January 31, 2014

So I go out this morning to check on the bat poop situation and I find bat poop alright, but something really disgusting as well.  It looked like a large partly digested caterpillar.  Anyway, it was meaty and it had intestines and antennae.  After washing that off, I found a porcupine quill in the garage.  Now I know what is trying to eat my papaya tree.  Don't worry, I have covered the trunk of the tree with mesh so the critter can't get it.  Oh the joys of living with wildlife.

It really is lovely and more delicate than you would think.  It may be from a baby.  They use them to make all sorts of curios.

January 28, 2014

Had to continue today as the most important photo did not load yesterday.

This is my papaya tree started from seed.  It now has 6 flowers on it.  Next thing you know, I will be eating my own papaya

The coconut tree across the lane replete with coconuts.  This is what I see when I am on my bike.

This is yesterday's plant with two more flowers open on it

The birdies continue to enchant me.  One of the green parakeets came very close to the balcony so I had a really good look at it.  Beautiful.  Green comes in so many shades.  Today, it was the falcon flying up river with two crows.  It wasn't in a hurry, but it left the crows in the dust.  I would not want to be its prey.

January 27, 2014

 How Does My Garden Grow?
 Fabulously!  Have a look.

Lovely white flower of the large variety

Plant on which this flower grows, started from a twig from Veenitha's garden

The flower has pride of place in today's arrangement for the Buddha

Don't know if you can see the long stem that this plant has let out.  It looks like a string hanging off the cedar bush

Bamboo started from small plants

Red bougainvillea

Peach bougainvillea

Avocado tree started from seed

White bougainvillea

Pink bougainvillea

Some kind of bush given me by my neighbour started from a stem with 4 leaves

Inpatients brought by Jayanthi as a single plant

Marigolds started from seed

Curry leaf from Thalatouoiya.  These are very difficult to grow as a lot of things eat them, not just humans.  There are two varieties.  Thankfully, this is the tastier of the two.

January 15, 2014

My lovely Tazz, my Canadian cat died today.  He was 16.5 years old and a real character.  Since I moved, he has been living with my friend Marleen and her family in Qualicum.  They have loved him and taken good care of him.  He had a lovely long life.  Lots of cat fights, lots of hunting, and most of all lots of snuggling.  He could drape himself over anything.  He used to go around draped around his first mother Monica's son Kale's neck.  When he was a baby, Monica used to carry him in the bib of her overalls.

Christmas 2012

Christmas 2013, his last Christmas.  He is being held by one of the twins who loved him and whom he loved back.  He ate and slept in their room.

With the other twin.

With Wim.  See what I mean about the draping.

On another not too happy note, Veenitha, my maid, has been telling me about one of her neighbours.  An elderly couple raising their 5 grandchildren ranging in age from 11 to 5.  Both their parents died from dengue fever.  They all go to school, but are having difficulty because then do not have school supplies and the two youngest girls don't have uniforms.  The other day, I went and bought them exercise books, pens, pencils, coloured pencils, erasers, and pencil sharpeners.  It cost me a grand total of C$14.62.  Now I am going to find out how much uniforms will cost for the girls.  So much for free public education when you need certain clothes and shoes as well or they won't let you in.

If anyone is inclined to help these kids out, please let me know.  Everything will go directly to the Grandmother who will distribute it.  Veenitha thought of giving the stuff to the principal of the school, but I nixed that.  I want the things to go to these kids who so badly need it.

January 13, 2014

The flower arranging goes on apace.  Veenitha and now her daughter and grandchildren are constantly picking flowers for me to arrange around the house.  The latest is sunflowers.  I showed Veenitha pictures of our sunflowers and sunflower seeds.  She was amazed.  She also had some difficulty understanding that the seeds can be eaten.

I don't know what the blue flowers are, but they are lovely

The yellow flowers are the sunflowers

A big firefly on my mosquito net.  He lasted for 2 days.  After day one, he no longer glowed.

