Terdal Farm

Heading north

2012-01-29T11:47:00.000-08:00

Our last entry, "Sunsets over Mountain Pine Ridge", described an amazing 24 hours capped with spectacular sunsets in the Maya Mountains of Belize. This entry covers 36 hours where sunrises and sunsets blurred together out of bus windows in two nations: Belize and Mexico.

Saturday, January 7, began with us waking up at Blancaneaux Lodge. They had held a party with Belizean cuisine and a Marimba band Friday night--good times, but everyone was moving slow the next morning.

I worked during the morning while Rhea went to visit friends at Moonracer. I waited for her before lunch, and shouldn't have--she had so much fun there she came back too late. We quickly checked out and drove down the Georgeville road. Rhea stopped for snacks at the junction with the San Antonio road:

From Rhea Belize 2012

Once on the Western highway, we went west to Central Farm to visit friends at the Belize Wildlife & Referral Clinic.
Delightful people, and we stayed too long. We left at 4 pm, had to return our Jimny to Budget in Belize City by 5 pm, and buy our bus tickets before they sold out for the 7 pm bus to Mexico.

We made excellent time east on the Western Highway but of course our mission was impossible. We pulled into the driveway at Cheers and used their telephone to call ahead to Budget, saying we were running late. No time for food, but I did buy a 2012 Belikin calendar as gift for a friend.

The manager of Budget in Belize City had patiently waited for us despite having to get to a child's birthday party.

From Rhea Belize 2012

He even drove us to Novelo's in his own car when he could easily have told us to call a taxi. Great service.

At Novelo's bus station, we went inside to find the ADO ticket counter:

From Rhea Belize 2012

The agent, Alice, had sold all her allotment of tickets. She did not have a computer, but she helpfully used her cell phone to call other ADO agents in Orange Walk and Corozal to determine if they had unsold tickets she could sell to us. That was the case so she sold us our two tickets for BZD19 each. I paid with two 20s and asked if I could give the dollar coins to her two daughters who had to spend Saturday night at Novelo's with their mom. Smiles all around.

We had an hour, and had not eaten lunch. I left Rhea with the luggage and went out to see what food I could find in Belize City after dark on a Saturday night. There was a hot dog stand, but it was crowded. The convenience stores were open only through those little cage windows which are off-putting to me. Across the canal I found a Chinese restaurant open. I ordered take-out dishes. Enormous portions, cooked fresh after ordering. Very little money. I carried the sack back to Novelo's were we ate the tasty food and chatted with our fellow passengers. We also used the Novelo's bathroom to change into clean clothes for the overnight bus ride to Mexico.

Right on time the bus to Merida left and then it was our turn to board the bus to Cancun:

From Rhea Belize 2012

and then take our seats:

From Rhea Belize 2012

The huge bus made its amazing passage out of Belize City in the dark and onto the Northern Highway. The same lame movie, American with Spanish subtitles, that we were shown on the way down was played. This time I knew to press the mute button on the speaker above us. I tried to sleep and was out by the time we got to Ladyville. The bus pulled in at Orangewalk but no one boarded. The bus was less than half full. Back to sleep. The bus also pulled into Corazol and again no one boarded. I stayed awake this time as I knew we were almost to the border.

At the border, we got out but left our luggage on the bus and walked through the Belize immigration office. There was a departure tax of BZD37.50. We expected this despite not having been alerted by Alice at the Novelo's bus station in Belize City. The couple behind us, Germans, were not prepared. They had no Belizean, Mexican or U.S. currency--only Euros and credit cards. This caused some problems. At 10 pm there were obviously no banks open. The Germans were eventually allowed to pay the tax in Euros. Advice: have the Belizean currency set aside for the departure tax.

While we were all in line, the bus went through to meet us on the other side. The crossing took a while for all the passengers. The passengers chatted. The Germans had spent a week on Caye Caulker and loved it. We boarded the big bus again for the very short trip (100 meters) to Mexico. This time we got off with our luggage. Lined up at the same counter where we had entered Mexico late in 2011 (blog entry here). No attempt to get bribes this time. They handed us the FMM form to complete, which we had thoughtfully packed a pen for:

From Rhea Belize 2012

With the new FMM form in hand, we went through Mexican immigration with no problems at all. Dragged luggage across a parking lot to customs. There, we all lined up for the fun "red light/green light" game. The young tourist couple in front of us got the red light. They set their bags on the counter and had to open them for the customs officer. He made a cursory search and waved them on. I pressed the button and we got the green light. Smiles! I playfully told the young couple in front of us, "we won!" and the Mexican customs man smiled at the feeble joke and waved us through.

The bus had again moved ahead to wait for us. It was parked along a road with several open restaurants:

From Rhea Belize 2012

that had delicious-smelling Mexican food. The bus passengers chatted with each other.

After we were all through customs, we boarded the bus yet again and fell asleep.

Note on bus temperatures: there have been many complaints about the ADO bus being too cold. It was not on this trip. The driver must have heard the complaints as he diligently cycled the AC off and on all night to keep the temperature comfortable. Well done, ADO!

We were awoken again in Bacalar. We had to get off the bus and stand on line in the middle of the night to pay the rest of our bus fare. No idea why this was done here, vs. in Belize City, or even at the border. Poorly done, ADO!

Back on, then northward over the excellent highway. Pulled into Tulum but no one got off the bus there.

We got to Playa del Carmen about 3 am. We were tired and wanted to sleep. But where? We had been given suggestions for motels near the ADO Terminal Alterna. I left Rhea with the luggage and set out on foot to find them. No luck. I did see many drunk gringo/gringa tourists staggering out of night clubs. But every hotel was closed to all except guests who had already registered. I spent over an hour walking around Playa.

Eventually I gave up and went back to the Terminal Alterna and did my best to doze on the benches:

From Rhea Belize 2012

which was NOT comfortable given my back surgery in September.

When the sun came up, I walked to a hotel that had had a particularly helpful night watchman. Confirmed room availability and early check-in and found a taxi. We arrived at the Sian Kaan by 7:30 am and were in our room by 8 am. Nice room. Great location--half block from beach! We promptly went to sleep.

Later in the morning, we went down to the beach. It is a broad white-sand beach. Very crowded but we found a spot sheltered from the chilly wind where we could doze some more.

View to the south, showing the ferry arriving from Cozumel:

From Rhea Belize 2012

View to the north, showing a SCUBA dive boat coming back from a morning dive trip:

From Rhea Belize 2012

We spent the rest of Sunday dozing on the beach and walking up and down 5th avenue in Playa. Many shops. Rhea bought me a nice hat but that was the extent of our shopping. Nice city; we may visit again.

Sunsets over the Mountain Pine Ridge

2012-01-22T21:26:00.000-08:00

I love sunsets. I always have. As a boy, my father would take me to the Pacific shore to watch the sun set over the sea and he would use that as a visual metaphor for, well, for whatever he wanted to talk to me about. Getting things done on time. Passage of time. The world. New horizons. Everything under the sun.

