Giganimous Caterpillar

A couple of days ago, our neighbor, Denis, and I were moving some plastic chairs, our wheelbarrow, and other debris out of the first bay under our parking palapa. All that effort was so that we could re-position the clotheslines from the third bay to the first. As Denis moved the tarp, out popped this fellow:

Found Under Our Parking Palapa

If he looks big in the photo, it's because he is big. Real big. Stretched out in the photo below, he's a good six or seven inches long, and he's got a good three-quarters to one-inch diameter to his girth. Not something you'd just casually pick up and examine closer without a clue as to what he was.

There's A Good 6- or 7-Inches

We were completely clueless about this guy. Going on the premise that in the tropics at least, colorful might mean deadly or worse, we were in no hurry to touch this bad boy.

We gently poked and prodded (as you do), which only served to piss him off a bit. When I rolled him over onto his back so we could see his light blue underbelly, he would flip back upright faster than you could follow with the naked eye. His speedy movement almost looked like a magic trick, it was so fast.

Feeling a need to move on with our project, we borrowed a shovel from the workers building our pool house addition, scooped him up and deposited him onto a pile of old thatch from the palapa that was just laying on the ground in the corner of the palapa.

I tried several times to look him up on the Intertubes, to no avail. I thought I had used a Website some months ago to identify some other critter that we found in our yard, but I was having trouble remembering what the site name was.

Eventually, it came to me. What's that bug? No, that's it. The site name - What's That Bug?
(http://www.whatsthatbug.com) It's a cool Website with a lot of information about bugs. They encourage you to ask about a bug, or in this case, a caterpillar, that you're interested in. They want to know some basic information about the bug, like where it's located, you can include photos, etc. 

Here's what I submitted:

Subject: Unknown Caterpillar
Location: Corozal, Belize, Central America 18° 22'29.81"W 88° 23' 59.71"W
January 9, 2016 3:25 pm

Hi Bugman,

The other day, we were working under our parking palapa, and upon moving a tarp, out popped this fellow. He's about 3/4" to 1" in diameter, and when extended, abut 6" to 7" long. 

We've lived here for nine years and have never seen one like him, or even close. If you could identify him for us that would be super.

Thank you.

Signature: David Rider

Of course, I included the photos above.

Here's the answer I got back about an hour later from Daniel Marlos, a real bugologist, or, entomologist:

Dear David,

Your submission is quite timely, because we just posted an image of an adult Fig Sphinx. Your Fig Sphinx Caterpillar represents one color variation for this variable species, and we are surmising there is a fig tree in the genus Ficus somewhere near your parking palapa.

And, so now we know. Our caterpillar is a Fig Sphinx Caterpillar. And, yes, there is a fig ficus tree within about fifteen feet of the parking palapa. It's the topiary tree that our previous caretaker, Cody, used to try to trim into the shape of a peacock, or ostrich, or something.

The Website also told us that ours is the caterpillar of the Ficus Sphinx, a large moth.  It appears to be pre-pupal, meaning it probably left its food plant to search for a place to undergo metamorphosis, usually among leaf litter. Which is exactly what it found with the old thatch under the palapa.

Old Thatch Providentially Positioned

Wouldn't you just know it. We lost the Intertubes thanks to Smart for the rest of the day (till around 7:30 PM) shortly after making this post. Around 11:30 AM, or so, Denis and I began work once again on the new clothesline, tightening up all the clamps and stuff that was holding the line together.

New Clothesline Being Hung

While we were doing that, we joked about not wanting to step on the old thatch underfoot in the palapa, as we didn't want to squash our new friend, the big orange caterpillar. Which led us to go over and look at the ficus topiary tree, just across the parking area.

Guess what we found? That's right. Several more big caterpillars, none as brightly colored as the original, but all of them happily munching away on the ficus tree.

Bluish-Green Fig Sphinx Caterpillar in the Ficus Tree

What's cool, is if you're quiet when you're looking for them, as they eat, they click. That's right. They sound just like a little clock ticking away. It makes them quite easy to find.

Fig Sphinx Caterpillar Happily Munching in the Ficus Tree

We found several. There was one I missed. It was a black, grey, and white, one that looked like he was made out of birch bard, as I had had to run upstairs to get my camera, and by the time I got back, I couldn't find him again. Still, these guys are pretty cool.