This is a hat I have hanging in my closet room.  Some ants have started to build a nest on the brim.  No more.  I destroyed it, of course.

January 8, 2014

Just when I am about to look for another place, I have finally found a good gardener.  He came the other day to cut back the mango tree, do some weeding, and clean up the driveway.  I also got him to put up some balloons to keep the bats away.  Now my garden looks wonderful.  He will come whenever I call him to do the maintenance.  Once a month should do it.

The view from above.  The mango tree is a nuisance.  It grows like a weed, drops leaves, but does not bring any fruit.  It is only good for holding the plank where we put the fruit for the birdies.

The papaya tree we grew from seed.  It is just bringing its first flowers and fruit.

The avocado tree and in front of it jumbu that we grew from seed.  Jumbu is a small round fruit with the consistency of star fruit, but a bit more sour.  It makes great jelly.

My coleus trees.  Started from two or three leaf cuttings and just stuck in the ground.  Now I have to cut them back as they are overpowering the palms.

The birds just keep coming in the mornings.  I have now seen a large hawk or falcon twice flying up the river.  First time it was hunting, second was speeding someplace.  Then I saw what I think is a stork.  I tried to identify it on line and it was difficult, but it was either a stork or a crane.  Either way, it was one big bird.

Here is the exact kingfisher that comes quite frequently:

The bat balloons are working quite well. I need one more to cover the last spot they favour.  Now my problem is the bandicoot again.  He keeps pooping and peeing at the front and back doors.  Now I have put down 9 curd pots with moth balls in them.  Maybe that will work.  At least it has not been digging.

January 4, 2014

What a hell of a start to the new year.  After having told my landlady that I would not accept her outrageous rent increase, finding a place to live for a few months and even starting to pack, she contacts me to reconsider.  I told her that my final offer was Rs.32,000 and that she could take it or I would just continue with my move.  She has taken it, so now I have a one year reprieve.

However, she has seriously pissed me off, so I am slowly going to start making other plans.  The plantation is still an option, although now it seems that new year may have brought Jayanthi luck and there may be a buyer for the estate.  If so, she intends taking the money and buying a house.  In that event, I will go to live with her wherever that is going to be.  Or the alternative is to look for something with a long term lease in Kandy or Colombo.  Only time will tell.

Now I have to unpack what I have already packed.  What a pain and all at the 11th hour.  There are only 3 days left before the current lease expires.  I will be demanding a new clause in the new lease agreement stipulating that either party has to give 3 months notice of  extension or not or a rental increase.  I have had enough of this bush league behaviour.

On another note, the other day, we went to Thalatuoya just to check on things.  Good thing we did.  We had started out with the intention of taking the bus.  I hate the bus, but I thought it might be a good adventure.  We made it as far as the bus stop, someplace I had never even walked to before, when my neighbour pulled up with our tuktuk man.  So we negotiated a rate with Nissanka (the tuktuk guy) to take us to Thalatuoya.  I avoided that bus bullet skillfully.

Good thing Nissanka was there, as we found 2 dead civets in one of the rooms of the main house.  They had gotten in through the tiled roof and could not get out.  They had killed each other; there was blood spattered all over the walls, and were happily decomposing.  You can imagine the stench.  Thankfully, Nissanka carted them out and then washed the room out for us.  Then to top it all off, he would not even take money for it.  What a good guy!

After the close encounter of the smelly civet kind, we went and bought some lovely vegetables in town and even picked up a huge yellow zucchini for Rs.90.  That was a great deal as usually zucchini is Rs.200 a kilo.  We even found bread fruit. 

Then it was cooking for my friend Sylvia Spring's niece Bethany and her partner Richard who are on holiday from Toronto.  We made bread fruit fritters again, and used half the zucchini to make Liz Forest's fabulous raw zucchini hummus.  Thanks Liz.  They came over for dinner.  Very nice people and a good time was had by all.

So it is back to normal for a while until I find that ideal place to move to. 

Looks like 2014 will be a roller coaster.