Tortoise and the Bear and Other Rainy Day Stories

Only in Puerto Rico...is every day like living in a movie. I have seen cows in pick-ups, goats, roosters in the front seats of cars, horses and owners full speed on the main highway, horses without owners on the highway, milk cows in trucks, cars stuffed with cut grass, meat cows attached to tow balls on vans on the main highway (2) going 5mph at night...but today it was goats, horses, and then a flatbed truck with a BEAR and a TORTOISE heading to the zoo I assume. Couldn't really photograph the scene since I was driving...

Since it was going to be rainy all day I figured I'd make a food run to all-the-places-I-could-think-of-in-the-west that might have some of the ingredients I need to make "raw" recipes. First stop was Naturo Centro in Mayaguez, then the Ann Wigmore center in Aquada (hopefully for a spiral slicer - nope), Superfoods in Rincon and home. This was a few hours since I got caught in Aguada in the middle of a funeral procession - cars with speakers on top blasting out crap and a parade style car decked out in flowers - they do death kind of over-the-top here. Sometimes wailing people walking in the streets behind...  Back to the food. I found nutritional yeast and Sriracha hot sauce...

Raw cashews (should have gotten more since they will be gone in 2 recipes), two kinds of dates...

liquid smoke that you add to young coconut and dehydrate to make a crispy bacon like texture, oat grouts and carob powder, silken tofu (for desserts and sauces - can't eat too much soy though), and seaweeds for rolls and crunchy stuff.

Other goodies for cooked stuff (don't think we will go all raw) - corn pasta and sun dried tomatoes and green chiles!

I got back and it was cold and windy and rainy. The cats were huddled together and stinky - I just washed all the cushion covers and their beds yesterday during the hot morning hours... Rip was snoozing on his own.

6 of them took over the couch...

Tuca picked the basket...

Princess takes a stretch...

The house is like frickin Dr. Doolittle's with chickens all over. 3 of them have babies trailing around. There are 4 roosters (about 3 too many).

This hen has been sitting on in a ridiculous spot that became a waterfall and is due any time now. More babies if they really hatch.

When the rain let up I discovered more coconuts while I did a quick yard tour. Gifts from above that I now need to process - 3 more to add to the pile.

The pile gets bigger and bigger and I really need to crack them open, food process them and dehydrate them.

While I was sleeping the Pitaya bloomed again - and the one a few miles away in the trees had spent blooms on them as well.

It was raining so hard last night I didn't check so I didn't get to see the flowers.

I did a quick-peek harvest of parcha, a papaya, guineos (bananas), mangos (the "good" ones aren't ripe yet), and a few carambola. I know what I'll be doing tonight and tomorrow. I'll dehydrate stuff tomorrow if there is sun and make purees tonight.

The sky was very very black.

Then the mail guy called with a couple packages! One I was expecting and the other a total surprise! I got an early birthday package!!! With my very favorite only-chocolate-that-matters kind of chocolate bars - World Market Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt. Enough bars to give me a heart attack. Also our favorite rice noodles...and a book Jeff has been listening to on tape (I much prefer reading but then again I am not in the car 3 hours a day) called Blind Descent which is about caving of course. Glad we canceled the cave trip scheduled for today!

The other package was caving stuff! I can not find women's size 6 work boots here. I took a risk and ordered a couple different kinds (one expensive and the other less expensive) hoping one would fit at least and I lucked out and they both fit! Currently I am down to one pair since the sole separated on the other pair and won't even work taped up! Panic set in since I can't go caving without good boots! I haven't wanted to use my only boots in the yard! The other thing is neoprene pants that fit really well and will be perfect for caving but probably won't last. They are only 1.5mm which means they will get torn up pretty easily. The nice thing is that they have a drawstring waist, are form fitting, provide a little padding and warmth. In caves stuff falls down when it gets heavy and wet and muddy, things get torn up easily and it is easy to get cold in wet caves. I wear a 2mm full wetsuit usually which keeps me cleaner (it is one piece), is flexible and gives padding but sometimes the pants will be nice if the cave isn't very wet. Looks like Jeff ordered another dry bag which we really needed.

Well, that's enough procrastinating....I've got fruit to process before I go out tomorrow and REALLY harvest things!