Green Fig Sphinx Caterpillar in the Ficus Tree

If you visit the What's That Bug Website, you can also easily find a link to Daniel Marlos' book: The Curious World of Bugs: The Bugman's Guide to the Mysterious and Remarkable Lives of Things That Crawl. It's available on (Where else?) Amazon in hard cover, paperback, and Kindle. I just bought a used hardcover copy of the book on Amazon, for $2.95 US.

And since Daniel probably didn't get a dime from my book purchase, maybe someone will click on the link to buy a Kindle edition to help.

There's also a link at the top of the Web page where you can donate to help What's That Bug? keep providing timely information on all the critters we find crawling around us.

Not Fixing - Just On-Going Maintenance

And now we come to the part of the show where we demo how to change the litter box... Wait a minit... Wrong sand pile. This is how to change the sand in your pool filter. Just throw the old stuff onto the floor. That's easy. At least that's the instructions for this model of sand filter - the Pentair Triton II Residential filter. Some engineer (no slur intended or implied - other than for the dufus who approved this concept) really worked overtime to come up with this one.

We'll eavesdrop a bit and learn how this genius plan developed.

"Let's see now. How're we going to empty the sand out of this thing. Hmmm. Let's see. We better have a meeting of the best minds in the business here at the Honorable People's Pool Filter Plant No. 1, and see how we solve this conundrum."

"Hey, Harry, Find Tom, will ya and then get your asses in here and help me. I'm stuck." "Sure thing, Boss. I'm right on it."

Sometime later in the HPPFP conference room, well, we'll join the meeting in progress...

"Dick, I dunno. The top opening is only six inches across. If you use a cup to scoop the sand out, you almost have to hold the it by the tips of your fingers to get the thing out of the filter."

"I hear ya, Tom. Keep in mind this thing holds three hundred twenty-five pounds of sand too. I'm just stumped. Harry, you've been quiet this whole session. Lost in thought?"

"Aww, guys, this is a tough problem. The only thing I can think of is how about we use the drain hole - you know, the little one-inch hole on the bottom of the filter."

"You mean the one we put in to easily drain the water out of the filter?"

"The very same. Why can't we just add water at the top and flush the stuff out the drain hole?"

"Harry, that's brilliant. That'll work. And we don't have to jury-rig anything to make it work. It's a built-in design feature."

"Y'think we need to change the specs to allow the user to hook up a hose to the drain?"

"Naw, why would we do that? It's just a drain fer Chrissakes." Call it good. Make a note on the drawing and I'll sign off on it in the morning. I'm thirsty. Let's go grab a brewski."

Now we know the extensive thought process that went into the design of this part of the filter. The good folks at Pentair (otherwise known as the HPPFP for this story) had to have divided the engineering design of this unit among at least two different shops. The rest of the filter works like a champ. I mean it's really first-rate. But, those guys in the filter drain section... Hoo-boy.

Here's what the Pentair Triton II looks like before being plugged into some user's system. That black thing with the pressure valve at the top is the part that's removed to add sand, flush sand, and do any other work needed inside the filter - which isn't much, thankfully.

Pentair Triton II Filter

Once I made up my mind that there was simply no other way to accomplish removing the old sand from the filter. I was resigned to having a rather large mess on the floor of the pump house. Here the sand has started coming out and beginning to accumulate on the floor of the pump house.

Np Easy Way to do It

Here's  what things look like while you're draining out the filter. You still have to insert your arm in there to direct the hose to move the sand. Remember, three hundred twenty-five pounds of sand is a lot of sand.

Hosing Out the Old Sand

Also, the opening. It's a fiberglass tank, so the opening is slightly rough fiberglass. Unless you wear a long-sleeved shirt or something, count on getting an armful of tiny little fiberglass particles embedded in your arm. They'll go away after a couple of itchy days.


Finally, you get to the point where it's  actually hard to see any sand inside the filter. Those black things peaking from under the white pipe are called 'laterals' and they guide the incoming water up through the sand inside the filter. Don't ever break one.

