Search This Blog

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Thorns n Horses

Last night we had a nice fire and the stove seems to be working. Haven't run all of the ductwork, but what is there is distributing the heat nicely. At sunset the view was magnificent. Even though we don't see the sun setting over the water, in summer we may catch a glimpse of the sunset, when it changes it's trajectory. But for now, the glow of the sunset over the water is great.

This morning our neighbor had some visitors. They are local horses that are left in yards to graze (and fertilize as well). The lighter horse is a stallion, the "momma" was tied to a tree nearby, grazing and the little colt reminds me of "donkey" in Shrek. Looks like there is a little mule in him. He was quite feisty and tried to bite and run after you. Denise fed them an apple and got out of his way.

There are 2 trees on our property that are a threat to life and limb. I don't know the name of the tree, but Martin our current tree cutter has tackled the worst of them, today. It is at the road and straddles both main electric lines, secondary lines and also the telephone line. As you can see, the spines are deadly. I can't imagine why anyone would want the tree or allow one to grow. Martin climbed up into the tree (without gloves) and just started hacking away, carefully avoiding the lines as he took the tree apart. He says he will cut it down for firewood for the stove. That will be the best use of the tree, in my estimation.

We have one more in the back yard, but it is not bothering any of the utility cables. Still, we will have that removed, as well.

4 comments:

Debi said...

HI Wally,
Thanks for the hotel info in Atlantida.
We will probably be in your area around Weds the 27th. Do you need anything from the states that we could bring to you? We are planning on bring an extra suitcase with us to bring our treasures back home, so if you need or want anything, we sure wouldn't mind bringing it to you.
Debi and David
(wannabe expats is our blog title)

Anonymous said...

Hi Wally,
Just wanted to thank you for this great blog, and for maintaining it. I realize it's a lot of work (and a thorn in the side when you don't feel like it).

I noticed on your profile that you narrowed down to the same countries as I have when trying to decide where to retire.

Question: would you mind telling me why you changed your mind from Ecuador? Insights greatly appreciated.

Joan the Canuck

Wally said...

Well, Ecuador looked good to me. Dollar standard, good cost of living and quality. Very stable govt. But when Denise looked at the pictures of Cuenca (which is where we would have settled) she was depressed. She just didn't like the look of the city. In addition, it was a long, long, long way from the ocean and we love the water. The coastal cities were too humid and a little rough. So we moved on.

Anonymous said...

Hi Wally, Thanks so much for your fast reply. I agree, I would never settle in Guayaquil. I loved Cuenca though--so friendly and cultural. Being from a part of Canada that has no natural disasters, I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc., so I'm concerned about living by water, though I love it as well. I realize Uruguay has no earthquakes, which is a plus.
Warm regards from Joan in Canada