Bubba is a laid back water dog who seizes every opportunity to lay in a steam, puddle, mud, or roll in something disgusting. His mother is Perla, the predictable rottweiler, (I predict she will bite you), her father is Ralph, a neighboring retriever who had a thing for Perla. He was probably a nice guy, we never really liked him. We did not dislike him, we just did not like him. Fortunately for all concerned, Bubba does not have her mother’s fierceness and is a very sweet, funny guy. He is also smart and knows how to open doors, and tear into the dog food bag at will. Last night he ate the crotch out of a perfectly good pair of my underwear. What a guy!

The volcano is peaking out above the clouds. This photo is looking down from the horse pasture. Our various buildings are in this photo. Lots of roofing is showing, we wish it were not so visible but you must have dry space in the rainforest or you will begin to mold. Perhaps when all of the roofing is painted the same color green the buildings will drucken.

It’s a boy!!!

Early this morning in the predawn hours our filly gave birth to her second baby. An absolutely beautiful stallion who’s father is a Spanish Pasafino. The baby has the most beautiful graded coloring with a white blaze on his face. We brought a special breakfast to Lluvia and a bucket of fresh picked guavas. The other horses were fed at the trough, but Lluvia did not want to join them. She is calm, but protective of her baby. I was surprised to see she let her daughter, the yearling, sniff the newborn colt.

The Cabecar Indigenous woman, Sonya, wife of Alexander, has gone back to the interior of the reservation. I am sad that she went back but I understand that she was lonely away from her family. Her husband Alexander is still with us. He said to my husband that "his wife does not like living on the outside, but I do."

Alexander is a good hard worker, always happy and quick to smile. We like him and look forward to building a relationship with him.

We compost our waste, all of it including the humanure. We are keeping the planet green by taking care of the brown.

We still have a septic tank for the purpose of controlling our soapy water or gray water. Today when Phil went to do the final hookup he found a family of Sapho toads in the septic tank. They are native to Central America and about the same as Bufos Marinus that lives in Florida. Not good for dogs to chew on, but they eat their weight in insects. The toad secretes a hallucinogen alkaloid from their skin when attacked. This secretion is capable of killing your dog. He rescued the toads and they happily hopped away.

26 organic eggs from my chickens

Yesterday I went to the Importadora Monge in La Suiza and bought a stove, a Telstar, 3 burner gas stove top for $40.00. Okay, it is not my dream stove, but now that the commercial kitchen is installed the dream stove will not fit. Phil is going to build me a rolling cart that will house the stove top. If I want to cook on the deck, we can just roll it out the double doors, no problem, I don’t have to stay in the kitchen. I can also use methane or propane for my gas, we have both, the methane is free. You gotta love free gas, seeing as propane has double in the last 2 years.

I still need an oven, I have seen a bread oven in Africa using the “Rocket Elbow” technology, I want it. It will be built outdoors next to the deck. Well that is the plan today, but as I have come to learn, plans can and do change quickly here. At least I no longer have to stand in the pouring rain holding an umbrella to cook on my one side burner gas grill. Just kidding…….…, I did not use an umbrella.

I had priced this same stove in Turrialba at the same branch store for $18.00 more than in La Suiza. I have noticed this practice before while pricing an item at 4 different Gollo stores in Turrialba, each had a different price for the same item. Go figure. The only thing I can think of is that when the price changes, they don’t change the paper price sheet so some prices are out dated. Or, maybe the rent is cheaper in La Suiza.

So here is a photo of my stove on my counter top (temporarily), and a photo of Phil making coffee with the sock while cooking water in the pot. I must find the tea kettle in the container. Yes I know you can use a French press, I have a small two cup press that we use for traveling. It is packed away in the container and would not meet our coffee needs on a daily basis at home. We start the day by making 6 cups, 3 for each mug. A half hour later we repeat the process with another 6 cups of strong Costa Rican coffee, mountain and shade grown locally by our neighbors. The sock works just fine, once you make the mental adjustment. This is how they do it in Costa Rica and once you accept this apparatus as your drip coffee maker, coffee time becomes even more tranquilo.

Update: The Telstar stove top is very efficient and the flame is easily controlled and adjusted. Perfect. I now have chops, potatoes, butternut squash, and gravy with onions and garlic all cooking together in the pressure cooker. Good eats tonight.

Coffee:
We tried the Peaberry Special Reserve from Hacienda Real. It was excellent, we enjoyed every cup. We drive to the mill at the bottom of our mountain, then down the road a piece and buy our coffee freshly ground and roasted that day. You can order the coffee we drink online from the Golden Bean, www.goldenbean.net Enjoy!

Esperanza’s little school has an English teacher twice a week. A very nice Costa Rican woman, with a good grasp of the English language. Her students could learn much from her on many levels, if they apply themselves. Rural students are or tend to be self-conscious, they don’t want to speak out loud or shout out the answer when asked. So today, I shouted out the answers and they started to join in.

They have been given a homework assignment and I look forward to seeing who completes it. Most never do their homework. There are many challenges for the teachers of rural children. The attitude of the children, handed down to them by their parents in some cases, cripples possible success.

One child aspires to have a husband, pray for her. I told her she could be the President if she wanted to. She is a smart girl who desperately needs direction other than that of her Mother, Aunts and Grandmother. Her life of poverty, poor role models, no money, insufficient food and revolving doors of men in her Mother’s life has left her with challenges we can barely imagine. She lives in a town with no electricity where the shanty’s have no running water, no two boards or pieces of tin that they live in are alike, all unfit for human habitation. Should she marry, this Costa Rican child will be a slave to her husband.

She continues to come to school under the most adverse conditions. Her teacher picks her up on the side of the road and brings her to the school and the town where she lived in the past, Esperanza. Is there hope for her and the other children in this one room school house? I hope so, I continue to whisper words of encouragement into their ears, their dreams can come true, their futures are as big and bright as the fire that burns in their hearts.