Sand All Gone From Filter

Heck no. It's all outside of the thing. You're standing in it. It's everywhere. And it still needs to be removed.

Accumulated Sand on Floor

Before you can clean up the  sand and stuff that's all over the floor, you have to replace it with new sand inside the filter. Oh, yes. First, you have to burrow through the sand on the floor to find the drain cock and re-install the plug, so that all that nice new sand doesn't simply come out and join the old dirty sand.

For that, as a sign that Corozal is becoming less third world every day, Prossers (a local agricultural chemical vendor) also carries a selection of pool supplies. One of those is fifty-pound bags of #20 silica sand by HTH. Just the stuff you want to stick back into your filter. Honest, you really do.

First of Bags of Silica Sand

What's cool with the bags of sand, is they come with their own built-in pour spout. Of course there's no label o the bag to let you know it's there. I discovered it quite by accident - just before I ripped into the bag top to pour the sand. It's pretty cool. You just reach inside and pull out this blue plastic tube, hoist up the bag and pour away.

Built-in Pour Spout

It only takes about 10 minutes or so to pour six and a half bags of sand into the filter. The shot below gives you a good idea just how small that opening really is.

Adding Sand Through The Filter Top

And, when you're done, it mighty satisfying  (alright, marginally so, but still...) to see all these bags piled on the patio. I saved the last half bag so I can get a head start a couple of years from now when I have to do this all over again. Oooh, I'm just all a-quiver with anticipation.

Six and One-Half Bags Go In

Finally the clean-up. Luckily, I have the luxury of having an employee who doesn't mind too much when I let him know he's the 'duty-stuckee' and he's going to be the one actually scooping up all that sand from the floor. In this photo, you see the detritus that  the sand catches when the filter is doing it's job. There's always a little bit left over. Turns out it was fairly easy to squeegee that stuff out the door, leaving the sand behind. It goes down the drain just outside the door of the pump house and empties into the canal behind us.

Dirt From Sand Going Down the Drain

Cody, my caretaker, is a good worker. he managed to not only corral all the sand, but to really spiff up the pump house. It fairly sparkles.

Cody Made it All Nice and Pretty

Talk about sparkling. The pool water, after this sand change, really does sparkle. It's always seemed clear (mostly), now it really is clear.

And, just as we finished that all up, guess who shows up? Why it's Amado Mena, owner of Easy Shipping to Belize, LLC, (http://www.easyshippingtobelize.com) with some new hoses for Huey, our erstwhile automatic pool vacuum. Perfect timing to try out the new sand except Huey managed to break some minor parts of his that are on order as we speak.

Easy Shipping to Belize's Website has all the info you need to take advantage of their services.

Amado Mena Delivering Our Goodies

Dancing In The Streets

You'll see the connection between a fence post and dancing in the streets in a minute. But first, this important message.

All we need is music, sweet music,
There'll be music everywhere
There'll be swingin' swayin', and records playin',
Dancin' in the street

- Single by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas - 1964
Also recorded as a single by Van Halen - 1982
and as a single by David Bowie and Mick Jagger - 1985

Elsie's gate post had broken, rusted through, somehow. In the photo below, it looks just fine but, every time we opened the gate, it wobbled severely and was getting worse. I was afraid the gate would just lay down and then where would we be?

The Gate Post In Question - Before Repair

Cody, who was just recovering from a bout with the flu, came to work yesterday and I immediately put him to work repairing the post (I'm such a slave driver). I worked with him and later on, Cody even brought his brother Anthony in to help mix the concrete.

The length of pipe below is the piece of fence post that was buried in concrete. We had to dig the concrete out as much as we could, then we attacked the concrete blob with a 6' breaker bar and eventually with a two-and-a-half pound sledge and cold chisels. What a chore.

Part of the Old Broken Pipe

Eventually, we were able to bust out the piece of pipe and left the majority of the concrete ball in place. The new 8' length of pipe fit right into the groove left by the old pipe, so that was a real help, both in saving of concrete needed and in allowing us to reassemble the fence and gate without damaging the newly poured concrete.

Here you can see the new fence post in place and ready to have the fittings attached.

New Post In Position

This view of the hole shows the the lump of old concrete with the new pole in place. It was really awkward and exhausting trying to break out the concrete in that hole.

