IF A TREE FALLS….

How does the saying go?  If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around, does it make a sound?  We are in the rainy season in Costa Rica which also means we are in the tree falling season.  That is, if there is such a thing.  The rain forest is an ever evolving entity and one of the most notable changes is when a large tree falls.  This happens more often in the rainy season. 

The rainy season means clear blue sunny skies in the morning with clouds building up in the early afternoon followed by a burst of rain in the late afternoon.   These bursts of heavy rain are quickly absorbed by the forest and an hour after a rain shower it is difficult to tell that it rained at all.  However, these heavy rains saturate the ground quickly and undermine the stability of many large trees because even though the rainforest trees are tall, they tend to have very shallow root systems.

One day last week the rains were accompanied by strong winds which is uncommon.  Usually the rain comes straight down.  The result was many fallen trees.  On the Forest Edge Trail near the Art Studio there was a very large tree that succumbed.  This tree‘s entire root ball pulled out of the ground and the tree leaned to the point of no return. It took everything around it down too. 

The trunk never hit the ground but crossed the trail approximately 5 feet above the trail.  Had it gone all the way to the ground, it would have taken out the bridge and hand rails  too.  We have cut out the section over the trail to make it passable.  The area is very open and sunny now.  This will give new plants and trees the sunlight needed to begin life anew.  In a few months all scars of this event will be unrecognizable with the exception of the tree truck which will take decades to decay. The rain forest never stops changing.  It is an amazing thing to watch.

NEW GOATS ARRIVE!

This week we are very excited to welcome 6 new goats to the Monte Azul family.  Carlos and I realized that we needed to add some new goats to the mix for two reasons.  First, we need to increase our milk production to keep up with the demand for our goat cheeses which includes, chevre, mozzarella, feta and camembert.  Second, we need to get some new blood into our gene pool.  As much as we love our “country” goats, the genetic stock is not up to the same standard as milk production goats.  Each of our plucky little goats gives around 1 liter of milk per day.  Production goats give 2 ½ to 4 liters per day. 

So, Carlos and I headed off in search of new goats.  Like most endeavors in Costa Rica, our search was a very winding and convoluted one.  It is all about asking around and getting phone numbers and lots of leg work.  Our journey led us to Santa Maria de Dota.  This area is famous for coffee and is approximately 2 hours north of Monte Azul.  Here we found a gentleman that has been raising goats for 40 years and had several females that he was willing to sell. 

We bought 2 young females and 4 females that were impregnated before making the trip to Monte Azul . The older females should have the kids at the end of October.  In a week or so, this goat herder will bring his stud goat down to impregnate our other  8 goats.    His stud goat is enormous and is the offspring of a champion.  We are told that it only takes one generation to see a marked improvement in genetics and milk production. 

I have attached a few photos of the new goats.  Like all Monte Azul animals we gave them names.  They are:  Pretty Bettina, Catalina, Trixie, Roxie, Patty and Selma. 

You might wonder why Bettina gets an adjective in her name.  Pretty Bettina is a La Mancha breed.  This breed of goat has very small ears.  Her look can be a bit disconcerting at first so we felt that she needed an extra special name.  Even though she is docile and sweet, her previous owner’s daughter thought that she was ugly and wanted to get rid of her.  We think that she is beautiful  and we are extremely happy to welcome her to our family.  

The other goats are Saanen, the 3 white ones (Catalina, Patty and Selma) and Toggenberg, the 2 brown ones (Trixie and Roxie).  Trixie and Roxie are much more curious than the other goats and have already become the "bad girls" that must constantly be watched.