We have ended work on our well at 16 meters. There is about a seven meter reserve of water so the likelihood of running short is minimal. Work was stopped a few weeks ago. We are finally getting used to not having Selverio and Luis around. 

The week we stopped work coincided with "San Maritana" (hope the spelling is correct), the celebration of having water. Our friend Beto explained that the custom began back when villagers shared a common well. Every year the villagers celebrated or gave thanks for having water. The tradition has carried on and is still celebrated today. We celebrated by putting flowers around our well.

We also visited a Capilla (small chapel) in Tlacolula where water, flavored with fruits, was given out. For those in a hurry a kind of drive by service was offered. Cars could stop and have drinks brought to their vehicle. 

A few friends came by our well to celebrate finding water. Dolores blessed the well while burning incense. Gifts of mezcal, beer, and cigarettes, were made (the three food groups). 

It seems like Mexicans are always celebrating something. In retrospect I think that has always been one of the things that drew me here. It's real healthy to constantly be around folks that are celebrating life and giving thanks for what they have. It's such a contrast from being around many Americans who have so much yet are so dissatisfied with what they have. I have found myself being a little curt with family and friends. Their complaints seem so menial. I see things everyday that remind me of how fortunate I am. 

We had a backhoe come in and open up an area from the house directly to the well for convienence and security. 

The well is so far from the house that I had to have a pretty secure top put on to protect the pump. The fellow that made it was pretty clever. There is a lock on top that allows the little door to be opened. Inside is another lock. It would take a lot of effort to get the top opened. And a lot of noise.

This photo is taken from in front of the well looking up towards the house.

This trench holds the water and power hoses. Pretty quickly now the hoses will be completely covered with sand to protect the hoses then filled back with dirt.

The distance from well to house ended up being about five hundred feet or about one and a half football fields. The water has to be pumped up from the bottom of the well about 50 feet, then travel up hill the 500 feet. And finally up the wall about fifteen feet and into the house. We brought down a submersible pump and while it doesn't fill the tinaco real quick (about nineteen minutes) it's great to just flip a breaker from inside the house. Getting the well and pump working was really the last major project. We now have all the comforts. Mickey bought me a wood heater that i'll install before cold weather hits again. 

Our neighbor owns a German Shepard. About three weeks ago she attacked our little Scooter. We ended up having to have one of his eyes removed. He still bumps into things on his blind side but has recovered remarkably well. The vet who removed the eye in Tlacolula told us about a vet in el Tule that had a young Labrador that she wanted to find a good home for. We traveled to el Tule, about a thirty minute drive from our home, and instantly fell in love when we saw her. She's a white Lab about one and a half years old. Beth named her Lily. She's been with us for two weeks now and is fitting in wonderfully. There is lots of room for her here and lots of new smells. 

With work basically done inside the house we have turned our attention outside. We now have a YARD. We hired a backhoe to move dirt around and have planted grass in front of the house. We have two lime trees that already have fruit. We got a tip from a friend who told us that when making lemonade it's better to use about six leaves ground up in a blender with water. The leaves don't have the real strong flavor of the lemons. Beth has many flowers, some ceder trees, a beautiful pine tree, three ficus trees, three pomagranate trees, and a palm tree. Our water consumption has risen with all the watering of our plants. 

Here are a few shots of in front of the house before and during our work outside.

We'd had this key less lock in Brownsville. It works perfectly here.

Grass has been planted on one side of the house. We toyed with the idea of buying grass that comes in squares but were disuaded by friends that reminded us that it would need to be watered every day. The grass we planted is a native grass. We are watering every day until it fills in after that it will need minimul watering. 

This is the future sight of our carport. The sun is so strong here that it's real hard on vehicles.

Keeping sand and gravel around is a must. Most construction requires cement. 

Our first breakfast on our spool table. We hauled the whole spool down from Brownsville. It weighed a ton and took up space but i'm glad we brought it.

Beth and I only drink here when we have company. We found ourselves without any mezcal yesterday so we went to Matatlan to purchase some from a friend. Of course he wouldn't let is just buy, he had to have us sample the various variaties that he had on hand. An interesting thing we learned was that during the distilling process some men use a real hot fire which cuts down on the process time but makes the mezcal taste very strong. Casto uses a smaller fire which extends the distilling process but his mezcal is much smoother. The degrees of alcohol are the same either way it's only the flavor that's different. We much prefer the smoother mezcal. We ended up buying eight liters. Four liters were from a barrel in which the mezcal had been stored for five years. Cost for eight liters 300 pesos or about $27. 

A question that is often asked of Beth and I by Americans and Mexicans alike is "don't you get bored"? It's hard to stifle the sarcasm when answering! There is always work to do here! We usually start our day from five to seven. Working outside is much more pleasant before the heat arrives which is usually about 11:00. The house stays fairly cool during the day so work inside is done between 11:00 and 5:00. After 5:00 we go back outside to water plants and do more landscaping type of work. There are always people to visit or receive. Then there are the fiestas. We don't attend as many as we used to. They tend to be hard on our digestive systems.

We bought a satellite and have many channels in English. Watching television is usually done right before bed. We also have a library of over thirty thousand ebooks that I continually add to. There are also many beautiful places to visit. We love driving up to the mountains. Many places remind us of Washington State. There are rivers, pine trees, and wonderful people that are always willing to talk to us. Most of the mountain regions near us are inhabited by Mixe. Their language reminds me of the Apache language. It's pronunciations are  strong. Guteral. Very different from Zapotec. 

I mentioned earlier in the post about the benefits of being around people who celebrate life. Another positive factor here is the ability to constantly problem solve. With so many new challenges opportunities to create and refine are a daily occurance. Friends help us toss around ideas. Never a dull moment!

Mickey and Yadi will be here Tuesday to spend two weeks. We are looking forward to their visit. They will be our first guests. A lot of late night conversations. They are both interesting people with lots of ideas. And we get to speak English!!!!!!!!