Ready for Some Concrete

We managed to save some money by borrowing about three five-gallon buckets full of gravel from Mae and Craig's construction project across the street. Here, you can see Cody wheeling the barrow over there to pick all that up. Cindy, as usual, is right on the job, guarding the gate against trespassers.

Cody Going to Get Gravel

We needed sand and we were going to borrow some of that also from Mae and Craig, but it turned out that we still had plenty of sand left, so we used that.

Elsie, it'll be easy to repay Craig for the gravel. Just buy him a six-pack of Belikin Stout. That's his favorite. I'm pretty sure that would square things up for that.

Loading Up Last of the Sand

While Cody was loading up gravel and sand, I took the opportunity to scope out some of our orchids growing in the front among the banana trees. Quite a few of them are blooming and look really nice.

Some of Our Orchids

So, here we come to the 'dancing in the street' bit. This actually is quite nostalgic for us. Cody figured it would b easier all around to mix the concrete close to where we were working and still also get a hose for water to it. So, here's Anthony Williams (Cody's brother) spraying the water and Cody doing the mixing.

Anthony and Cody Dancin' In The Street

For some reason, the song 'Dancin' in the Streets' just came to mind while I was shooting them working the mix.

The last time anyone mixed concrete in the road was about four-and-a-half years ago, when Canadian Bob was mixing up a batch for our power pole - which was the first thing constructed on our lot. As you might figure, I have a shot of that too.

Canadian Bob Mixing Concrete - 2007

The road was just a little quieter back then. You could pretty much count on being able to do whatever you wanted in the road with little or no interruption. Not the case now. We spent the whole time working the mix, keeping an eye peeled for dump trucks and the myriad of other vehicles that populate our road every day. Hey, it's dangerous out there.

We finally got the mix mixed and dumped into the hole. Here's the end result.

Concrete Has Just Been Poured

Of course, the whole time we were working, we had adequate supervision. Cindy and Deeohgee stayed right there making sure we did things correctly.

Our Supervisors

We let the mix sit for about an hour-and-a-half after we poured it. By then, it had set enough for us to reattach all the hardware and the gate. That presented its own problems. Reattaching the chain link without a chain link fence stretcher (reminds me of a bulkhead stretcher from the Navy) was tough. First we used the 6' breaker bar to help draw the fabric closer to the hardware. Then we hit on the idea of using heavy nylon strapping and twisting it to draw the fabric in. That worked like a charm.

A final tightening of all the fittings and hardware and the job was done. The gate now works better than it has for a long time. Time for a beer. Now we can really go dancin' in the streets

Just Finished

A Little Watah Here, A Little Watah There

When we first built the place, we put a single faucet on the back-side of the house. That was adequate for several years. But, now that we've added planter boxes and a compost bin, our needs have changed significantly. Which change necessitates digging holes, finding the old pipes, and figuring out just how we're going to route stuff to accomplish what I'm seeing in my mind's eye.

For starters, I had Cody dig out the piping for the existing faucet. Naturally, it's buried directly under a 3-inch drain pipe we installed later - after we had our roof gutters installed.

Work is Just Starting

As you can see below, it's a bit of a tight fit. One thing that did help (seems like it does with each project too) is that I take photos of just about every phase of a project. Makes it easy then to go back when change is mandated and figure out, more or less, just what we had done in the first place.

Bit of a Tight Space to Work In

I decided to cut the water line right under the drain pipe. There was enough room to put an elbow there and reroute everything without digging up more than necessary.

I wanted to run a new line from there over to the new compost bin so we could have a faucet to take care of that area and the whole yard by the street. This meant that we had to run the line under the sidewalk (You can see that at the top of the photo below).

If this was in the states, making a 'water-jet' would be easy. Just go to the hardware store and buy a couple of hose threaded slip fittings (male and female) for an old length of PVC pipe. Glue it together and hook it up to a hose and blast away. Well, unfortunately, those fittings aren't available here.