At the end of today, she decided she wants to be a tour guide and make her own living. With your help we can give them opportunity and educational tools, only they can provide the desire.

What do the children need? Simple Spanish English dictionaries, they have none, the teacher does not have one. They need school supplies, every pencil and crayon we started the year with, is gone. Only one child comes prepared with supplies and she is not allowed to lend them out. A good rule her Mother has taught her or her tools would soon disappear. They need navy blue skirts and pants of all sizes and white shirts. They also need sweat shirts to keep them warm on cold mountain mornings. We often need shoes, children out grow their shoes quickly in the elementary years, and shoes are expensive here. $20. for a poorly made pair and most are about $30. Nearly a weeks wages for one pair of shoes and they can not afford to buy shoes for the children, and feed them.

It is important to educate these children; many rural families see the forest as a tree to cut down for money. We are not talking forest management here for they have no understanding of the advantages the forest provides. We can not change the parents easily, but we can educate the children who will then teach their parents and neighbors. It is easier to give birth, than to breathe life back into the dead. Will you help me to give them opportunities so that they can realize their dreams?

Will you sponsor a child? Please contact me at ginnee@gmail.com Do you have an old working laptop that you can donate? The teacher has PC educational CD’s, she has no PC. If we had laptops we could teach keyboarding, use our software, and inspire the children to continue their studies. They must have these skills to compete, to go to high school and college. First we must give them skills, then we will find scholarships, they deserve a chance to break the cycle of poverty that they were born into.

I thank you for your help. Ginnee

An indigenous couple, Alexander, Sonja and their one year old child Minto, came down from the reservation and through our farm. I am not sure why they are here. My first thought was that Alexander asked our Tico caretaker for work, I think Marcos said no. Discrimination, Ticos vs Indigenous, complete with all of the stereotyping that goes with discrimination.

I will make a job for Alexander and other indigenous who want work. I can not give them employment, but I can give them a few days work, let them earn some money and food. A man should be allowed to be a man, feed his family and retain his dignity. We would want no less for ourselves.

They passed by several days ago and I gave them each a sweatshirt. Minto’s sweatshirt, the smallest I had, covers him down to his toes.

Alexander came back and asked for coffee on Saturday, he had no money but he could work. Phil gave him a bag of coffee that has the map of our farm on it. The Indigenous family is squatting on the land of Kiko. They had been at the collapsed hotel, but it was too wet. The indigenous seeking shelter have squatted at the hotel for many years, it longer offers shelter as the roof has caved in. They have few options.

Today I stated that from now on, I want the people of Esperanza and the Indigenous hired before any others. The people of Esperanza are looking to us for jobs. We don’t have them. A woman asked for a job last week. Perhaps she could work in the nursery with some training. Desperate for money, she went to pick coffee.

Two young boys, both should still be in school but are not, asked for jobs today. One had a new cast on his wrist. The other boy had broken it. Too young, no skills, no education, just lots of liability. How can I help them?

It appears that the pelton is producing enough energy to supply my laptop at this moment. We get to listen to music, a wonderful bonus as we are working inside today. Phil is doing carpentry projects, and I am on kitchen duty as usual. The kitchen sink is now hooked up and the commercial unit is in place as it should be. Life is good and getting better. The island is where it should be and I can see light at the end of the tunnel, I think.

I am listening to Carbon Leaf’s “Life Less Ordinary”, Oh Boy, that does describe the life we are living for sure, a life less ordinary, and a life extraordinary. Another mystical, magical day with a breeze that is divine, no doubt made just for us.

If you are planning on visiting us would you please bring the gift of your copied CD’s? Thank you in advance.

We are a bit communications challenged at the moment. Tomorrow we will see about an interior cell phone antenna. I must stand in the kitchen’s Northeast corner to catch the signal. The steel and concrete cause the problem. No internet, no TV, we have chosen a different path that will improve with time. I miss my Sun Sentinel on-line addition, I miss the news, but in reality it is probably a good thing. We would not want me to get too confrontational and radical regarding US politics.

Blog, Santiago is a Cabecar Indigenous man who stays with our caretaker family. I asked him if he spoke Cabecar and he said just the basic language. You are required to speak Spanish to attend school, so his parents insisted they speak Spanish only.

We first met Santiago when he would hike up through our farm to teach the Cabecar children. You must be Cabecar to teach the Cabecar by law. Which brings us to the question of how many educated Cabecar teachers are there? Good question, I have never met one. Santiago has a hard time getting paid for teaching. It is often 3 and 4 months with no pay and it is of course low pay. Santiago teaches with few or no supplies, his salary does not support him, when and if he gets it. He uses a machete to chop pasture when work is available. Santiago always stays busy here. Today he was working in the green house garden pulling weeks and staking tomatoes.

Santiago has taken on the job of making the dog food and feeding the 8 or 9 dogs that claim us. Thankfully we have not had any new volunteer dogs in a while. We bake and then boil soup bones with veggies and rice to make dog soup or Sopa de Perro. Our dogs have a good life, they are safe, fed, free range the farm, swim in the streams and rivers, go to work with our men and play, romp and rest while the men work. Perla is head dog, Thank God all of the others submit to her. We were worried about blood shed, but she did her thing and they all smartly rolled over. Jack, being a guy, has no problems with Perla. Chika has amnesty for some reason. Bubba is Perla’s dog child and she puts up with him no matter what. He is so sweet, with high energy he will run right over the top of her and not get bit. It’s a miracle.

Perla has taken a shine to Santiago, perhaps because he is the keeper of the bones. She was extremely abused and has bad reflective moments. We are kind to her, talk soft and lovingly, and only touch her head when she presents it. Never yell at Perla, no no, not good, she has very big white teeth and she is not smiling at that moment. Perla does smile when she is happy.

Our dogs have the best life. They free range the farm, swim and play in the stream at will during the day. The chickens are protected by an electric chicken fence, the dogs learned that lesson quickly.

