A whole lot shakin" here at HVL

With spring arriving, we are getting the garden healthy and working a bit in the green house. 
The garden beds are taking off in the fertile soil here, and we are experimenting with some organic fish soil in the greenhouse.  

The corn is doing well too. We have it in the beds on the island, and on the steep river bank. We used the soil from the bottom of the 'pond of the God's'- that's what we call the pond not protected by an electric fence. We cleaned it out recently, and let the soil sit for a few weeks. The pond bottom is nitrogen rich and will be great for our gardens ( and avocado trees!)
We then mixed it with compost from our compost pile. It's currently being used in one garden bed of vegetables, and on the river bank corn. we limited the usage so we could see side by side comparisons.
In the states, there was an old saying the farmers used as a benchmark to a crop of corn's progress, 'knee high by the fourth of July". We are about ankle high here and its November. We are going to need a new ' old adage'.

We also got the hatchery tanks re-concreted and ready to go for another round of fingerlings.
This week, we separated the large fish from the smaller fish in the big pond. Though all from the same batch of hatchlings, they are at 'teenager' stage, and have had different growth spurts. The larger more aggressive fish will intimidate the smaller fish and slow their growth. By dividing them, both ponds should grow faster, and have more space to do so.

We have added a few new menu items to what we offer at the casita. Dave has really been enjoying baking here, and using ingredients from the farm. Sour orange sweet rolls were today's breakfast delight.
​We will have a selection tacos, including a variation of our best selling item at our previous restaurant- Fish Tacos, but with trout! (Not pictured).
Featured: Sweet rolls, goldenberry pico de gallo, black bean chicken tacos with a cilantro and jalapeno citrus sauce, bread sticks, english muffins and pineapple pull aparts.

We are also adding to your entertainment options in the Casita- games!
There is so much to see and do here at HVL, but the evenings are dark and cool- perfect for indoor entertainment. We have a wide variety of movies to offer on DVD, and a selection of great games- including, Monopolio! That's the spanish version of Monopoly.
​Of course, just like the food, we cant offer it to our guests without trying it out first.

We were playing Monopolio Sunday night when we experienced our first earthquake! It wasnt nearly as scary as you'd think for a quake that big (6.8) and that close. The epicenter was about 70 kilometers from Hush Valley. Im happy to report, no casualties or damage was reported in Costa Rica, but it sure messed up our Monopolio game. 
Quotes of the evening go to eight year old Quinn- 'Is this when we drop and cover?!' and after, 'We have to go now! The tsunamis coming now, remember?!'
We explained that we are located far to high in the mountains, 6300 altitude, and no tsunami will ever reach here, and he settled right down. Can you tell he spent all of his life on the Pacific northwest coast?

With due respect, we understand how fortunate we are to be here, and to have been relatively sheltered from hurricanes and horrific earthquakes. On the same day, on the other side of the world, hundreds of people in Iraq and Iran lost their lives in an earthquake. Our hearts go out to the people affected by such a tragic event. We wish everyone could have the tranquility we experience daily, here in the beautiful Hush Valley.