Our new gazebo is finished. We have a stone path around the base with grass between the stones. It really coordinates nicely with the roof tile.

The walk path around the house will have stone with grass growing between.

More fencing has been installed. Everyday or so we take delivery of a few more plants.

More plants staged for planting. A lot of the plants that we will have in the garden are plants that we in the states used for house plants.

Mingo built another set of steps up the step bank next to the kitchen. These steps will be faced with the same rocks that were used around the gazebo to match the walkpath. The tops of each step will be sodded.

A large stick bug - not sure what it's called, but it was very cool.

The powder room shower is large and unused. It makes a great secure home for our new kittens. Sissy has become fast friends with both, however Buddy is still jumpy around them.

Just waking from a nap.

Jag (striped) and Noche. I decided to change his name because he is very ornery and I felt that the name Noche suited him better than Baru.

The contrast in vegetation is amazing. This is a ficus tree and a small pine standing side by side.

Nearly every morning our walks take place under blue skies.

One of our landscape workers visits with a passing acquaintance. The gardner is standing on a slope so the horse looks small.

Now during the rainy season the greens turn a vivid emerald color. In the forefront is our lower yard.

Mingo the foreman for our landscape project builds another set of steps.

Sissy and one of our new kittens, Jag. They are becoming friends. However, the other kitten is much more timid and takes an occasional swipe at the dog's nose.

This is Ricardo - he will stay on after the initial project is complete to be our fulltime gardner. He lives near by.

We had some people ask who our builder was. His name is Arcenio Delgado, he owns Cielo Azul Construction. We would not hesitate to recommend him. His contact information is listed in the picture. ||

Orange tree on our uncleared perperty.

We have a lot of fruit on this tree.

A view from our bedroom window overlooking our uncleared property.

The gazebo team showed up today and is laying the tile. Also, the iron team - we have about 12 guys working today. Patricia says two more weeks and the garden should be complete. So far we haven't had that much of a delay due to weather. Most delays were due to the increased amount of substructure that she decided needed to be added.

My Eva plant now has seven leaves.

A regular sized hummingbird. I put out a feeder and the birds have arrived.

This guy is about three times the size of a normal hummingbird. When the sun is shining on him he looks like this picture. When it isn't he looks black and while. The next picture shows his white tail.

Here is his white tail.

We had a visitor to the garden today. A tarantula spider. He was huge! We are told they won't hurt you, but it still was scary.

A close up of the spider - that is a shovel tip next to it. We rescued him by throwing him into the unfinished land next to the garden. Hopefully, he won't come back for a while.

The fence vines are blooming! They are beautiful - they bloom year round!

I went horseback riding on Monday. I rode the horse from hell! He reared up about four times and then on the way back to the stable he got spooked and jumped a stone fence. I held on, but have decided that I've taken my last horse ride.

This orange tree has a lot of green fruit.

This is the lowest part of our property - it leads to a river about 50 feet below. The sounds of the moving water can be heard all the way to the house. We are going to clear a path to the water and build steps to make the climb easier.

Michael enjoying a Denver sunset in Panama.

This is a kitten that will be joining the family next week. We plan to name him Baby Baru after the volcano.

Michael couldn't resist this little tiger kitten so we decided to take two. Our dogs will be thrilled I'm sure.

First orchid planted in garden - it has a beautiful scent.



Morning walk - sugar cane along the road.

Impatients flowers grow wild.

One of my favorite glades on our morning walk.

Michael wears a size 10 shoe so you get an idea how big this guy was.

A view of the gazebo from the orchid garden.

The fence vine is really growing.

The gazebo roof is on and the floor installation has begun. The builder says it should be completed by Tuesday of this week.