A&S Tropical Cottage

The sifter was done yesterday and today we put it to work. Sifting out the rocks and other debris. The dirt (caliche) is being used to fill around the pool. Sharon and Debi supervising.

Rick took the pictures

The dirt/rock sifter is done and already put to use. Maclean did a great job. I unfortunately gave him a height about 6" too much for loading from the back, so now I need a ramp to move the front of the tractor up.

Sharon has here new raised beds set, at least for now. Once we put the dirt in we noticed that the plastic beds have a hard time handling the weight. So we will keep these and do a plan B 🤣🤣🤣

Turns out that once upon a time that area had an asphalt cap over it. So now I have to pull it up and dispose of it. It is really crumbly so I hope what is left behind won't hurt the plants.

Rough planning: Need to leave room behind them so I can mow. In front will be planted something else. We have so much room that it is hard to figure what to plant.

Well, the front corner is getting closer
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliche

Received our 200 pounds of aged goat poop today 🤣🤣 one bag went into the compost and 2 of them will be spread among my Mango, Banana and other fruits and bamboo
Since it has been properly seasoned/composted it doesn't have a smell

The start of another crop of bamboo. 18 starts

I have to say I really enjoy my Kioti CS2210 tractor, it's almost like being a kid again 🤣 Remember when you had all those toys and you moved dirt all day long, well I don't do it as long but it's still fun 🤣

Working on digging and cleaning up the area just inside the gate. Lots of stumps and invasive species growing in there. So I'm digging down a couple of feet to get rid of roots. I'll mix the dirt with some organic and perlite. I might add some goat manure as I don't have any compost ready

3 of the 4 compost bins done, tomorrow I'll put some of the piles we have around in them. Also cleaned up the flamboyant.

Another successful day, we got the Frangipanis planted. I am so happy with my tractor 😁 I can't believe how many rocks we pull put of the ground here

Had a bit of good news and learned a lesson today.

A banana plant that we had thought died has been resurrected.

The lesson is I should have heavy equipment on the lawn during the rainy season 🤣🤣🤣

I have at least another half a container, but will wait until the dry season I think

Thank you

Well it was 4 years, also it if I didn't have to move them they would have been fine for another 4 years 😁

A little tractor video and update,

I hope your beds last longer then ours, they only lasted 3 years and the bottom edges rusted out :(

We had a pretty busy day, yesterday after filling the truck with brush and realizing how many trips it would take, we decided to get a 20yd dumpster.

Spent the day filling it. Got rid of all the palm fronds and other veggies as well as many piles.

Unless something radical happens, TS Jerry should slide past us to the North with winds in the 20s and rain 2-3 inches.

Life living in paradise 🤣

The South side of the entrance is pretty much done I need to chip more) with a buddha belly bamboo and a gold Bougainvillea.

Last nights sky

I finally got rid of another stone pile that has been there since before we moved in.

The new bamboos (from Ferdie's Landscaping) are doing well as is the real Frangipani. I also got the Soursop planted in the back.

Today is the first Saturday of the month and so it is the plant sale at the St George Botanical St. George Village Botanical Garden.
So we have picked up some new residents at the homestead. 2 Gold Bougainvillea and a Barbados Cherry bush (also known as acerola cherry)

Busy day with the tractor:
Finished rough mowing
Got rid of a bunch of Bismark Palm fronds
Rehomed a the big pile of rocks that was by the west pile, will start on the piles of dirt as soon as they dry a bit

When you live on a tropical island RYOBI TOOLS USA doesn't honor their warranty
This POS died, they said I could ship it to PR on my dime to get it fixed. It was too heavy for me, until I got the tractor 🤣🤣🤣

Off to the dump

Tractor is here and already started the mowing. This thing is going to have a learning curve to it. I have to figure out how to get close to some of the obstacles 🤣🌴🌴🌴

What the lawn looks like 🤣🤣🌴🌴🌴

Awesome day folks. The tractor is on island and now I need to get it delivered 😁

Delivery was $1100
Customs was $2500
Yippie

Happy birthday from the islands

😂