tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69288479879499437052023-11-16T03:57:40.119-08:00News from NicaA compilation of stories and photos from our travels in Nicaragua.the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-52940665049456115702021-04-11T18:07:00.004-07:002021-10-24T09:06:55.231-07:00Mis Trabajadores (My Workers)<p>This is a tribute to all the hardworking men who slogged it out every week for 3 months in Mira Flores. I watched them sweat, shovel, mix, shovel, pour, plant, and shovel some more. The whole time they were pleasant and always willing to help. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYi-B1EiVwUYQ-8944wduLUWTSYnP5GrBqBk5zLLqIhTABjNydJGuae16ieflqdb-HvuooxAadSLftlLG-NDzoDPunGSf5oQRutxJKLLqEErTo3ZcsAJC4gOs-u9NhGr6FHX_z49XvJE7/s1032/IMG-20210411-WA0009.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="774" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWYi-B1EiVwUYQ-8944wduLUWTSYnP5GrBqBk5zLLqIhTABjNydJGuae16ieflqdb-HvuooxAadSLftlLG-NDzoDPunGSf5oQRutxJKLLqEErTo3ZcsAJC4gOs-u9NhGr6FHX_z49XvJE7/w300-h400/IMG-20210411-WA0009.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkVkQ4Fc-wTGiDP85Hjt-meUGNsHIQ3HfkBDO1dxZM9jutulYkDINUPCnLJWU7nK-JcxmeIy4CxqZQQK8FhL2zLJT9ZZ2bijHQk6o8ZtYUl_caprIuJ7D3Q6gYlG1NqqY3-Mt0J8DZlqC/s1280/IMG-20210325-WA0043.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkVkQ4Fc-wTGiDP85Hjt-meUGNsHIQ3HfkBDO1dxZM9jutulYkDINUPCnLJWU7nK-JcxmeIy4CxqZQQK8FhL2zLJT9ZZ2bijHQk6o8ZtYUl_caprIuJ7D3Q6gYlG1NqqY3-Mt0J8DZlqC/w200-h113/IMG-20210325-WA0043.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freddy</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-EssGf-_IFTYB5-1aDlRxmFAgAfXF6D2YhHLDtaUdIJERuwShb-_AJprMfcvCEWTW98ZLl665C0LuQvGCojPwHORCGWjzS46tMBg0Br9W2x63LWEJrQXPkxQTvt2Ik-s0NNNCYQxZFmy/s1280/IMG-20210325-WA0045.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-EssGf-_IFTYB5-1aDlRxmFAgAfXF6D2YhHLDtaUdIJERuwShb-_AJprMfcvCEWTW98ZLl665C0LuQvGCojPwHORCGWjzS46tMBg0Br9W2x63LWEJrQXPkxQTvt2Ik-s0NNNCYQxZFmy/w200-h113/IMG-20210325-WA0045.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antonio</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Z4Vd7uuuqivXRjJQj6RIU9vDSjkB3f8TMYDhOVfIA41GKBT0WOmVaAemf0AxSt938cWlktWpAp5Xy5hULtp_FavRWPKpZ9DEkOiyc50nQOEHtP9Ny9K3zZ39H0ICmjaU5MNZh_eEOz1f/s1280/IMG-20210325-WA0042.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Z4Vd7uuuqivXRjJQj6RIU9vDSjkB3f8TMYDhOVfIA41GKBT0WOmVaAemf0AxSt938cWlktWpAp5Xy5hULtp_FavRWPKpZ9DEkOiyc50nQOEHtP9Ny9K3zZ39H0ICmjaU5MNZh_eEOz1f/w200-h113/IMG-20210325-WA0042.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrorETdQvu9W-VWTqrjHpuhqzbnxJDGy3ySRQVadRMGTw4e2FB3aPpPCh-FYf5aUDspb9lmbMS4TFfX1u7kd7xMp72q_KNck16MM7c1OUgqrrvLUrJzPdd_DxhEoTl1NdpzFDGX0I09kl/s2048/20210224_151110.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDrorETdQvu9W-VWTqrjHpuhqzbnxJDGy3ySRQVadRMGTw4e2FB3aPpPCh-FYf5aUDspb9lmbMS4TFfX1u7kd7xMp72q_KNck16MM7c1OUgqrrvLUrJzPdd_DxhEoTl1NdpzFDGX0I09kl/w200-h150/20210224_151110.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rigoverto</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzoe-KUU1065mkt68sL4t_pvIqJOYQoPdI2dmMqQsK8grWuIbVLindOhYy0Lpa1T-QacsBk1SnhVTsmt6aWHucKgdQuvQEILiqM6bKyfZ1s5b9WLR0GJ6QyvzUQu7daFtYhbsg6gyeRu4/s1280/IMG-20210325-WA0041.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzoe-KUU1065mkt68sL4t_pvIqJOYQoPdI2dmMqQsK8grWuIbVLindOhYy0Lpa1T-QacsBk1SnhVTsmt6aWHucKgdQuvQEILiqM6bKyfZ1s5b9WLR0GJ6QyvzUQu7daFtYhbsg6gyeRu4/w282-h159/IMG-20210325-WA0041.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ariel</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHRSoWqkSD0-lK1hT6_KJRPxTnNB87stF6geqOeztaT-Qz_FiEc_DfzVBlMvgIBHYvtOTA9u1OxKPrjgumV49vvo4YsSajl1fA67V32VamKT2cGEuH7sU-UnGzgAOszSyq2G7t_HnPRDi/s1280/IMG-20210325-WA0040.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHRSoWqkSD0-lK1hT6_KJRPxTnNB87stF6geqOeztaT-Qz_FiEc_DfzVBlMvgIBHYvtOTA9u1OxKPrjgumV49vvo4YsSajl1fA67V32VamKT2cGEuH7sU-UnGzgAOszSyq2G7t_HnPRDi/w275-h155/IMG-20210325-WA0040.jpg" width="275" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jery</td></tr></tbody></table></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtVXANO42sIpFWDctmgooUHNWqpzivYl8wa5lGYKYF45w-mXaydb0sIRYyuXaJVBOzRpJQNUcQuzZIDAAogrvy69OvkrvFGxKhPrhsIZKUUiJFJBo_KA9foro65XwkYfxmGsxuw6ksiPL_/s1280/IMG-20210325-WA0039.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtVXANO42sIpFWDctmgooUHNWqpzivYl8wa5lGYKYF45w-mXaydb0sIRYyuXaJVBOzRpJQNUcQuzZIDAAogrvy69OvkrvFGxKhPrhsIZKUUiJFJBo_KA9foro65XwkYfxmGsxuw6ksiPL_/w200-h113/IMG-20210325-WA0039.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nelson</td></tr></tbody></table> <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqflP-BGHkW1LyDToAo8-njInuYJp6YMtiofGnxvrycTrvMXuC7V4mzr1O_4YPauxmYqg5ojS-tsb3nnjNSobIoIv87oRniiic0yRiUrOUybd0QwGLuEPp5cU8TNy7Hk2pmpDnQ0bMUyBi/s2048/20210203_103841.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqflP-BGHkW1LyDToAo8-njInuYJp6YMtiofGnxvrycTrvMXuC7V4mzr1O_4YPauxmYqg5ojS-tsb3nnjNSobIoIv87oRniiic0yRiUrOUybd0QwGLuEPp5cU8TNy7Hk2pmpDnQ0bMUyBi/s320/20210203_103841.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone working hard.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRydcfdnDohKsaI7eP8xrG2szmMSJTZNwIoZloLxUEf3rKZmwtGZmcO037HEY7qS2W_Zyu0XpI_LcFLPBYhOp7mhAKgHHGSvy0zfflN2rqCkrdGzzhtBfUh_d8CG4twph12IZT3XODQ-EH/s2048/20210127_143413.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRydcfdnDohKsaI7eP8xrG2szmMSJTZNwIoZloLxUEf3rKZmwtGZmcO037HEY7qS2W_Zyu0XpI_LcFLPBYhOp7mhAKgHHGSvy0zfflN2rqCkrdGzzhtBfUh_d8CG4twph12IZT3XODQ-EH/s320/20210127_143413.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At least they are above the waterline</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-73146848152504948492021-04-06T10:55:00.006-07:002021-04-09T10:49:17.881-07:00Making Lemonade <p>This is the first time I have called our 'vacation spot' a home. I truly feel like this is where I will be spending more and more time in years to come. The natural changes to our property was a blessing in disguise. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy0m8i8cLRjAJXoApKa9uMRlYXUjym1qG8wS08Xt1n0vDC2jW7PebccfqXkd0Mxdv84O-cVBvkbEde5vYYZMA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><p> We made lemonade out of lemons, instead of walking away discouraged and depressed. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzKb6Gn1ac55SINFWQ27XLV7CFODChurljWfRU7Zg5ev8-3ukV6Yiw5TJQH8doKJmzFWYm0lRWnsLqa4qXZWw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>This trip to Nicaragua was truly incredible. I met so many people and felt very welcomed into the larger community...El Zapote, Los Cordonnes, Gran Pacifica, Playa San Diego, Gringo Hill, California, and Masachapa. Wow. Who knew there were so many people here...both local Nicaraguans and travellors from far away.. Having a better grasp of the language was definitely a help. While I am not perfect in my spanish I have learned to hold a conversation. <div><div style="text-align: center;">...and from someone who likes to talk...this is very important to me. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-jHetnoV1j2_rSOFhOwVcHUnMskaXoslOtHc9xtRS1Y5OJlBLOlG7UbRUfDVLqiLIQzf4dPRPilH2Ff9F2Pc5I44Fx1ZAFgSNHNQxWtvPQFVucgAdcWbSowNqXGxTuYv-ym78yCY5tlQ/s2048/20210402_162629b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik-jHetnoV1j2_rSOFhOwVcHUnMskaXoslOtHc9xtRS1Y5OJlBLOlG7UbRUfDVLqiLIQzf4dPRPilH2Ff9F2Pc5I44Fx1ZAFgSNHNQxWtvPQFVucgAdcWbSowNqXGxTuYv-ym78yCY5tlQ/s320/20210402_162629b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p></div>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-28000191239118256312021-04-05T19:00:00.006-07:002021-04-09T10:16:32.487-07:00The New 'Betz' Pool<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Well, this is a Betz, making a Betz Pool. Not exactly following code, not exactly how the team back home would construct it, but it looks good and it holds water just fine. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">https://www.betzpools.com<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj67pse6qy2inlD6Yz9Qw-N76y03q8xtIxsGlab5KczdR5TEpB1ISS4caYRoRaLM1GhzumTltzA-6FCB-Qt2eJKbL1Qhq3WHhfwYy0CxZl25kEm1t_M_BpxwOKK-TNDtXEFL4TnhM1PVPSu/s2048/20210310_115501.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj67pse6qy2inlD6Yz9Qw-N76y03q8xtIxsGlab5KczdR5TEpB1ISS4caYRoRaLM1GhzumTltzA-6FCB-Qt2eJKbL1Qhq3WHhfwYy0CxZl25kEm1t_M_BpxwOKK-TNDtXEFL4TnhM1PVPSu/w321-h429/20210310_115501.jpg" width="321" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBehyFGOWHdRcCpmB7g7myjqxZH7zXsA15e9wqBgw0quqam1bbg4B6XqcrdHNZB8o0pyyXunWX6meTGYYeLjnLAMNS4qzuIgKrNA2Nq9KsyB-vnlMySkR5vTk_-gSc7IYC7SDLXgb_ufa/s2048/20210310_132248.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX4nBXE3msIYKhu1R3F-aNvzHM3JA3MI2sxJjHiBJn92tE5qrcyjR-rz94GJu_tyihq0vshmM9KSh-3EaDhZI_Mmg-3Phe9NkPluz2E9KRxcaYPheO3ZKrVGkmONefor-mqfIuTEv6l6fL/s2048/20210322_160536.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX4nBXE3msIYKhu1R3F-aNvzHM3JA3MI2sxJjHiBJn92tE5qrcyjR-rz94GJu_tyihq0vshmM9KSh-3EaDhZI_Mmg-3Phe9NkPluz2E9KRxcaYPheO3ZKrVGkmONefor-mqfIuTEv6l6fL/s320/20210322_160536.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfs3OAWKBy-286cGvmZVel6N8TXsh06B3jXnFyPVw-ThzuJF3Fj-q-c1kTJ0R2tWAeWhf_UxRoZsZg3TKYBSpR7lMZX8RJ0N3EDcsfkEYZltQJTdaPtZuPX7A3EjcruxDa1o93kpl2Vua/s2048/20210324_072424.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVP9guhasJCmlWJZd4y_NIPym0rvzBBJZgcwty_uwYX55YaDPCmLlpe1nRzE4FW2yK2Oh6n627uxYGKzQLbzcZF7-lAhHE3-tcyEfuuAv6Bvs0iNEtOq0CHc7jaat4pBgkc-BFoo4z5w7/s2048/20210326_084525.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVP9guhasJCmlWJZd4y_NIPym0rvzBBJZgcwty_uwYX55YaDPCmLlpe1nRzE4FW2yK2Oh6n627uxYGKzQLbzcZF7-lAhHE3-tcyEfuuAv6Bvs0iNEtOq0CHc7jaat4pBgkc-BFoo4z5w7/s320/20210326_084525.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-60244921836304623792021-04-04T11:24:00.006-07:002021-04-07T16:21:42.151-07:00NicaLove Animal Rescue<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1wxDqQ43tN8eLtcBhe9BUqxn6HjYrxrTC25MFI-XctUcYjbNPBBtNGEBtPZOyvAehj1oTct6oszmxU9Q4aVBPqiK6ssoFajDOgHWE4d-XUJ1wBUBduwtCuCwhikALawJn5EMnC3IVCEN/s696/IMG-20210404-WA0015.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="696" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1wxDqQ43tN8eLtcBhe9BUqxn6HjYrxrTC25MFI-XctUcYjbNPBBtNGEBtPZOyvAehj1oTct6oszmxU9Q4aVBPqiK6ssoFajDOgHWE4d-XUJ1wBUBduwtCuCwhikALawJn5EMnC3IVCEN/s320/IMG-20210404-WA0015.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Meet Elisa, Lester and Julie. </div><p></p><p>An incredible team of dedicated individuals helping to serve all four-leggers of Nicaragua. Julie is the creator and organizer of NicaLove: an animal welfare organization serving animals and those who care for them in some of the most vulnerable communities in Nicaragua. Established in 2013 NicaLove organizes clinics for wellness, sterilizations, adoptions, vaccinations, and surgeries for dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, and many others. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7z_OVE-VtdmuKQTYVC_T9Zy202jkITncbOwVfTjJ71htCpn78F1xZ8iXISXMbwyUgIT8fAPeJcB7XESFof5GD-3zcZxcme0jHS8vFUrE9XKeRTPmg3x_KB8pwnUcL7OykSEX47ntuV0X8/s960/FB_IMG_1617731188216.jpg" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7z_OVE-VtdmuKQTYVC_T9Zy202jkITncbOwVfTjJ71htCpn78F1xZ8iXISXMbwyUgIT8fAPeJcB7XESFof5GD-3zcZxcme0jHS8vFUrE9XKeRTPmg3x_KB8pwnUcL7OykSEX47ntuV0X8/w150-h200/FB_IMG_1617731188216.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picking off ticks</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzZK685jcKtGF6GrZPvtSyqpUn1wiIqZ2io2yT10pC7ytHiOYGjxusKk-b3IDusZfmjmmPIRNwFJxOCA59zl_OidcZ0TbID0HufiBZKCF-ANC2qeiwiAb1vi5botAjD3-8UqszoMORx6L/s960/FB_IMG_1617731159101.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipzZK685jcKtGF6GrZPvtSyqpUn1wiIqZ2io2yT10pC7ytHiOYGjxusKk-b3IDusZfmjmmPIRNwFJxOCA59zl_OidcZ0TbID0HufiBZKCF-ANC2qeiwiAb1vi5botAjD3-8UqszoMORx6L/w150-h200/FB_IMG_1617731159101.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each animal gets a piece of tape on their head for identification</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gvDvoNaRGOMLEvRhTli1uSvJkfZv2S_iexbQLT0mbFukro-hXRDGLVVlpI5c_RSQ2Nl5SfbEvTwl-b_ofwQEx_mdIhU4EofXmRvvqh0EH9uBoJZeIMDr5py06r3O_gCeDrDOGNnSShR9/s960/FB_IMG_1617731208286.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4gvDvoNaRGOMLEvRhTli1uSvJkfZv2S_iexbQLT0mbFukro-hXRDGLVVlpI5c_RSQ2Nl5SfbEvTwl-b_ofwQEx_mdIhU4EofXmRvvqh0EH9uBoJZeIMDr5py06r3O_gCeDrDOGNnSShR9/w300-h400/FB_IMG_1617731208286.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Me and my neighbour, Eneyda, with our collective brood of dogs. Essentially I feel these dogs are mine too as I feed them daily, and often. They come to greet me as if I am their owner, and through a lot of discipline I have taught her dogs to stay out of my house, while my dogs are allowed entrance. <br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p><br /></p><p>Check out their website at https://nicalove.org/ for more info. </p>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-3122629710803501382021-04-01T09:57:00.007-07:002021-04-09T10:23:53.716-07:00Mi Bigote<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">'bigote'...means mustache in spanish and on my design plan this sitting wall looks like a lovely handlebar mustache</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMMpoY1bJlw-ZE_he_C61I3rOtjTNk-9FfMFTgunvoQIvSDGyrMGu32OdGw0n4dIcQzuq8yYeK73_56AvpUDaHcWwqkyTifQafnM1oJzvlwkaAngJIMUQIoGbfNf_2yNzXdCEiNevc1PPX/s2048/20210409_061036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMMpoY1bJlw-ZE_he_C61I3rOtjTNk-9FfMFTgunvoQIvSDGyrMGu32OdGw0n4dIcQzuq8yYeK73_56AvpUDaHcWwqkyTifQafnM1oJzvlwkaAngJIMUQIoGbfNf_2yNzXdCEiNevc1PPX/w400-h300/20210409_061036.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">As with most of my landscape designs, I always have a place for random gatherings of people that works for one, or many. It is usually away from the norm. This wall is perfect for sitting on to watch the river and the birds. At night is offers a spectacular view of the stars and the path of the moon, with all the lights behind you. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br />the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-48541207132730655702021-03-27T08:14:00.003-07:002021-04-04T11:17:04.965-07:00Phase Three Complete<div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANdoKycKp7M4tEpteh3IXIeXztUu4lD7YMS_QSWSGp8uZKXKB6t_PeLrOJG7TnhSdnxhJ1OHdujRJrKYqHk5j_uPv3oK_84AaZIrmMJA5Pay32jquM7mvSVrAYiLqAGehFcl6Y6cKF0Eh/w300-h400/20210315_115006.jpg" width="300" /><br /></div></div><div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhypYSuQCEdM1fW-2fOAK-JVfV4-SU6oJe4e1RZA5dq2gPjUgTK7qtGiErvdVDSuNU4Hlni-ugDbN6CdyvneHY-tiDfOLxCs4LI1uT9rfTz4sd1PZkiklS43adU63N7haSVt8La0CRwPSyf/s2048/20210315_115119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhypYSuQCEdM1fW-2fOAK-JVfV4-SU6oJe4e1RZA5dq2gPjUgTK7qtGiErvdVDSuNU4Hlni-ugDbN6CdyvneHY-tiDfOLxCs4LI1uT9rfTz4sd1PZkiklS43adU63N7haSVt8La0CRwPSyf/w300-h400/20210315_115119.