Buddy Miles Said It Best

our neighborhood has been going through some changes.

'Well, my mind's been going through them changes'

- Them Changes, Buddy Miles, 1970

You know, beyond my mind, changes that I haven't written about lately.

Things in the neighborhood are changing, and, actually have been changing, but I haven't written about some of them.

For instance, next door to us, is a new house that is being built out of wire mesh and Styrofoam. It'll be coated with roughly two inches of concrete (probably sprayed and troweled) on both sides, including the roof.

Dr. Mike and Shelly's House

This is relatively new stuff, at least here in Corozal. It's made by a Mexican company, Qualypanel, (http://www.covintec.com/). Their website has several videos that show aspects of the construction process.

The initial bit of construction, such as the walls, went really fast. I'm not sure what has slowed things down now, but it does seem to be taking an inordinately long period of time to finish.

Dr. Mike Parrish is a Chiropractor from the US, and has set up his practice here in Corozal (http://www.doctorparrish.com/). I haven't visited his office yet, but my neck is saying that maybe I should. I run into Shelly, his wife, now and then while we're walking dogs. Seem like nice folks.

We're watching the construction of their place with interest. If it works out, we might want to put an upstairs on our pool house and that would be ideal - saving weight and, hopefully, time as well. We'll keep you tuned in on that bit.

The other new house around here is another Mennonite house. This one is going up just south of the Northern Highway (which has been renamed the Phillip P. Goldson Highway - although no one calls it that) on what we call Scruffy Road. No idea what the actual name of the road is.

Keith and Sheena's House

I stopped by the other morning while walking the doggies and checked with a couple of the workers there. The place is owned by Keith and Sheena. I haven't met them yet, but I'm sure that will happen soon.

Of course, the other new one, almost across the street from us is the house that Mae and Craig built. It's a nice concrete place  with lots of potential. It's for sale too. It also has a really cool gate. I'll see if I can remember to get a photo of the house and gate tomorrow.

Let's see, what else? Doggies are fine. We're still walking 4 miles a day, and sweating up a storm with that as well. Cats are fine. Nelson is becoming a fine young man. In fact, he delights in helping around the house.

Nelson Helping Make the Bed

We've got to install a kitty door. He's driving us nuts wanting in or out at night. He's discovered that he can get up on the back of a chair on the front porch and meow at us to be let back in. Of course, that puts him about two inches away from our ears when we're in bed. Hard to ignore him then.

And the other thing we've got happening is our compost bin, which is going great guns. As you can see below, it produces some great compost and so quick too. Inside of two weeks from first adding it to the pile on the left. Watering and turning for a couple of days or so, then toss it over the wall to the next bin. More watering and turning, then finally over the next wall, where it's turned a couple more times.

Our Compost Bin In Action

Then it's run through the sieve (the wood and wire screen thing above) into the wheelbarrow and then out to the various planter beds. The plants just love it.

Speaking of plants, I'll get a few shots of Dianna's garden and include later on. Stuff is growing very well in the planter boxes. We'll be eating good soon.

That's it for now. I've got to add some chlorine tabs to the pool and get stuff ready for happy hour this afternoon.

Cheers,

He Said He'd Be Here 'Right Now'

A few days ago, on August 10 at 7:17 AM (not to put too fine a point on it, as they say) Tracey wrote a comment on the blog:

Hi,
I've really been enjoying your blog. I am an American considering doing the move. I am not sure how many years down the road...Could you write about how much new construction you see around the area? How available secure homes with gates are? Please keep up this great blog. It seems that a part of me is already there.
I am very glad Ernesto spared the area.
Thanks!
Tracey

Well, there's certainly construction going on around Casa Winjama. In our immediate neighborhood there's at least four or five houses going up as we speak. There's several lots that have been filled with marl (necessary if you live right near the water), and we've heard through the grapevine that several lots have been sold as well.

And, building is not happening just in our neighborhood, it really seems to be all over Corozal. In fact, we've been hard-pressed to tell that there's been a slow down in the local economy here with all the building that has been going on pretty much continuously.

I'm not sure what Tracey means by 'secure homes'. Every home, if you want, can be secured with gates and fencing. That's just for starters. Don't be fooled into thinking a gate is going to protect you. Constant vigilance, lighting, burglar bars, not doing stupid things, etc., etc., are all important. Most important is dogs. Big dogs. Here dogs have to be looked at as more than just pets. They are the primary part of your security system. They know how to do their job. Your task is to learn how to work with them so that they can do it and at least, provide you with early warning and in many cases, a good dose of intimidation.

