just tastes better! Even our chicken's golden gifts are more flavorful sun-fried.

Not to lose balance of important driving forces, there is also the power of Water, which has been very present this rainy winter.  Here is Taca modeling his/her new stick-perch by our house, passing the overnight rainstorm huddled under a banana leaf, meditating no doubt.

 Pre-soaked seeds on their way to the gardens.

 The humidity in the air also gives rise to such pleasures as fungi:

 They are just so pretty!

 By the rivers, the flowers dance and burst.

But... the evil elephant grass is also celebrating the rain.  We are clearing it out of the field, and we have high hopes that this will be the year of eradicating it completely, so that our crops can thrive without being choked out by its dark selfish forces.

We are also steadily working on several other projects. Here, we've broken ground on the new cabin planned to built with mud and love with our incoming interns:

Other happenings: the calendulas are stretching open in the medicine gardens:

 And some final photos of what's around:

 We love Plantain!

The Gifts of Gratitude

Sweet delight in finishing up projects and programs, and moving forward into the next cycle of renewal.

Thank you to all our interns for these last couple of months of good learning and growing!

 We put the final plasters on the new kitchen entension...

 We fancied up the sculptures and are getting ready to lay the floor.

The banana mulched double-dug garden beds, soon to be filled with cabbage, kale, parsley, mustard, and more!

Still having fun with forest fungal finds...

The lower gardens getting a boost of compost (and love) for the winter...

 The bath hut for the yoga shala is in use! 

 Mirror mosaics, lime paint, and rock entrance ready!

 Laying the entryway with river stones:

 Detail work cleaning off the bottles and mosaics:

 And viola! The yoga retreat happening with a finished bath hut nearby!

 Sweet child's pose in our Santosha Yoga Retreat-- a great success!

 Thanks yoga friends!

Moving right along into the Temazcal (sweat lodge) and Ceremony to wind up this cycle's learning journey.  Here's our fire to heat the rocks, and the mud turtle altar to point us in the right direction.

All clean?  Great! Now let's have cake!

Bonus Photo: Butterfly and perfectly poised yoga toes!