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH16743FKyy3P1fQ3bDjSPyvt8A2vAJts-aXKKc-sclRwFhduCgrrkJSkcnEasPxW3uFzqY9er2fgr161APlx4KXZReNMfZkSc0XLYY57RO3hTjyY_x-mFpBlEbwtfeHdxYXff5zheacDk/s2048/20210315_115124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH16743FKyy3P1fQ3bDjSPyvt8A2vAJts-aXKKc-sclRwFhduCgrrkJSkcnEasPxW3uFzqY9er2fgr161APlx4KXZReNMfZkSc0XLYY57RO3hTjyY_x-mFpBlEbwtfeHdxYXff5zheacDk/w300-h400/20210315_115124.jpg" width="300" /></a></div></div><div class="separator"><div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANdoKycKp7M4tEpteh3IXIeXztUu4lD7YMS_QSWSGp8uZKXKB6t_PeLrOJG7TnhSdnxhJ1OHdujRJrKYqHk5j_uPv3oK_84AaZIrmMJA5Pay32jquM7mvSVrAYiLqAGehFcl6Y6cKF0Eh/s2048/20210315_115006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANdoKycKp7M4tEpteh3IXIeXztUu4lD7YMS_QSWSGp8uZKXKB6t_PeLrOJG7TnhSdnxhJ1OHdujRJrKYqHk5j_uPv3oK_84AaZIrmMJA5Pay32jquM7mvSVrAYiLqAGehFcl6Y6cKF0Eh/s2048/20210315_115006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div></div></div><p></p>Progress has been made!<div>Our river wall is complete. </div><div>917 tires with concrete, rebar, and tiebacks throughout the entire structure. </div><div>Here's hoping this will be a solid structure for many years to come. </div><div>Our neighbour upstream has just decided to continue the wall to protect his own property. Essentially he has watched us and decided we did a great job. This is great news for us as it will help to secure our wall and land from any future land loss. <br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Nice curvy lines. I like the look. </div><div><p></p></div>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-11988471838961811582021-02-20T12:25:00.004-08:002021-02-20T12:25:48.222-08:00Phase Two Complete<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobDzS0HG9ov5UAPN9zg3mtDLgWFRbYwqklw_mvMxoBdk53549nCCQybGija_Y85VJo7sjYQF-zKhq2cau8WJP-Snt9CpzsU3jA_hYpRXn-BjB2cMBUjA1Ijcsp9xTvXUEHrBmZ3577_mx/s2048/20210220_150318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiobDzS0HG9ov5UAPN9zg3mtDLgWFRbYwqklw_mvMxoBdk53549nCCQybGija_Y85VJo7sjYQF-zKhq2cau8WJP-Snt9CpzsU3jA_hYpRXn-BjB2cMBUjA1Ijcsp9xTvXUEHrBmZ3577_mx/w300-h400/20210220_150318.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP3iQGlY1Ww_ti7Vs8WsHh9ssGRyD-I0gndd9a860JGfnejqTSzeJe72xIlR7ZfaO8NxVJj2o06_C3at-ccG2FlIPHNNOjYgqW0faHxXzzrm5fYpLvxeTZTPeGfNnRz_vcxOgBSfDAV-eI/s2048/20210219_075852.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Getting Closer! the wall is growing. Phase one is underwater with the concrete slab at waterlevel. Phase two is three more tires and another concrete slab. We used tiebacks on this middle level as an added security to secure it into the bank. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Strangely, once you get beyond the idea that it looks like 'trailer trash' I can see a lot of beauty in the rhythm.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemBK2U4_iHxSM97CFft9Nl-_h8mtfL39qlCFDIcwUFDSMRVKuWDahOSq3jBArJsggIe5UYzHbviPI0HjmEZmgV6kejefC6bZOFOf2lukrac0R86M0gGngneUsvBrwQgIAsuGhBWRM7zps/s2048/20210219_075840.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemBK2U4_iHxSM97CFft9Nl-_h8mtfL39qlCFDIcwUFDSMRVKuWDahOSq3jBArJsggIe5UYzHbviPI0HjmEZmgV6kejefC6bZOFOf2lukrac0R86M0gGngneUsvBrwQgIAsuGhBWRM7zps/w300-h400/20210219_075840.jpg" width="300" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPAB432prif0aiYg5aGVzOo1NjfEpArFMXFCLuVRgSqItKgSE52soLqrH8lJid3bTZi0wuE7qF8tdc553TqWj6wedCD20TPs3lkHYh_6D8GQXpCrJ5kzylgFKw5Hk6-19zp64RDeXetK1g/s2048/20210210_105638.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPAB432prif0aiYg5aGVzOo1NjfEpArFMXFCLuVRgSqItKgSE52soLqrH8lJid3bTZi0wuE7qF8tdc553TqWj6wedCD20TPs3lkHYh_6D8GQXpCrJ5kzylgFKw5Hk6-19zp64RDeXetK1g/w320-h240/20210210_105638.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="text-align: left;">Here is a detailed look at the tires. The workers fill the sides with small rocks and then leave a couple inside with the rebar. Once the concrete is dumped into the centre they compact it into the sides.</span></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-44996605979788289842021-02-19T10:08:00.000-08:002021-02-19T10:08:02.444-08:00Nica Woman's Baseball Team<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ahh, the good old days of playing softball in the park are back! Morgan, my gringo friend, introduced me to the local Nicaraguan woman's softball team. I now have many friends and great opportunities to speak spanish as well. We have practised baseball together for a month. What I thought were easy going and perhaps an assortment of dysfunctional women have pulled together into an awesome team. Afterall, we did start out drinking during practise, encouraging everyone's kids to play with us, and generally getting no direction or drills. But hey, I think that is just the Nica way. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLVgfpc-n9IZNJZNQ8KzGtyYBcJIRQA52IgPRuuI6JkhF9WsDt667e4zGaCaS9Sa4i2QUca6xiBt85LB1BfahDgTiIvhWXPmRn1kXaJePr9tszHmcOxNOULoH-myAsM69x_hoOBXV-122J/s2048/20210131_173816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLVgfpc-n9IZNJZNQ8KzGtyYBcJIRQA52IgPRuuI6JkhF9WsDt667e4zGaCaS9Sa4i2QUca6xiBt85LB1BfahDgTiIvhWXPmRn1kXaJePr9tszHmcOxNOULoH-myAsM69x_hoOBXV-122J/w360-h270/20210131_173816.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRiZQzwcjQAOlXJhl0MW0LoR6wbmPhCEvTutvYRpaKNFSYtjUQqRRIyWj5IZlEZFg6qiJna49rLqQsiyJsQblhHlv2XVlKXgur0B4xp1eanYfk60OhRlRJVr_bcnuU-ZNUVvJ7NEo6JLdM/s2048/20210131_174017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRiZQzwcjQAOlXJhl0MW0LoR6wbmPhCEvTutvYRpaKNFSYtjUQqRRIyWj5IZlEZFg6qiJna49rLqQsiyJsQblhHlv2XVlKXgur0B4xp1eanYfk60OhRlRJVr_bcnuU-ZNUVvJ7NEo6JLdM/w220-h165/20210131_174017.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3aQJJB8iLd8y4Lwlwsz9DGq4scR7lhppcP__wtr_cip4ekXngbIIzUWsCyGcUINwB9ARZY1D0wlbYEglYB2t8NZSD3r5ZKVt6JQhLVVsuMq3RRV4tEaLIbPqJhraZe91jwqB3Oq0XGaB/s2048/20210131_173828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ3aQJJB8iLd8y4Lwlwsz9DGq4scR7lhppcP__wtr_cip4ekXngbIIzUWsCyGcUINwB9ARZY1D0wlbYEglYB2t8NZSD3r5ZKVt6JQhLVVsuMq3RRV4tEaLIbPqJhraZe91jwqB3Oq0XGaB/w125-h166/20210131_173828.jpg" width="125" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZFEfd4MVJ-rLkEBSxx73B_0s8VYJLVJ1VhwXMGjjA3w7EGr0qV01hPq09-tCcwirhL2sdW2R3javChk55mx-fHnW3rD84rYsW7WASTQo5uejJMPsi29Kk3tPrqRELznE2XgFJ_WYzeIA/s2048/20210131_173835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZFEfd4MVJ-rLkEBSxx73B_0s8VYJLVJ1VhwXMGjjA3w7EGr0qV01hPq09-tCcwirhL2sdW2R3javChk55mx-fHnW3rD84rYsW7WASTQo5uejJMPsi29Kk3tPrqRELznE2XgFJ_WYzeIA/w441-h331/20210131_173835.jpg" width="441" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>After all that practise, the beginning of the season started with a flourish. All the teams received their new uniforms and then paraded down the street. A band played, music blared from a car full of speakers, and my California Stars won their first two games. <div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyyh_IrZb_V3LrYM1M5E5_eil6CdFVl33km44Lt3leEf8jyFWxheB8k0LniWneScjaIgKkjQ_tQs1u2su6qUXG2kTupN4XG_HeRdoRk3GUzfRRxqnh1y_am2PZcNEIRu71T_WLzTQBhmq/s2048/20210214_142924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyyh_IrZb_V3LrYM1M5E5_eil6CdFVl33km44Lt3leEf8jyFWxheB8k0LniWneScjaIgKkjQ_tQs1u2su6qUXG2kTupN4XG_HeRdoRk3GUzfRRxqnh1y_am2PZcNEIRu71T_WLzTQBhmq/s2048/20210214_142924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFOHLBWnHo-2m-D2FS9qH0T4JOJSBN_szgpfWIG7LFCIoVHjkiFJmW2G5tg3nnOejZ0caQNlXaSKqhSLYlh9xE5ySnCFpcuv0bwaM7Klojc6ZIrIMBF6p1Phj6t1zufJzMOrtJaOwbwP3/s2048/20210214_142927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFFOHLBWnHo-2m-D2FS9qH0T4JOJSBN_szgpfWIG7LFCIoVHjkiFJmW2G5tg3nnOejZ0caQNlXaSKqhSLYlh9xE5ySnCFpcuv0bwaM7Klojc6ZIrIMBF6p1Phj6t1zufJzMOrtJaOwbwP3/w400-h300/20210214_142927.