December 5, 2012

The year has flown by will probably get one more posting in after this one. We have been in the house now since the end of April but it seems longer. 

Today we start with the X Spot photo where we see the edges of the compost bin and the first of two more raised vegetable beds made of concrete block this time.

Here is another view showing completed compost bin and the first of the two additional raised beds that are the same width but twice as long as the first five beds these will be painted green.

Around to the right from the above photo are more cement blocks waiting to become another raised bed and a foundation for the greenhouse which will be to the left in the photo above.

Meanwhile Ane and I have planted vegetables in the first five raised beds,

we will soon have kale, beets, turnips, celery, leeks, carrots, onions, peas and beans, the first five vegetables have all broken ground.

and in the orchard our first lemon ripens on the tree!

And in the back yard the well covers are in and the planters planted, you can see the finished pan horno (bread oven) in the background. We have made pizza twice now with it!!

We decided that the balcony wall had to be a little higher for privacy reasons so another course of blocks are being added. Here is a view from inside of the work in progress.

and here a view from the outside looking up. Sorry its a little underexposed.

Out front the flowers are happy.

And nine street lamps have been installed.

Here is a shot I took this morning in the dawn twilight.

Out at the entrance the entrance gate (motorized for auto entrance) is now installed. 

    Next week we will have two rows of cobblestones laid for the street and they will start the curbs and sidewalks. check back in two weeks for updates.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

November 13, 2012

Well finally sitting down to post again, seems like it just takes 2 weeks to get it done. So here is the X spot photo:

 and going to the right around the house we have photos of the Bread oven (pan orno) under construction on the corner of the house just outside the kitchen/ dining room.

 another view showing the darker mortar in the oven portion. This is made with raw sugar (like molasses dried out) and then mixed with water and sand to bind the bricks. This is an old method of construction and 90% or so of the buildings in old town Quito are made with this system and they are 100's of years old.

Since it has taken me a while to update the blog here is a shot of the outside coating going on today after waiting for the sugar mortar to cure for a week.

We also added another fragrance to our environment in the form of three new potted Jasmine plants on our patio. 

We had a heavy rain about a month back and the whole back yard flooded and drained over towards the back corner of the orchard. We have installed a concrete tube under the perimeter wall with rock up to the surface, hoping that this will solve the problem. Here is a shot of the opening.

We are in process of building 5 raised beds for root vegetables at the back of the orchard area. Here's a shot of them we still have to line them up, the guys should be back this afternoon to do that then we fill up with dirt and plant!!

Around the the left front of the house, we finally got rid of the dirt piles (the dirt is now spread out in the back and seeded with grass; we pray for small amounts of rain each night to get it to grow. You can see where we have landscaped to the side of the drive and planted three new trees and part of the lavender that will be in between them to form a border to the property.

Here is a closeup of that area

and a shot from the upstairs balcony shows the workers putting the finishing touches on the perimeter wall, it is now complete!!! you may have to double click the photo to enlarge it to really see it.

 the foundation for the gate has been poured and should be installed this week...so that's it for today.

October 28, 2012

Well this week was very busy outside first we have the X Spot Photo showing some of the construction materials waiting to be used and also the bamboo planting  has been completed here and on the other wire fence that encloses the orchard.

All inside perimeter walls are now planted with red bougainvillea and honeysuckle which we hope will cover the walls entirely, eventually.

The back yard is taking shape as the gardeners smoothed out the dirt piles and prepared the soil with organic fertilizer making it ready for grass seed. They also mowed the existing grass for the first time.

And around the corner the Magnolia is happily blooming!!

As I mentioned the bamboo is all planted here is the back corner fence area that closed off the orchard.

In the orchard we have placed stakes around the apricots and next to the other trees to try and protect them from the rambunctious play of the dogs.

Out front Ane was watering the grass and flowers as we have been dry now for about a week.

To the right of the previous photo we see the turnaround at the end of the street has been graded.

And as we turn around we see the rest of the street has been graded and is now ready for the cobble stone pavers and sidewalks which will be installed soon.

We took the boys for a walk down to the entrance and the front wall is now half done and should be completed on the other side next week.

And here the boys are playing by the wall, 

See ya next time...

October 20, 2012

Well less than 3 weeks this time, today the Boys are 6 months old and we took them out to see their brothers and Mom and also we weighed all four brothers.

Odin and Manny both came in at 69 lbs. and Tony and Tor both weigh 73 lbs.

Here is Sean weighing Manny (I think) while Tor in red collar looks on.

Around the house we have been busy....Went to Nayon a little town on edge of Quito Wed and picked up trees and shrubs, here are a bunch of plants on the front lawn waiting to be planted next week.

In the back over in the corner we now have three young bottle brush trees soon to catch the eye of many a humming bird.

and outside the yoga room window we planted the real "find" our new magnolia!!

Meanwhile on Monday we started three new walkways, first out to the Dog House this will cut down on a lot of mud and dirt into the house.

Around to the right we have the walk going past the future bread oven area, out the gate and past the wood and storage sheds.

Over in the Orchard the path is done and will allow us to meander thru the trees and pick their fruit quite easily.

We also installed wire fencing at both interior gates closing off the area behind the garage and the orchard from the main back yard. the orchard fence awaits its bamboo wall to shield it.

As the perimeter walls near completion the front entrance awaits its motorized gate with a flimsy barbed wire horse and cow barrier.

The front walls are going up next week and will curve away from the interior side of the gate and over to the side walls. here we see the footing for the wall on the eastern side of the entrance looking mostly east from the inside of the gate.

More next time.

October 3, 2012 (about three weeks since last post)

Well the traditional X Spot photo shows the bamboo before final planting

and here is a shot after yesterdays planting, still need 2 or two more to finish the bamboo wall but progress is being made.

also from the X spot shooting across the newly painted yard walls

Around to the left front corner of the house we see the two piles of Paramo dirt waiting to go into the interior yard around the perimeter wall and overview of the new walls.

Inside across the back they are putting the finishing touch on the cement cap for the wall and have gotten the base protection panel finished. Just need a resin sealer and the work is done on the inside of the perimeter wall!!

We had to sink another well to try and get enough water to grow the garden and lawn. The new well does the job at 11 meters deep, we have an abundant flow (never stops coming out of the hose). We are hoping the silt will clear up after a couple of months of usage and we can use it for the house too.

The orchard now has 4 new additions of our from the "pit sprouted" apricot trees, here is one, happy in its new home.

And the rest of the orchard now sheltered inside the new yard wall.

The avocado lost all its leaves only to come back looking fresh and vibrant. I was worried we were going to loose it.

And here is an update on our 5 month 2 week old boys giving Ane their full attention.

Stay happy;)