There's some housing, already built that's available, but a lot of folks build new. There's pluses and minuses to both ways. The temptation, of course, is to build your own McMansion - the house of your dreams. As an example, when we first got here, our plans called for a 60-foot fish pond in our main hallway. 60-foot? We each were going to have our own office, workshop, a monster kitchen, etc., etc., etc. Thankfully, we woke up. We lived for a while in the Mennonite house we had purchased with the idea that it was going to be our caretaker's house. After a bit, we realized, it was comfortable and easy to keep, and just what the Hell were we thinking? Consequently, our design became a quaint memento.

Keep in mind, down here maintenance is absolutely on-going. The bigger your house, the more time and money you are going to spend on repairs and keeping it functioning. I'd rather be in my pool. If you're a regular reader of the blog, you know we've done our share of repairs and such. Tropical weather, the heat and humidity kills tools, materials, metals, plastics, batteries, electronics - you name it. So, if your main desire is to relax, then think about building accordingly. You'll find that, rather quickly, you become good for one project a day. and that work day begins early (to avoid the heat and humidity) and generally ends by noon or before. I absolutely am not joking. There's days that I walk the dogs on our usual 4-mile routine, then, that's it. That was my project for the day. And, as we all get older, guess what happens?

As far as realtors, I only know of one that I can recommend and that's because we bought our property through him. That's Gregg Turrentine, Belize North Real Estate. Reach him at 501-422-0284 or czl@belizenorthrealestate.bz. Not to say the others aren't good, but I have only dealt with Gregg. Keep in mind there is no multiple listing service, licensing or mandatory training, etc., for realtors here. Caveat Emptor is the rule of the day.

Just like everywhere else, there's some areas of town that might be more desirable than others. Your best bet is to come down and spend some quality time - as in renting for six months or so before buying. You need this time to learn how things are done here, from the construction materials, methods, skills, quality of workmanship, availability of everything and anything, and how long it takes for even the simplest task to be completed. Plan on becoming your building crews chief gofer. Making six or seven trips into town in a day is not unusual. It will pay dividends. You'll become acquainted with the storekeepers, how to interpret the various dialects, what things are called, what is available, what isn't (and in some cases, why). In short, it will force you to become integrated into the community faster and surer than any other way you could possibly think of. You'll even learn the true meaning of "Right now."

Oh, and I can't say it strongly enough... Be here, onsite daily, as your house is being built! It's an experience to be savored for sure.

We love it here, so do lots of other folks. But, it isn't for everyone.

Li' Bit of Construction

Just a li' (pronounced "lee") bit of construction going on around here.

First on Almond Drive, beside (well, slightly behind, actually) the Paradise Bay Villas (http://www.toucantrail.com/Paradise-Bay-Villas.html), is this imposing looking home. The crew is running up and down the ladders with 5-gallon buckets of wet concrete to pour in the form for the third-floor roof. A local wood carver by the name of Eustace, who does great carvings, also has a wealth of experience in construction, is heading up this project for a local owner.

Almond Drive House Going Up

We walk the doggies by this every morning, so we've really been able to sidewalk superintend as it's gone up.

There's several other projects around town that are in various stages of active construction. One beside the Hokol Kin Guesthouse on the waterfront, another structure getting ready to go up on 7th Avenue (Northern Highway) near New World Store, and several others. Yes, the downturn has affected Belize and Corozal, but there's still a sizable amount of construction occurring.

Of course, near and dear to my heart is our own construction project. On hold for the past six months or so, our guesthouse is rousing itself once again. Slowly, to be sure, but progress nonetheless.

We're putting in the stormwater drain system from the roof of the guest house. It comes down and ties in to the 200+-foot drain pipe that drains the roof of our house and several floor drains in the garden and drive and parking areas. Since it's only stormwater in it, we have it dump directly into the canal.

Pipes Coming Down From the Roof

After coming down from the guesthouse roof, the two pipes are joined into a single run that goes directly to the long drain pipe, still in the process of being dug out by our Caretaker, Cody. We'll rejoin it and rebury it all today - just in time for the next downpour.

The Tie-In to the Main Drain Pipe

The drain pipe runs from where you see it above, straight down and under the fence at the rear of the photo and into the canal.