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiyyh_IrZb_V3LrYM1M5E5_eil6CdFVl33km44Lt3leEf8jyFWxheB8k0LniWneScjaIgKkjQ_tQs1u2su6qUXG2kTupN4XG_HeRdoRk3GUzfRRxqnh1y_am2PZcNEIRu71T_WLzTQBhmq/w400-h300/20210214_142924.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjimDsC_x0qNpvmj_YHSCg0Qe77z-P7KFXnsGvKDCStcSrStsOF9e19h2Q501RH6ZE21b72Sd4s3xKOqeJXI2NhBD_XdgURXs75SvZISaktDOXXLuPFXDPkkpZ5p4cuujXT_3oOaFoseBRC/s1280/IMG-20210214-WA0079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjimDsC_x0qNpvmj_YHSCg0Qe77z-P7KFXnsGvKDCStcSrStsOF9e19h2Q501RH6ZE21b72Sd4s3xKOqeJXI2NhBD_XdgURXs75SvZISaktDOXXLuPFXDPkkpZ5p4cuujXT_3oOaFoseBRC/w150-h200/IMG-20210214-WA0079.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwn-aD_LsaBzhd5ItG62KM-NY96D_v9Cn3UlgmWzJcLbeMulruD1d_v-8aue0FBMwTRhwFxmNNO_l7U3p8IG_a-5f4bHMEYPlGgbcgRC6UI5zCkwFI92sBD1CNbj3gXUIZ6Uq7xqyUOgum/s1280/IMG-20210214-WA0059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwn-aD_LsaBzhd5ItG62KM-NY96D_v9Cn3UlgmWzJcLbeMulruD1d_v-8aue0FBMwTRhwFxmNNO_l7U3p8IG_a-5f4bHMEYPlGgbcgRC6UI5zCkwFI92sBD1CNbj3gXUIZ6Uq7xqyUOgum/w357-h201/IMG-20210214-WA0059.jpg" width="357" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqjTTouybH5HYg_adXErWQf-dTdiOYg3BCA4um8-V8ti4JE8dHDq26dw1E44QvxePAywCmqjImggQHZqZoMEYvSqq0g6AyYMzks8WiDaA44pV5ZtCE_ysmrYuhwZ2C7WmkLQlZrYEPHDT/s1280/IMG-20210214-WA0097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqjTTouybH5HYg_adXErWQf-dTdiOYg3BCA4um8-V8ti4JE8dHDq26dw1E44QvxePAywCmqjImggQHZqZoMEYvSqq0g6AyYMzks8WiDaA44pV5ZtCE_ysmrYuhwZ2C7WmkLQlZrYEPHDT/w469-h352/IMG-20210214-WA0097.jpg" width="469" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I am so proud of these women!</div><div style="text-align: center;">Essentially, I am not their mascot. </div> <p></p></div>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-44772367342976947342021-02-19T06:18:00.002-08:002021-02-19T10:41:49.292-08:00Los Jicarros School<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So my spanish teacher, Alejandro, asked me to come to the local school in Los Jicarros to assist with his english class. To be truthful, Alejandro did not need any help as he speaks fluent english and he is a fully qualified teacher. But I went anyways. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzC7YzCMyyZFNGpLg2HcswNf4A_J7agSoLsqWRy31xaaMdFCfzea-E4Sr7QhqkIPsqkWflQketjQtanS3cdMw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Here's me at the front identifying english words and pronouncing them for the class to repeat outloud. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmozmBWeqXVMRhiledf9I_5H5TBAM9zR0AuluaEsgL8L-PWy45FM1UNAr_o6NZBWN9yYuzYeo0ysRpNUYzRLxkxmZIqwyaCnvqv-mwBi_45zKAaM6-RRZqs2taFz5A4P9KMrDhnAVDzNXg/s1156/IMG-20210218-WA0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="1156" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmozmBWeqXVMRhiledf9I_5H5TBAM9zR0AuluaEsgL8L-PWy45FM1UNAr_o6NZBWN9yYuzYeo0ysRpNUYzRLxkxmZIqwyaCnvqv-mwBi_45zKAaM6-RRZqs2taFz5A4P9KMrDhnAVDzNXg/w458-h206/IMG-20210218-WA0002.jpg" width="458" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg820Rur_2F8NsK2erEX6uoPQSYbcOv4s9jvvX9QanGfPpZPqhYE-jky7pRDmlzA650XWatwSlZ8u5Pwn57FCJRRqiK9xPhjVcDeBBR2mRPcTAJyZXUGXiRRQfYsd7Ti4pgDzhQb1Fccy0Q/s2048/20210217_134336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg820Rur_2F8NsK2erEX6uoPQSYbcOv4s9jvvX9QanGfPpZPqhYE-jky7pRDmlzA650XWatwSlZ8u5Pwn57FCJRRqiK9xPhjVcDeBBR2mRPcTAJyZXUGXiRRQfYsd7Ti4pgDzhQb1Fccy0Q/s320/20210217_134336.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">And of course, the week before school even started, the kids and community got together to paint the school. You can spot me helping in the orange sweater. (where's Waldo?)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-0knoiG-NsnBZeVPMPLpZwBCssQBdEKGnQa59jOsH6CWb2g7H9pV07jWDBKehosi3rdjMjnCz5yjIYAqlZ2Dsasg5LuPpR7iS8Zw8wXGhe4HgcE5KM0gcQeBU86_cQT7isw6T_h1hPyX/s2048/20210211_151030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-0knoiG-NsnBZeVPMPLpZwBCssQBdEKGnQa59jOsH6CWb2g7H9pV07jWDBKehosi3rdjMjnCz5yjIYAqlZ2Dsasg5LuPpR7iS8Zw8wXGhe4HgcE5KM0gcQeBU86_cQT7isw6T_h1hPyX/s320/20210211_151030.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSKE_WB45ecPFHu8AJoHtPM1t3aE9Pz2_yxXNwi1etj74FKKq1SgGdZ7txSK7sFU46cna4OQW_GX8j3LADAoUyk2fbyzVjKbmXpTzytasKGHeUZGcgV4TO8CjEL4JwpJCPQtIqqXnNrnV/s1156/IMG-20210211-WA0014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="1156" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSKE_WB45ecPFHu8AJoHtPM1t3aE9Pz2_yxXNwi1etj74FKKq1SgGdZ7txSK7sFU46cna4OQW_GX8j3LADAoUyk2fbyzVjKbmXpTzytasKGHeUZGcgV4TO8CjEL4JwpJCPQtIqqXnNrnV/w446-h201/IMG-20210211-WA0014.jpg" width="446" /></a></div><br />the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-64814959617411112682021-02-09T09:08:00.005-08:002021-04-09T10:49:52.477-07:00Moto Beach Paradise<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Me and a friend cruising along the beach at sunset. What more can one ask for? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We are on our way to a turtle reserve station to help release some babies. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Not sure if I am going to make it back to Canada for 2021 as I am having way to much fun. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy4fiLki2HGSCoP2-5wracqPLEDrrXIdmYyljkcAo7U9DxwqiYi3rEGpYeWllBVs-rw6zIwDlSsrWma1PN4uA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtz-UL84sgIckV-3SrOX_IlUI_Hqx74AEtZNRDPNsUogZxDjwi029f286XDVY-aOvK36nfKQzHlTqNTBVvAQhOMsRE76BTVWt0XQoVz9u4F6dvLQP24v4SYoSoEetjM4qWVcb861tdDfV/s960/20210206_084551.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtz-UL84sgIckV-3SrOX_IlUI_Hqx74AEtZNRDPNsUogZxDjwi029f286XDVY-aOvK36nfKQzHlTqNTBVvAQhOMsRE76BTVWt0XQoVz9u4F6dvLQP24v4SYoSoEetjM4qWVcb861tdDfV/w332-h443/20210206_084551.jpg" width="332" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <p></p>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-69428869321647152272021-02-09T08:20:00.000-08:002021-02-09T08:20:30.689-08:00Meet JoeyWe have a puppy! He needed a home and we needed a watchdog and a companion for our cuidador (a cuidador is someone who looks after our land and keeps it safe while we are not on the property). <div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQEpXS6aiud5-FaxNWZnMk2C5urt1IForaOGCFtSZA15MebYljYu62vvYKHj2KThx-IuhRil8KPfcFoWze2rlPWEEBebNRfkoEfI8G1s5brNImN_1gWNeKWjWs1S7YJ7tYt8W8b72U9cn/s2048/20210206_082408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGQEpXS6aiud5-FaxNWZnMk2C5urt1IForaOGCFtSZA15MebYljYu62vvYKHj2KThx-IuhRil8KPfcFoWze2rlPWEEBebNRfkoEfI8G1s5brNImN_1gWNeKWjWs1S7YJ7tYt8W8b72U9cn/w238-h320/20210206_082408.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><br /></div><div>I think he looks like a deer with his big ears and small tail. I wanted to call him John Deere which translates to Juan Ciervo - but no one liked that suggestion.</div><div><br /><div>His long face and big paws also remind me of a baby kangaroo - so I think his name will be Joey. </div><div><br /></div><div>As a puppy he is very foolish and playful.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyxeH5SjZrFY3UlbBV6vUc8rRzKfJudfXaB-qzbNOUdF46qhjV23zeDIzbv-ux69gMZEpAJbLXRHA9Vjk3u-HuvZUQsaipBqVESjuD7I6ZNev2pBI9F7N7zoQvr6Hz3Zll6RjO0lnAQh_/s2048/20210204_092040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyxeH5SjZrFY3UlbBV6vUc8rRzKfJudfXaB-qzbNOUdF46qhjV23zeDIzbv-ux69gMZEpAJbLXRHA9Vjk3u-HuvZUQsaipBqVESjuD7I6ZNev2pBI9F7N7zoQvr6Hz3Zll6RjO0lnAQh_/w400-h300/20210204_092040.