This blog entry shows what we accomplished between two sunsets, Thursday, January 5 and Friday, January 6. I have embedded snapshots I took and short, unedited video-clips by Rhea. Just a little text so you can go through as fast or slow as you wish. As always, comments are appreciated, either here, by email or on Facebook.

After our busy day at Hidden Valley Inn, we went home to Blancaneaux. The kind people there love wildlife and have helped me in my attempts to learn more about the mammals that live in the forest around their wonderful lodge. If you have been a guest there, you know what a magical place it is. If not, their website give a sense of the wonder: http://www.coppolaresorts.com/blancaneaux

I use the word "home"' as Blancaneux feels homey. The people who work there greet us like cousins they have not seen since the last reunion. Those reunions come too far apart!

We went up the stairs to our usual room and looked East:

From 2012-01-06

and then West:

From 2012-01-06

Yes, we had used every bit of daylight before we arrived. Fortunately we knew the steps to the huge horseshoe-shaped hot tub down by the stream bank and so could soak away the muscle aches from a long day of hiking.

After breakfast, we set out with the legendary Roni deep into the Mountain Pine Ridge. We paused periodically to admire the view:

From 2012-01-06

Yes, that is the same Cockscomb we watched the sun set near from Maya Beach just last year:

From 2012-01-02

(Oops, Victoria Peak is not visible in this snapshot, but trust me, it was just out of frame to the right.)

We continued down the road, descending

From 2012-01-06

into the broadleaf forest of the upper Macal River valley:

From 2012-01-06

until we were forced to park and walk

From 2012-01-06

to the bank of the river:

From 2012-01-06

Where Rhea took videos:

From 2012-01-06

From the river bank, we ascended back up into the pine forest on the ridges.

Much of the tropical pine forest in the Mountain Pine Ridge area of the Maya Mountains was damaged by an outbreak of pine bark beetles in 2000-2001 (Report by U.S. National Public Radio, with 5' audio option, from August 3, 2001, is archived here: http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2001/aug/beetles/beetles.html ; regional overview here: http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/y5507e/y5507e05.htm ).

This video clip by Rhea gives a sense of the roads through the pine forest:

With the deforestation caused by the beetles, much of the canopy was lost, letting sunlight to the forest floor and allowing a proliferation of herbaceous vegetation. This sometimes had to be cleared to allow passage:

and sometimes we used the powerful vehicle to push through:

We were of course navigating by GPS to wildlife camera trap locations on a grid. Since I described that in the previous blog entry, I won't bore you with that again.

I do want to talk about logging. Harvest of timber from tropical forests gets a bit of bad press from some parts of the conservation community. I'd like to share my perspective. I grew up in Oregon, where the wood products industry dominated the economy in the 20th century. The logging methods commonly used up there back then, clear cutting, devastated forests and the watersheds in them. The Northern Spotted Owl received the most international press coverage, but I was personally more impacted by the damage to salmon spawning beds. My father was a commercial salmon troller (sales pitch for his book on the subject: http://www.amazon.com/Fishing-Beyond-Buoys-Salmon-Trolling/dp/1878175041). The fishing industry was destroyed by the logging industry. So, I saw the environmental damage from poor forestry practices along with the economic benefits of the wood products industry to rural communities. Can forestry ever be practiced responsibly and sustainably?

I would like to share a few snapshots of what I believe is an example of responsible forest harvest in Belize. I know the name of the company, but am not sharing it here as I neglected to ask explicit permission to blog. If you are the owner, feel free to comment or to ask me to remove these photos.

Pine tree cut down in a selective logging operation:

From 2012-01-06

Log loading point:

From 2012-01-06

Note the small "footprint" relative to the scale of the operation!
Logger's forest camp:

From 2012-01-06

Again, this operation directly damaged very little land area relative to the amount of wood harvested. From an ecological standpoint, it reminded me of a large wind storm. This selective harvesting had no resemblance to the clear-cut logging on steep slopes I saw routinely practiced in Oregon in the 1970s and 1980s.

From this place, we headed up higher and higher through beautiful terrain:

From 2012-01-06

to the highest places in the Mountain Pine Ridge:

From 2012-01-06

where only a few small trees grew:

From 2012-01-06

but many other interesting plants did:

From 2012-01-06

Hypercium:

From 2012-01-06

and even Lycopodium, an ancient plant that in the tropics is found only at high elevations:

From 2012-01-06

Rhea of course took videos.

From 2012-01-06

Here are a few:
Looking down from the pine forest we drove up from--

Looking out over the bald hills of Belize--

Watching the evening fog roll in over the Bald Hills of Belize--

Walking through the grasses on top of a bald hill--

I am saving the best for last. In this video clip, Rhea covers the landscape ecology of the area in just one minute. Amazing! If you watch only one of her videos, let it be this one:

We get up to Baldy Beacon itself

From 2012-01-06

as the sun is going down:

From 2012-01-06

It was a truly amazing day.

Hidden Valley Inn

2012-01-15T12:08:00.000-08:00

You know the experience of wanting something unattainable. We hope you also know the joy of getting there. This blog entry describes such an experience: a visit to Hidden Valley Inn.

Like most regular visitors to the Cayo district of Belize, we knew of HVI as the exclusive resort off the road to the Thousand Foot Falls high in the Maya Mountains of Belize. Here is the description of the highest waterfall in Mesoamerica on the official tourism website of Belize: http://www.travelbelize.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=104&Itemid=325&Ytemid=407

Here is a snapshot of Dr. & Dr. Terdal (Erik's parents) at the 1000' Falls back in 2009:

From MPR 2009

Hidden Valley Inn itself (http://www.hiddenvalleyinn.com/) has 12 rooms on 7200 acres (2900 Ha). Think about that for a minute or two. Most of the land is high on the Mountain Pine Ridge at about 2000 feet (600 meters) above sea level. The north of the property features an escarpment dropping down to tropical broadleaf forest along Barton Creek. You know the 1000' falls? Bad name: it is more like 1600' (500 meters). Yes, Erik has wanted to explore this area since his first visit in 1999 when he bought a copy of Means, D. Bruce. 1997. Natural history of Mountain Pine Ridge, Belize. Bull Run Overseas, Ltd., Benque Viejo del Carmen, Belize. 94 pages.

We knew HVI had the best raptors in Belize, but what about mammals? Erik has wanted to find out for over a decade. Erik had introduced himself to the managers previously, and was waiting permission to set camera traps. In late 2011, he got it! Much thanks to our friends at Blancaneaux Lodge (http://www.coppolaresorts.com/blancaneaux) for coordinating.

The morning of Wednesday, 3 January, we awoke at Clarissa Falls (http://www.clarissafalls.com/) where we feel like family, having been regulars since 1998 and often staying for a month at a time.

Erik breakfasted on his favorite, huevos rancheros with corn tortillas:

and did work for his University (http://www.nsuok.edu/) using the strong WiFi signal Clarissa Falls has.

Erik made a little time for photography, his hobby:

Erik uploaded both of these to his Facebook page and immediately was hated by his coworkers.

We checked out, paid and drove the Suzuki Jimny

From Garden Centre Belize

away, after leaving behind at Clarissa Falls the Areca palm (Dypsis lutescens) Erik won months earlier in a Facebook contest sponsored by the Garden Centre (http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Garden-Center-Belize/157287564315902?v=info).