Looking the other direction, the drain pipe actually runs almost to the street. About 10-feet from this connection, we're putting in another floor drain, since that's about the lowest spot in the property and always seems to catch and hold a lot of standing water. This should do away with that in short order.

Looking Toward the Street

I'll add a few more photos here later today as we get the floor drain installed, hook everything up, and bury it.

I know it's not a lot as far as construction goes, but it way more than has gone on for some time here. We're looking to resume full-scale probably around September. We might do a couple of smaller bits in the guesthouse earlier - like the bathroom. That would be convenient for pool use.

It's one thing for the men to just quietly go around the corner to "See a man about a horse." It's quite another to expect the ladies to do the same thing.

Still More Progress

Hoo, boy! Today, was one of those days - run around, run around.

First, I went to the job site, as I call it - our property, to see that Eugene, who is acting as our night watchman, survived ok, and that the equipment didn't get ripped off in the night, and to make sure the crews don't need any supplies before they can start their days work.

From there, I went over to Tony's place, to get squared away with him over the BTL bill and other expenses we incurred while living in their house. I missed him as he had gone into town to see about renewing his auto insurance, etc.

I caught up with him at his insurance office across from the police station. While he was taking care of that, I went down a couple of blocks to my insurance agent to take out a policy on our new house.

Once I got the paperwork flowing on that, I zoomed back to Tony. He and I went to the BTL office, where we dueled with the office guy for a while and eventually won a $132.00BZ credit for the phone line - being dead since two days after Hurricane Dean.

After that, it was back to the job site to meet with Franz about some details for the house. From there, it was back into town to pay the electric bill and water bill. Too many people in line to pay the water bill, so I would have to come back later for that.

Then, it was across the street to National Hardware to buy some gate parts for Elsie's gate. Then, it was back out to the job site to confer with Isidoro about what we wanted to do about the canal-side fence. It's going to really look cool.

From there it was to the apartment for some lunch and a nap (I've become an aficionado of napping). After a brief nap, it was back into town to pay the water bill, the lines in the afternoon are considerably shorter than in the mornings. All the damas have finished their shopping and have gone home by then.

I stopped by one of the money changers to cash a US check to get Belize money to pay the insurance bill. They're one of several (probably black market) places to cash checks to cover expenses, etc., in the local area.

Since National Hardware is right across the street from the Water Service, I went there next to buy some heavy screen, some screw anchors, screws, and big washers, so I could build a cover to protect the fluorescent bulb in the well house.

After National, it was back to the insurance folks to pay the year's premium on the house and contents.

After that it was out to the property to talk to Franz about hurricane clips for the roof, and to go over the placement of stairs for the house, since they're going to be poured concrete stairs.

Then, it was back into town to get some Cokes and ice for Eugene, to help him get through the night. He's got it made, in a way. He does the night watch gig and usually gets a good night's sleep doing it, and works for Isidoro during the day, so he's essentially double-dipping. But, it keeps us from getting ripped off, so I don't begrudge him the wages at all.

Our fence, on our side is done now. Elsie's is nearing completion. Then they'll work on her front fence (a temporary one with a gate). Then comes our fancy back fence and gate, then Elsie's temporary back fence - then that whole project is done.

After that I'll have Isidoro brick in the septic drain field, and have Idilio re-work the drain field as necessary and then add 8-inches of black dirt to the top of the field, so Dianna will be able to have a huge herb and flower garden.

Our Fence

Elsie's Fence

Eugene has been planting tree cuttings for us around the lot, and bringing in some pretty neat plants too. Here's one of the local orchids that grow in the area that he brought by this morning. It'll grow well in the crotch of the tree.

A Local Orchid

Thought you might enjoy seeing an overall view of the house and work going on underneath it. They'll begin pouring the foundation columns in the morning.

Overall View of the House

Here's a couple of shots of the foundation work and "steel" work going on for the house foundation and the foundation for the 10' x 10' utility room. It'll be built of concrete block just like the fence.

Foundation Work Underway

Just across the street, John-Paul, a local hired by Mae and Craig to clear their property has been busy all week. He's burning several piles now, with the biggest being saved by Mae and Craig for a summer solstice party and bonfire. Yahooo! Should be fun.

Smoke From the Burning Across the Street

And, as you noticed on the banner, here's the smaller of the two resident crocs sunning himself in the same place where the larger one was the other day. Small is relative... This one's about 5 to 6 feet long.