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieIaFsBI-vfL92UcHAI4mCTuKooj4YTNMW8SJmgI-UnQIe_lw2vCuQc44mkxGJAhFVhbHwik0eeDjdqHzGwXngFkGLUERTpA4P2pyo-RQPjLEYDQ0uwKw1jT5DfchOWE_oCp83FDIPzLip/s2048/20210209_110258+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieIaFsBI-vfL92UcHAI4mCTuKooj4YTNMW8SJmgI-UnQIe_lw2vCuQc44mkxGJAhFVhbHwik0eeDjdqHzGwXngFkGLUERTpA4P2pyo-RQPjLEYDQ0uwKw1jT5DfchOWE_oCp83FDIPzLip/w187-h249/20210209_110258+%25281%2529.jpg" width="187" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JSQN-2_5AAVexrvSNqZRU5OVOboC8NttO2oN8A-IflAWmxhPQerZJQjiB7Cf5k2PbMAiqdBQQ3_huPEUgtVBZAAjSRqdBAwknfrZp69PysOy1QQX6TNgwS9wqjvkSNLE11r6q4BVp3Ha/s2048/20210203_104016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1989" data-original-width="2048" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JSQN-2_5AAVexrvSNqZRU5OVOboC8NttO2oN8A-IflAWmxhPQerZJQjiB7Cf5k2PbMAiqdBQQ3_huPEUgtVBZAAjSRqdBAwknfrZp69PysOy1QQX6TNgwS9wqjvkSNLE11r6q4BVp3Ha/w259-h252/20210203_104016.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-5862189050444738172021-02-03T11:52:00.004-08:002021-02-03T11:52:40.919-08:00Volcán Masaya<p>Masaya Volcano is Nicaragua's first and largest national park, founded in 1979. It continues to emit large amounts of sulphur dioxide gas from the crater. The last eruptions were as recent as 2008, 2003, and 2001. So it is sort of a scary thrill to stand beside the crater and wonder if anything is going to happen. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMhYXGdXfZlOBTPmdeB83KOFGk7tLleyE6anmWpGzZNJx8ZAwzZ1SowPkDMElkZEP-Xc5Lu_xYSFT4rxOZDzxSPQ6soyY5sPkw1Ov_YrC1Ggg6oDEIXm9GmG2h5Vmr0Z4oLPA-CPiIECy_/s2048/20210202_124306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMhYXGdXfZlOBTPmdeB83KOFGk7tLleyE6anmWpGzZNJx8ZAwzZ1SowPkDMElkZEP-Xc5Lu_xYSFT4rxOZDzxSPQ6soyY5sPkw1Ov_YrC1Ggg6oDEIXm9GmG2h5Vmr0Z4oLPA-CPiIECy_/w238-h317/20210202_124306.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgYa0nIHPA6ctJK4oRs5Eq8If4WEiLMt5KMAJAf5W4kkL_5E3P3B4ZXBKow524_uDq7ycROnEQ5mQe0CkJ0jQ16PbLB-jn5REuVfs9d1dCStkK3JQRIqoGx5AjBauxsjnySRNvXCi48STS/s2048/20210202_131833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgYa0nIHPA6ctJK4oRs5Eq8If4WEiLMt5KMAJAf5W4kkL_5E3P3B4ZXBKow524_uDq7ycROnEQ5mQe0CkJ0jQ16PbLB-jn5REuVfs9d1dCStkK3JQRIqoGx5AjBauxsjnySRNvXCi48STS/w239-h319/20210202_131833.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><p>We tried to visit last year but the park was closed because a tightrope walker, Nik Wallenda, was setting up his daredevil attraction to walk across the active volcano. Crazy! (he made it - but we did not get to watch)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyRoM3gSaVJ_qC0nyq0wwhi-GFsvjzZJckXHw9q4yxLTOL2EY_4V9RyShXqH2EXvaeoU-J1c0dX-ZCD80kEJg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><p>The view from the top is spectacular! You are almost 2000ft above sea level and can see Managua in the distance. There are no tourists due to the world pandemic with Covid and you can see that there is only one truck in the parking lot....mine. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz8JW5IP12DM4t0-nL-aruh68mbOEtWEdBjBcJrexPHl03gJpoegHpZSmcSOzPtbWyOKPiWpDg42I8mO-oZiA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-37485391249293455052021-01-27T20:53:00.003-08:002021-02-03T11:30:57.048-08:00Phase One Complete<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Phase one of the wall is complete. Three rows of tires, stacked, and filled with a dry concrete mix and rebar. Next up is a concrete slab on top on the tires...then another three rows of tires, another slab on top, and finally another three rows of tires. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJp9hWI7YN6h1jkaHBKpP5_bAaxE5NYbSgrqoHFIbC4HCydZV54V1dA-pd2MlbbWb-iio9aV9T4PcNSoszLXD53VxrVORVsnVgrydhYFLZlL7hjPK67gLYOPFs5BNz65A4PAbuDCzwQJPt/s2048/20210126_102923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJp9hWI7YN6h1jkaHBKpP5_bAaxE5NYbSgrqoHFIbC4HCydZV54V1dA-pd2MlbbWb-iio9aV9T4PcNSoszLXD53VxrVORVsnVgrydhYFLZlL7hjPK67gLYOPFs5BNz65A4PAbuDCzwQJPt/w300-h400/20210126_102923.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih9IElXsSGj7ZC_U30EnDmIJEtuv9N2aYN_Km4pjDBgdu8rLOojzQIKkHYGbo99jyeiqd9tYJE-bGSHM4Hun6Najg5gD57KIfpKn68zkL-YMBETMw5PoVxTwBPnPIeSKNNRWnWv3JoqFzK/s2048/20210127_083129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih9IElXsSGj7ZC_U30EnDmIJEtuv9N2aYN_Km4pjDBgdu8rLOojzQIKkHYGbo99jyeiqd9tYJE-bGSHM4Hun6Najg5gD57KIfpKn68zkL-YMBETMw5PoVxTwBPnPIeSKNNRWnWv3JoqFzK/w300-h400/20210127_083129.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSs856GpJyS0NNQ2MXyiORKzpOy-zZ1gfKjfGISjKuVUG-cJaIlOyjR_I-RukCL_5OIFvBvTYMboLGgkOQTSTCeilHHLrzPiaqnw3RRuYsI8c3RUYJsrA9f12apsFGZf-EebSV25RCk9yF/s2048/20210127_100515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSs856GpJyS0NNQ2MXyiORKzpOy-zZ1gfKjfGISjKuVUG-cJaIlOyjR_I-RukCL_5OIFvBvTYMboLGgkOQTSTCeilHHLrzPiaqnw3RRuYsI8c3RUYJsrA9f12apsFGZf-EebSV25RCk9yF/w400-h300/20210127_100515.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmr9ZrLIsINSF3oQ4wtzbcW0Ig9CXrKQR_UK8IX9Xw8MUt0VPeEMjr14ULultdMX1_WbBa7ragpSGN1LMz98UC1WgkMFBLUXHZDYUsgEdX0F4IMh5-9t9TKvbEwoL8PFyLkDLbdT2E-6gA/s2048/20210127_100518.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmr9ZrLIsINSF3oQ4wtzbcW0Ig9CXrKQR_UK8IX9Xw8MUt0VPeEMjr14ULultdMX1_WbBa7ragpSGN1LMz98UC1WgkMFBLUXHZDYUsgEdX0F4IMh5-9t9TKvbEwoL8PFyLkDLbdT2E-6gA/w400-h300/20210127_100518.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-44491573904693286592021-01-22T09:36:00.002-08:002021-01-22T09:36:30.041-08:00Backfill is Arriving<p>We now need to level out the area behind the tire wall. Essentially what you see as the water line will be filled with this rather course material. Once we get this pile of stone and dirt levelled out we will build a concrete slab on top of the tires - extending the slab into the property as a tieback and anchor so the wall will never 'tip' over. Of course, we then need more tires, then another slab, then sandbags, and more concrete. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwR9PDGl8Gdwvwyk01trZ4RI0dXCmDO9Adj37miWUpDG1TnUzTWCyMh1dDaQ90_80_KrwSqwe_5dCawF5aa1w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Robert Frost comes to mind.....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn6EKVkpKlVvqp4Hdkc2J6674li7lXDjDN1ADxrz6N6vj2xOYoSOnOaRcHPQ0xRoCeMhsB3h2RlQXDn_qQuFVoOmmirx4AGT2CBvaimZMOEfdA_nsHglxmVU2VJ4fg2vzobQo-IhuPkQw5/s4608/20210121_163541.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn6EKVkpKlVvqp4Hdkc2J6674li7lXDjDN1ADxrz6N6vj2xOYoSOnOaRcHPQ0xRoCeMhsB3h2RlQXDn_qQuFVoOmmirx4AGT2CBvaimZMOEfdA_nsHglxmVU2VJ4fg2vzobQo-IhuPkQw5/w400-h300/20210121_163541.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-61982814968449866952021-01-22T08:04:00.002-08:002021-01-22T08:04:57.857-08:00My New Friend 'Chompipe'<p>This beauty would not let me pass him by without putting on a full display. ...maybe it was because we both had the same sort of colouring... ?? We spent a good 10 minutes together before I was allowed to move on. Rather a strange encounter.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs_-T3WwE9-7Ad9H0gVF4Dd_qgTpD_MxKbqCpCh_MYB32axYxrwVAd1PwXSsow_prKaeo4kK2pGexOpyW7c2l9sT-8GMHj0G7ikzo0cVYwKxdw3JMZZLGZTwZjmLtLZC0T1uKwYDhMnDcE/s2048/20210113_105410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs_-T3WwE9-7Ad9H0gVF4Dd_qgTpD_MxKbqCpCh_MYB32axYxrwVAd1PwXSsow_prKaeo4kK2pGexOpyW7c2l9sT-8GMHj0G7ikzo0cVYwKxdw3JMZZLGZTwZjmLtLZC0T1uKwYDhMnDcE/w300-h400/20210113_105410.