Improvise. I found a piece of PVC electrical conduit that was just perfectly sized to fit the diameter of the hose I had in mind. I cut one end off the hose, slid the length of hose through the conduit and attached a new hose fitting to replace the one I had cut off. I now had a rigid water-jet to blast a tunnel under the sidewalk. Perfect. After attaching the water-jet assembly to a hose and turning on the water, it took about five minutes to bore a pipe-sized tunnel under the sidewalk. No big deal at all.

Running Another Line To the Compost Bin

Then, it just became a matter of gluing all the bits together, and before burying it all, turning on the water to see if anything leaked - which nothing did, so we were good to go.

Pretty Much All Hooked Up - Ready to Bury

Here's another view of the completed assembly showing the pipe running under the sidewalk. I haven't removed the old hose rack and hose yet. The rack will be repositioned by the double faucet, bolted to the steel post right there.

Faucet Re-routed From Wall to Garden

We're looking at the business end with the double faucet ready to go. One spigot for the watering wand curly hose and the other for the odd filling up buckets and washing hands and tools. Handy, eh?

Two Faucets Now

Cody's filling in the trenches he had dug for the piping. The pipe runs for now over to the corner of the compost bin pad, where I capped it off till Carlos gets done building the bin walls. Then I'll add some more piping, run a length up, install a faucet and my last hose rack and it'll be a done deal.

New Faucet Will Go In the Corner

Dianna had a good idea about a drain field for the front of the compost bin. We had Cody dig a trench about a foot deep and wide, and then fill it with gravel. Hopefully it'll work as we imagine it will.

Seeing How Everything Fits

Carlos starting the compost bin walls. It's going as high as the terra cotta fence in the background.

Carlos Hard At Work

A couple more hours and there's some real progress that has been made.

It's Going Up

After completing the two courses of each wall, Carlos cleaned up for the day. Next Friday he'll form up the top of each wall and cast a cap with rebar to give some rigidity to each wall. Then, it's parging the walls inside and out, and painting the outside walls and the project is done.

Weekend = Busy, Busy, Busy

The other name for that could be the question we ask alot - How did we find time to work when we worked?

We were kind of busy this weekend - all weekend, it seems. First, let me say that for purposes of this discussion, last weekend began on Thursday as that's the day I worked on the pool pumps, valves, unions, piping, etc.

Would you believe I worked from 7:30 AM, Thursday morning until 4:00 PM that same day? I did. It was a severe day as well. Working in that cramped little octagonal-shaped building, where there never is a breeze, and where the heat just multiplies as the day goes on.

In fact, to give you an idea of the heat, around 11:00 AM, I took my phone and my keys/gate remote and left them in the pool house as I was afraid condensation would damage them. It was so be that, by the time I knocked off, I noticed I was dripping sweat from my shorts!

Anyway, here's what I worked on. First, I have wanted to raise both pump motors off the floor for a long time. I took the opportunity when I removed the main pump to service the pump seal of raising both motors on concrete blocks. This naturally entailed re-doing the plumbing going into and out of each pump. You can see the waterfall pump (the orange thing below) sitting comfortably on its block.

Waterfall Pump Raised

The main pump (the black thing below) was what started this whole project. About two weeks ago I noticed leakage out of the back of the pump, just in front of the motor. Oops. Not a good sign. I learn quickly. Last time, I didn't notice that leak and that lead eventually to water going onto the front motor bearing which caused it to scream progressively louder until it failed. Thankfully, Terence Leslie, a small engine mechanic here in Corozal, is also a veritable wizard when it comes to replacing electric motor bearings and such.

Main Pump Raised

Anyway, this time I was able to pull the pump out of service before it self-destructed. I also took the opportunity this time to re-route the outlet pipe to each pump so that it's joining union was off to one side of the pump. That way, when I do remove either pump, residual water in the piping will fall harmlessly to one side of the pump instead of cascading over the pump and the motor. In my mind, the design of these pumps is pretty poor. They should be designed with the outlet on the pump's side. It won't care which way the water leaves the pump.

I also took the opportunity to add two more valves on the inlet and outlet side of the main pump to facilitate removal of the pump without the gyrations I previously had to go through. Things like a little plug I had made to stopper up the skimmer as there had been no valve installed when it was built to stop water flowing from there to the motor. Since the motor was lower than the water level in the skimmer, without the stopper in place, a flood in the pump house developed rather quickly. I also had to turn off the valves for the floor drain and the spa jets. Now all I  have to do is turn two conveniently located valves and presto!, the main pump can be disconnected easily. You can see the two red-handled valves in the photo below and at the bottom, you can see the outlet union for the pump is now off to one side.