This is Georgette, Taking the Rays

Interim New Digs On The Way

Yesterday, being Monday, was a sort of workday. I had asked Eugene, a local who lives near our property, to be there at 8:00AM for some shoveling to fill in around the septic tank. Of course, with the rain we've had, that didn't happen. He would have been shoveling mud.

But, I did meet there with Isidoro to talk over the fence project and we did some measuring to try and locate the NE corner lot peg. No luck on that bit, but he and his crew will start tomorrow, digging the trench for the foundation for the fence. They'll be looking for the peg, so we may find it after all.

Also, Craig is going to meet me at the property this morning. He and I will root around in the pucker-brush and see if we can find it.

I checked also with Vasco again about the doors. Not yesterday. Maybe, if I get current today. If not today, then for sure on Wednesday.

Regarding current... I called BEL twice yesterday. First time the receptionist couldn't ask the crew as they were out. She would ask them over lunch. So, I called back after lunch. They were going to try to get it in yesterday afternoon. But, if not then, then for sure today.

From my conversation earlier with Isidoro, the shopping list for the fence, so far is roughly as follows. I stopped at National Hardware to price rebar. I need 35 lengths of 1/2", 15 lengths of 3/8", and 25 lengths of 1/4" - priced at $29.15BZ, $16.75BZ, and $4.00BZ, respectively.

I need 75 bags of cement, which is still is seriously short supply. But, I can't get that until I acquire some sort of storage facility, like a 20' shipping container or a truck box. I may have a line on a 16' truck box, from a guy who wants to convert his truck to a flatbed. No idea yet on cost. Shipping containers, unlike in the states, are near impossible items to find.

I also need 600 concrete blocks to start with. Probably ending up with about 750 altogether, one load of sand, 15 yards of gravel, and lumber to make forms for the columns. Oh, yes. And 2 lbs of 2-1/2" wire nails. Not to mention the 10.5 gauge chain link fabric.

It's plain the fence will be a spendy proposition. Oh well. It's only money.

Another issue. We have to be out of Tony's place by 1 November. He and Nelly come back from Holland that day. So, we needed to find temporary lodging for a month or so. Bob was nice enough to let us stay in one of his duplex apartments for November, and, as luck would have it, the lady in "A", moved out yesterday, so we get it for the rest of October as well. Since we let him stay with us at no charge, he's reciprocated in kind.

Even if our Mennonite house gets delivered by mid-October, there is no way it'll be ready to live in by November, so we definitely do need this place for a bit.

If I get the truck box or shipping container, I'll use it initially to store our stuff that we have stored in Tony's butcher shop. If we don't get one, I'm not sure what to do. I'll try to negotiate a couple of weeks lee-way with Tony to keep our stuff there, I guess.

Anyway, here's some shots of our future, temporary lodgings.

Bob's Duplex - We're on the Left

It's not big, but it'll be home, as they say.

The Front Door

It comes pretty much self-contained. TV, microwave, dishes, towels, linens.

The Living Room

The Kitchen, Looking Forward

The Kitchen, Full View

Looking To Bedroom and Bathroom

The Bedroom

The Bathroom

Not bad for free and for a month and a half - assuming our house gets delivered on time. If it's late, we could be in deep doodoo.

Construction is Moving Along

The past few days have been hectic. Acting as my own contractor makes for a busy, busy day, even with small projects.

For instance, just finishing the septic drain field entailed hiring two men to move wheelbarrow loads of fill to the top of the mound, covering it to a depth of six inches. Part of the project involved cleaning up some of the area around the mound near the tank. We had several huge rocks that needed moving.

Our plan originally was to have the guys roll the rocks out of the way. Back-breaking labor at best. They came up with the most workable solution - the Taiwanese Ambassador's place down the road from ours has some yellow gear (front-end loader, bulldozer, etc) there. I went down and talked to Leeno the foreman to see if I could borrow/hire the front-end loader long enough to move the rocks. He was amenable to the idea. So, about an hour or so later, here chugs up the front-end loader.

The Completed Septic Drain Field

Short work was made of the rocks, to my worker's relief. Not only that, but he also placed four loads of fill up on the mound, speeding up the project immeasurably.

For about 20 minutes work, the fee I paid to Leeno was $20BZ. Very reasonable. It probably went into his pocket alone, but that's between him and his men. We got our work done and were able to move on.

Now the only thing remaining on that project is to parge the exterior walls of the tank, so it looks nice and finished. That'll be happening near the completion of the well house project, when it's walls are also parged.