The dogs at the farm having fun.

Phil with an orchid in the yard.

I went on my twice a week errand to Erika’s house in Tuis last night and came home this morning. My refrigerator live there and we make ice in the freezer using quart plastic milk jugs. While visiting with my daughter and catching up on her busy life, I also do our laundry. Life at the farm is at this moment rather like a camping trip.

The trench for the underground electric lines has been dug, and we bought the conduit for it yesterday. I expect that next week we will have the utility installed with new larger gauge wire which should give us more electricity.

If I had a regulator and a few batteries, I am sure that I could run a refrigerator off the pelton and my washing machine.

Phil is in San Jose today on business. Our primary forest qualified for Carbon Credits so we applied to put it into protection about 5 months ago. Everything has been approved and he is signing the paperwork today. It is a good thing. It will help us to protect the land and it will offset the cost of owning a protected forest.

Homestays in rural Costa Rica:

I am trying to think of ways to create jobs for the people of Esperanza. One of my thoughts is to offer homestays with several families in the pueblo of Esperanza. You can come, visit the farm, and stay in the home of a local rural family. They will have to meet certain criteria, and we will need to be flexible. It will give you a glimpse into their lives and you will improve your Spanish as the same time. Would you be interested in a true Costa Rica vacation? It would be genuine rural experience. Your visit would change their lives. It would give a family a chance to earn some money and improve their living conditions. You also bring knowledge, goodwill, and you would stimulate the possibilities their lives could have. We could help them get started by offering a micro loan to install hot water in the shower, and they must have a mattress and bedding. We stayed with a family who slept on boards, after 3 nights we opted for luxury and went to a resort. We learned a lot about the culture, their lives, and it was an overall fantastic experience. I highly recommend you make a homestay part of your adventure. You become part of their family, no longer are you on the outside looking in. You are living their life, how incredible is that?

The men and I hauled sand they collected from the river’s sand deposits today. The river gives and the river takes away. It has claimed acres of our land and gives us clean sand and river beaches. I drove the Rhino with full 5 gallon buckets of river sand that the men collected, shoveled and hauled up the steep banks on their shoulder. Off we go, one man and me, over a seep in 4 wheel drive, then up a hill and over to the shop’s construction concrete floor pour project. They have two days in it and it is not finished. This is hard manual labor, and everything is mixed by hand and shovel. They also had to cut out some old concrete to achieve their goal. We have a concrete saw, so that was still hard but it got done.

Phil worked on our house today, he is working in the bathroom this evening using his headlamp for lighting. We now have running cold water in the bathroom sink. Yahoo. Maybe the drain will be hooked up any minute.

I took a mid-day shower with nice hot water from our solar hose collector. It felt so good and I had plenty. I am always conservative with the water and turn it off while I lather, then back on to rinse. This is how sailors shower and it is my habit. Water was expensive in the middle of the ocean and fresh water was hard to come by. Now we have abundant water, but limited hot water at this time.

I washed some laundry by hand again today and hung it out. Phil gave me a stiff bush and it really works well on his very dirty jeans. Our life revolves around dirt. I don’t have a clothes line yet so I hang them on the chain link fence. It helps to keep up with the dirty clothing everyday, it is not so over whelming this way.

I made BBQ beef ribs using my pressure cooker this afternoon. I use it most everyday. Just 35 minutes to melt in your mouth meat complete with sauce. String beans in a very garlicky parmesan butter sauce and garlic bread made a meal. Gourmet camping is what Phil calls it. I have never been good at making a meal for 2, there are always leftovers. I am really trying not to have leftovers because we do not have refrigeration. I will make another ice run tomorrow.

The other menu item we eat most everyday is BLT’s, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato on a giant loaf of French like bread. I pile the lettuce and fresh tomatoes on the crisp bacon and it is really good.

Today was a beautiful day, breezy, fresh, clean air, and not too hot. Phil went to La Suiza where he said it was stifling, repressive hot. He is glad that I said I did not want to be hot for the rest of my life. He did not know a few years ago that he did not want to be hot forever. I was sure that sweat was not meant for me. It is crazy to live where you either suffer, or have a giant energy bill every month.

Okay, I don’t have a lot of electric, but I don’t need much. I do need more than I have at the moment. I need the washing machine hooked up. Not a big power user, but the refrigerator uses a lot on start up. We can charge batteries, no problem. The battery drills, lap top, cameras, cell phone, flashlights, it’s a beautiful thing. Energy efficient light bulbs, the ugly ones, are beautiful, we have lights even with little power. We have not hooked the power up to the house yet, I guess we are not ready.

Phil did buy the lumber for my towel closet today. Oh Boy! This will be beautiful. It will probably be a few weeks, we must always dry the wood, they don’t seem to know how here. We are doing all of this building in the house. Behind the sofa…. lumber is stored, my sewing room…..more lumber, the sitting room….. workshop table with tools, the guest room…boxes of stuff waiting for a place to live. It’s all good, I don’t mind living at the construction site.

This process, although challenging, is also allowing our creativity to flow. I don’t know how people build without owning tools, fasteners, generators, man stuff, and rely on a builder in CR. Good thing we figured this out in advance. Forget bringing furniture, fill your container with tools.

Chickens at home on the range.

Finca Quijote chickens are living a pampered life. Safe within their solar powered electric chicken fence, they are free to roam looking for bugs. Don't touch that fence, or you will get a jolt. The dogs made that mistake, once. Ouch!

Murder on Indian reserve might not prompt an investigation

By Elise Sonray
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff


A bad man wrapped a rope around the child's neck and strangled him. That's how Blanca Rose described the murder of the 5-year old who couldn't walk, according to a mission director.

Blanca Rose isn't the only mother who sought refuge because of her child's condition. Filemón, who has cerebral palsy, and Victorino, who fell from a tree when he was a young, both live in the Chirripó mission, said a director there. They are there because some people in their Cabécar villages thought they would be better off dead.

