What was so frightening at night
is nothing short of extraordinary during the day. Steep slopes of large
mountains with dense secondary forest; in the distance clouds hang below in
mountains near the Turrialba volcano, which is constantly spewing smoke. Bright
flowers, hummingbirds of all colors, toucans, butterflies flitting everywhere. Although
I had prepared myself for pure grunt labor, to be an extra set of hands on the
farm and work with the cattle and weeding in the fields, a different job was in
store for me. In addition to vegetables grown in the fields, Phil has a small
fruit garden located down the hill from the house near the Rio Atirro (the
river). Chief among the plants growing there are papaya and citrus trees. While
I am certain to work on a number of other side projects, my current
responsibilities are to devise a method to reduce leaf-cutter ant damage,
address weed problems in the garden, and figure out why the citrus trees are
not doing so well. I surveyed the area, taking notes on the location and number
of each species, and will begin experimenting soon.
