OK Here's the Deal

Report from the front lines.

1st - Pat, 7 of the trees are still alive and doing well. I watered them several times.


2nd - Pat, the McGyvered solar sprinkler timer did not work out. My friend Lisa Marie fixed it and it is now working great! (You can't see it well but there green light is on)



3rd - we found 5 dead mice but I think they were killed right after we left last time. There was no recent evidence. We set new traps. I'm thinking there are none left in the house. We shall see.

The weather was awesome. Full moon, little wind, and hot actually. It was perfect.

We ate some gourmet food - check out Saturday's breakfast:


On Sunday, we took a walk and came upon the wild horses:


The water was on and there were no problems there.

The propane ran out about 30 seconds after we turned it. We hooked up a little propane tank and the big one will have to be refilled next time.

The rope system to help with the grates was great. Made it very easy to bring them up, take off the boards, and then lower then down.

It's official - I'm going to LB tomorrow

My friend agreed to go with me so I am leaving mid day Friday and will be back on Sunday.

I will check and report back on:
-Tobacco trees
-Power
-Mice

I will bring down:
-coffee maker
-candles
-binoculars
-firewood (only as much as I have room for)
-mixing/serving bowls

I think that is it. I'll report back on Sunday evening.

Have a great halloween everyone!

Sharon

The Tobacco Tree - The latest addition (hopefully) to the yard in LB

Tree TobaccoNicotiana glauca, Nightshade Or Potato Family ( Solanaceae ), Tree Tobacco. Also called: Mustard Tree, Wild Tobacco, Wildetabak, Mexican Tobacco, Coneton, San Juan Tree, Tobacco Plant, Akkue Musa, Cestrum, Corneton, Jantwak, Le Tabaque Glauque, Mahasatpurush, Masseyss, Palau Pazau, Satpurush, Tabaco Cimarron, Taba, Don Juan, Isil Pivat, Brazillian Tree Tobacco, and Yellow Tree Tobacco.
Nicotiana glauca is an annual, biannual, or sometimes a short-lived perennial shrub or tree. It stands up to 25 feet in height. Large plants have numerous multi-branched stems arising from their bases. The large leaves are oblong, green, and clasp the stem. They become smaller as they near the end of the branches’ flowering top. The small, tubular, cream-colored, greenish white flowers form at branch ends. The seed capsules contain many small brown seeds. The entire plant is sticky and covered with small hairs.
It is commonly found in Arizona and parts of New Mexico. Look for this native plant in disturbed soils, vacant lots, trail and roadsides, flood plains, and along washes and drainages.
The oval to lance-shaped leaves are up to 7 inches long and covered with soft, short hairs. They grow opposite each other on the stem, attached directly at the base. The five-lobed, yellowish, trumpet-shaped flowers are about 1.5 to 3 inches long.
The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies).
Tree tobacco, while related to tobacco, is said not to contain nicotine. Instead, Nicotiana glauca's active ingredient is anabasine--an alkaloid similar to nicotine.
Parts of this plant are considered poisonous.
Height: From 2 to 25 Feet Tall.Flowers: The yellow flowers are 1 ¾ inches long by ½ inches wide. The flower has a long, tubular 5-lobed greenish-yellow corolla only slightly flared at the apex and a 5-cleft, unequally-toothed calyx.Blooming Time: Mid March - November.Leaves: Leaves simple, smooth-edged, spade-shaped to 7" long. They are alternate, entire, ovate to ovate-lanceolate on long petioles. Seeds & Seed Pods: The seed capsules contain many small brown seeds.Found: Throughout Arizona and New Mexico. It is native to South Bolivia and North Argentina.Elevation: 0 to 4000 Feet.Habitat: Found in gravelly-sandy washes and river edges.

We will never take you for granted

Now that we know what it is like to be in La Bocana without a respectable way to make coffee, we will truly appreciate and cherish the new coffee pot generously gifted to the house by recent guest Sheila O'Connor.

It's a beaut!
And when we get the lock box, this is going in it!

Interesting reading about La Bocana, fishing, and ... Sam's Plans

Check it out!

Abel & Cain

Abel: "You repair the water!"

Cain: "Like hell I do ... I work on the houses!"

Secure Storage

I have been trying to think of an easy way to have a small, secure area there. These Knack locking cabinet would do the trick - the thing could be virtually cemented or bolted to the ground and I think they are nearly impossible to break into. Plus, look like they are easy to find on Craig's List. The post title is a link to a picture of one.

Home Depot

Has anyone been to the Home Depot in Ensenada? K-2 has approved the bunkhouse idea but thinks we might be subject to import taxes if we bring a bunch of supplies from California. The Home Depot is certainly on the way, I just can't figure out if it is equipped the same as the stores up here.

Treasure Hunt

Tom & Sheri - we had a fun time this weekend with the kids. Incredibly, they found a pirate map in a bottle and then proceeded to find buried tesora from Las Piratas del Puerto de Santo Tomas. Good time had by all - us in making it and them in finding it, but we were thinking that this would be even more fuin with someone like Nolan ... he's older and would "get" the map more. Of course, we'd have to make a more detailed map, but it could all be done. It was really a gas ... see the pics Sharon posted.

Keep your fingers crossed for the trees!

Thanks to my two assitants, the 4 year old arborists Auggie and Caroline, we have eight new trees (bushes?) on the bluff to the east of the house. They are a local "tobacco plant" that we transplanted from around the neighborhood. We did our best to water them, plus used Sharon's special compost, so hopefully they'll make it. Next project: the citrus and avocado grove on the north side of the house!

Workweek next spring?

Sharon and I were at the house this weekend and we were thinking about a couple of big projects that would require significant coordination and time, plus a little money, to pull off. I was thinking that if each of us could find four or five days next spring we could probably have "Home Makeover - La Bocana Style". The idea is that we would plan in nauseating detail everything we wanted to do, load up a couple of trucks with material and tools, and head down for a working vacation. Shelly and Auggie are going to DC the week of Easter, and while I am not saying that this should be a kidless trip, that week would be a good one for me. Here are the projects we talked about:
1)Install a lift system for the bars so that one person of any height can easily open up the house. Repair or replace the bars at the garage. Scrape & paint all bars with rust inhibitor and paint. Replace chains and hooks as needed.
2)Pull out the range, fix the oven if possible, clean behind it and plug holes to the outside, then reinstall.
3)Scrape and paint the eaves.
4)Divide the garage (a 12 x 24 room) into two rooms, a bunkhouse and a storage room. This includes removing and reorganizing (or tossing)the existing stuff and storage system, installing divider wall (with Mexican mural), installing flooring, installing bunkbeds, installing lights, installing a door, installing new storage racks in the storage room, installing cabinets/storage in the bunkhouse.
5) install a secure storage locker. This can be hidden and should probably be designed into the new storage area or bunkhouse.
6)Plant some more trees and either hire Kiko to water until the trees are established or design an irrigation system.

What do you think and what projects would you like to add that week?