We bought out the store in Santa Elena of Duracell D batteries , then continued east on the Western Highway to the Georgeville Road. Headed up that. Fun! If you have driven up that way, you can imagine how delightful it was to drive a Suzuki up that collection of boulders called a "road" in jest.

We appreciated the excuse to stop at Moonracer (http://moonracerfarm.com/default.aspx). The official reason to stop was to ask them to telephone HVI to say we were running late, but really we wanted to smell the bread baking in their new oven: http://moonracerfarmbelize.blogspot.com/2011/10/cooking-with-wood.html Moonracer has a great chef; if we didn't already have dinner reservations at HVI we would have tried to finagle a seat at the table....

We made our way up the road, past the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve checkpoint. Staff there are always friendly. Continued up, turning left onto Cooma Cairn road at the signs for 1000' Falls and Hidden Valley Inn. Past the Bull Run fire lookout tower to the entrance sign for Hidden Valley Inn. Proceeded to the circle drive by the main house. Parked and went in. Front desk staff came out to greet us warmly. Big smiles all around!

We were given warm tea and offered massages. Rhea enjoyed a hand massage as her hands were hurting from tightly gripping the Suzuki steering wheel up the Georgeville road. Erik was eager to get to work and so refused to sit down.

Massage over, we set out in the Suzuki, following HVI staff in their vehicle. First stop was Butterfly Falls. We parked and walked part way down the path to the ecotone where pine forest blends into broadleaf forest. Ecologists have loved edge habitat ever since Aldo Leopold established its importance for wildlife back in the 1920s. We placed our first camera trap:

From 2012-01-06

and tested it to make sure it worked:

From 2012-01-06

We placed another camera trap in the pine forest:

From 2012-01-06

and tested it:

From 2012-01-06

We were running out of daylight and so headed back to the HVI main house. From there we were directed to our cottage. Rhea examined the bed:

From 2012-01-06

and then the fireplace:

From 2012-01-06

as it was cold!.
Good thing there were matches behind the note on the mantle, plus wood in the fireplace and more on the porch.

From Rhea Belize 2012

We showered and changed clothes, then went to the main house. Drinks in the bar and chatting with other guests. The couple we talked to most were from Scotland and had saved money for years to come to Belize.

Dinner was great. Erik had a snapper fish filet that was superb. The chef (who came out to introduce herself) let the fish stand out as a flavour rather than masking it, as too many chefs do. Rhea had the cowfoot soup. Call her a traditionalist. Sorry, no photos: we were too famished to take the time for pictures. Portions were large, so Erik took his pecan pie and ice cream desert back to the room as a bed-time snack. One more note: tap water in the cottages is safe to drink and especially tasty. We love our water and appreciate the taste difference in water from granite vs. limestone. Terroir and all that.

With the fire crackling, we slept very, very well.

In the morning (Thursday, January 5, 2012) we rose and walked through the lovely gardens to the Main House for breakfast. Served buffet-style, we had yogurt, fruit and coffee. That is one of the HVI trademarks: they grow and roast coffee right there. Doesn't get any fresher. While we enjoyed the fruit pieces on our plates, a staff member set out fresh fruit (i.e., what we were eating) on a platform feeder for the birds just outside the dining room. The birds were clearly expecting him and they flocked. Erik's favorite was the green jay (Cyanocorax yncas).

After breakfast, we packed up our luggage and loaded the trusty little Suzuki. Disappointed to have missed the legendary Butterfly Falls despite being so close the previous afternoon, we headed there first. Be patient for several amateur photographs....

Bridge on path to waterfall; another visitor to HVI took snapshots of a jaguar on this very bridge recently.

From Rhea Belize 2012

Scene on the trail to Butterfly falls:

From 2012-01-06

And at last the falls themselves:

From 2012-01-06

Which required the mandatory posed snapshots:

From 2012-01-06

And of the two of us:

From 2012-01-06

And finally with our friend, the legendary Roni:

From 2012-01-06

We hope you can forgive a digression. On the hike back, Erik found a palm he could not identify. Here are a few snapshots. If you have a guess as to its identity, please comment. In brief, it is a slim--trunked feather (pinnate) palm of the undercanopy. Not found in the pine forest or the broadleaf forest--just this ecotone between them. Other palms in the area are Schippia concolor, Attelea cohune and Chameadorea spp. Not one of those. Best guess is the Maya palm ( Gaussia maya). Help, please!

From 2012-01-06

And for the flower lovers following this blog, here is an epiphytic orchid:

From 2012-01-06

From Butterfly Falls, we hiked back to our vehicles and sought a third camera trap site for our grid. The first place we checked was the overlook to Tiger Falls:

From 2012-01-06

in an area that experienced forest fires last May:

From 2012-01-06

from which the vegetation is recovering:

From 2012-01-06

We decided not to place a camera trap at Tiger Falls as the GPS receiver reported that it was too close to a "trap" we already had on non-HVI land. We set off by vehicle instead towards the HVI airstrip and found a perfect site: a bridge over a steep-banked creek which will funnel wildlife through the trap:

From 2012-01-06

Don't tell the tapir (Tapirus bairdii), but this is what our camera traps look like:

From 2012-01-06

Having daylight left, and wanting a better sense of the landscape of HVI, we went to the King Vulture Falls:

From 2012-01-06

and of course spotted a King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa), through a spotting scope:

From 2012-01-06

on this ridge (zoom in the see him! [kidding]):

From 2012-01-06

(Hint: he is roosting in a tree near the upper right LOL).
The broadleaf canopy below us was fascinating:

From 2012-01-06

as was the vegetation clinging to the cliffs:

From 2012-01-06

Good times!

Our work done, we returned to the main house for lunch. Erik had a fish sandwich and Rhea a Greek salad. Both good, but the Greek salad was exceptional. It burst with flavor from fresh ingredients. Our friend had a burger, and our HVI host the stewed chicken. We shared stories and generally had a delightful repast. While we dined, the HVI manager brought the owner over to our table to meet us. There is definitely something to be said for staying at an exclusive resort with twelve cottages!

New Years Day 2012: year of the Maya begins

2012-01-14T12:05:00.000-08:00

2011 was challenging for Terdal Farm, and frankly we couldn't wait for it to end. We savored each sunset late in our Annus horribilis:

From New Years Day 2012

and looked forward to 2012. Was anyone else looking forward to 2012 as eagerly as us? It turns out that some are, and some are anxious. Typical. This late-2011 blog post by travel writer Joshua Berman did a fine job of describing what 2012 may hold for Mundo Maya:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joshua-berman/post_2775_b_1176085.html

With this in mind, we completed our chores early on Sunday, January 1, 2012 and set out in the finest automobile available for exploring the world of the Maya:

From New Years Day 2012

We drove up the Placencia peninsula, west to the junction with the Southern Highway, then south to the Toledo district village of Indian Creek. Drove up the short dirt road from the village to the visitors center for Nim Li Punit (http://www.southernbelize.com/nimli.html):

From New Years Day 2012

which is one of the few major Maya sites we have not visited.

