April and May are probably my least favourite months in Belize. Can you guess why? I think this picture explains a fair bit...it can be crazy hot here! Last week was pretty fierce. Well over 40C everyday and I know that you can play with the reading on a thermometer fairly easily, this isn't far from where we were. Well, we were actually in the pool! These are months when it's best to not make many plans and keep the expectations low.
It can also be a very smoky couple of months. It's dry season and for some reason that I really don't understand, most everybody seems to feel the need to light every piece of land on fire. I sort of get it with the farmers. Burning is an effective way to clear the fields and rejuevenate the soil. It's cheap and it's easy. But jeez, it's also absolutely terrible for the environment and the public health. Just makes me cranky!
And while I'm being all downer I think I'll just keep going! Although, this is something that I'm learning to accept...not like the smoke. My yard and plants all look so sad and dead. Last year's dry season was very extreme and I was honestly quite worried for many of my plants. Many plants were less than a year old and I wasn't sure how they would come through. I cut a lot of them back and tried to protect their roots with wood chips, watered the most fragile ones, and stood back and hoped for the best. Once the rains returned, they all thrived! I think that's a lesson for me to relinquish control a little bit. I was so concerned about not doing enough and trying to fight Mother Nature. Mother Nature will do exactly as she pleases regardless of what I think. So, this year I cut back some of the hardier bushes (they grow back so nice!), spread the wood chips, and stood back to accept that for a couple of months my yard will not look like something from Better Homes and Gardens.
See how at peace I am with my surroundings?
See how at peace I am with my surroundings?