Costa Rica B&B - Hush Valley Lodges
  • Home
  • Travel tips and photos
    • Transportation Tips
    • What To Pack For Your Mountain Visit
    • Activities
    • Hush Valley Lodge
    • Animals Seen At Hush Valley Lodge
    • Special Events
    • Costa Rica
  • Our Story
  • Contact us

Family, friends and fish

5/23/2015

0 Comments

 
This week was extra special because my niece, Jocelyn, and 5 of her friends came to visit. They had been travelling around Costa Rica for a month and decided to make Hush Valley Lodge their last stop before flying home. I hadn't seen Joce in over four years so it was high time for a good catch-up. It was amazing to reconnect. And we enjoyed meeting her friends, too! Super people. They were only here for two days, but they got a few good lessons crammed in. Kevin gave them the usual tour of the property, and as a special 'treat', I showed them how to gut a fish and Kevin taught them how to filet and pin bone their trout. They even got a chance to try it for themselves.
Picture
Jocelyn proud of her catch!
Picture
The gang watching intently how to filet a trout
Picture
Isaak learning to de-bone his fish
Picture
And Jocelyn taking a turn
Picture
Joce and me on their last day... it was hard to say goodbye!
Something I forgot to mention is that we bought 3,000 more baby fish three weeks ago to replace the 750 we lost and to account for the extra business we're anticipating. We now have three ponds full of trout!!
0 Comments

May 17th, 2015

5/17/2015

0 Comments

 
We had a lovely couple from Washington State stay with us last week. They own a 140+-acre farm just outside Seattle so they can fully appreciate the work involved to keep any large property running smoothly. They also have to deal with Mother Nature in her own special way. We had a great time chatting with them and exchange stories. What they don't have on their property are trout ponds, so they were happy to catch their dinner.
Picture
Picture
You can read their guestbook comment here.
And as the rainy season is in full swing, Kevin and Martin have been building an open-sided shelter for the bulls, just above the closed shelter they built a few months ago. The bigger bulls stay out all day and night now and standing in the rain is not big deal, but when it's lashing down, the baby bulls could use a dry spot to relax in.
Picture
Picture
And I've not reported on critters lately... Kevin spotted this little guy yesterday. I have no idea what he's called, but I love his long, spindly tail.
Picture
As for today... I simply cannot wait to host our next guests. None other than my beautiful niece, Jocelyn, and five of her friends will be staying with us for two days. So much fun!!
0 Comments

Not all fun and games in paradise

5/2/2015

0 Comments

 
The beginning of our week started off a bit rocky. On Monday, we had our first real rain. It's been very dry (as to be expected this time of year) and the moisture is welcome. Kevin was checking the river and it became noticeably murky... a sign that it's raining even harder up the mountain. Dirty water is not good for our fish. The muck flows through the aqueduct system and settles at the bottom of the ponds. Kevin monitors the river diligently and, with experience, knows when it's time to shut the gate to the aqueduct. The "pro" is that it stops the dirt from filtering through into the ponds. That's a good thing. The "con" is it prevents any water at all from flowing through and oxygenating the water. That's a bad thing. The bigger fish can last overnight without oxygenated water, but as Kevin found out this week, the smaller ones (3 months old) cannot go that long serious repercussions. He woke up on Tuesday morning to half of our baby trout floating dead. Half equals 750! We were both so gutted. Having said that, being "the glass is half full" kind of people, it could have been worse, we could have lost the whole lot.

The very same day, Kevin realized that he hadn't seen our big bulls (Martin's two and our Jackson) since Sunday. That seemed rather strange. A full 24 hours without any glimpse is unusual. In fact, it's never happened. They might have tried to find some shelter from the rain under the forest canopy. Martin had been clearing some of the dried brush up in the pasture near the fences, maybe they found a way out. We had no idea. So as Martin hiked up the trails above the pasture and searched the forest, Kevin decided to follow the trail next to the river. He noticed some manure and followed it just beyond the border of our property where he found all three munching on green grass beside the river. Had Kevin not found them at this point, they could have easily just kept on going. Who knows where they would have ended up? We're just really relieved that Kevin found them and brought them back home. 

To find out where they got out, Kevin spied on them to see if they'd go back to the same spot. True to form, they did. There was indeed a gap in the fence where Martin had cleared. The next day, we went to Santa Maria to buy more barb wire to fix the problem. So far so good. No more rogue bulls.

Tuesday was an intense day. Stuff happens.

On the upside... our tomatoes are in full swing... we even have some beautiful small tomatoes ready to pick off the vine. They have a candy appearance with their smooth and glossy ganache-looking skin (apparently I've been watching too much British Bake-Off haha). And they are so delicious! The green ones in the second picture are much bigger; we're just waiting for them to ripen. Can't wait! Yum!
Picture
Picture
0 Comments
    Read BLOG HERE
    EASY
    SIGN UP!

    Receive our blog
    in your email inbox!
    * indicates required
    Picture

    Author

    Dave and Krista are a couple from the Pacific Northwest that led overwhelmingly busy lives. 
    As her son Hayden was graduating high school, and daughter Korynn wrapping up college, they realized it was time to slow down. Life was going far too fast . They wanted to take the time to enjoy stress free living with their eight year old son Quinn.
    Having visited Hush Valley Lodge as guests in January of 2016, they decided this would be the exact change they needed.
    In the pursuit of happiness, they partnered with Jo, Peter, Molly, Gary and Dan to make this dream a reality, and are currently the stewards of the magic that is Hush Valley Lodge.   

    Picture
    Picture
    Click here to pick up your copy of Anne's book! It's all about their adventure and the establishment of Hush Valley Lodge: from leaving their middle-class suburban lifestyle in Canada to reinventing themselvess in the beautiful mountains of Costa Rica. Check it out and if you enjoy it, please spread the word! Thanks!

    Archives

    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Travel tips and photos
    • Transportation Tips
    • What To Pack For Your Mountain Visit
    • Activities
    • Hush Valley Lodge
    • Animals Seen At Hush Valley Lodge
    • Special Events
    • Costa Rica
  • Our Story
  • Contact us