The claims of murders and other violence represent a challenge for local police agencies. Although Indians in Costa Rica are presumed to live under the sames laws as the rest of the citizens, distance, tradition and fear of outsiders frequently keeps police from knowing what takes place.

In some of the Cabécar villages there are people who think those who are mentally or physically disabled should be killed, said Daniel Montoya Salas, co-director of Voz Que Calma mission in Chirripó. “Not everyone is the same,” said Montoya. Many Cebécar people come to visit the mission, and they say it brings happiness to their hearts to see Victorino and Filemón doing well, said Montoya.

Some of Victornio's family members tried to beat him to death with sticks after he fell from the tree and was left paraplegic, said Montoya. “The scars on his head are incredible,” said Montoya. And women advised Filemón's mother, Cela, to stop giving him food so he would die faster, added the director.

Blanca Rose, her daughter Priscilla, and her mother Roxana are still awaiting the baby's journey to Hospital Nacional de Niños, said Montoya. At this point the mission and others helping want to make sure Roxana, who has a mental illness, understands that the only family she has will not abandon her and that they will come back after their trip to San José, said Montoya.

Last week the two women and the baby traveled to the mission for a visit and to share lunch, said Montoya. He said this was a sign that the mother and grandmother were gaining their trust. “The grandmother knows my name now,” he said.

The three family members arrived at the mission last month asking for help. They left in fear after the murder of the 5-year-old boy who couldn't walk. 2-year-old Priscilla is weak on the left side and still doesn't walk. Priscilla, her mother and grandmother are not from Sinoli, the community the mission works with, said Montoya. They are from Sitio Hilda, a community which is a four days walk away, said Montoya. The mission director said these kinds of superstitious cases are more common in the farthest away villages, not in places like Sinoli.

In the case of the boy who was murdered in Sitio Hilda, the perpetrator is unidentified and no one has pressed charges to his knowledge, said Montoya. No charges were pressed in the cases of Filemón and Victorino either, said Montoya. In fact Victorino forgave the parents who had beaten him, and now they have a good relationship, said Montoya.

Many times members of the community don't want to talk to officials about crimes, said Montoya. Investigators from the regional Judicial Investigation Organization offices in Turrialba, Limón, and Bribri said they'd never encountered any case in which an Indian was murdered due to a physical or mental disability.

Although Limón and Bribri offices work mainly with the Bribri people, they have encountered similar problems as agents in the Turrialba region who work with the Cabécar people, said investigators.

Guillermo Bermúdez, judicial director in Limón, said many of the Bribri people do not feel that they can trust outsiders and don't file complaints. In cases of homicides, it is hard to conduct forensic exams because the victim usually is buried immediately, and the communities are located far away, said Bermúdez.

Bermúdez, who worked as the judicial chief in Talamanca

Two men who escaped death: Victorino with ball and Filemón.

for 17 years, said he received reports of malnutrition and medical emergencies from the Bribri communities. He also worked on many domestic violence cases and some cases of violent fights breaking out due to affects of chicha de maiz, a fermented corn alcohol. Bermúdez said the same laws applied to Indian reserves as in the rest of the country.

Hugo Lascarez Montero, an investigator in Turrialba said he had worked on numerous sexual abuse cases and domestic violence cases with the Cabécar people. “Women don't have much voice,” he said. He added that cultural differences made investigations more complicated, but that the law always applies.

Abel Mora an investigator in Bribri agreed that cultural differences played a role in Bribri investigations. He said he was mainly familiar with medical problems being reported.

All of the investigators agreed that cases were difficult to investigate due to the distant locations of the communities, the lack of trust between outsiders and the indigenous people, and the fact that most people in the communities don't file complaints to judicial officials.

The Cabécar live in the mountains along the Caribbean coast south of Limón. Elsewhere in other reserves on the Pacific there have been crimes linked to supposed witchcraft.

As for baby Priscilla and her family, things are going well, said Montoya. Priscilla and Montoya played a game passing a flower back and forth, he said. “It was a little sad because she only used her right hand,” said Montoya.

Right now the mission directors and other volunteers are using donations, many of which are from readers of A.M. Costa Rica, to buy milk for Priscilla and food for the family, said Montoya. A doctor in Turrialba saw Priscilla and told Montoya the visit would be free. “You help these people. I want to help you,” said the doctor, Roy Arias Leiua, Montoya said.

No one can be sure how long Priscilla will stay in the hospital but she will need to see specialist, said Montoya. If she needs physical therapy she may have to stay for months, said Montoya, it all depends on the diagnosis.

Last month two visitors traveled to the mission to get an idea of how things were run. Although neither were doctors, visitor Ray Reynolds is a nurse and said Priscilla has an obvious weakness on the left side. “She follows movement with her eyes and seemed fascinated by my friend´s watch,” said Reynolds, who is interested in starting a foundation to assist people here who have special needs.

Representatives at Hospital Nacional de Niños have said that Blanca Rose would have permission to stay at the hospital, said Montoya. If the mother decided to stay somewhere else or receive outside help that would be her decision, he added.

Worldwide there are still people in certain cultures who believe it is best for those who are disabled to be killed. The Telegraph in Britain reported last year about Amazon tribes in Brazil that buried babies alive if they were born with any sort of deformity. An anthropology professor supported the practice as a cultural value, according to the Telegraph.

“The tradition is based on beliefs that babies with any sort of physical defect have no souls and that others, such as twins or triplets, are also 'cursed'. . .Infanticide has claimed the lives of dozens of babies each year, say campaigners fighting to end the practice,” stated the article.

Our farm was a town many years ago. Well, not so many actually about 30 years ago. All that is left are the concrete pads, footprints of buildings that use to be.

This footprint was incorporated into our new home. It is what we call the intersantium, our private space within the house.

Looking at the volcano from the farm.

