August 31, 2022 We have finished the rock veneer on the front of the house extention and now we're waiting on the blacksmith (Mayan term for welder) to come and install a metal frame for the front porch awning.  (see below for what I'm imagining) We continue to plant the fruit trees.  It takes a little time with each tree, because we have to hammer most of the holes out of limestone rock.  We made them very large and now we plant the tree in the middle, after putting small rocks at the bottom for drainage.  Then we fill in around the tree with a m3 of good red dirt that is heavily mixed with fertilizer for root growth, 2 liters of cow manure, and 1 liter of 20:1 diluted bull's blood.   The trees are planted in between the planting beds to give partial shade to the beds in future years as the trees mature. We've started to face the front of the solar bodega with the rock veneer.  When the veneer is finished I'm going to build a little porch cover over the door and wi

Some Yucatan pueblo culture. My pueblo is Mayan. There are several cultural changes that I've had to learn there. One, there is no grocery store meat counter in town to run to and grab a pound of ground or a steak. I knew there were places around the pueblo to buy meat because driving through town I'd see big and small pieces having up above the open-air counter. Beef and whole chickens, and sometime what I thought look like pork ribs. In my pueblo there are 3 meat vendors. You get meat from one of the 3 families in town that offer fresh meat. Generally speaking, the Mayan people don't like frozen meat or vegetables. They like everything fresh. I've noticed for a long time, that some afternoons, I'd drive thru the pueblo and see a small, medium or even large cow tied up to a light post in front of a market. They are always just standing there. Today this fellow (and trust me, he was a fellow) was just sitting there looking left and right at the few car

 

August 26, 2022 We've built 7 planting beds in Corral 3 and the same in Corral 4.  Each bed is about 15m long (50') and 2m wide (80").  So that is 15x2x14 or about 420 sq. meters total with approximately 10 cm of soil deep.  That's a lot of dirt to be put in the beds to raise them up for growing.  And in Mexico, why use a machine to do the work of 5 men, when you can just use 5 men instead?  (More on this culture in another article) And the masons continue on with their stone work.  By the way, what you're seeing in reverse here is the view I'll have from my front porch every day.  Lovely, I think.  

 August 25, 2022 This shows the distances on the new road "from" the ranch back to the pueblo, in meters.  Example: 1+300.00 means it is 1.3 km from the ranch entrance back to the intersection of the new road and the old road (blue).  We started laying gravel at the pueblo and are working back toward the ranch.  As of today, we're at about 2+020.00.   So that means we have about 2 km to get to the ranch.  It's the rainy season here now, which means that it rains about 30 minutes every afternoon.  If that's all we get, it runs away fast.  But if we get a one, or 2 hour deluge, it means the gravel trucks can't haul for 2 or 3 days.   And then if it does dry out enough to haul and rains again the 3rd day, we stop again. It gets frustrating.  But like the tortoise and the hair, we will get it done with diligence and perseverance.  Every day we plant a few trees.  It's not a speedy process, because 1. we have 120 fruit trees, and 2. I'm very particular abou

August 24, 2022 I've been very blessed to make a friendship with my local materials dealer in the pueblo that I get my building materials from.  And sometimes if I have a load too big for my Ford Ranger truck, (or too long) he'll drive up from Mayapan and pick it up for me and take back. Today was a big supply day at the Merida version of Home Depot.   Casa Fernandez.    I've learned in my time here, that first you look at Casa Fernandez for the best price.  If they don't have it, then you try and Boxito.  If they don't have it, then finally you go to Home Depot and they'll be the highest of the 3. Note here about how to buy at typical building suppliers:   

 August 23, 2022 Today we poured the concrete on the roof of the newly enlarged casa.  I've built a lot of homes in my lifetime.  And watched a lot of slabs of concrete being poured.  I've never done a concrete roof, like they do in Mexico, since everything is out of masonry.  But this was an amazing feat. We had to muster together all 4 construction men, plus my 7 laborers to get the job done.  But by the end of the day they did it.  They did not stop moving for 6 hours.  Everyone had a task and it all worked seamlessly. In Mexico there is a philosophy of work.  It is "Why pay a machine $400.00 a day to help speed up a job, when you can get 20 hombres instead at $20.00 a day?" I hope you find the video of the day interesting.  It was very interesting to me, and I've been in construction for many years.   Pay attention to the little guy in the red cap with no shirt on. He's one of my favorite workers and is 65ish years old.   (He thinks.  But not for sure) I&

The bracing will be removed in a few days after we get the cement poured on top with the steel reinforcing for the new roof.  What you see in the photos from top and bottom, are concrete blocks that are formed to fit inside of the concrete reinforced beams that run across from supporting walls.   There is no "attic space" above the ceilings in Mexican buildings.  The roof becomes the ceiling for the living area below.   (what you see in the background is the stick roof of the palapala chicken house that is unfinished) and last but not least, we planted the banana trees today.  

The bodega roof is finished and poured.  Now it's time to apply the rock veneer to have it match the house it is beside. The corral with the solar panel array is behind the bodega and house.  So the panels much have the power line brought into the bodega to charge the batteries.  

  I took these two photos of the partially completed roof to show how it is done in Mexico.  The long concrete reinforced beam is run from one wall to another supporting wall.  Then specially formed concrete blocks are laid in between the beams to form a competed section.  Later, next week, 10 cm of concrete will be poured on top of these blocks.  And inside the house the blocks will get a plaster finish to complete.  The bracing will be removed about a week after the cement is poured on the roof, when they aren't needed any more. This aerial photo we took today shows the partially completed roof of the Casa along with the solar array panels behind the house and bodega.  You can see a corner of the roof top of the Solar Panel Bodega next to the house.  Also, you can see the progress of the planting beds, that I'm very proud of.    The top of the photo is pointing S and the sun will arise on the left E and hit the solar panels all day long.   With West being to the right, the ho