I finally got the "Economic Assessment" from Belize Electric, Ltd., the fee for installation of a transformer at our property. It came to a total of $6196.35BZ or $3098.18US. Besides the oddity, to us, of having to pay it at all, most folks around here seemed to think it was a reasonable amount. Now, having paid that, we should have it actually installed sometime this next week and get our "current" hooked up so we can run power tools and the well pump, etc. Yippeeeee! Finally!

The project that is currently underway is the construction of the well house and trash house. It's coming along fine. We would have had the block work all done yesterday if we hadn't run out of concrete blocks.

Mixing Mortar On Ferry Road - Literally

It was my fault. I ordered 180 8" concrete blocks and I didn't check the invoice - the girl had written 1oo on it, so that was how many were delivered. Yesterday morning, I went to the block factory to order the other 80, only to find they were closed due to a death in the family (indicated by a black ribbon and bow hung from the front door of the office as is the local custom).

Well House Rising

What to do? I went back and told my workers no blocks today. They said what about Belmont? I'd never heard of them, so they explained to me how to find them. I had no idea there was more than one block factory in Corozal. Turns out there's three or four in the area. Amazing what you find out.

Another View of the Well/Trash House

I headed off up the Santa Elena Road (the highway to the Mexican border) to find Belmont Block Factory. It's tucked away back from the road. Of course, they don't have a sign on the road itself (it may have been destroyed in the hurricane). And of course, there's no rush to replace that sign if that was the case. Anyway, I found them and ordered the additional 80 blocks.

I missed the morning delivery since that all went to the Free Zone for construction going on there as a result of a massive three-day fire they had up there that had fire departments from as far away as Belize City respond. It's coming on the afternoon shipment.

I went back and spread the good news. The afternoon progressed. About 3PM, there were no more bricks to be laid. The guys poured some concrete down the holes where the rebar had been pre-positioned and waited for more blocks. About 4PM, I told them, I don't think it's coming and to go home and get ready for the independence day celebrations to come on Friday - a national holiday.

Speedily Running Out of Blocks

After locking up the wheelbarrows, shovels, rake, and level, securing the unused cement under cover from possible rainfall, I headed home.

After taking a shower and putting on clean shorts and t-shirt, and relaxing with a cold Belikin, I was getting into the swing of relaxing for the evening. All of a sudden, Dianna said there was someone at the foot of the driveway, which is the usual way visitors show up. That is, they seldom come closer, because of watch dogs, and Tanya's a big dog, even if she is a bit of a wuss.

I trotted down to the gate to see what he wanted. Turns out it was one of Isidoro's neighbors relaying a message for me (Isidoro is actually the contractor for the block laying. The two workers I had work for him.). He had a phone number for me to call. Something about the truck delivering the block had gone to our property, but no one was there, so he was heading back and ran out of fuel (in this case, butane).

I don't have a clue how Isidoro's neighbor got involved in this, but I'm glad he did. I called the number, explained things as I understood them to be to whoever answered. They said "Oh Shit! We'll get fuel to him." and hung up.

I explained to Dianna what I thought was going on, grabbed a grilled cheese sandwich (Dianna had been making our favorite meal - tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches) and headed down toward the property.

Sure enough, about 200 yards from our property was the block truck dead in the road. I put on my flashers and parked right in front of it. I got out, talked to the driver and told him I had called and what they had said. He seemed happy with that.

About 20 minutes later, here comes a dump truck from the block factory. I thought that was an odd truck for refueling butane. Turns out, the two guys in the dump truck brought a small 2-gallon gas bottle for him to refill his truck to get it back to the factory. I thought they would help him unload the blocks and get things done in a hurry. Hah! They dropped off the bottle and headed back for the barn. They weren't going to be late for any independence day celebrations.

After he got the truck running, he backed up down the road to our place to unload the 80 blocks. I grabbed my gloves, and we made short work of unloading. I'll admit, the last 6 or 7 blocks were weighted down with lead, at least. The driver was very appreciative of my help, and as soon as we shook hands, headed off to drop off the truck and begin his holiday celebrations.

I headed back to have another grilled cheese (cold) and a hot cup of tomato soup. Thus begins my own independence day celebrations. Happy 26th year of independence, Belize!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Just as a brief refresher, Here's what our property looked like just a couple of days ago (For a truer image, you have to imagine the marker stakes are not there).