My daughter said that people may think our back to basics lifestyle is too rural, too basic and therefore friends may not want to come visit us. We think that Erika is wrong, we believe that people will want to see successful off-grid living. Perhaps they will enjoy the high quality of our organic lives without utility bills.

If our extreme self-sufficient lifestyle keeps our friends away, perhaps they were not really our friends. What do you think? Please comment, we would like your thoughts.

The floor tile is being installed in the new house tomorrow, Ojala! Finally.

I am ready for the move. We have been practicing eating dinner with candle light this week. Very romantic.

This is a very stressful time for Phil. He has become the contractor, and he has done a fine job although building is not his forte. But I am pleased overall, he has good instincts.

Please have patience with my upcoming posts, remember that I am totally off the grid, no phone, no electricity, so my contections are uncertain. I will be using my cell phone and my laptop powered by my truck to connect. We will see how smoothly this goes.

The new neighbors are moving into this dead tree, parrots.

I am now looking out at the backyard, if you look close you can see corn stalks down in the valley garden. If is in the afternoon, and the rainforest clouds are falling over the fila. I think watching the clouds fall down, is one of my favorite things to do.

This was taken from the front as I approach the house. You can see where Phil has been laying the brick walkway using old handmade brick that was found on the property where the trampeche (sugar mill) use to be. The walkway leads up to the door that leads into my kitchen / dining room area. It is not the front door, but will probably be the door most used, for a while anyway.

There is no front door. I think the front door will actually be on the deck side of the house, it will be the French style doors. This will be the most used part of the house; people may as well just go there and leave the farm dirt outside.

The big black dutch door that you see, goes into my sewing room. It has little or no purpose that I can think of. Phil will cover it in Guadua Bamboo and it will disappear behind landscape.

The rocks are large although it is hard to tell that in this photo. They are from the farm via the volcano and were place in their positions by the tractor. Phil loves landscape rocks, and his rocks will rock once he has them planted up. He is excellent at landscaping and says I am his biggest fan. Not true, he is really good.

There is a driveway just before the motorcycle; it leads down to the river, the gardens, fish pond and horses. There will be a carport to my left and adjacent to the steps someday soon.

The new house is progressing nicely with colored stucco on the outside. This view is taken from the lower back yard looking up at the house. All of the windows will have screens on them which is not customary for Costa Rica. They usually have windows without screens. We will have screens without windows. The big door opening will have French type double doors, but without the little panes of glass. We are told the doors were ordered, but I don’t believe it is true. That remains to be seen. If I am correct, I have option B already planned and I like it just fine.

We look forward to the cool temperatures and no need for AC. Good thing we don’t need AC, as we are off the grid.

Angela Kirkpatrick and her daughter Madeline came from Utah to visit us. They brought beautiful high quality handmade skirts for the Indigenous woman and girls. Angela’s Mormon Church group put a lot of effort into this project of love. The Voz Que Clama Mission brought them to the reservation on this last trip and distributed them. Hector Soto, Director of the Mission is gifting a skirt. The Indigenous women greatly appreciate the gift of skirts that were made by my new friend Angela and her wonderful friends. Thank you so much. You are blessed for your work, what a wonderful gift.

It is very difficult to get good photos of the Indigenous. They freeze like statues when the camera comes out. At the Mission there is one great photo of laughing children. How did this happen? Hector, Daniel, all of us have a difficult time to find that smile. They started asking the children what do you call a fart in Cabecar? Well that brought about a roar of laughter and a great photo. Farts are funny in any language.

I am sure that if Hector had modeled a skirt, we would have seen lots of laughter from everyone. Next time.

The Cabecar are in trouble, they need our help and support to overcome their health issues. 48% of their children die at birth. They have parasites, their children are starving, they are struggeling to survive, they have no education and their best skill may be survival, marginal survival.

They would give you their best hut and the shirt off their backs. They have nothing.

If you would like to help Costa Rica's first people, the Cabecar Indigenous, please contact me at ginnee@gmail.com

Madeline, Angela's daughter, is a gifted horsewoman. We hope that she will return and work with the children of Esperanza. They need her in their lives, she has valuable lessons to teach them.

Thank you Angela, your a beautiful person and I am greatful for your friendship.

Ginnee

The Cabecar chief is wearing the blue ball cap. This is his village.

The Cabecar have faced many generations of discrimination.

The Cabecar are not use to receiving beautiful gifts.

Esperanza’s School

Our little one room school house for about 10 students in very poor, rural Esperanza de Turrialba was broken into over the weekend and the pathetic thieves stole all of the copper wire that gave the children electricity. What else is missing, I don’t know yet. We had a donated desk top computer, old, not worth much, but it was all they had.

So now what? I do know that stolen wire is stripped and sold, put on ships and sent to China. Ships filled with stolen copper are leaving our ports everyday for China. Big problem involving pathetic low life criminals.

But I am more concerned for the children. Sweet, innocent, poor as a church mouse, they still have a dream. They want to be somebody special, they want to be like you. They want their dreams to come true. For most of them, their dreams are much more realistic than mine ever were. There education is so far behind where it should be, it pains me to have this happen to them. These children’s parents can not afford pencils, shoes uniforms, crayons, notebooks.

Can you help me, help them? If you want to make a donation, please email me at ginnee@gmail.com I am in the process of setting up a paypal account to make it easier for folks to help. Thankful for your love, care and commitment; our rural and Indigenous children appreciate everything thing you do for them. Without you, they have little hope of having their dreams come true.

Here is Regan handing the purple bag with school supplies to a Cabecar Indigenous woman. I had been trying to make contact with this family for some time. They were fearful and hid behind trees across the river. Thank you Regan and Primrose School for your gifts.

Today we were headed to the farm with a truck full of feed, fuel and grown live chickens. Ahead was an Indigenous woman walking, carrying a small child of maybe 12 months. She was wearing a very used and worn Primrose Camp school bag full of stuff. She had a makeshift strap so that she could wear it. We stopped and she and the baby sat on top of the feed with the chickens. I have never seen this woman before. I am still smiling about the bag. They are used, cherished and loved.

