Costa Rican Pee-Wee adult

We grow organic bananas and plantains.  Lots of different varieties, and hundreds of them.  We eat them every way imaginable, and then some. The farms animals and dogs also love them.  Horses eat them peel and all.  I love hot ripe banana soup with curry, sopa de banano.

Farm life is routine, you have the I got to get it done everyday stuff, cows fed, wash washed, mid-morning breakfast (I don’t make an early breakfast), and your always trying to beat the rainforest rain. Yesterday I was picking lettuce and when I looked up there was our young male stallion, Macho, loose and in the veggie garden. NOOOOOOO. Macho might be young, but he is big, fast and powerful, Dad was a Spanish Pasafino. He was not interested in hearing from me, he was looking for good eats. I drove him with waving arms into the backyard and out of the garden and while the farm manager’s wife stood guard with her broom I went and got my quad for the round-up. Macho left the back yard and went two pastures down to where my husband was working on his backhoe….newly planted pasture grass, also a no no. I raced down on my quad and found Marcos our farm manager, picked him up and on the return trip as I turned a corner heading across a stream named Brava, here was Macho coming at us all wild eyed. Marcos jumped off the quad and ran back to open up the first gate, while I got out of Machos way. We directed him into his new location of the day. I would never have a stallion again, if given the choice. Macho’s only thoughts are eating and sex, sex and eating. I drove Marcos back to work, and I went back to fetch my bowl of lettuce and greens.

These are a pair of bueys working my neighbors sugar cane fields.  They are long horn steers.

Marcos with the catch of the day, Fer de Lance. 

Rocky is one of our nursery girls.  This is cow grass that we grow for transplant. Always trying to inprove the pastures with high quality grass.

We love to find baby bird  nests when they are finished with them.  This one is tiny, soft and beautiful.

This is one of our organic pumpkins.  I make pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, and prepare it like a sweet potato.  My dogs love it raw, blended with water and poured over their dinner.  We call that pumpkin gravy.

This week we have had two beautiful baby horses born on the farm.  New life, new energy, and so precious.

The guys caught and killed another Fer-de-Lance.  Here is Marcos with the kill of the day. So dangerous.

Turrialba Volcano from my dining room this morning.  Beautiful.....

The Cabecar Indigenous will share their culture with us at this event. You are invited to attend.  We are accepting donations so that we can give the Cabecar children the gift of rubber boots.  We are also accepting donations so that we can give machetes and sharpening files to the Cabecar men.  With these tools they can earn a living and put food on the table. 

Your donations are most welcomed.  You can mail checks and we will purchase boots and machetes.  Our local supplier is giving them to us at his cost.  Thank you for helping the poorest of the poor to help themselves.

Finca Quijote de Esperanza

Ginnee and Phil Hancock
Apdo 178-7150
Turrialba, Costa Rica

A short slippery rock climb up and through a cool mountain stream brings you to this amazing waterfall on our farm.

Turrialba's weekend farmer's market.  Everything you can imagine and more.  Fresh produce, chicken, and the very famous Turrialba cheese.

At the base of majestic mountains flows the Rio Atirro. Its fast moving water is cool and refreshing, and the perfect reward after a long days work. Alan's first full day at Finca Quijote was labor intensive, and included hauling buckets of sand from the river, finishing the installation of a kitchen sink, and touring the farm. In the afternoon Matt and Alan took the dogs to the river and spent some peaceful time reflecting on the day.

Matt adventuring into and across the river, exploring the wonders of our rainforest farm and jungle.

How do you finish off a hard day of farming?  By gathering guavas and making guava jam of course.  Farm hand work is never done and Alan has the job of totally making the jam while I cook dinner.

Alan has the lead and Marcos our head man is bringing up the rear of the herd as they head past my house and towards the town.  It is a long and winding road that crosses over many streams before they get to the new pasture.

This week the men opened up a new pasture after fencing it and stringing barbed wire.  Then comes the fun part, driving the cows from a pasture at one end of our farm down the road, through the town of Esperanza and on to the new pasture.  The locals clear their children out of the street and watch the cow parade complete with cowboys.  I find it exciting to watch them coming down the road.  Alan Eaglewolf, a guest worker at our farm is leading the herd.