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAero9I96JOXBcaj6G7I2OOJ6LLqWSDUu8NafMzzCJrrbu20y-vbtRiXyxCBmqwhMQh9QvBbpMyfJAK5xefYpCWrrNDGFzz2K25tERRgwSz90vdBe3id2drVCf-_mBkMX8h00vlMK6fM3U/s2048/20210113_105529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAero9I96JOXBcaj6G7I2OOJ6LLqWSDUu8NafMzzCJrrbu20y-vbtRiXyxCBmqwhMQh9QvBbpMyfJAK5xefYpCWrrNDGFzz2K25tERRgwSz90vdBe3id2drVCf-_mBkMX8h00vlMK6fM3U/w300-h400/20210113_105529.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpps0HaZ_70ssywsPVjynjij5GGc8_f2t1gCKewA8zfRwFlhyphenhyphen_Bw-eUthHwEUukgpjnEyhhSGmxaIKGPU1yLFTbQ3ZVtP8wGMWdMbVzKcB5vyl5y-SfXoK5HY-OThXc7UGJ6Gcgm4qKsEx/s2048/20210113_105340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpps0HaZ_70ssywsPVjynjij5GGc8_f2t1gCKewA8zfRwFlhyphenhyphen_Bw-eUthHwEUukgpjnEyhhSGmxaIKGPU1yLFTbQ3ZVtP8wGMWdMbVzKcB5vyl5y-SfXoK5HY-OThXc7UGJ6Gcgm4qKsEx/w400-h300/20210113_105340.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-6458033398291811932021-01-20T07:25:00.001-08:002021-01-22T07:57:50.673-08:00Harvesting the Sugar Cane<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9X9nqIARa6fOtbk9eDb6aacBqizZ-05nOonEDgoFZzxHH9_devsG64JdB2ZAxVbFlq8vjaPprEdZjEZG8i99_pXMOiIoJ9w5rq4ZjOv4v3oxh6B267g6glYny8G_9qd4NWS-o5dpE9Akf/s2048/20210118_191112.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9X9nqIARa6fOtbk9eDb6aacBqizZ-05nOonEDgoFZzxHH9_devsG64JdB2ZAxVbFlq8vjaPprEdZjEZG8i99_pXMOiIoJ9w5rq4ZjOv4v3oxh6B267g6glYny8G_9qd4NWS-o5dpE9Akf/w308-h231/20210118_191112.jpg" width="308" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizUI5UG-1hqPpiRFBCgvdmY-fZpFqPmb0B6nbYCFo8LqaCutcZypvNyZA6cjohMPd-hPJ-mGUhRHXEQsC1P9QAx31OIz0zniOBeiCp_AWGLOt9v4IT7a9DQBIuUf_qM1ew_f3PERR-el2w/s2048/20210116_183140.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizUI5UG-1hqPpiRFBCgvdmY-fZpFqPmb0B6nbYCFo8LqaCutcZypvNyZA6cjohMPd-hPJ-mGUhRHXEQsC1P9QAx31OIz0zniOBeiCp_AWGLOt9v4IT7a9DQBIuUf_qM1ew_f3PERR-el2w/w169-h226/20210116_183140.jpg" width="169" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The first time I saw a night time fire I was very concerned and wondered if we should all run. Now I love to stand by and watch - it is as beautiful as the setting of the sun. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Before a harvest the workers burn the sugar cane field at night to flush out any animals and bugs and to burn off any leafy material. Then they harvest the remaining strong stock of the sugar cane. These stocks gets transported to a processing facility and eventually makes it to our tables as sugar. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKyfKS54Dq-FX5toIiyGAOp9Q1nt_feTiAwQxGPxcu2JwdY5cdMnNcX-FksDuSdiuUbG7iT3MNUmRxrvcXZ0QnM1UdvuDHI-34iRgsuEOXd79h_uzEfVv7HA3lJNgPygumQWVumu8y-G2/s2048/20210114_165512.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKyfKS54Dq-FX5toIiyGAOp9Q1nt_feTiAwQxGPxcu2JwdY5cdMnNcX-FksDuSdiuUbG7iT3MNUmRxrvcXZ0QnM1UdvuDHI-34iRgsuEOXd79h_uzEfVv7HA3lJNgPygumQWVumu8y-G2/w400-h300/20210114_165512.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08im5YK8Gyd5yELkt08-n528jCP5eDYqsJlCTLNWMzJHqJVsAdidjnTejl1Rgw5ksQmT60UeBur_LHvaxfcpMP2No29AiQpTgFi2tqBhdXx0QjPOG5MgZGnt03wndLWvaF0KNwxH9wY4E/s2048/20210114_165557.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08im5YK8Gyd5yELkt08-n528jCP5eDYqsJlCTLNWMzJHqJVsAdidjnTejl1Rgw5ksQmT60UeBur_LHvaxfcpMP2No29AiQpTgFi2tqBhdXx0QjPOG5MgZGnt03wndLWvaF0KNwxH9wY4E/w400-h300/20210114_165557.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /> <p></p>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-74357706149635867542021-01-20T07:04:00.002-08:002021-01-22T08:17:20.168-08:00The New Comfort Station<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The new bathroom for the cuidador is underway. A very simple construction starting with a concrete pad and building it out of concrete block. Bathroom, shower, and sink. Nelson and Lester are discussing the project. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqBa2NdzbeATl3ba7teptlCo1xP3XXG10kbyQWec3PRxGwH-zGVT7GORM2RrljbGsFhr-eW1vD1WSR5rylpOq0YK6n2YIzLGrJXBoVoBTM7OEMTSW47EHxzSqrq5rCD_Yag4BGm0CmpQ3H/s2048/20210114_170724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqBa2NdzbeATl3ba7teptlCo1xP3XXG10kbyQWec3PRxGwH-zGVT7GORM2RrljbGsFhr-eW1vD1WSR5rylpOq0YK6n2YIzLGrJXBoVoBTM7OEMTSW47EHxzSqrq5rCD_Yag4BGm0CmpQ3H/s320/20210114_170724.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFCaavbm7swaQCrYi_UPbiP_lYk0MuNOILb4BvZs3QaE1D-32JOO5opzDIlbr-V6tXwHBcUWcdAJMcyW52NiI8Td74yp-tsiHNCB50DbT7eojAm1TVq5MPEtqOitkLioFdhBSl-3OZNrr/s4608/20210118_105125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFCaavbm7swaQCrYi_UPbiP_lYk0MuNOILb4BvZs3QaE1D-32JOO5opzDIlbr-V6tXwHBcUWcdAJMcyW52NiI8Td74yp-tsiHNCB50DbT7eojAm1TVq5MPEtqOitkLioFdhBSl-3OZNrr/s320/20210118_105125.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyE-2BmFGwX_gsGwFMZDZtNzv5EAc0gz1gltAQIisI7T-SanixhSZwyP8nXv2h6lCSkEFeTT8T1ABMRWfl--g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /></div><br /> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-1350894097414131192021-01-15T08:57:00.003-08:002021-01-15T08:57:37.153-08:00Retired Tires<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzL9Zue-55hK25YOpD0CSJGA2IQ5lE3TiQCEX7Me4n7900f2Ht8zIj1QABPCDiFjb3OH4prLwIYqXV-Ez2WnJPe0A38M9xCz46c9rt-f3Fr47Pa9_pyd2vge7yzCw8M3L1mNaFnonXiAs8/s4608/20210114_105357.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzL9Zue-55hK25YOpD0CSJGA2IQ5lE3TiQCEX7Me4n7900f2Ht8zIj1QABPCDiFjb3OH4prLwIYqXV-Ez2WnJPe0A38M9xCz46c9rt-f3Fr47Pa9_pyd2vge7yzCw8M3L1mNaFnonXiAs8/s320/20210114_105357.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Having a project is so much fun. Seeing the progress is a thrill. We have started our break wall that will act as a deterrent to the river from washing away more of our land. I say deterrent because we really do not know what the future brings and if we will see more hurricanes and floods. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvStv6z_ha-JCnJ76W8Iuh71Pw7W5QHPFWC4wXdHZc5ewGCaFLZc5eMQRT0WOhoqzk_E7EHn6Tk2aCjnbX_AxTO2CMMyKki16_r-ELUf2c7oS83s-9jUWl61eAZIkfgC9tr9k5AkqrxxVh/s4608/20210114_103355.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvStv6z_ha-JCnJ76W8Iuh71Pw7W5QHPFWC4wXdHZc5ewGCaFLZc5eMQRT0WOhoqzk_E7EHn6Tk2aCjnbX_AxTO2CMMyKki16_r-ELUf2c7oS83s-9jUWl61eAZIkfgC9tr9k5AkqrxxVh/s320/20210114_103355.jpg" /></a>We are using old truck tires for the price of a $1 each. They act as the forms to fill with concrete and rebar and then the tires will remain in place. The tires can withstand the solar exposure, the salt water, and the overall water fluctuations between the very dry summers and the wet winters. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When the wall is high enough we will backfill with sand and soil. This will help support the house and avoid the rather dangerous 12' drop when you step out of the front door. It is truly impressive to watch these people work. They are often standing in knee deep water in their bare feet. </div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwW02N2Ye564dMHOwrX1MRRZbi9OG2MJBE7fkAqbxlIDHHUyMu0PaFQkuDIK1qLKp7jOz3qGXEQXFR2ZhsqWg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-68690411109997206142021-01-13T08:51:00.000-08:002021-01-13T08:51:13.677-08:00Turtle Release<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">I love turtle release days. It is a mini fiesta. Many people turn out and everyone is excited to see all the wee babies scuttle their way to the ocean..and disapear! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">They are so vulnerable and independent and I wish for their future success.