Please tell the others at the school that their gift of camp bags, have meant so much to so many. I continue to see them in use and as Phil said today, Honey there is one of your bags, one of your Indigenous. Well they were your bags, thank you all so much for helping.

These moments are little successes, but successes none the less. We helped a women who had less than nothing. I don't know how she came to have the bag, it does not matter, she is one of our Indigenous women.

Today was a great day in our lives. It is difficult to express how exciting it is to see something as simple as a used purple bag. We smell of live chickens, (by the way, the chickens are beautiful.) I don’t think they were a bargain, but they are layers and one rooster. One even laid an egg in transport.

The accommodations in the Landcruiser were of such that we debated offering a ride, and then we stopped and backed up. The child was wedged between feed and clucking chickens in used feed sacks. Mom was piled on top of 50 lb. feed sacks of dog chow and cow minerals and none of us could get away from the chickens and their fresh earthy smell. The fuel smell overpowering everything. Yes it was a great day.

The Adventures of Don Mark, an ongoing saga

Webster’s version of a mark, a target.

Don Mark, not his real name, is that target. It has been said by others, that all Americans in a foreign land, are just another mark. Is that true? It could be true……

The first man to ride up on a horse with it’s filly along side said to Don Mark, I have a horse for you. And so Don Mark then owned a horse, a filly and it’s tack. Word gets around and man #2 rides up with a horse for sale. Don Mark now owns 3 horses. Such a deal.

Man #2 talks Don Mark into buying baby cows that he is not yet ready for. Word of advice, don’t buy cows that you are not ready for. They are not self-starting, self herding, they are needy dependants! Giving birth could be easier and that is not my idea of a good time.

Don Mark continues to add to his bounty, in addition to the cows and horses (they are nice quality animals in all fairness), Don Mark now owns 9 dogs, and sacks full of live chickens. No no no, not beautiful chicken’s with colored eggs, and fine fancy beautiful feathers, but skinny, tough, I can not swallow the beastie yard-bird chickens. Okay, to be honest, I have not seen the chickens yet, but I am betting this is how the chicken adventure will go down.

I do always try to be totally fair with my assessment of things. Brutally blunt, but fair would accurately describe me.

When you do not have enough to eat, neither do your dogs. We have 9 dogs now, 6 of them found us at the farm, all starving, emaciated, it is a terrible life for dogs. These dogs belong to the indigenous.

We are at the home where Priscilla is staying. Our friend is evaluating the child, trying to determine what exactly is wrong, what may have happened, and how do we provide for this child. Because her Mother, Blanca Rose, left the reservation to save her child's life; they can never return to the reservation.

The Indigenous baby Priscilla and her Mother on their way to see our local doctor. Her left side does not function and she drags it around. Her little hand is always closed, but I can easily open it. Priscilla was possibly deprived of oxygen during her difficult birth on the reservation. We hope that with therapy she can learn to walk.

We are on a deadline to build our home, not that this means anything to anyone but us apparently. Our work force is dwindling. Two workers were still remain as of today. The young worker drives a motorcycle that he can not keep running. So far we have fixed it as well as bought shocks for it so that he can bring the other worker a skilled older man with him. It is broke again, does not run and the older gentleman called this evening. He has kidney stones, OH Great! What next?

He has sacks of chickens in his living room bagged up for us. That's what is next. Live chickens. We don't have a chicken house. Well that is how it goes here, you have one small conversation about chickens and the next thing you know there is a living room full of them in sacks. Now we have to go get them and I don't know where they will live, we were not ready for the chickens. We don't have a house and neither do they.

Dominick will not be working any more either, if we understand correctly, because of the kidney stones. The fellow with the motorcycle? I have no idea if he is still working with us. I suppose we can fix his tired old Chinese bike, again. We must finish this house.

I am usually on the other end of the camera, so this is rare opportunity for you to see me. I am playing with my whole fried fish

This beautiful Indigenous boy was at the house of the baby Priscilla and her mother Blanca Rose. He had never seen himself in a camera before. He could not believe his eyes.

The Rio Atirro cut a new path and the road is gone. The bridge still stands, but no chance of getting to it.

The road to the right, is the road to Esperanza and our farm. The road to the left, took you to the bridge across the river. There was no river here. How do you fix this? The re-cut river is now only about 20 feet from our road. The Alcalde (Mayor) needs to do something. They never fix things to last here. Last year they put a lot of money into stabilizing the bridge on this road. All of that money is down the river now. Gone, washed away by the first heavy rain of the season. Natural erosion.

This road took you across the river by bridge. How do you fix this? The re-cut river is now only about 20 feet from our road. The Alcalde (Mayor) needs to do something. They never fix things to last here. Last year they put a lot of money into stabilizing the bridge on this road. All of that money is down the river now. Gone, washed away by the first heavy rain of the season. Natural erosion.

The girls are always walking ahead of Bule Boy, he is so laid back.

Bule boy is walking to another pasture on this day. We should have more calves soon.

The Rio Atirro has been out of control because of heavy rains in the mountains. It has taken out the road to the bridge that leads to the other side of the river.

The back side of our home looking up from the gardens and the river Atirro. There will be a cantilevered deck off the french doors when we get to it.

Songs that I Love and Books You Must Read. The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, what a contrast of hope and despair between the songs and the book. I may be a political refugee in exile, but the US is still my country and I am sad for what is happening to her. Even sadder for those who seem to not have a clue.

It is not our fault, yours and mine, we were lied to by the powers that govern us. http://www.prosecutionofbush.com/video.php Now we know the truth, the evidence is at hand. I hope that prosecutors have the courage to take action for the American people.

It will take this courage for the world to respect us again. But first we must respect ourselves and not let the man or men responsible for these terrible crimes to go free.

I have put up links to "Songs I Love", I hope that you will take a moment to listen to them.

