Days begin just before sunrise, as a symphony of bird songs welcomes the
new day.  I rise quickly, say good
morning to my "pet" bats, grab a gallon
of filtered rainwater, my thermos, a tin
cup, and go down the steps to my
Maya cook station (formed from a mix
of earth, water, lime, and ashes by
Cristina).

Chop a few pieces of firewood, a dash
of kerosene, flick the butane firestarter (matches are useless in this humidity),
and soon water is boiling for tea and
possibly oatmeal (though more typically
cold cereal with powdered milk).

There is neither running water nor electricity at Heliconia Haven 
I do not miss these things. 
A simple life is its own reward.
(see "My Thoughts")

While relishing my second cup of hot
tea, I catch the latest news from the
BBC or the Voice of America.
Clean the dishes in the stream, then
begin working to take advantage of the cooler mornings.

I might take a walk in the bush to
collect seeds or young palms.

Often I am chopping vines (in areas of secondary growth they will overtake everything if not controlled).  Or
establishing trails, planting trees or
local understory plants, gathering
stones for walkways, collecting
rainwater, working in the plant nursery preparing beds, soil mixes, bags for seedlings...

Thirty acres may not seem like a lot,
but, everything grows faster in the
tropics and 30 acres seems much
larger when it is chopped by machete!

Photos of Heliconia Haven
"bush" next.

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