We paid our admission and signed in, as the first visitors of 2012:

The NICH staff person on site thought it was funny that we considered it a big deal to be the first visitors of 2012. He said very few people visited Nim Li Punit. We assured him that 2012 was going to be a big year for him. He laughed and started showing us the museum exhibits. The joke was on him when hordes of visitors with the same idea as us began to arrive. He had more visitors by noon than he expects in a month.

We began by examining the stelae in the museum.

First was the eponymous stelae, the 9 meter long stelae featuring the big hat:

From New Years Day 2012

and then some of the other stelae:

From New Years Day 2012

and attempted to read the words for clues as to what 2012 would bring:

From New Years Day 2012

Good news! Jaguars seem to figure prominently:

From New Years Day 2012

but I admit I could not read all of it. No clue what this part says:

From New Years Day 2012

but I don't think it is good.

The museum was getting crowded at this point (seriously!) so we hurriedly went out to see the site itself.

From New Years Day 2012

Rhea pulled out her trusty (waterproof, dropproof) camcorder and went to work. I am embedding several of her raw, unedited videos. Feel free to watch or skip these, depending on your interests. She took many!

From New Years Day 2012

At some point she realized that she had lost Erik. Where was he?!?

There he is, back from the dead:

From New Years Day 2012

More details on the Plaza of Royal Tombs:

Rhea moved on to Royal Tombs 2 & 3:

From New Years Day 2012

and then showed the view to the south:

When she looked down, Rhea found leaf-cutter ants:

Rhea loves Atta!

Erik loves palms:

From New Years Day 2012

but to get close he had to go down some steps made for the benefit of fat gringo tourists:

which hardly slowed the intrepid Dr. Terdal:

on his way to see more palms.

He was most excited by a large Bayleaf palm (Sabal mauritiformis):

and took some snapshots for his fellow palmophiles:

From New Years Day 2012

while not ignoring other interesting plants, such as the strangler fig (Ficus sp.):

From New Years Day 2012

and the tourist tree (Bursera simaruba):

From New Years Day 2012

Erik continued photographing palms:

From New Years Day 2012

while Rhea sat down and videotaped the ruins:

From New Years Day 2012

We walked back to the visitors center, skipping the West Group (see map at http://www.southernbelize.com/grc/map_nimli_lg.gif).

From New Years Day 2012

so that Rhea could shop for baskets:

From New Years Day 2012

while Erik kept taking snapshots of plants:

From New Years Day 2012

including the first rose (Rosa sp.) bloom he saw in 2012:

From New Years Day 2012

We followed this SUV down the road and off towards the next Maya site, Lubaantun!

From New Years Day 2012

Lubaantun (http://www.southernbelize.com/lubaantun.html)

From New Years Day 2012

is special to us as it is the first Maya site we visited together. We were married on Caye Caulker and honeymooned in Toledo district.

Rhea pulled out her trusty camcorder:

From New Years Day 2012

to document the unusual architecture:

From New Years Day 2012

Erik of course kept photographing palms:

Another bayleaf--

From New Years Day 2012

and a cohune (Attelea cohune)--

From New Years Day 2012

and what may be a large Chameadorea sp.--

From New Years Day 2012

Cohune palm with epiphytic ferns on the trunk--

From New Years Day 2012

Base of that palm--

From New Years Day 2012

and a lobster-claw Heliconia rostrata for the flower lovers:

From New Years Day 2012

We spent our 2004 honeymoon driving through the forests of the Toledo district and visiting Maya villages. We decided to do a bit of that on the first day of 2012. Here are some scenes from San Miguel village and surrounding areas:

From New Years Day 2012

Boys playing football:

From New Years Day 2012

And a 1 horsepower string trimmer at work:

From New Years Day 2012

While a man with a gas string trimmer tends the plot of Achiote shrubs (Bixa orellanae):

From New Years Day 2012

You have to indulge us (not like you haven't already, if you have read this far) as we love our recado. We took photos of achiote cultivation:

From New Years Day 2012

And of course as Erik ran through the orchard taking achiote snapshots, Rhea made another video:

It was getting late. We headed back north up the Southern highway. We made excellent time in the Chevrolet Aveo. If you have never driven one, you are missing out. It is truly a great car.

We pulled in to Independence, hoping to find a pharmacy open. No luck. We drove into Big Creek on the same quest. No pharmacy, but we did see the oil storage facility:

From New Years Day 2012

which may seem like a strange site for a tourist to photograph, but as Okies it felt homey.

Truly a great day. We finished with dinner at Mango's in Maya Beach. Rhea had lobster:

From New Years Day 2012

and Erik fish:

From New Years Day 2012

A good first day of 2012.

Snorkeling at Silk Caye, Belize

2011-12-31T12:50:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, December 28, we decided to go on a snorkeling trip. Usually we SCUBA dive, but after my back surgery in September that wouldn't be wise.

We gathered our masks, snorkels, sunscreen and cameras and drove down the peninsula to Placencia. We parked at Nite Wind and asked if they had room for two more. They did! The destination was Silk Caye. The price was US$65 each, including lunch. We fitted ourselves with fins (ours are so bulky we left them behind in Oklahoma) and went out to the boat, pulled up on the beach.

There were five other people, two couples and a woman whose husband had hurt himself diving the previous day. The boat pulled back, then we went up the coast to pick up the captain's children and girlfriend. We all set out on the 25' Pelican with a single large outboard motor across the sea.

In about an hour, we approached Silk Caye:

From 2011-12-28

where there were a few boats already beached. We all got out on the beach. The captain started lunch preparations while we all snorkeled off the beach. I took a few snapshots of shallow coral heads:

From 2011-12-28

Rhea was getting cold and so went back to the island. I swam around a bit more, over the edge of the "wall" surrounding the Caye. This let me see some of the structure:

From 2011-12-28

and get glimpses of marine life:

From 2011-12-28

but most of all it made me really, really miss SCUBA diving. I longed to descend and see the lower wall and the fish I could get mere glimpses of. If you do not dive, learn how! It is much more rewarding than snorkeling.

When I got tired, I made my way back to the Caye and looked for my cold wife. She was soaking up the late December sun as best she could:

From 2011-12-28

I was tired from my swimming and so lay under a coconut palm to doze before lunch. Rhea caught me at it and took a video:

After that, she shot a clip to show the entire island:

Feeling the need to get me in the sun, she had me make a Caribbean version of the classic snow angel:

The sand angel looked like this when I was done:

We posed for a photo together on the beach:

From 2011-12-28

and then Rhea talked with other snorkelers

From 2011-12-28

while I wandered around the entire island and took photos of birds

From 2011-12-28

and palms:

From 2011-12-28

I took a break to use the deluxe restroom:

From 2011-12-28

and get ready for lunch. Grilled chicken, coleslaw and potatoes au gratin--all cooked on site. Delicious.