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwgtNPEPE9wGt57Ng08aun6xHv9KHe4J6giaZ1YX1sXnCHhIQ2MMU-i31tzTekto7d-ogG1oV9WGB605XR32A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div> <br /><span style="text-align: left;">In the video see if you can find the one hermit crab amongst the turtles</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHPRJgf3V8FOuuVZzG04EnZZm5zLdRtwcDVaapXWviRh8nyBL9Tjpnav_vo_sCHOM3o9-gU3old27UHo8PGl6gup0s7Xflx1x1uM34AeLjbDGwHClQKAyA_qqBSUlUwnloXRy00NkA24O/s2048/20210112_183422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHPRJgf3V8FOuuVZzG04EnZZm5zLdRtwcDVaapXWviRh8nyBL9Tjpnav_vo_sCHOM3o9-gU3old27UHo8PGl6gup0s7Xflx1x1uM34AeLjbDGwHClQKAyA_qqBSUlUwnloXRy00NkA24O/s320/20210112_183422.jpg" width="320" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTp3-1292Nuq_CJqWr3XdxnD4zf0TtbIGxHg_Hlh8XwehLdfuBpjeFPt7jePWZktXlgkpitMauFKABxZoVD1W_JwDdKryATWAX3s7f_YxiZ6p4qbwzsll21ocgpOgAMLHGDZrpO4TaBZN/s1156/IMG-20210104-WA0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="1156" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTp3-1292Nuq_CJqWr3XdxnD4zf0TtbIGxHg_Hlh8XwehLdfuBpjeFPt7jePWZktXlgkpitMauFKABxZoVD1W_JwDdKryATWAX3s7f_YxiZ6p4qbwzsll21ocgpOgAMLHGDZrpO4TaBZN/w372-h168/IMG-20210104-WA0010.jpg" width="372" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmP8TG55t9RP-LW-Xm4a9TO0Azth_wc5jic0O7l1LCKeXdByIiToWlqqpdFfoEGeKUl-UEJux6crOePMm-RUpggUQxsjOdAtpezNS_j_UtTi7kUT3fLmN-hF0lyRuGmhCWJgdFCpE0wAHY/s2048/20210112_181711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmP8TG55t9RP-LW-Xm4a9TO0Azth_wc5jic0O7l1LCKeXdByIiToWlqqpdFfoEGeKUl-UEJux6crOePMm-RUpggUQxsjOdAtpezNS_j_UtTi7kUT3fLmN-hF0lyRuGmhCWJgdFCpE0wAHY/s320/20210112_181711.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-66394640288060486752021-01-12T17:09:00.001-08:002021-01-12T17:09:11.514-08:00Rather Large BirdLast night I was out gazing at the night sky, marvelling at its brightness and depth. While this is the same sky, same atmosphere, and same stars (mostly) that I can see in Canada, this is a sky that is in high definition stereo sound. I was totally immersed and therefore unnerved when someone cackled at me. A loud guttural heckle that suggested I was being watched. I froze. The sound came from the river. I reasoned that no human would be out there, but I still ran into the house and locked the doors.<div>This morning I waded through the river and walked about on the island. Check out what I found. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHtegA-XiknREIpjk4FV1vLvMGXxrFJ3s1NBCNuHHTUkdXmX_GsM9dXr9TjGQglSuXr_8wV5JEERzX6aU9OQPhlqZ-4onIxtIGyf9S_zmHutXfG1xhHxe6MEbTu_F34xXpXBiNIkh15dP/s320/20210109_180450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHtegA-XiknREIpjk4FV1vLvMGXxrFJ3s1NBCNuHHTUkdXmX_GsM9dXr9TjGQglSuXr_8wV5JEERzX6aU9OQPhlqZ-4onIxtIGyf9S_zmHutXfG1xhHxe6MEbTu_F34xXpXBiNIkh15dP/w400-h300/20210109_180450.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div></div>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-63275902129447308502021-01-09T08:52:00.003-08:002021-01-09T10:49:51.748-08:00Some pretty pictures<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Ut-tCnm-ngc61N4166vRYpFUTXI-0XuubbjNHfvykHROrQ9c2ER5qg6slHATmJbVK01RIKBOIxjwYJwwi0-GGaHGVRjX5zonE4NBYpCocaw2Rm-NjcB3qntQqi18bqjq27Ov9WFvH90Q/s2048/20210103_180059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Ut-tCnm-ngc61N4166vRYpFUTXI-0XuubbjNHfvykHROrQ9c2ER5qg6slHATmJbVK01RIKBOIxjwYJwwi0-GGaHGVRjX5zonE4NBYpCocaw2Rm-NjcB3qntQqi18bqjq27Ov9WFvH90Q/w400-h300/20210103_180059.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbNkTRkwGBRadeyqoTP9g0idZlPtmLY9alAvUtPNyjHbp2w52bMvSFd5fd1WcustC3CdxcTNBvIhNTJDHFVrPwDVnDfXxmsuXyM7WN-yb4uXC8EbR_oxL-9ytuVLTF5YK7t4ZvmK6WRdIi/s2048/20210105_164754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbNkTRkwGBRadeyqoTP9g0idZlPtmLY9alAvUtPNyjHbp2w52bMvSFd5fd1WcustC3CdxcTNBvIhNTJDHFVrPwDVnDfXxmsuXyM7WN-yb4uXC8EbR_oxL-9ytuVLTF5YK7t4ZvmK6WRdIi/w150-h200/20210105_164754.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwTzWYFebHeRAwqbt6rSXlIpfEkf6ucpT8KvH7qOmqEf5LmUD7IF4DYgrOPEjpDIVXz9-TswUblEcmh1ln7uUeMr76U7Y9GWK0QIyuHXHW3zJzmm-kZCXUpuKgiUEMAKiDVysKjXmwnAx/s2048/20210106_074618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwTzWYFebHeRAwqbt6rSXlIpfEkf6ucpT8KvH7qOmqEf5LmUD7IF4DYgrOPEjpDIVXz9-TswUblEcmh1ln7uUeMr76U7Y9GWK0QIyuHXHW3zJzmm-kZCXUpuKgiUEMAKiDVysKjXmwnAx/w200-h150/20210106_074618.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihzSmAh9D_djR2Xj1FiLlci_SUV0N7nvBaS4GOZDHxXiSZz95e0c8uhvMCKVXERncbmWSNVLIipjVgMMGiLxI3vL4f017AQwPBt7HaP7iwIIa-1cvAoJ6p8xhWbhqXlgi7SbZK0_8E6rJL/s2048/20210107_165955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihzSmAh9D_djR2Xj1FiLlci_SUV0N7nvBaS4GOZDHxXiSZz95e0c8uhvMCKVXERncbmWSNVLIipjVgMMGiLxI3vL4f017AQwPBt7HaP7iwIIa-1cvAoJ6p8xhWbhqXlgi7SbZK0_8E6rJL/w150-h200/20210107_165955.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4WQlSd3quO57b7QGXOBIFu1ugBr8RkoLcVViVahW1ddmXF10JMmS9nYRjPuTOuXzkh75SEO1MxiLXEqVSXWhSJPBpo9dS36dLT_1fi1KzrJa216k57iz6pzkXlpGY87QWu2JojRkfJR2/s2048/20210105_092532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4WQlSd3quO57b7QGXOBIFu1ugBr8RkoLcVViVahW1ddmXF10JMmS9nYRjPuTOuXzkh75SEO1MxiLXEqVSXWhSJPBpo9dS36dLT_1fi1KzrJa216k57iz6pzkXlpGY87QWu2JojRkfJR2/w400-h300/20210105_092532.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvRRHHXVozCk3ldgOc00RS9YcpDhOBp8pHsUF7lVg9WFTHq0hkzQDehNuKxNwBRkVk2oemN6xXN6drU53q4TpfNrNenwRYuFfa02AmkExBNdYZE2XEBcoDKOUxiw4b4Sf1uFCBWbFmRzp/s1599/IMG-20210105-WA0013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1599" data-original-width="899" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvRRHHXVozCk3ldgOc00RS9YcpDhOBp8pHsUF7lVg9WFTHq0hkzQDehNuKxNwBRkVk2oemN6xXN6drU53q4TpfNrNenwRYuFfa02AmkExBNdYZE2XEBcoDKOUxiw4b4Sf1uFCBWbFmRzp/w360-h640/IMG-20210105-WA0013.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-47860608630590793532021-01-07T09:21:00.005-08:002021-01-09T10:29:52.376-08:00Draining el Rio Mira Flores<p>Well, nothing is ever easy. The torrential rain washed the land away, the river is underneath the house, and we want to build a wall - where all the water is. Normally, at this time of year, the river begins to block itself off from the free flow of water into the ocean, so the river is no longer draining.</p><p>Option #1 - Force the river to drain.</p><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RIA74iFhOMkTSu-oSTEl86wvKafwchSyJ-eTSpORNqFG7tqZwcQTjRKfbufc8-UjEqEGsTWesXXaR7t8GdlPJg8CJQwSBrafB-354i8l4wpuqUVwqtGdmEZHz4VCYYfaqs153JVSBYiy/s2048/20210107_113933a.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RIA74iFhOMkTSu-oSTEl86wvKafwchSyJ-eTSpORNqFG7tqZwcQTjRKfbufc8-UjEqEGsTWesXXaR7t8GdlPJg8CJQwSBrafB-354i8l4wpuqUVwqtGdmEZHz4VCYYfaqs153JVSBYiy/w400-h300/20210107_113933a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Normally this works quite well.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSsTppOFSE0l1AT8PwQxa6Mz8SskJQQ0jUjbSYkJ2phyphenhyphen2NNVLgzL0f26MIQNwOz-j20XnlosCkLrwCZScuqGwTsEMTpF6efTbN20N35T_SPpPIZqa8lCwOeUDWFVQXxmKY7KCTFsox616T/s2048/20210107_175659a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSsTppOFSE0l1AT8PwQxa6Mz8SskJQQ0jUjbSYkJ2phyphenhyphen2NNVLgzL0f26MIQNwOz-j20XnlosCkLrwCZScuqGwTsEMTpF6efTbN20N35T_SPpPIZqa8lCwOeUDWFVQXxmKY7KCTFsox616T/w400-h300/20210107_175659a.jpg" title="All we were able to do was get a wee trickle of water to escape." width="400" /></a></div>But because the water is not exceptionally high at this point we were met with little success. We could only get a trickle of water to escape before the tides reverse and all the hard work was washed away.