Several are music videos from u-tube. They are all worth your time. I love Eros Ramazzotti and these duets are fun and special.

Since leaving the states I have found new artists, well new to me. The rest of the world is very familar with my new finds. Please leave a comment and tell me if you enjoyed them as much as I do.

I have also posted a link to Rawhide's theme song from the TV show by the same name starring a young Clint Eastwood. I never missed this show, it was a family affair. I wanted you to be able to view my cow's photos while Frankie Laine sang his song, Rawhide.

Blogger has been having some issues lately. My slow speed probably does not help any. Comments could no longer be left. Why does the little pencil keep disappearing, It is back again today. And I am able to post photos. Blogger still has issues however.

I appologize for not putting up more photos recently, please feel free to blame blogger, it is their fault.

Here is the center of our farms housing component, but not the center of our farm.

We had a splendid meeting today at the Voz Que Clama Mission and talked about the problems the Cabecar Indigenous face in their lives. Because the meeting was in Spanish I have asked Ray Reynolds who attended with friends to write an article sharing with you the content of today’s meeting. That will be forthcoming.

Then we went to view the new Mission building which will house the disabled Indigenous and double their capacity. Wow, it is really coming along fast. This structure is so needed. I know too many people hate to throw money at a building, I understand. But if you could actually realize the need you would want to participate. This is not a monument to men, this is a life saving facility.

Priscilla the disabled Cabecar Indigenous child was our next stop and we met this beautiful child, her mother, grandmother, and the Indigenous family they are staying with. Priscilla has probably suffered some oxygen deprivation during birth. She saw a doctor yesterday and will now go to the Children’s Hospital in San Jose where we are told that she will probably stay for about 2 months for exams and rehabilitation so that she can learn to walk for starters. Her journey is just beginning.

Blanca Rose, Priscilla’s Mother told us that this is her only child. She had a very difficult birth. Her husband went outside in January and she has never seen him again. I am still not sure where on the reservation she came from, not the villages that the Mission serves, but much farther towards Panama. They walked up and down mountains, over and through rivers for 4 days. The child’s Grandmother will also be examined soon to see what is going on with her. She does not talk, mumbles a bit, perhaps she is in shock. The baby makes her happy, it is very clear.

When the Mission goes to the reservation, (they leave before sun up tomorrow), they drive for 3 hours to Quetzal and then walk for 5 hours. When they return on Friday evening, they will be totally exhausted. Only the most fit, can make the journey. We are that exhausted just making the difficult drive to Quetzal without getting out of the car; forget the 5 hour walk a goat would have a hard time making. The men and women who will go on this trip will carry very large and long plank style boards, enough to build another wall on the smoke free house with kitchen (not sure what that means but it will have a chimney) that the volunteers are constructing. This building is to keep the Indigenous from filling their lungs with smoke from open fires in their homes that deteriorates their health, contributes to their asthma and emphysema. It is a simple model home, no illusions of grandeur or palatal manse going on here. The house is a board structure with a tin roof. The volunteers are doing a fine job and have been at it for many many months. I want to stress, this is a simple structure, a very SIMPLE structure that will be the best home on the reservation.

For Blanca Rose to have walked this journey for 4 days, with her child tied to her body with a scarf and her Mother in tow, I can’t imagine.

She has never been off the reservation, never seen cars, or a town like Tuis. (Tuis is so small if you blink you will miss it.) When my daughter drove up to the very rural house they are staying in, Blanca Rose could not believe that a woman could drive, or that a big piece of metal can move.

She fears how dangerous her journey and the hospital will be. We assure her that she and her child will be safe, we will see to it. She must remain tranquilo. I can barely imagine her level of apprehension as she is exposed to our world. It will be like landing on another planet with no knowledge of their atmosphere.

There were a number of starving skeletal dogs in the yard. A few chickens in mailbox like coups laying eggs. I took a 10 year old boy’s photo and showed it to him. He had never seen himself before and was thrilled, shy, laughed and covered his face. Cute kid.

I had the urge to take them all home with me, even the starving dogs. I thought of Alison my dog rescue friend in La Flor who has too many dogs and not enough dog food. She is going broke being a dog angel rescuing those unfortunate animals that are not living the good life in Costa Rica.

If you live in the San Jose area perhaps you would volunteer to be an advocate for Blanca Rose and her child. We don’t think that she can stay in the hospital at night with her baby. Blanca Rose can not be left alone in San Jose either. She has no skills in our world. NONE! She speaks some Spanish, she needs acts of kindness to hold her hand, make sure she eats, and that she and her child are safe.

If you can find the heart to volunteer and help, this may be the most rewarding time in your life. Please contact me at ginnee@gmail.com

Blessings,

Ginnee

My friend Dave asked me if I did my own website (blog) and how hard was it to do. Well, on a good day Dave, when google has no issues, and my browser is working properly, or if I have not tried something new that crashes the site, it is kind of easy, until it is not easy any more.

My first computer’s memory was tape recorder. So I have been at this for a while, although not always successfully. I must admit that the computer learning process does not come natural for me. I think it should be more free flowing in my head conceptually. The problem always seems to be when there is a problem. Is it me? Is it Internet Explorer? Is it Blogger? Try it in FireFox, does it work there? Where did the little pencil go? It was there last night! Who or what changes this stuff while I am sleeping? Fixing my crash can take far longer than my brilliant idea as I backtrack what I did. Not always that easy for me depending on how many steps and code changes I made.

Like the time I came up with the brilliant idea of having Frankie Laine break out in the theme song to the old Rawhide TV show (Clint Eastwood) when the photos of my Brahman cows came up on my blog. Crash!!! It took me several weeks to undo that mistake and move forward. I wanted to beat my head against a brick wall. I had spent several weeks trying to get the music from the internet. Why am I blocked from some sites just because I do not live in the US? What does that have to do with anything? “We detect that you are in a foreign country!” Yeah, so what! What does that have to do with a free download? I am a political refuge, feel my pain.