Our Place in the Sun

And now it starts. Here's a couple of shots of Eddy, a local Belizian worker straightening the edges of the pit that was started to house the tank for the septic system.

Eddy Working on the Septic Tank Pit

Incidentally, Eddy is no longer working on the project. Yesterday morning, about a half-hour into the work day, he got into an argument with Canadian Bob, who I've contracted to ramrod the construction of the septic system and our electrical power tower (more on that later). Anyway, Eddy either quit or was fired, I'm not sure which. It was kind of a mutual thing.

Supposed to arrive at 7 AM to get a cracking good start to the day, about 9 AM the bulldozer arrived.

Ed Sosa's dozer getting off the lowboy

Shortly after arriving, we had Ed Sosa, the dozer operator (probably one of three of the best dozer operators in the northern part of Belize), begin leveling a pile of dirt left over from some previous effort.

Rumbling off to Work

Mechanical Ground-breaking

Just about the time Ed was finishing leveling that hill, the first truck arrived and dropped its load. Looking like he just dropped it in the middle of the road, it's actually placed to make it easier for the trucks to leave the road for subsequent deliveries. We're hoping for about 30 or so loads to arrive on-scene.

Our First Load of Fill

A couple of subsequent loads

And They Continue

Now, here's where it might get confusing. There are actually three separate projects going on simultaneously. There's our project to fill and level the site, another for installation of our electrical tower, and a third that is Bob's project across the canal. He's contracted with another property owner to build the foundation and first floor structure for a house the owner wants to build.

The following pictures are from that project. They're mixing cement, gravel, and sand, to make concrete, as usual. But, I'll bet you've never seen it moved this way. These guys are loading up and carrying on their heads, 5-gallon buckets full of concrete, carrying it up a ladder about 9 or 10 feet, then dumping it into the forms for the pillers. Tomorrow, they will pour the floor using the same process.

Mixing the Ingredients

Loading Buckets

Incidentally, the large barrels hold water that is used to make the concrete and clean tools, etc. The local city water pressure that is available won't support the volume that is needed to mix the cement.

You might wonder about the strange hats several of the workers are wearing. No, they're not from some strange religious group that hauls concrete for penance. The workers fashion these hats out of empty cement bags, making a flat, padded top to balance and make carrying the very heavy five-gallon buckets a bit easier.

Loading The Buckets

Carrying Them up a Ladder

Ok, back to our projects. Here's the start of the electrical tower that Bob is building for us. It will hold the incoming electrical (or "current" as they call electricity here) from the transformer on the power pole on the street, the meter, and a master on/off switch (required by law). We've positioned it right on the line between our property and that of Barb and Jeff. We'll share the transformer, and each of us will have a separate meter and switch on the tower.

The Beginnings of the Electrical Tower

You can see one of the concrete property markers in the photos above. That's what they use to mark property boundaries down here in Belize.

As you can see, Bob is a very hands-on kind of contractor. He gives a full-days work and expects the same from his workers (Maybe that's why Eddy is no longer on the project).

Bob Earning His Keep

Cool Truck, Huh?

Below is the result of the first day's effort on the tower. The tower will follow the rebar up about 5 or 6 feet or so.

Electrical Tower End of Day One

We've kept several Flamboyant or Silk Trees for our property. These have some sort of parasitic orchid-looking plant that is part of the tree. I have no idea right now what it is. It does make a nice flower however. About the size of birthday cake candles, they are pretty.

Flamboyant Trees

Flamboyant Trees

While we had the dozer on site, I took the opportunity to hitch a ride on it, having never ridden one before. It's really deceptive looking. From the ground, even close up, the dozer looks like it rides smooth and easy. On board, wow! What a difference. Bone-shaking, jarring and herky-jerky were my impressions of the ride. I was glad to get off.

From the Dozer's POV

as it's Working

Watching the truck dump it's load

Me and Ed Riding the Beast

One of the down-sides to everything is, well, the downside. This is it. Poisonwood. It grows everywhere in the bush. It's leaves are reminiscent of holly, but don't touch it. If you're alergic to it, it can raise huge blisters that itch maddeningly, and can take days or weeks to heal. There is, like a lot of irritating plants, an antidote tree that usually grows close-by to the Poisonwood. If you strip off a bit of the antidote tree bark and rub the underside of the bark on the affected area, it's supposed to lessen the effects. I don't know. I've never actually had to try it - yet.

Poisonwood - Don't Touch

Poisonwood - Don't Touch