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...