Author: doug

Fruit we will never eat

The fig tree by the barn has lots of figs on it. The neighbor told me that from his three fig trees, last summer he ate three figs.

The parrots got the rest.

Apparently the introduction of tall non-native trees to Uruguay allowed birds to nest safely above the range of comadrejas (possums). So now the birds are free to ravage crops. Pigeons are equally a problem. Actually, the real problem is that both birds are dumb; were they crows, you could hang a dead one near your crop and the others wouldn’t return.

A friend hunts them, partly as a favor to a farmer he knows. Nail one or two, and there’s barely time to reload before the rest return to the exact same spot.

Volquete #2 se va

I was there when the truck arrived to remove our second ‘dumpster.’ I know the driver  because I had one at our house in town, and also because he refilled the oxygen tank when our son was doing glass work here. He told me he was ‘breaking his head’ until he realized I was the guy who lived in town, not another American who lives in Las Vegas (seriously), a few kilometers up the coast, who drives the same car I do.

No, I replied, he’s actually German, and his wife is Dutch. Smallish world.

The empty volquete was pushed aside to allow a delivery of fencing materials. Before filling it, the two workers and I jockeyed it to line up with the gate. When he removed it, the grass underneath was flattened and not too happy, however much happier than being cooked by the harsh sun on the metal bottom of the empty container – notice the yellow patch to the left. Who’d a thunk?

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Apologies for the blurry photo. Even though it didn’t move once, for some reason I didn’t feel like leaving my hand on the wall longer than necessary, next to this little visitor to our country house.

Like the large frog that appeared inside a couple weeks ago, I saw no reason to evict it. It’s welcome to use the space while we’re not there.

Unless, of course, it decides to lay eggs and produce a thousand more Itsy Bitsies….

We don’t often see tarantulas in this part of the country, but have seen some that make this look like a baby.

My volunteer garden

zapallo squash growing in Uruguay

A monster zapallo plant spreads like crazy behind the chiquero, or pig pen.

At least I think it’s the same type as last years’ monster squash, which you may recall grew everywhere.

Poking around, I found this phallic offering concealed among the leaves. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be this shape, or if it’s a small round squash that decided to get long, or if it’s a monster squash in its infancy. Given that confusion, there’s only one thing to do: cook it.

DIY project 95% complete…

Finally got around to building a railing for the upstairs balcony. A few details still to go, but meanwhile looks like it’s always been there, which is of course the point.

I knew they were ugly, but didn’t realize how bad those drip marks look until I saw them in the photo. Would be a snap to clean them from above if not for that damned railing.

N.B. – with frequent trips to our country place and its dirt road – not to mention the dirt road we live on – trying to keep the car clean is a fool’s errand.