A coffee break........

Its that time of year, the time when it is dry and hot, and the hills are spotted with fires that burn for days; the time when the Condominium Stucky runs low on water, and what we do have is rationed; and the time of year when the parrots come for their semi annual visit, living in our attic, in the very small space between root tiles and the wooden ceilings of the house. 

All week the our house guests have been chewing and scraping, and screeching at one another, then finding their way back out of the house and raiding our bird feeders, running off the smaller birds, gobbling up the the sunflower seed and cleaning the papaya scraps of the final bits of sweet meat.  Screeching and flapping, they fly to a nearby tree and looking back over their shoulders at us  with looks of disdain, beginning grooming each other and discussing the coming days over their morning coffee.

NOTE:  On the 15th Camillo and I leave for our fall vacation.  This time in the USA – driving from DC to New York State, up the Hudson valley and then over to Michigan for a week with my mother.  Then I will go on to Houston for a month with the kids and grandkids..... click those photos of the parrots, I swear the are looking back at me taking their photos.

Friday Ocober 12, 2007 in Friburgo

the forest, dry season and fires

Camillo and I returned to Friburgo this weekend after 7 weeks of social commitments in Rio, special assignments for the class at PUC, and travel to Spain. We found it so dry here. The aggressive greens of the forest have turned to droopy browns. The underbrush is deep brown and very crispy looking. Last February we had so much rain that the resulting mud slides left the surrounding hill sides scared and bare. It was common to have boulders just break loose from the wet soil and roll down onto the roads. Now it seems that the dryness is causing the same type of slides.

We keep a 3 meter firebreak cleared around our property's perimeter but we have had in other, less dry years, fire right up to the edge and this year is much more dangerous. Lucia (the maid and source of local gossip) says we haven't had rain (measurable amounts) in six months. As you can see in the photos, the hillsides are now scared with burned sections of forest. This bit of fire burned all day yesterday, not moving quickly but definitely out of control (unsupervised as no one lives there). You could tell that the smoke had crept over the top - a result of smoke and flame the day before on the other side.

Incredibly yesterday afternoon someone was burning (from long habit and lack of smarts) trash on the road just below us. Any amount of wind would have swept it right out of control. To top this all off perfectly, Lucia also said the the locals who tap into the surface water, don't drill wells or have city services, do not have water at all in their homes - bottom line - there is no fire prevention or fire fighting capability in place. Pray for rain. GingerV