Chats

it’s difficult to know when Spring has arrived done here. The temperature is about the same as always. Once in a while it does get a bit more humid, but other than that not much different.

In the last few days though we have noticed a few changes. The birds are getting a bit more frisky and the large parota tree outside our front door has a lot more greenery on it.

It also announces itself by dropping seed pods, most of which hit the car with a satisfying clang. They don’t seem to do any damage.  We have nowhere else to put the car so why worry. When they hit the pathway they shatter as though they were made of clay and thereby release their seeds. Omar sweeps them up every day. They hurt when you step on them with bare feet which I just did.

The sun’s getting higher in the sky each day and I have had to move my seat at the table in the morning to accommodate it as it gets pretty hot early on.

There is a squirrel here and it appears to be making its nest in a palm tree over at the neighbour’s place. Patti has been observing it for the past few days and reports on progress. Hopefully, we won’t be still here when the babies arrive. If Alan comes for a visit we’ll let you know.

We got our custom made masks last week but the fit wasn’t quite right so we took them back and paid for them to have the elastic removed and tie-ons installed instead. They work much better now. However, we still have a hard time breathing through them.

Omar, whom I have finally decided doesn’t need a thrashing so much, after all, presented us with a freshly picked mango. He pealed it and cut it up for us. It was delicious. There will be a lot more in the coming weeks. I’m looking forward to the next Breadfruit harvest.

We can’t get cerveza anymore in our local store. So while in town today we decided to stock up. I had a case of ‘Sol’ empties but they didn’t have any ‘Sol’. So we had to haul the empties home and try again with ‘Estrella’ empties tomorrow.

While in town we visited a couple of soup kitchens and paid the money that some of you had so graciously donated.  We were talking to Doctor Woo and he told us that they would feed 550 people today. Thanks, folks!

Last year we had the noisy rooster in the back of the duplex so we moved to the front bedroom. Great move, cooler in the hot season and quieter. In spite of the odd parade coming by at 5 am we like it better. Or we did.  

Some new Mexican neighbours moved in across the street and they brought two dogs with them. Unfortunately, the dogs are left alone a lot and tend to bark. I think they come from a quieter area of town because when the real noisy vendors come by with their messages blaring out through speakers most of the local dogs just yawn, roll over and go back to sleep. Not these two. One of them sounds like a sea lion with a severe smokers cough.

Our neighbour Gerry went across and gave them a severe talking to the other day and they were quiet for a while. He obviously didn’t impress them much as they soon started up again. Now we have to take drastic action. I thought of a shotgun but Rosalie vetoed that idea.

We read about someone getting a silent dog whistle and letting it rip when the barking starts. This trains the dogs, over time, to stop as they don’t like the sound and equate it to their barking. 

I can see it now; WOOF, PEEP “Ouch! What the f…k? That hurt my ears I better not do that again.” It makes a lot of sense. The problem is where do we get a silent whistle?

I knew that there is a Veterinaria in town so we walked up to see if they had whistles. Of course, we got there at 3:30, right in the middle of siesta time and the place was one that did close. We did a bit of shopping and had an ice cream and went back to wait. By 4:10 no-one had shown up so we decided to go home and order one on Amazon.

I got out the laptop and found just what we needed, three whistles for $13. Alas, they don’t deliver that type of merchandise down here. By this time I’m looking for someone or something to hit. Rosalie didn’t even flinch as she knows that she can take me easily. I need to learn more Spanish swear words  I will have to talk to Rosalie she seems to know a lot.

The next morning I went back to town on my trusty bike to see if the Veterinaria had one. They didn’t! Then on the way home, I realised that I could order one on Amazon. Mx. Which I did.

Later, we had to meet some friends for coffee and while we were sitting there I had a brainstorm. There may be an app for that, and there was. I tried three, and still don’t know if any of them worked. When I try them the dogs kind of look up but I’m not sure if it’s loud enough. Perhaps I should throw the phone to shut them up. Anyway, the new whistles will be here next week so I can throw them instead.

Follow up on a later blog.