Otro Día en "Paradiso" - Another Day in “Paradiso”

Sunday Morning Love Sickness It’s Sunday morning on a cool, bright, Florida fall day. We drove to the hospital to visit our inpatient son. As we approach the hospital I debate about parking at the main parking lot using the valet parking, which is only available at the emergency room entrance during weekends. We opt for the emergency room entrance valet parking, due to my painful knee,  to avoid any unnecessary walking.  We pass the mostly empty ER waiting room and begin the walk down the many long hallways adorned by multiple large colorful Florida Nature themed pictures. Some of depict simple oak filled pastures, others flower filled ponds, fenced horses, as well as well known blue green rivers and swimming holes of the state,  tempting you to jump in right through them. After several hospitalization visits, we are pretty familiar with the hospital, yet we still get lost from time to time. We walk to the elevators on the 1R level, which coincidentally is under the Groun...

 Title: Unveiling the Impact of Mega Warehouses on Developed and Undeveloped Land By Edil Rentas,  The exponential growth of e-commerce has given rise to the proliferation of mega warehouses, vast fulfillment centers that facilitate the storage and distribution of goods. While these facilities have revolutionized the logistics industry, their establishment has profound implications for both developed and undeveloped land. In this article, we will explore the impact of mega warehouses on both types of land, examining the challenges they present and the potential consequences for our environments and communities. 1. Impact on Developed Land a. Conversion of Land Use: Mega warehouses require vast amounts of land, often in close proximity to transportation infrastructure and urban centers. As a result, previously developed land, such as industrial areas, brownfields, or even agricultural land, is repurposed to accommodate these massive structures. This conversion can disrupt e...

After a morning of hard work trimming down several palm trees, and fixing the fence and gate post at the finca's entrance, there is nothing like a hot, sweet 3 o'clock coffee. We arrived this morning with many plans and projects in mind, besides fixing the gate. But after I began to dig out the old broken fence post I realized I was in over my head. The post was cemented at least 2 feet deep in very hard wet clay that does not break easy and I did not have the right tools to do it. As a matter of fact I didn't even find the pick in order to dig down, but while looking for it I only found the iron part.  After trying to use by hand and found it to be a futile effort, it occurred to me that the palms that I cut down were so hard that they sounded like baseball bats when they hit the ground, so "a la McGuiver", I decided to create my own handle for the pick, and guess what, it worked like a charm.  I have to say, I dare anyone to use this pick without gloves; your ha...

 At 6:00 AM this morning Lucy and I payed our fourth visit to Home Depot. When we are here one trip is just not enough in order to get all the supplies needed for the projects. Starting with wasp spray, a new machete, a chain saw, among other things, plus all the plumbing supplies to install the water cistern.  Yesterday when we went to la finca, it had rained, and the power was out so I was unable to cut any trees because the chain saw and the pole saw are both electric. So, this morning after much debate we decided to get a gasoline chain saw in order to keep an upper hand when the power is out.  Four years ago, when my father in law passed, we were hit by a hurricane while still occupying the finca house. A 60 feet humongous Australian pine was downed by the storm winds and blocked the access road to the property, locking us in. Since we didn't have a chain saw of any kind, we had to call the municipal Civil Defense crew to come remove the tree.  This new chain sa...

Para leer la primera parte click aqui:  Otro Día en "Paradiso": Encuentro Cercano en Tallaboa       Para leer la segunda parte click aqui:  Otro Día en "Paradiso": Encuentro Cercano en Tallaboa, Segunda Parte Es   una fresca noche de diciembre de algún año de los 70. Me encuentro en la vieja iglesia de mi barrio, la cual está abarrotada de creyentes que han acudido a celebrar la misa de gallo. Allí están todos aquellos que acuden regularmente, y muchos de los que sólo van durante semana santa y navidad.  No hay un asiento vacío y varios niños pelean entre sí para poder sentarse. Al frente, un nacimiento viviente adorna el altar mientras el coro llena el aire de villancicos a varias voces como de costumbre, acompañados por el cuatro, guitarras, güiro, maracas, y panderetas. Los monaguillos pelean contra el sueño, bostezo tras bostezo, contagiando al que los mira. Entro a la iglesia y me dirijo al atrio superior en un intento por encontrar as...

It's a hot, hazy, Sunday afternoon in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The skies are greyed out by the long traveled sand dusts from the Sahara, which have crossed the Atlantic as it has occurred for millenniums. The town is quiet, people walk lazily around the tree lined and centennial buildings adorned plaza.  Others sit on benches under the centuries old umbrella shaped trees, refreshed by the mist of the lion guarded fountain, enjoying the delicious ice creams from Los Chinitos, the decades old  famous ice cream parlor at the town square, across from the legendary black and red fire house, El Parque de Bombas.  Los Chinito's ice creams are delicious, no matter what flavor you get. I'm having my favorite, guanabana or sour sop, which melts under the intense heat, prompting me to lick it quickly.   It's always hard to chose between the so many delicious flavors, orange, coconut, passion fruit, peanuts, chocolate, or the decadent creamy vanilla, among others.  But neither t...

Today I went to the country house up on the hills, the place were my inlaws lived for many years. That place from where I've tempted many of you with the pictures of its awesome views.  Sadly, since the passing of my father in law, and the move of my mother in law to the city, the beautiful gardens no longer thrive. Missing are all the orchids and many other flowers that surrounded the yard. The coofee plants that served as boricua christmas trees, adorned with ripening coffee beans, no longer thrive. Fifteen feet high plantain plants bearing foot long plantain bananas, that looked more like palm trees are no longer cultivated. Nature is working fast at claiming what it is hers. Hornets are building their nests everywhere they find a suitable place, and a bee colony has made it's home inside the walls of the old laundry room. The trails where we used to escape to become part of nature are no longer passable. You can no longer hear the the roosters sing, neither the hundreds of ...