Surprising what you can get done in this heat

Looking at each day I don't think I get much done but looking back at the last two weeks ... actually quite a bit. Just like today, my battery died for the second time and this time it was fatal. After working in the sun with the help of neighbors we decided it was dead. What are you going to do on a Sunday in our area ... so after a jump I drove to Cihuatlan and Bodega Aurrera. They had the battery I needed so I changed it in the parking lot SUN. While I was there I noticed they had the matrimonial (double) sized mattresses they were not supposed to have for two more weeks ... I got one.

Then my Canadian neighbors arrived for their six month stay and welcoming them back took the rest of the afternoon.

Yesterday I finished painting the kitchen. Only white primer but that's the way it will stay for quite awhile. That is the last of the house painting for awhile. I also delivered my unwanted agave plants to a fellow in Barra de Navidad. I just don't have room for very many spiny plants.

Friday morning I flagged down a gas tank truck to fill my new stationary tank on the roof. Spent the rest of the afternoon getting my stove and hot water heater working. It was a combination of figuring out if valves were open or closed, all the stove parts had to be installed for the burners to work .... and gas was surprisingly slow coming thru the pipes.

The week before I had a plumber make the connections to the water heater, the stove and install the first bathroom. I also bought all the identical fixtures for the second bathroom.

The heat makes me feel like not working ... but somehow things get done. It may be because I have no real deadline and time means less when you are retired ... and in Mexico

Kitchen is painted

First bedroon that looks like a bedroom

Corn and the unhappy iguana

Picked my first two ears of corn a few days ago and realized growing corn really does work. Also learned that the earth/dirt has to be better than most of my yard. Not sure if some areas have too many rocks, sand or maybe construction debris. Anyway the next crop will be better planned.

Asked my neighbor when they were ready to pick and he said now before they become 'cow food'. Not sure he is familiar with northern sweet corn which I think has a longer season and still be tender and sweet.

These were pretty small but very tasty and bugs had munched on the tops a bit so glad I didn't wait much longer. Decided to ad them to a tuna fish mix for sandwiches.

This guy has a habit of falling out of the palapa roof where I live. Today with a large thud ... and then the head-bobbing meaning he is mad.  I think he was unhappy enough to stand his ground while I took the foto

My first crop of corn

Some friends brought down some Peaches and Cream sweet corn seeds from up north and I was given a few. I really didn't expect much as I've never grown corn before. I usually grow green veggies, fruit or flowers.

So I was surprised to suddenly see the male tassels pop out on top of some of the larger stalks and the very begining of ears forming off the large leafs. The male seeds/pollen will drop onto the silk of the ear below and growth will begin. These fotos are at a little over 4 weeks and if I'm lucky like the article below I may have the first ear by week 9 or 10.  I planted in other places around the garden and they are all moving slower.   I assume the soil condition makes the difference but we'll see.

The male seed tassels that will pollenate the ear below

Ear starting to form off the large leaf

Foto from another article on Peaches and Cream corn

Due to the hot and muggy weather this summer, my corn was ready to harvest 9 weeks after I planted it. I originally estimated my corn would be ready on Tuesday, September 5th, but I picked my first ear on Thursday, August 12th. The ears did not get as big as others I have seen, but the corn is fully developed inside. The signs of corn being ready, is that the silk turns brown, and when you push on a kernel with your finger, a watery white substance comes out. If it’s more chunky, than it’s too early, if it’s clear then you waited too long.

Marquesina

The weather has been good, a little too hot actually. It has allowed the guys to stucco the inside of the roof wall an build two marquesinas (awnings) over windows and doors. The large awning below on the side of the house and a smaller one over two windows in front. I just finished painting them this last weekend.

Besides providing a little bit of shade the marquesina stops water from running down the wall and in the doors and windows. Typical Mexican construction usually the roof is extended for the overhang. Eventually I'm hoping to cover the walkway with a lamina roof tucked under the marquesina so I won't have to seal the lamina against the house.

The storm windows I made a few weeks ago work well and I guess I could have taken the plastic tarp off the door for the foto ... but what the heck. The tarp is to stop wind blown rain

Marquesina and storm windows

Stuccoed roof wall

Yard and pump house from above

Mexican Ivy

This is my favorite plant but I still don't know the name. A friend had this almost covering his house and he said it's part of the Boston Ivy family. Why Boston I have no idea but it does look similar with more delicate leaves.

I had it half way around my property in Villa Obregon supported by a chain-link fence. The landlord cut it back to almost nothing and his wife was furious. I was pulling out the dead branches for weeks but within six months it was all back. I have another on my chain-link fence and am thinking of one in the back corner of the garden. It will eventually cover those bare brick walls. I don't plan to let it near the house because I've seen what ivy can do to a house up north.

Mexican Ivy (cissus)

The Villa Obregon house - Mia 2 year birthday

The rest of the garden - as it is