Hurricane Rina

Hurricane Rina developed very quickly into a major storm just east of Belize.  Rapidly intensifying from a tropical depression to a Category 2 hurricane, Rina maintained an almost due westward progression at a crawl of 3mph.  As it grew in strength, feed by the warm waters of the Caribbean, it defied all the experts models and did not turn Northward.  Instead it kept coming straight for us.

As of now, it has begun turning North.  It has also weakened in intensity significantly.  I am still concerned as the US Navy predicted track still shows us to be just on the edge of tropical storm force winds.  But I am no longer afraid that we will be struck by the North side of a Cat 3 Hurricane.

What that means is that we are highly unlikely to die due to this storm.  However we may suffer some structural damage.  I had mentioned in several emails that I would provide an update to our conditions on Thursday.  Due to the slow speed of the storm, it will not have finished with us until perhaps Saturday.  So, Sunday, provided the internet works, I will try to add a comment to this post explaining how we fared through the storm.  I still have concerns.  We have three ewes who could deliver lambs, possibly, probably even during the peak of the storm, in the middle of the night.  It always seems to work out that way.

A good book

posted by Christopher

Last May, my grandparents came to visit us here. They have visited us every year and this trip the brought a book with them. Books are very important for us because we have not TV. In our somewhat stressful lives we need books. The book the left us is called the Dream Killer by Michael B. Schwartz.

When I opened the epically covered novel, the Dream Killer seized me with its tense plot: it has a Matrix-like element where characters enter another world, the Dream World. The story is gripping throughout the first and second half. Halfway through the story shifts dramatically and almost lost me, however the author manages to pull through it and reinvent the setting and characters in an intriguing and drawing way.

The characters in the story are very well developed. The main protagonist Tracy Kingston almost becomes a new character since the beginning of the story. Even the family members are eerily detailed and fleshed out. Other characters such as Whitaker and Bolan become personal as we get a close look at them. Sister Catherine and Queen Nanaae remain distant, somewhat aloof. This is not a mark of bad writing, you just don''t really know what they're thinking. The villains each have their own separate personalities and eccentricities.

The book is consistently written with a sort of epic theme. It seems to portray the feelings, and understanding, that the fictional events of the novel are derived from the past dictated by fate and is only the beginning of a campaign of epic battles. The Dream Killer is supposed to be only Book One of the Great War Saga.

I am glad I got to read the Dream Killer. I would not say it's an uplifting book, rather a fantastic thriller. The story ends reminding the reader that the War continues. I would like to obtain the sequel, but I don't know how to get it. I thank my grandparents for bringing us this good book. Such stories keep us going.

My grandmother got the book from an online link:

http://booklocker.com/books/5294.html

But I can not find a link to the sequel.

Cecropia

There has been a drought.  This area has received only 25% of the rain it normally gets during the dry season.  It has been very hard on our sheep, chickens and ducks.  But until recently, I did not know how widespread the hardship was.  I urge you to read this article from a local news station.  The Great Drought of 2011….Who Knew?

Then come back and learn about the Cecropia tree and how it has helped our sheep (just barely) survive the dry season.

Purple Study 1

We decided to study a batch of baby chickens for as long as possible.  The main thing we want to know is how much food and time does it take for a peep to grow to three or four pounds.  This is important to us because we now have a lot of chickens.  We could scale up the chicken project and attempt to produce local native chickens commercially.  But first we have to know really, how much does it cost to feed a chicken to market size.