We loaded everything back in the boat and headed east towards the barrier reef. We stopped inside the reef where several other boats were anchored. We donned our gear and went over the side:

From 2011-12-28

The captain chummed the water with pieces of conch meat. We swam around and waited for animals to come. While waiting, Rhea got cold and got back in the boat. She pulled out her camcorder and prepared to film video from the surface, while I attempted to take stills with my trusty Pentax Optio.
Eventually, something was spotted:

Without the Mrs. in the water with me, I had to follow other snorkelers:

From 2011-12-28

to see what had attracted them. It was indeed a loggerhead sea turtle and a spotted eagle ray:

From 2011-12-28

I did my best to take photos of them:

From 2011-12-28

along with other marine life:

From 2011-12-28

Meanwhile, Rhea filmed the action from above:

From 2011-12-28

and so got a different perspective:

Rhea passed her camcorder to Erik, who tried and failed to video the sea turtle while snorkeling. He failed (NOT worth watching):

Erik was the last one out of the water as he was having so much fun. He eventually had to be called in by Rhea as everyone else was onboard already, apparently tired of sea life. Vowing to come back another day, he reluctantly crawled gracelessly into the boat (they had already stowed the ladder).

The boat stopped at the Hatchet Caye Resort on the way back. Very nice. You can check it out at their website: http://hatchetcaye.com/ to see photos. It looked even better in person. We walked around the island until it was time to head back to Placencia. On the way back, we stopped briefly three times to watch dolphins.

On shore, we posed for a photo:

From 2011-12-28

Boxing Day

2011-12-29T21:32:00.000-08:00

Monday, December 26, 2011

Boxing Day is a holiday in Belize. Not sure the significance--maybe someone can comment to explain?
It is also a holiday for my University so I felt no guilt about spending the day with family and friends.

After doing chores at the house, we set out by car. Up the Placencia peninsula and over to the Southern Highway. North on that, past farms. This photo shows a banana farm:

From 2011-12-26

Turned left (west) onto the Hummingbird Highway. Prettiest road in Belize. Bought gas in Belmopan (about US$5/gallon), then turned right (east) onto the Western Highway. Dropped in for lunch at Cheers restaurant (http://www.cheersrestaurant.bz/) without reservations. No problems! Greeted warmly:

From 2011-12-26

and promptly served our favourites: tamale and stewed chicken:

From 2011-12-26

Rhea and the owner discussed their mutual passion, horses:

From 2011-12-26

while I admired the palms:

From 2011-12-26

which grow like weeds:

From 2011-12-26

In my opinion, Adonidia merrillii is the quintessential Christmas tree:

From 2011-12-26

From Cheers, we headed down the road a bit to the Belize Zoo (http://www.belizezoo.org/). We love the Belize Zoo and try to visit our favourite animals on every visit to Belize. Alas, today we were on a mission. I played "delivery boy" and dropped a freshly burned stack of "Birds of Belize -- Belize Zoo special edition" DVDs for the gift shop to sell. This is an endeavor to raise funds for bird conservation in Belize. Many of the video clips are also on YouTube. To help you find them online--and as a shameless plug for an excellent conservation group--you can go to the Belize Raptor Research Institute (BRRI) website for a link to some of them: http://belizeraptorresearch.com/whats-new/. Check it out!

We continued east on the Western Highway to Hattieville, then north at the round-about to Burrell Boom village. Not sure of directions, we asked a young woman on the side of the road for directions to the Castleton Race Track. She offered to guide us there in exchange for a lift--she was heading there herself. We chatted as she directed. Turns out she works at a call centre. I didn't know Belize had international call centers, but as clear as her English was, it makes sense.

Having been warned on the Belize Forums, we parked on the street vs in the parking lot. The alert was that getting out of the lot after the last race would take a long time as there is only one exit. We walked in and paid admission--BZ$5 each. Continued walking along the edge of the track to the grandstand. It was very crowded. It crowd seemed to be all Belizean, primarily Creole. We seemed to be the only tourists. That was nice. We do plenty of touristy-things; it was nice to participate in something Belizean.

Rhea admired the race horses in their stalls:

From 2011-12-26

And made several short (about 30 sec.) video clips she narrated:

The horses were thoroughbreds of high quality. Healthy, well-fed, well-groomed--excellent quality horses. I find myself a bit embarrassed to have been surprised. So I'll say it again: these were very good horses.

Rhea found an owner/trainer she knew from past visits to Belize and chatted with him about his horses:

From 2011-12-26

But I know you really care about the races themselves. I took snapshots of one race, and Rhea video clips, so I'll share some of the horses and jockeys getting ready, starting, and finishing the race:

Getting Ready--

From 2011-12-26

Track surface--

Loading--

Starting--

From 2011-12-26

Finishing the race--

From 2011-12-26

In short, super races, with great jockeys and horses.

We got out of Burrell Boom first (given our parking space--thanks, Belize Forums!) and then had the drive back to Maya Beach. Long day, but a very good one.

Dallas to Dangriga and beyond

2011-12-24T12:27:00.000-08:00

We travel to Belize about twice a year. We always fly there from Tulsa, either changing planes in Dallas (American Airlines) or Houston (Continental/United). We land in Belize City (Ladyville, actually). We either rent a car at the airport to drive to Cayo, or fly Tropic Air or Maya Island to Caye Caulker (where we were married) or down the coast to Placencia. Works great. Very easy.

But not cheap. We can no longer afford to do that. We skipped the summer trip (to our ever lasting regret), and only Erik went last winter. What to do? We had to find an affordable way to travel as a couple to Belize.

Erik turned to the trustworthy advice available on the Belize Forums. He read old threads, asked questions and started a new thread to make sure he had it figured out:
http://www.belizeforum.com/belize/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=206007#Post206007

In brief, the plan we made was to drive to the Dallas, Texas, area and visit cousins. Have them drive us to the DFW airport and fly American to Cancun, Mexico. Take a bus to Playa del Carmen for dinner, then take an overnight bus to Belize City. From there we would take a Belizean bus to Dangriga and onward to Maya Beach for the holidays. That is just what we did. I (Erik) will describe the journey and include some cell-phone snapshots of dubious quality.

Sunday, December 18: drive to the Ft. Worth area. Easy, pleasant drive of about 300 miles on good roads. Have a blast with cousins we have not seen in months. Sleep well.

Monday, December 19: sleep in, relax with cousins. Good times.

Tuesday, December 20: sleep to 8 am--nice! Cousins drive us to DFW in plenty of time for our 11:45 am departure. Change $200 for Mexican pesos. Got MX$2300, plus a receipt that the lady said would let us exchange pesos back to dollars there for no fee. Not a good exchange rate, but convenient and it helped out in Cancun (more below) and so worth it. Ate a light breakfast in airport. The plane, a 757, is full. We manage to doze en route despite a little bit of turbulence.

We completed the FMM (immigration form):

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

and the customs form:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

because we knew to bring a pen with us. We had to share with our seat-mate, who hadn't thought to pack a pen.

The landing was smooth. We deplaned and followed the crowd to the immigration queue. It was a big room. We used the restrooms (immaculately clean), then got on line. Rhea chatted excitedly with other passengers. We were relaxed and happy:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

Immigration was easy. The officer spoke excellent English. I sure hope US immigration officers speak Spanish as well as this gentleman spoke English. He made us feel welcome in Mexico. He kept the larger portion of the FMM form and handed us the shorter end which we wisely tucked into our passports, knowing we would need it to depart Mexico for Belize later that night.

