Day 53 Tree planting.

As the clouds grow so do our hopes for rain.

Last week over 100 trees were planted on the property after the rains the weeks before.

Now going on our second week without rain Cory is holding off again to plant more trees, as yesterday it took 4 guys all day to water trees.

This almost emptied the small amount of rain-water that had collected in the bottom of the new pond.

The tree planting process...

Two or three of the guys walk around an area, finding a spot that looks good they start to dig with a shovel and pick.

Once they have a good hole dug they walk about 10 or 15 feet away and start again.

Sometimes they find too much rock underneath a bit of dirt and then they move on to a new location.

With the bushes and grass growing up it is hard to see many of the holes unless you are very close and can see the pile of dirt.

First a bit of fertilizer is put in the bottom of the hole.

The dirt mixed up.

 A tree selected for the hole and then carefully dirt is placed around the roots, gently in an attempt not to disturb the dirt around the roots.

Sometimes a pot from the nursery contains 4-5 trees and they need to be carefully separated to be planted individually in their own holes.

Once the dirt has been returned around the tree a second planting occurred.

An second scoop of fertilizer was placed in a line near the edge of the planting hole and mixed into the dirt.

Then 2-3 squash seeds were planted, covered up, and the dirt gently pushed down by a foot.

A small died stick marked the locations that had squash seeds.

Some trees being more sensitive or having had more roots cut off to remove them from the nursery or the pot may have received water right away.

 In addition the sod from the hole or rocks that came from the hole were placed on the down hill side to help hold the soil in place when the rains do start.

Because Fritz and I completed our third grade work on Thursday morning we helped plant on Thursday afternoon, Friday morning and afternoon.

A variety of trees were planted including: egg fruit, mulberry, apple, cherimoya [custard apple], black sapote, velvet apple, grapefruit, jackfruit, mango, sapodilla, rumberry, pawlonia (lumber tree), loquats, peach palm, asai palm, guava, and macadamia.

Guavas and lilies

Yesterday morning and today the air almost vibrates with songs of birds, bugs and frogs. Yesterday we did receive a half-inch of rain so maybe more later with the singing frogs.

Heard last night that the LaGonave hospital move needed to be pushed back so our visitors may be coming on Monday if vehicle repairs happen today.

Enjoying and sharing guavas with friends this week. 

The smaller ones are regular pink seedlings from Florida. 

One turned out to be similar to 'Ruby Supreme', which is mild flavored, sweet and reported to be so big the fruit flies can't get into it as much as other varieties.

 The fruit flies/worms aren't bad so far this year so it may just be the year.

The big green guava is a seedling of 'Bankok Large'. 

It is huge and without the usual guava odor and flavor. 

It matures very slowly so the worms and bugs ruin them before they really ripen, but they are good at the mature green stage like a crunchy vegetable.

School, book editing and life continue as normal. 

Anna is feeling much better with only a slight cough remaining.

Hanging up clothes on the line yesterday I noticed that the giant spider lily bloomed.

 In past years, caterpillars damaged the plant so badly I did not get to enjoy the flowers.

 I only picked the blooms that had already opened so I can refresh the cup later. 

They produce a faint, sweet smell. 

For the flower lovers, it is a Crinum lily, sometimes called the purple spider lily.

Surprise visitors.

A sunny warmist Saturday afternoon. The truck driven by Pastor Denord just returned from an overnight trip to The Ortlip Center for meetings.

We enjoyed a few minute visit from some visiting Episcopalians from Maine.

The older smiling gentleman lived in our house 70 years ago as a child!

 Back then the compound was linked with natural rubber plantations with SHADA, a Haitian Corporation which worked with rubber and sisal production.

We gifted a Konsey book to both him and their Haitian driver.

Wonder if 50 or more years from now Eli or Anna will visit LaGonave or Fauche and point out the house they used to live in for a time?

The House of Hope stands clean with 7 beds made up with clean sheets and towels waiting for Monday's planned arrival of the Warsaw team.

The draft copy of the Book Herder's family library card needs to be proofed for mistakes before making 100 cards.

'Bankock Large guava', several times larger than the local guava's but picked green to beat the worms and children pickers.

Sweet center with mild taste.