Aloe Everybody!

As usual I've stayed busy doing odd jobs around here, and at neighbors houses.  The engineering firm said they would have the cistern plans finalized by Monday and in the mail to me.  Hopefully by Wednesday I'll be able to submit all the plans and documentation.

I harvested some Aloe Vera plants from a neighbors house a few days ago.  They were decent size averaging about 3.5" across with varying lengths.

Here's about half way through the pile.

When done I put gel in the Vitamix on low speed and ended up with a gallon of clear Aloe gel.  Many uses and easy to get, and grow on the island.  I transplanted a few to pots and to planters at the house where we're staying.  I'll transplant again once we have our property excavated.  I have 2 gallon pots from Home Depot and moved some basil and rosemary to the larger pots.  I also planted some Christmas palm seeds in pots and in the planters in the traditional 3 plant arrangement, and also a few on their own.  I'd like to get a few avocado plants in the ground soon.

Our 20' container arrived and was delivered to us June 28th.  Overall it looks good with only a minor dent in the back end, and no graffiti from the trip.  I was glad to see upon opening it that things appeared to stay where I put them.  Not that they had much room to move considering how tight it was packed, but nothing appears to be crushed or damaged from the rail or boat trip. 

Denise was happy to have access to the clothes we packed at the end of the container, and I was happy to have our tools and other items we put at the end.

Last week Denise and I went back to the Farm Pod to check the status on what we helped plant June 11th, and also to plant a few more rows with Mike & Beecher. 

Everything in the pod is doing great and the smell is wonderful when you first walk in.

The left picture is from June 11th when we planted the starts into the vertical trays.  The picture on the right is the growth on June 27th.

Here's the row of strawberries from June 11th (Left) & June 27th (right).  There are many berries forming on each tray and should be ready in a week or two.  The mint back by the door is also doing great and adds and extra kick to the smells of the pod.  (I spy Denise in one of these pictures!)

Amazing sunsets are usually a nightly event.  Every day provides a new view as clouds and colors come and go.  Today we had rain over the sea with some brief showers over land too.  We had a couple days were you could see Puerto Rico, which you can somewhat see in the picture below, between the sun reflection and the rain on the left.  It's 8 PM as I write this and already pretty cool at 79 degrees.  Hopefully it doesn't cool down much more or I'll have to close a door or two!  The absence of cold in my world is wonderful!

That's all for now.  

Kevin & Denise