From immigration we proceeded to baggage claim. Our two pieces of checked luggage were already off the carousel:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

Going through customs was like going through airport security in that all luggage, even purses, went through a scanner. We handed our customs forms the the officer, who directed us to push the button. The green light appeared so we were good to go.

We entered the departure area and went right a few paces, skipping the currency exchange booth as we had done that in Dallas. We then stood on line at the ADO bus counter. When we got to the front we asked the young woman if she spoke English, which she did, well. We asked for two tickets on the next bus to Playa del Carmen, and two tickets for the bus from Playa to Belice. She informed us that there were only two tickets left for the bus to Belice! We said we'll take them. Behind us stood a man who looked and sounded like Creole Belizean. In anxious-sounding English, he quickly said, "You don't need to take the bus! There is a good shuttle service--right through those doors", pointing to his right. I thanked him and said, no we'll take the bus. He cursed, quietly. If we had not exchanged currency in Dallas, waiting to do it here, he would have been in front of us on line and would have bought one of the two remaining bus tickets. Phew! We paid for the tickets in pesos, and then walked out of the airport.

It was fabulous! Warm, cloudy with intermittent rain showers.

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

And did I mention the palms and tropical plants? They were stunning, for the last day of Autumn:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

We had over an hour to wait for the bus to Playa, so I bought us tropical drinks at the "Jimmy Buffett Maragaritaville" stand on the sidewalk: a Pina Colada for Rhea and a Margarita for me. MX$130 each! That was a lot, but given the location, to be expected.

Our bus arrived:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

and we loaded the two checked bags below and carried the rest on board with us. Nearly full. Good road. One stop in Puerto Moreles to drop off an older couple, then on to Playa. We got off, collected our bags, and headed out onto 5th Ave. Rather overwhleming--lots of bright lights and crowds. We turned left and walked, tiredly. We stopped at the first restaurant that had curb-side seating.

Ordered cerveza and got to pose with sombreros:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

and then ate delicious food:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

As we needed to watch the luggage, we took turns exploring 5th avenue. The beach is two blocks away, and very nice. You can see San Miguel, Cozumel. The ferry from there docked and let out even more hordes of tourists for the street vendors. I walked around looking for hotels for us to stay at on our return trip in January. There are several smaller hotels:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

promising reasonable rates:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

When we pay our tab for a long evening of dining and drinking, it comes to about what a room at these hotels would have cost for a night. It would have been nicer. It would also have been nice to have been able to leave the luggage somewhere secure and stroll about together.

We took a taxi from the stand by the ADO bus terminal. We ask the fare and were told MX$30 to Terminal Alterna. I had walked further, but with luggage it was worth every peso; we actually paid MX$40 as we were so grateful.

At the Terminal Alterna, Rhea read her kindle:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

while I walked around, knowing I'd be sitting all night and all day.

I discovered that I could have left luggage here for the evening:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

for these rates:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

I think I'll do that next time.

The departure was announced in Spanish, so I had to ask if the Belice bus had arrived. It had, and on time:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

The luggage space was nearly full, but they made room for our two pieces of checked luggage:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

On board, the bus was full of sleeping people. I had seat 26, in the center, and an aisle seat. Good. Rhea had seat 44, the far back corner. Over-head racks were small so it was a tight fit for carry-on bags. We settled in amongst the sleeping passengers and set out for Tulum. The AC was on full, but I thought it was comfortable. I had on warm socks, boots, long pants and a short-sleeved shirt and was comfortable. But then again I do not get cold easily. The driver had checked to make sure we had jackets in hand before he put our luggage underneath.

I read my kindle to Tulum, where more people boarded. Minor problem: the bus was over-full. Apparently, in Cancun some parents had declined to buy tickets for their children. That technically means the kids had to sit in the laps of said parents. But in Cancun, the bus did not appear full so parents let their kids sleep in seemingly vacant seats. When the last few people boarded in Tulum, all seats were taken by sleeping people. So three people who boarded in Tulum sat on the bus floor in the aisle. All night.

I did not use the on-board restroom as I had let myself get dehydrated on purpose. (Yes, I drank beer in Playa, but very little.) Rhea had to use it in the night and has this caution: when the bus interior lights are out, the WC is dark. Have a flashlight handy before you go in. Other than that, it was fine.

I managed to doze a bit after Tulum. I put on my jacket, as it was getting a bit chilly for sleeping. Rhea, who gets cold easily, did not need her jacket at all. In the back, she was sitting right over the engine and so she was actually overly warm. Engine vibration was annoying in that back seat as well.

The road was smooth and the driver very sensible and cautious. He stopped once in the night to let people out at an all-night store with restroom, but I don't think anyone but him took advantage. We were all sleeping or trying to.

We arrived at the border about 4 am. The bus pulled over to the side of the road. Everyone got out, leaving all luggage on the bus. We walked across the street and queued up by a small building, passports and FMM stubs in hand. Rhea and I were near the rear of the line. It moved slowly. Passengers ahead of us who passed by us on their way back to the bus told conflicting stories about how much the departure tax was. Most said US$15, paid in cash. People around us were muttering about that.

When it was our turn, we presented our passports and FMM stubs. We were asked for the "departure tax." I said, "We already paid that. These (pointing to the FMM stubs) are our receipt." He then named a lesser amount, in pesos. We said no, we already paid in full, pointing to the FMM stubs. He had us sign the FMM stubs and kept them. Collecting our passports, we walked back to the bus.

On the bus, everyone was awake and complaining about the "tax." This was the first time we got to know our fellow passengers, as all were asleep when we boarded. Almost everyone was a Belizean-American coming home for the holidays with family. The amount of tax varied. Rumour on the bus was that one gringo tourist paid US$60, so everyone who paid less than that said they got a good deal for being "Belizean." It is possible that Rhea and I were the only ones who paid nothing.

The bus went forward a hundred metres or so across the bridge and stopped in Belize. This time we had to collect all luggage and carry it across the street to Belizean immigration. It was now 4:40 am. I used the restroom here, and wish I hadn't. The floor was flooded. Yuck.

The line moved slowly. We were stamped in for the customary 30 days. We did not receive any bits of paper to present upon departure. Customs was just ahead, in the same room. It was perfunctory for us, with no bags opened. That was different from my experience at the airport. Customs officials there always open my bags. I guess it is because I have so many Belize stamps in my passport and travel with a lot of luggage as I stay longer than most tourists.

However, Belizean-Americans did have their luggage searched. Something about Christmas presents. As a result, customs took over an hour for the bus as a whole.

We stopped briefly in Corazol to let someone off. The sun rose shortly after we left Corazol. It was nice to see healthy sugar cane crops and full trucks. Roads in Belize are rougher than in Mexico, but the bus had a good suspension and the driver was responsible.

