The flowers are calling the butterflies out of their cocoons, and the birds are whistling love songs to each other in the trees. The air is getting hotter as summer approaches, and the jungle is bursting with green.
Not only are there wild birds (like the whistle-screamer mohawked fellow above), but our own feathered flock increased in size: new chicks!
And introducing (drum roll here): our new bunnies!!
We have three new little bunnies, and one mama rabbit due to have a new litter any day now. More photos to come (of course).
We've been filling the garden with heat-loving plants, and fighting back the over-abundance of grasshoppers this season.
But all this heat and rain has done the fungal world lots of good.
We took a meandering foray into the woods to look at the mycelium in all its wonderful forms.
This one, for example, is a rough-tough shroom on the outside...
... and fabulously zebra-striped on the inside!
This is a type of Parasol mushroom that we found growing wild, and are now trying to propagate for eating. Mmmmm...
Mushrooms in mud??
Speaking of mud buildings, our cabin is going up up up:
Adobes in line, and bottles going in:
Windows fixed in for added light.
Bottles, wattle-n-cob in the inbetween spaces.
Bottles-jewels and car windows, cobbed into place. More indirect lighting.
We just started the plaster layers, so soon enough the cabin will be ready for final touches.
The local school kids came out for a visit, and then made a mock-up of Mama Roja to present in a state-wide ecology competition. They won round 1, so now they are off to spread the word at the next level. The model was made out of mud and recycled materials. They included so many details: solar panel, fire circle, solar cooker, cabins, trees, the yoga shala, even the African-style fridge in the community kitchen! We wish them good luck!
Bread-art: (crazy interns!)
Our intern field trip to visit Paulina at the Chacra Suiza.
Bonus photo: pollinator and iris.