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPqn_RDVfdNZD7415rPoxxkusRZ1SNRqb4dSCEktqY9gpZgzguktY3I5sXW9oxDqGgZWqTTB8XlY8tk01CUOYr8i2bazvZaVE7u3n-fFMHuVDV8RSjhcBH45YcXnp3RfgAD33V9O7QbuMe/s2048/20210109_094349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPqn_RDVfdNZD7415rPoxxkusRZ1SNRqb4dSCEktqY9gpZgzguktY3I5sXW9oxDqGgZWqTTB8XlY8tk01CUOYr8i2bazvZaVE7u3n-fFMHuVDV8RSjhcBH45YcXnp3RfgAD33V9O7QbuMe/w400-h300/20210109_094349.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div>Option #2 - build a sandbag a wall around our work area.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-26080363915130068932021-01-06T07:11:00.004-08:002021-07-29T09:57:50.361-07:00and Construction Begins...otra vez<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Once again we are in the construction phase. "Does this ever end?" I ask? </div><div style="text-align: left;">"I think not" comes the answer from nature.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-5RGUoik25a59AOccLAahqDVsF1AXN_n_JOsZ3QfzIvWscPi9pc8qbkAe54Au-XxH-NTdMz6Oy977nxXAUiG2hILlGEp-b-uY1Vm9bs8ZwsYl7hoO8I6-pkXzvJp_sAN5snf_3i6nBNw/s1040/IMG-20210101-WA0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="1040" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-5RGUoik25a59AOccLAahqDVsF1AXN_n_JOsZ3QfzIvWscPi9pc8qbkAe54Au-XxH-NTdMz6Oy977nxXAUiG2hILlGEp-b-uY1Vm9bs8ZwsYl7hoO8I6-pkXzvJp_sAN5snf_3i6nBNw/w400-h225/IMG-20210101-WA0002.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Old tires....check... a full truckload</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3xT34WalxLDBnf8WG57DhbVTsxXvggNZ-44HusiDhF2IFhyCAsE-J4U5pJYUXOrGLUs52yhb65jFzURhqiBqeGS61x1-6yAFoN88FlYmLoOssxHU04kWXPxtMXy9vzG4i3XTQSSawpwL/s2048/20210105_130208_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3xT34WalxLDBnf8WG57DhbVTsxXvggNZ-44HusiDhF2IFhyCAsE-J4U5pJYUXOrGLUs52yhb65jFzURhqiBqeGS61x1-6yAFoN88FlYmLoOssxHU04kWXPxtMXy9vzG4i3XTQSSawpwL/w416-h312/20210105_130208_001.jpg" width="416" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bags of cement....check...a full truckload</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh21Rq8IdlYy8oEMxdIVxCaqoCdWoZTeWPcZHBHwIe_7MB6kK_1Po3BirOeKJTCel-C1leOfIYTF2MWqEv-t-ZvcPNj49DNe11MC8OndZK-A7CuuC2Xe_zGaHS58_b0-0RNHTm_kLVS-SP8/s2048/20210105_163910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh21Rq8IdlYy8oEMxdIVxCaqoCdWoZTeWPcZHBHwIe_7MB6kK_1Po3BirOeKJTCel-C1leOfIYTF2MWqEv-t-ZvcPNj49DNe11MC8OndZK-A7CuuC2Xe_zGaHS58_b0-0RNHTm_kLVS-SP8/w400-h300/20210105_163910.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Septic tank....check...brought by our admired Toyota </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(As I have yet to drive it, it lacks a proper name)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ed18_ynDCbx9Ny54ckqx6e-OhYQ7hrNuylWJ_YxlMakcDT2DsKcIgeC6Mzyec6R6SgrRUBsf764or7b82blmqZO_K2KmDDi3ZlT8fKhDIS0QoCh6qYxV0Em-Xtj8HPlRTadT0RcVyrfu/s2048/20210105_163559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Ed18_ynDCbx9Ny54ckqx6e-OhYQ7hrNuylWJ_YxlMakcDT2DsKcIgeC6Mzyec6R6SgrRUBsf764or7b82blmqZO_K2KmDDi3ZlT8fKhDIS0QoCh6qYxV0Em-Xtj8HPlRTadT0RcVyrfu/w400-h300/20210105_163559.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Concrete block...check... just enough to set the septic straight</div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br />the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-65316196608479044362021-01-05T18:27:00.007-08:002021-07-29T09:59:57.386-07:00the silver lining<p>ok. the only way to view catastrophic events and the wave of nausea that comes with seeing it with your own eyes is to look for the silver lining. We now have a fantastic view of the ocean! and we are the proud new owners of many small islands.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwtaguFwY9Fr3HnWsL9gQk_kjuRmfTvyrm_OSP3Ce34k5mCOfhEQvgfYXlbOJG2AJUoJV-Ojb7N8nKoVHxrfw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><br /><p></p>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6928847987949943705.post-30947272662198648132021-01-02T16:22:00.004-08:002021-07-29T09:54:30.022-07:00Feliz Año Nuevo - 2021Here is to a new year, and to new beginnings. Due to Covid restrictions, I boarded an Air Canada flight today bound for Costa Rica and NOT Nicaragua. Needing a negative Covid test within 3 days of entering the Nicaraguan border proved to be difficult to secure in a timely fashion in Canada. But all was possible in Costa Rica. I made my way to a private hospital for a Covid test, and then had to wait for the results. I spent it uneventfully in a hotel during the nights and this lovely park during the day. <div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8DnqXoGDfyNjq1mJPLw_OFnppNkzOlN6ReAw-K2zNHmFH-kZOPOYm4VOBqykitE2JdpDzfrbUs7t59dFNbX_Eu3s4Bztej1pqA-amJ-BbAlF3yjJDU-K6u6NJOOMnQZWO5obPJtI7eO7/s4608/20210102_180650.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8DnqXoGDfyNjq1mJPLw_OFnppNkzOlN6ReAw-K2zNHmFH-kZOPOYm4VOBqykitE2JdpDzfrbUs7t59dFNbX_Eu3s4Bztej1pqA-amJ-BbAlF3yjJDU-K6u6NJOOMnQZWO5obPJtI7eO7/s320/20210102_180650.jpg" width="320" /></a>That was my green bench of choice while I studied and practised my spanish with the locals. </div><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>YAY! I received my negative test result, found a taxi, and drove to the border. I am always amazed at what differences there are in the world. As part of the process I had to stop at this small house to buy my entrance fee and show my documentations. Then I was able to walk across. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RfF_9BZm6qi2lnHVvBtp6qUZwpWa3pcDLO7Qlc-CpbBfJIS54-IzJivZStJ47z_vYavdjZgjROw_y4LDojB8dximNFBltG3Gk_JziWVhzkzDz58FA1yS70EQ4O1ipHpLfHsq2_IGw8mp/s2048/20210103_132817.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1537" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2RfF_9BZm6qi2lnHVvBtp6qUZwpWa3pcDLO7Qlc-CpbBfJIS54-IzJivZStJ47z_vYavdjZgjROw_y4LDojB8dximNFBltG3Gk_JziWVhzkzDz58FA1yS70EQ4O1ipHpLfHsq2_IGw8mp/w400-h300/20210103_132817.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_68SslEF-prDBochMYlCn9OqYWTRblua8tKxk7OrwI3Neqt6SNlit3l_SDOBWEXlGeT8mZ1BQXdHRxqfYr5DjysjnisypqVpGdIMGYaXZlOPEh2LwmxK7mp5fdSpT8YxNO6iwE6gyfIQi/s2048/20210103_133846.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1537" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_68SslEF-prDBochMYlCn9OqYWTRblua8tKxk7OrwI3Neqt6SNlit3l_SDOBWEXlGeT8mZ1BQXdHRxqfYr5DjysjnisypqVpGdIMGYaXZlOPEh2LwmxK7mp5fdSpT8YxNO6iwE6gyfIQi/s320/20210103_133846.jpg" width="320" /></a>I was greeted on the 'other side' by this check point. I was not sure I was even in Nicaragua yet as this was the fourth documentation stop I made along the road while pulling my luggage. </div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">It all became apparent when I viewed this white-washed building. Upon entry I went through the normal routine of an eye scan, luggage scan, and more fees to entry the country. (apparently, the small house stop was simply the fee to walk the road) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibdir09G6LRFhWUuMcuMYJ71CpuUulbW2P8tgWk6qmpL5tBoD91YmtzaSboIe6r1XQ-Aq3TWmOKizxo8y0uaJlhHT358IEDqvY55KnwYQfTDRJE6bJ4yvr7o9eSHr6oO6xjjGSUAkj4tzr/s2048/20210103_134414.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibdir09G6LRFhWUuMcuMYJ71CpuUulbW2P8tgWk6qmpL5tBoD91YmtzaSboIe6r1XQ-Aq3TWmOKizxo8y0uaJlhHT358IEDqvY55KnwYQfTDRJE6bJ4yvr7o9eSHr6oO6xjjGSUAkj4tzr/w400-h300/20210103_134414.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I MADE IT TO NICARAGUA!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><br /><br /></div></div>the Shifflett's and one Betzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05650582493292024264noreply@blogger.com0