Next stop was the temporary bus station in Orange Walk:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

I managed to doze again after OW and woke up past Ladyville, coming into Belize City. It was amazing to see this huge bus navigate through Belize City. I've driven 15-passenger vans through BC several times and thought that was hard. But this bus! We soon pulled into Novelos and got out. Here is that great bus:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

A James bus pulled in next to us right away so we quickly got on that. Checked luggage in back, carry-ons overhead on the left side:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

I asked the driver if it would be faster for us to get off in Dangriga and take the Placencia bus, or stay on board until Independence and take the Hokey Pokey. He smiled and said the Hokey Pokey was better so we bought tickets to Independence. I mostly liked the idea of getting on just one last bus.

Fast ride to Belmopan. Five minute stop; used restrooms. Bus more crowded for trip down the Hummingbird, with some people standing. The Hummingbird highway is always amazing. Beautiful. Good time, and only a couple stops before Dangriga. I suppose I should have taken a photo there to go along with the travelogue title but I was tired and so did not.

After about 10 minutes in Dangriga, we set out for the south. Let a couple of tourists off at the Hopkins road, where they immediately got a ride in the back of a truck. Made good time down the Southern Highway. Nice scenery. The Kendall Bridge is still under repair. That actually surprised me--I assumed it would be done by now. We were last through there in March of 2010.

At the bus stop in Independence, we started walking for the Hokey Pokey but immediately decided we were much too tired to walk. Taxi fare was BZ$5 each, and well worth it to us.

Rhea bought water taxi tickets at the Hokey Pokey ticket counter:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

and we left our luggage there to go get lunch. We walked into town. Burger for her, grilled fish sandwich for me. Delicious. Rhea tried the new Sorrel Stout and liked it. I had the regular Belikin.

We had the Hokey Pokey ticket man telephone our host in Maya Beach, then we boarded the water taxi:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

It was a fun boat ride through the mangroves and well worth it. Our hosts (I'll let them identify themselves if they wish) picked us up in their truck and took us to their wonderful home in Maya Beach. Managed to make it in time for the last sunset of Autumn:

From Dallas to Dangriga trip photos

Texas has palms!

2011-12-19T10:08:00.000-08:00

We drove down last night from Tulsa and are visiting cousins in the Dallas / Ft Worth area. We arrived after dark and had fun catching up on old family stories and drinking Texas beer. In the morning, Erik saw that there are palms trees around here! We must be on our way to the tropics if there are already palms trees to be seen.

Erik drives

2011-11-19T11:38:00.000-08:00

Erik drove two geldings in a training cart today--first equine anything since his back surgery.

2011-11-18T09:00:00.000-08:00

We are doing a LOT of driving lately. Cote, our gelding, is going to the Oklahoma Harness Horse Association's annual "poker run" Saturday.

Rainforest Spirits 2011

2011-08-17T13:20:00.000-07:00

Missouri trip July 2011

2011-07-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

Chistoso at Revision

2011-03-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

Chistoso is now officially a PRE Andalusian Stallion after his Revision by a Spanish veterinarian yesterday. Isn't he proud! Don't all those PRE mares admire him!

Chistoso and Erik in training barn

2011-03-04T18:04:00.000-08:00

Driving clinic announcement

2011-01-26T06:54:00.000-08:00

This flyer has details for the driving clinic we are helping to organize.

Chickens go through fence the neighbor cut

2010-12-11T11:24:00.000-08:00

Rhea's new office

2010-12-07T13:05:00.000-08:00

Aerial view of the farm

2010-11-26T08:26:00.000-08:00

Terdal Farm and neighborhood the morning of Friday November 25, 2010, from the air.

Landscape from air

2010-11-26T07:44:00.000-08:00

Our farm is on the right center of this photo snapped with a cell phone camera this morning. It shows the landscape of our area.

2010-10-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

A nice photo of Manzanita beach and Neahkhanie Mountain in Oregon.

Chistoso at AAALHSHA September 2010

2010-10-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

Palm garden at sunset

2010-08-30T06:41:00.000-07:00

Getting the tractor out of the tree

2010-08-30T06:40:00.000-07:00

Cote' jumps

2010-04-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

We talk about our stallion Chistoso and the mares a lot, but don't forget we have our beloved Biscotti (1/2 Andalusian) having fun here on Terdal Farm. Rhea takes him over low jumps for fun.

Chistoso's first ad

2010-02-02T16:33:00.000-08:00

Here is a link to the advertisement on "DreamHorse.com" for stud service for Chistoso, our wonderful Andalusian stallion.

DreamHorse.com Horse ID: 1501223 - Chistoso WC

Gravy goat

2010-01-30T20:23:00.000-08:00

Reed took this photo of Gravy, a girl goat out of Gabby. She is one of six goats born this month, all healthy and warm in the barn while the snow blows outside.

Kin the horse in San Antonio Cayo Belize

2010-01-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

This is Erik with Antonio and the horse, Kin, in San Antonio, Cayo, Belize in January, 2010.

New kids of 2010

2010-01-12T11:13:00.000-08:00

Godiva the goat had two daughters this morning, just as Rhea was leaving for the airport to pick up Erik, returning from Belize. Our does always seem to give birth in the coldest weather. Rhea quickly stole the chicken's heat lamp and set up a special stall for mom and her kids in the barn.

2009-12-15T17:57:00.000-08:00

We are not good about sending out Christmas cards but love receiving them.
They remind us of family all over the world.
For example, these are cousins in Norway.
Thank you, Leif & Bitteba Helland!

Winter protection of tropical plants

2009-12-05T16:43:00.000-08:00

We try to create a lush tropical beach around the pool in the backyard. This requires a lot of hard work! These snapshots show what we have done in the past week to prepare for winter:

November flowers

2009-12-05T16:42:00.001-08:00

This album has some snapshots from the backyard taken in November. They are to remember what the place looks like outside of our brief but cold winter season.

RRF dinner

2009-08-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

Come join us Friday, September 11 for the annual Rainforest Restoration Foundation dinner and auction.

Erik drives Tuxedo in cart

2009-07-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

Erik is learning to drive Tux in our old cart. Rhea marked out a driving arena (40 meters by 80 meters) in the middle pasture where Erik can practice circles and squares and the like. Fun!

Belize travel notes

2009-07-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to Belize with family.

I am posting a travelogue of Belize Forums. You can read my (Erik's) daily accounts at this link:

http://www.belizeforum.com/belize/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=160170&page=1

I have made two slide shows so far, one of snorkeling and one od SCUBA diving.

Snorkeling: http://picasaweb.google.com/drterdal/CoralReef2009#slideshow/5351354850274556066

SCUBA diving:

http://picasaweb.google.com/drterdal/CayeCaulkerDiving?feat=directlink#slideshow/5351759563169063250

Enjoy, and please leave a comment.

2009-04-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

On Earth Day, our mare "Baby" delivered a bay filly with assistance from Rhea, Erik and the boys. All are doing well.

Belize trip report

2009-02-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

This is Erik and Rhea at the Cahal Pech resort in San Ignacio, Cayo district, Belize. We stopped for a drink and a view of the sun setting over the Belize river valley in January, 2009. If you want to read about our adventures, Erik posted a trip report on belizeforum.com. The direct link is http://www.belizeforum.com/belize/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=151467#Post151467
There have been over 2,000 views of our trip report, so it must be interesting to some people! If you read it, feel free to comment or ask question at the end.