New Valves and Piping

I also had to replace a union on the filter (the cream-colored round thing below). The inlet union is now white. The dark gray union it replaced had been leaking for quite some time. When I went to tighten it, it snapped into two pieces - the threaded part was one piece and the top piece that connected to the other part of the pipe. I suspect it had been broken for some time and that that was where the leak was. When I attempted to tighten it, that was all it needed to fail completely.

Pool Filter and Piping

Next thing that happened, was the union at the pump refused to quit dripping. So, on Friday, Carlos (who's building our patio area) and I looked at it and decided that epoxy would be the best thing to stop the leak. I applied that and it almost worked perfectly, with still just a little, little leak left.

Well, anyway,jumping ahead for just a second, now on Monday, no leakage anywhere. First time in ages that the floor of the pump house has been completely dry.

So, back to Friday... Carlos was there and cast the bar/counter top, with only the barbecue area left to build for the basic parts of the structure.

Carlos needed the barbecue grill itself to see how to build the whole structure for that. I had to go to Dr. Sheila's to get some heartworm meds for the dogs. As I drove past Pancho's Welding shop on the way to Sheila's, I saw he had a BBQ standing out in his yard. I whipped in to take a look.

After a quick look, I thought that was just what the doctor ordered and for $150BZD, it was perfect. It's made from a medium-sized butane tank and some 3/8- and 1/2-inch rebar, oh, and about an eight-inch piece of exhaust tubing.

Our New BBQ Closed Up

Here you can see the grill opened up. It's got an expanded metal grate. Hey, not a Cadillac, but, certainly up for some fine barbecuing. And if it lasts for a few years, all the better.
Next thing that happened was our pressure tanks - one for the reverse osmosis drinking water system and the other for the well.

We've never had spectacular water pressure here. I just assumed that was what we had. Our pump/pressure switch was automatically set, so I wasn't sure how to adjust it or that it could be adjusted. And the reverse osmosis system. A couple weeks ago, it began to loose pressure such that it was able to maybe have enough water to fill one liter water bottle before running out of water. Here's the RO system pressure tank below.

New BBQ Grill

Reverse Osmosis System Pressure Tank

Anyway, I asked Doug (my neighbor and dog walking accomplice) if he knew anything about pressure tanks and how to adjust them. Turns out he did. Good thing too because when I read the manual for one of the tanks, all I could say was, "huh?"

So, Sunday, Doug comes over and we started to look at the RO tank. He said let's start instead out at the pump. We need to find what your start and stop pressure on the switch is anyway. You can see the well pressure tank below and the pressure switch.

Now, we have amazing water pressure in the house - about 40-45 lbs which the most we had before was 30-45 lbs. Quite nice. The water pressure for the RO system now can fill at least several bottles and do it quickly. Yea!!!! What a relief that is.

And finally, well almost finally, our orchids, which we've had growing on trees an posts here and there, mostly ignoring them and never watering them at all. This morning, as I was coming back in from shopping, some delicate white flowers among the orchids caught my eye.

I decided I'd take a few pictures of them for the blog as well, so I did. Here's the one that caught my eye. Quite nice.

Well Pressure Tank

Our Orchids Flowering

And here's some more. Like I said, we don't do anything with these guys. They continue to thrive.

More of Our Orchids

Here's Cody, our caretaker trimming hedges this morning. The front yard is beginning to really look nice..

And Yet More of Our Orchids

Cody Trimming Hedges

And the reason for that is Dianna. It's finally getting cool enough she can get out and garden, which she has been wanting to do for quite some time.

Dianna Seeking Shelter

Now, last but not least. The only other time I've seen one of these critters here in Belize, was a couple years ago when I snapped a photo of one on one of our gate lights. Here it's on our front stair railing. He (or she) is about six or seven inches long, so they're pretty good sized.

Praying Mantis on Stair Rail

Alright, that's officially the end of the weekend. We're both exhausted.