Nature
I had forgotten how much nature we live with here. The doors and windows are open all day and there’s always a nice breeze. I had a real problem in SC getting used to air conditioning. It seemed to cold to me after living without it for so long. In the heat wave that SC’s having right now, AC is an absolute must. But here it’s mostly pleasant. When it gets really hot, we just go swimming.
Having moved from one side of the complejo to the other (100 feet?), I didn’t expect to have any major adjustments. But... we are now just a small parking lot away from the school’s finca, a nice garden/small park. Before we backed up to squatters, people living on a small parcel of unclaimed land between the school and a city water tower. They had dogs and raised chickens, so those were our daily noises. On this side, we hear all sorts of different birds that must live in the finca. We were waking up at 5:30 a.m. when we first arrived, but we’re already used to the bird songs and we’re sleeping till 7:00.
Yesterday morning, something swooped by my head as I came downstairs. I thought it was a bird in the house, which always makes me really nervous. It turned out to be a giant moth. (This ridiculous photo s
hows you that the moth is about the size of James's hand.) We’ve had a number of them get in lately. Besides startling me, they seem harmless. About 30 minutes later, I saw what I thought was another giant moth. Unfortunately, this time it was a fruit bat. Mila had warned us about the mess bats make when they get in the house, and to make sure we closed all the doors at night. (I was so impressed that Maggie knew the word in Spanish for bat.) Still, we must have forgotten to close the door to the back hall, and one got in. We had three children visiting yesterday, so all five kids had a great time chasing the bat through the house. I stayed in the guest room until it was gone. Looks like we are bat free today.
The only other battle I fight is with sugar ants. They descend on any sweet crumb dropped anywhere. But I’ll take animals and insects over heat anytime. Hope it cools off soon, South Carolina. We’re thinking about you! Susan
Having moved from one side of the complejo to the other (100 feet?), I didn’t expect to have any major adjustments. But... we are now just a small parking lot away from the school’s finca, a nice garden/small park. Before we backed up to squatters, people living on a small parcel of unclaimed land between the school and a city water tower. They had dogs and raised chickens, so those were our daily noises. On this side, we hear all sorts of different birds that must live in the finca. We were waking up at 5:30 a.m. when we first arrived, but we’re already used to the bird songs and we’re sleeping till 7:00.
Yesterday morning, something swooped by my head as I came downstairs. I thought it was a bird in the house, which always makes me really nervous. It turned out to be a giant moth. (This ridiculous photo s
hows you that the moth is about the size of James's hand.) We’ve had a number of them get in lately. Besides startling me, they seem harmless. About 30 minutes later, I saw what I thought was another giant moth. Unfortunately, this time it was a fruit bat. Mila had warned us about the mess bats make when they get in the house, and to make sure we closed all the doors at night. (I was so impressed that Maggie knew the word in Spanish for bat.) Still, we must have forgotten to close the door to the back hall, and one got in. We had three children visiting yesterday, so all five kids had a great time chasing the bat through the house. I stayed in the guest room until it was gone. Looks like we are bat free today.The only other battle I fight is with sugar ants. They descend on any sweet crumb dropped anywhere. But I’ll take animals and insects over heat anytime. Hope it cools off soon, South Carolina. We’re thinking about you! Susan
posted by The Dunlaps | 9:57 AM
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