Now, I believe that I again know how to do have Frankie singing to my cows, a different technique than before, but so far the desire has not totally taken over my sensibilities and I still remember the pain of my last big mistake all to well.

Good idea to back up your blog, and then back up your widget code as well.

Earth University is located in Guapiles, Costa Rica. Started by the Kellogg Foundations it is a 5 year agricultural university with students from all over the world. 80% of the students are on scholarship with the intent to go back to their countries and improve production for their farmers through organic, sustainable farming practices.

We just returned from Earth U. this week. Our farm participated in an enterprise program with Earth. The students determined what native species of hard wood trees should, would and could be in our forest, they then propagated those seeds for us. We purchased these 5,000 small trees (seedlings) from them and will now plant them on the farm, in the forest, and in an area that we will reforest.

This project is not a tree plantation, but a true reforestation project that will not be cut down. Many of the “reforestation” projects that offer you an investment opportunity do not reforest, they are plantations. Let’s call it what it is. If you’re going to cut it down, you did not reforest. Teak is not a native species; it is ugly, and not desirable for reforestation.

We are so close to moving into the new house. I asked Phil if we could move in next weekend and in fact that will be pushing it. I am ready to go even though it will not be totally completed for months yet. Cabinetry needs to be made and installed, and we will get to it when we get to it. I am okay with that. My husband made my kitchen island with prep sink, and I love it. It is perfect for making bread. I like to make bread; I find it meditative and artistic. Most of my loaves are braided as I think they are more attractive that way, and they take less time to bake. I don’t eat much bread, making it is simply my art, and everyone else loves to eat it. I grind my own grains using what we have available in my area of my country or using what is grown and dried on my farm.

Phil also made our composting toilet for the bathroom. Love it! He did a great job. Everybody should own a composting toilet; there are so many reasons to do so. You are not polluting your ground water may be one of the best reasons. It does not smell, and makes excellent fertilizer when properly composted for a period of time. You can have as many toilets as you want or need, anywhere you need them, including emergency medical situations in your home where the patient may not be able to get to the bathroom for various reasons. A compost toilet can be a port-a-potty and you can make it the exact height you want it for easy up and down access. Very clever. I never liked those very low toilets, they are uncomfortable and not practical.

We could have had a conventional toilet, we are plumbed for it, we chose not to do so. Some of my old Norte Americano friends are not so adventuresome and not hip to this very green concept. They are thinking Jiffy John, no no, this is different. We “flush” with sawdust, or a sawdust and clay mixture. We can also use EM, effective microorganisms. EM is made at Earth University in my country, and we use it at the farm for many things. When sprayed where the cows do their business, there is no smell and flies are not attracted to the area. We capture the cow poop, put it in the biodigester, and then spray down the corral area with EM.

Now that we have built a new home at our farm, we installed a biodigester several months ago. My cows give us methane and we have that hooked up to gas stoves, I hope to hook up my gas dryer to it also.

Our small hydropower plant provides electric for lights and recharging. We will update the hydro plant in the near future. Because we are off the grid, we must be responsible for our own needs. There are many ways you can go, but we wanted to keep costs and maintenance down to a minimum. Our unlimited water supply enables the hydro-power year round.

Priscilla needs your help. Please?

Indigenous Baby Needs Your Help

By Elise Sonray
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff

A young mother fearing her baby would be murdered, fled from her village on a treacherous journey to find help this week. She arrived to safety Wednesday, and now people in the area are asking for help and a doctor.

A family strangled their 5-year-old-boy because he could not walk on the Chirripó Indian reserve, said a expat neighbor. The young mother, Blanca Rosa, feared her 2-year old daughter, whose left hand is limp and who does not talk, would be next. She fled the village and walked for four days with her child and mother to the nearest non-Indian community, said the neighbor.

Blanca Rosa carried her baby Pricilla over raging rivers and helped her feeble mother climb over rugged terrain until they reached safety, said Ginnee Hancock, who lives on a farm below the mountainous reserve and is involved with the Voz Que Clama Mission http://vqcmission.com, the nearest settlement in the area.

Many of the Cabécar Indian people believe any sort of disability is sign of an evil spirit, said Ms. Hancock. One woman was told that she should kill her son who had cerebral palsy, said Ms. Hancock, adding that the mother was told to stop feeding her son so he'd die faster. Ms. Hancock also said that without enough food, villagers may believe they cannot afford to feed those unable to work.

There is a young man who lives at the mission who suffered a spinal cord injury when he fell out of a tree. The boy is covered in scars from head to toe, said Ms. Hancock, because his own family tried to beat and stone him to death.

Since the mission is already over its legal capacity of residents, Blanca Rosa, her baby, and her mother Roxana are staying nearby in the home of an Indian family. Ms. Hancock said she plans to have a doctor see Priscilla at William Allen Hospital in Turrialba today. But, she added a specialist will most likely be needed to diagnose the child's medical condition. Since the family has no money, Ms. Hancock needs to find a doctor in Costa Rica willing to help, she said.

“Priscilla is almost 2 and is severely underdeveloped. She cannot walk or crawl, is not trying to talk at all and has a hard time focusing,” reported Ms. Hancock. “Her eyes . . . my daughter says it is as if there is nothing there . . . the fist never unclenched. The fingers did flex out when my daughter opened the fingers, so they can open, but the child could not keep the fingers open.”

The entire Cabécar village is especially in need of rice and beans right now, said Ms. Hancock. She said she has contacts in San José who could deliver the food to Turrialba. If anyone could donate it would be greatly appreciated, said Ms. Hancock.

For more information those interested can contact ginnee@gmail.com. Donations into the mission's bank account can be made via Pay Pal at http://vqcmission.com/

“The directors of the mission take no salary. All money donated goes to help the Cabécar, the rural poor around Tuis and the Cabécar on the reservation,” said Ms. Hancock. A.M. Costa Rica featured the sprawling, remote reserve in a news story in February.