Red Butterfly

While mowing this morning I noticed quite a few smaller butterflies fluttering around the area, so ran back to Casa 13 (yes, I know this does´t bode well for one with triskadeckaphobia) and retrieved my camera and began a picture list for the blog and for Carol E. to identify. If we get the common or scientific name I will put them in the Labels area. I´ll put most of them in the side panel photos. We must finally be entering the dry season which reportedly goes to November. Any flowers will need to be watered routinely until then.

Downtown Montes Claros

Sara and I went shopping on Saturday morn without the kids. The downtown shopping area features fairly narrow one way streets and sometimes crowded sidewalks so doing any serious moving from store to store would have been difficult with munchkins. Our main goals were to find Superman related items to decorate for Lucas´s first birthday, find good leather gloves for me, find lace curtains for Sara´s kitchen, find single edge razor blades to remove paint splatters from tiles and windows, and other related items. We did good on the birthday. The rest still need to be resolved.

Downtown Montes is much less hectic and much cleaner than Belo or Nova Vista (small village closest to Sara in Belo). This picture was taken when no traffic was coming and I could get part way into the street. There are a few 10-12 story buildings but most are 4 stories or less. The same proliferation of small shops was present in Montes, also.

We were downtown about 3 hours and went into at least 15 shops looking for what we wanted. They had leather gloves, but they were very heavy and not flexible. I want them for pulling weeds that have sandburs mixed in with other greenery. Not a very pleasant task with cotton gloves. It only took one good grab before I found a pair of rubber gloves, but they are TOO hot.

Super Grandkids Have to Have Playtime, too.

I think the pan makes the statement about the noises that were happening!!

Week Day Trip To The Creche

On weekdays, the creche (day care facility) is open from 8 - 12 for the children of the complex. Sara uses it whenever it is open while some of the parents use it sporadically. In this photo she is pushing the carhinho (stroller) with Lucas and directly in front is Max on the motorcycle. She is on the level area just north of the married couples apartments and will soon turn left up the hill to the creche. The building in front is where the single female staff live. Up behind the building is the fenced soccer area. The surrounding greenery is typical of the area. I do have a picture somewhere of the farming area to the right which features a well layed out vegetable garden which is watered by pumping (diesel engine) from the river thru a series of sprayer nozzles like we use at the lake.

AVOCADOS GROW ON TREES

My first official duty as a worker was to help Rosanne (from Bahia - lived on the beach her whole life) pick fruits from the trees that are on the complex. I had a fruit picking pole with the wire basket at the top and filled a large container quite quickly with the `large grapefruit sized - pear shaped`fruits. Rosanne was trying to find ripe caja (a lemon sized fruit that grows on several trees around the houses. They are supposed to be yellow colored, but most of them are still green. When they fall to the ground, they often split and then ferment. You guessed it!! The little gnats and flies are thick around them. Not necessarily the best tree to be near houses. They do offer good shade as does the avocado tree.

SUPER HOMEN -- Supermen!!

The superman pajamas are really a big hit with the kids. They are so popular that the theme of Lucas´s first birthday will be Superman. There are party stores that carry theme items and Superman is quite popular.

BOYS MUST THROW ROCKS INTO WATER

Just outside the main gate at the WTC Complex is an irrigation ditch which the kids call the RIVER. The water runs through a culvert under the road. It is the farthest point from their house when they walk. There are lots of rocks which will eventually end up in the river as the boys have to pick them up and throw them into the water to see the splash! Reminds me of Sam who threws rocks into the lake by our dock ramp, many years ago. Have a great graduation, Sam. I won´t be there to see you, SORRY. The irrigation ditch runs thru the property and forms a divide for the living/playing/school area versus the farming space. The students used to do the farming as a way to learn good work habits and provide edibles for the kitchen, but they have recently leased out the property to area farmers to allow for more concentration on academics. It was also difficult to monitor and train students who had never had any farming experience. Now the work portion of the program is to maintain the grounds and clean the facilities on Friday afternoons from 2 - 6.

Oooppss. Just previewed the blog and this picture does not have enough light on the people. Hope your imagination can fill in the action! The narrow dirt roadway that runs by WTC is lit nicely.