Dog fences for my garden

Never expected this to be an issue but suddenly in the last month with the heat my dog likes to excavate anywhere moist and lay in her hole. First she started with the new grass ripping it up to reach dirt. That required a cyclone fence to keep her out of half the yard.

Next was the elevated flower bed in her half of the yard. Tried chicken wire, chicken wire with rope and boards .... and finally new posts with barbed wire, chicken wire and a few strategically placed blocks.

It's been two days now and the blocks will come out if this is a proven remedy. Animals are a responsibility and often a pain

Cyclone protecting the lawn

Barbed and chicken wire for garden

Cleaning those palms

If you would have been watching my web cam a few hours ago you could have seen two late teens up that palm tree cleaning it on their way to a prize of about 10 coconuts ready for harvest. They used a ladder on this one (non-professionals) but another in the back supplied them with 10 more from ground level.

I love these exchanges of work for coco's. In my other house in Melaque I had a prolific and very tall tree that would produce 40+ coco's 3 times a year. A guy would cut the troublesome fronds, clean the dead stuff, clean the yard and haul it all away in exchange for the 40 coco's.

This time it started with a 7 year old neighbor helping me clean the side of the lot and street. I didn't know him, he just wanted to help. Then he spotted the 2 coco trees and said his big brother would clean and cut them. Very nice kids, all went well ... and now there is less garbage to fall into the yard

The rain brings out everything

I'll just call him a rain toad because I don't know what type of toad this is. After 2 days of rain I found 3 of them in my yard this morning. All were about 5-6 inches long. I also found a small land crab in the house. Small crabs can squeeze into/under very tight openings. I assume they both live under ground and don't appreciate getting soaked so up they pop.

Hugo was over working on my back wall today and during a water break I pointed out these toads who were hunkered down next to my front wall. I was surprised at his reaction of getting rid of them because I have pets. Anything that moves in my yard is a target for both my dog and cat.

Hugo's solution was to pour Clorox over them and throw them in an empty lot with a shovel. He said the Clorox (Cloro) will make them puff up and die ... who knows?

Bufo is both Spanish and the scientific name for a large toad. It seems all toads excrete toxins from their back as a protection mechanism and animals/pets can get sick or die if they ingest it. Some toads are much more toxic than others ... and I assume by Hugo's reaction they are quite toxic in this area.

6/24/2012
They are called Sapos here and they eat insects (mostly cockroaches) so now I leave them alone

Beatriz means rain

The hurricane that wasn't ...

And rain is about all we got. Lots of excitment in anticipation because seldom does a storm point directly at us like Beatriz did. It did reach category one just offshore south of us but landfall must have taken all it's strength. It has rained two nights in a row and is still raining this morning. Even found a crab in the house indicating that the ground is pretty well saturated. We needed the rain ... and it's cool!

The remains of Beatriz is just sitting offshore about 220 miles promising rain for another day or two.

New temporary import permit deposit

The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) has issued a decree which states that beginning on June 11th, 2011 anyone applying for a temporary import permit for vehicles must make a deposit in the amount determined by the following table:

Vehicle Year Model Amount to be paid in Mexican Pesos based on applicable exchange rate

2007 and later USD$ 400

2001 until 2006 USD$ 300

2000 and earlier USD$ 200

This deposit is compulsory and can be paid by credit card, debit card, or cash (in US Dollars only).

Users must keep in mind that if the deposit is charged to a credit card, the charge will be made in Mexican Pesos and will be calculated based on the exchange rate of the day on which the payment is made. This deposit will be refunded to the same credit card on the next banking business day after the vehicle is fully returned and based on the exchange rate of that day.

The vehicle must be returned on time and within the time period stated on the temporary import permit. If the vehicle is returned after the stated time period, the entire deposit amount will be transferred to the Office of the Treasury on the day following the expected return date, as allowed by current law.

Banjercito Web site

Granada China

Was over at a neighbors yesterday and he showed me a vine with fruit he simply called Granada (pomegranate). The fruit was very green like in the first foto and evidently not ripe. This fruit never gets real sweet but is very acidic before it turn yellow. It is in the passion flower/fruit family but a distant cousin.

The bottom foto is often called granada or maracuyá dulce but looks a little different than the one we have. This leaves me confused and still investigating. I'll keep an eye on the fruit as it matures.

Granada China

passiflora edulis

passiflora ligularis

Asador or assador

Definitely Mexicanada