2008-12-29T18:04:00.000-08:00

Another photo of Rhea with Chistoso ("Chee" for short), seen here with "Baby" (AKA, "Did Not Frost" to APHA), getting large with Mateo's baby due April 11, 2009). Chee is napping in the warm December sun and very glad he now lives in Oklahoma!

Chistoso

2008-12-29T18:00:00.000-08:00

Here is Rhea and our new baby, Chistoso. He came home this month and has fit in very well with our herd. His best friend is Tuxedo, the POA gelding. They play and play. When he wants to eat from the round bails, he does so next to Baby our QH brood mare as she is nice and never pushy. We'll keep you updated here about him over the winter.

'New" Spider Phaeton

2008-11-25T17:54:00.000-08:00

In October Rhea traveled to Eagle, NE to pick up a wonderful Spider Phaeton Carriage. This carriage was built in the 1930's and lived on Mackinac Island (between the peninsulas of Michigan) until a few years ago. Marjean McIntyre (of Camptown Harness) purchased it from an estate sale and had it fully restored to museum quality. She drove it a few times, then stored it.....now it is a prized possession of Terdal Farm. Cote' is having a lot of fun driving it down Harvard Avenue in Bixby, OK. We prefer to drive on Sundays as the traffic is light then, but have been known to skip around during the week as well. The carriage came finished in our favorite color and even has a 'pairs pole' for our future drives when our next horse is trained. We are looking forward to many years of fabulous driving with this carriage.....we may even compete in a year or two!

Erik rides Cote'

2008-11-25T17:38:00.000-08:00

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Erik got really brave this week and snuck in a ride on Cote'. He figures this is going to be his horse next while we wait for Baby to have her baby. Not to mention Rhea will be busy with her new horse Chistoso who will arrive in January. Don't they make a handsome pair?

To see Rhea's newest prize go to http://www.walnutcreekandalusians.com use the side bar site map to find horses for sale, go to the third horse down named Chistoso and there he is!!! We are hoping for a matched pair to drive and ride together.

2008-10-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

Lord Erik and Lady Rhea at the Texas Renaissance Festival near Houston, Texas, in October, 2008, shopping for hats for his Lordship.

Winter 2009 flyer

2008-10-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

Here is the flyer I am distributing to faculty at work to pass out in class.

There is more information on my unofficial work blog: drterdal.blogspot.com.

Spring storms

2008-06-12T17:58:00.000-07:00

We have had a lot of storms thias spring. Here is a photo of the one that hit on May 31st.

Biscotti drives!

2008-05-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

Biscotti is back from driving training and tearing up the pasture (here) and local roads. He goes for drives of up to six miles on the local streets. Usually, Erik rides along on his bike (Schwinn, not Harley) as back-up. Note that Erik makes Rhea wear a helmet.

Survivor goat

2008-01-23T16:53:00.000-08:00

This is the male goat, Survivor. He was born Tuesday, January 22 early in the morning--when it was very cold here on Terdal Farm. His mother, Godiva, had two kids at the same time her mother Ganda had two kids. Three of the four succumbed to the cold. Hence the name. Survivor's mother is not quite sure what to make of the kid, her first. Grandma Ganda is nursing him. We don't know if she understands that Survivor is her grandson, not her son, but we're not going to tell her as she is doing such a good job with him.
Survivor is the first son of proud dad, Solstice (born Dec. 21, 2007). Well, I assume Solstice is proud as he talks a lot. Surely he isn't just asking for more food?

Dining room ceiling

2008-01-20T13:37:00.000-08:00

We had cold weather this week, the coldest of 2008. A thin copper pipe in the ceiling burst, and look what happened! The weight of the water brought the ceiling of the dining room down. What a mess!

Riding into the Sunset

2007-12-30T16:34:00.000-08:00

Here are the four of us riding off into the sunset at the end of another great year on Terdal farm.
Thanks, Robin, for the photo!

Web photo album

2007-11-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

Our web photo album can be accessed here: http://picasaweb.google.com/terdalfarm/TerdalFarmLife

KJM show

2007-11-17T18:43:00.000-08:00

This is our youngest on his pony, "Tux." Here he is warming up for a show at KJM in October, with stepmom assisting on her way home from work.

Erik and Baby

2007-11-17T18:38:00.000-08:00

This is Erik on "Baby", the barn name for APHA "DID NOT FROST."
We bought her in October from Kevin George of Mingo Stables.
She is a 1992 breeding-stock paint mare. I've been using this website to track details of her pedigree:
http://www.maple-webranch.com
From that, I find that she has been bred to two different stallions and produced Overo mares in 1997 and 1998.
We may breed her to Anadulsian stallion to produce an "Azteca" for our youngest rider when he outgrows his pony. Right now, Erik is learning to ride on her. So far, it is just walk and trot in the "arena" and the pasture. Hopefully we'll take her and 'Cotti on a trail ride soon!

New horse

2007-10-23T04:17:00.000-07:00

I bought a replacement for Redline. Her name is--no joke--"baby."
I'll get a photo up soon.
She is a 15 year APHA (+Pinto) from foundation QH lines. She is getting a two-week training "tune up" at Mingo Stables.

Photos

2007-06-27T20:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry to take so long between posts. I've been busy. Also, I was waiting for good news. We've had some sad news I didn't feel up to writing about.
Animal deaths: Winston drowned in the pool. So sad--so avoidable. Carelessness.
Chicks dying. Racoon eating many, many good, healthy hens. (See photo when I get picasso photo sharing up and running.)
Reagan euthanized. Still dealing with that.
Less important--injuries. Boki hit by car--already mentioned, but he is still in pain and always will be. Redline hurt me. Two months and more and I am in pain every day. I take lots of tylenol and advil--lots, every day. Wake up in pain and must take drugs before I can do much of anything. I gave redline away, which was good but it still hurts emotionally.
So, no posts for motnsh.
I'll try to post from Belize sometimes, however.

New animals on the farm

2007-03-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

We've had some additions to the farm in the past week.
Our order of chicks arrived. We have been looking forward to our Cornish rocks (for quick meat), Aracanas (for colored eggs), Silkie bantams (for cleaning up the front garden), and some additional laying birds for the farm-fresh egg business.
Unfortunately, almost all died en route.
Here are photos of the rocks, most of which made it:

And here are the handful of survivors of the bantams + the one aracana that made it:

Another addition this week was the return of the puppy "Roadster", since renamed "Winston." He spent a year in Conneticut. He came home this week. He hasn't been neutered, so we'll do that. He also needs some behavior modification work.

Here's what he looks like--handsome, isn't he!

Entry 1

2007-02-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

I've started this blog to share news of Terdal Farm, USA, with family and friends. I plan to post photos of life on the farm, too!
News of the day: Robin, who has been staying with us off-and-on since October is moving around the corner today.
Boki continues to recover from his hit-and-run injury.
More chicks arrive in the coming week, about 75 of them! I'll post photos of them in a week.
Baby goats Solstice (born Dec. 21) and Godiva are growing.
Horses are eating hay and standing in the mud--it rained buckets this morning.
That's all for now.