Wilma has passed Belize - hopefully

Unless it makes a big turn to the west, Wilma is not threatening Belize anymore. It is now 169 miles northeast of the northern coast of Belize, and although the islands are still experiencing huge waves and tropical storm conditions, we are hoping that the worst is over. Now we are all watching what is happening with this super hurricane, hoping it doesn't make landfall in Mexico or anywhere else where it could hurt people. Here is a good link to track Wilma:
http://www.hydromet.gov.bz/

So, otherwise we are all fine, I am busy and I hope the satellite stays up so I can send some work off. The clouds do interfere sometimes.

Today I took Marion to visit Karli and Hanna in Teakettle. It was really nice: to drive, to chat, to enjoy the beautiful farm. On the way back we went through Spanish Lookout and I bought some stuff at the Farmers Trading Center, which is always fun to do!

OK, back to work now!

"Wilma" - now a hurricane, but doesn't know which way its going ...

Just upgraded from Tropical Storm to Hurricane, "Wilma" hovers around at more or less the same spot off the coast of Nicaragua - and all countries around hope it doesn't turn their way. Cuba and the Caymans seem closest, but one little twist and it comes towards Belize. So we are watching it closely, very closely. Usually, the October hurricanes seem to be a lot stronger than the ones before, but everything has become so unpredictable that I really wouldn't know anymore.

Everything else is fine here, I just recovered from a cold (and my friend Joe, also here in Belize, mentioned: WHAT? Its not even WINTER yet :-), and will be back to the full work load tomorrow. Karli is back from Germany and brought me some long awaited Spiegel and Focus, so I could join in the craziness going on regarding the chancellor voting and all that other political circus! It sure was fun to read:-) Hanna picked up her birthday presents: four ducks, 2 geese, 1 chicken (one with the funny feathers that look like they are wearing a hat!). Karli already fixed the pond and told me that they jumped right in and seemed to love it!

I am waiting for Tobbi and Eva to come over, because Tobbi will install us some new fans, especially in the kitchen, where its just too hot to cook when there is no breeze. Eva and I took Hanna for a "girl's day" out to the pool at a resort on the Western Highway, which was really cool, just us and lime juice and sunshine and ball games and girls talk. Very relaxing!

Our friend Marion will be leaving for the States soon, we will sure miss her dearly. We invited her over for last weekend and had a great time, we cooked, played, watched movies and chatted. She is wonderful to have around. We hope she will be able to come back real soon!

Robbie got herself a new laptop hard drive after the other one crashed badly. We couldn't recover any data (but we won't give up yet - there are still a few chances), but installed everything new anyhow and hope we get something off the old drive some time. Wish us luck!

OK thats it for now - I will keep you up to date with what's happening in our little paradise!

"Stan" has reached Northern Belize - currently no threat to Santa Famila -

Yesterday, when Mum and some friends from Germany called, worried about Stan threatening Belize, I was still sitting in the hammock, not being concerned at all. It hadn't even rained that day. Last night, however, we had so much rain that our front yard flooded and the creek that used to be dry is now flowing. Still, here in Western Belize, besides the rivers rising, there is no direct threat. In Orange Walk, in the Northern Belize, there have been evacuations, however!

Excerpt from the news:
Stan Floods Northern Belize

It never developed into a major storm, but tropical depression Stan has left a path of devastation in El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico as a result of the torrential rains that accompanied it over the past few days. At home, the after-effects of heavy rains have not caused any mudslides or death, but there are reports of significant flooding in some parts of the country. Areas to the west of Orange Walk have started to flood. Villages including Yo Creek, Guinea Grass, Black Water, San Antonio and Douglas are experiencing rising water as a result of the Rio Hondo beginning to crest. There are also reports that some families have had to be evacuated from Black Water Village as their homes have been inundated. For those of you who don't know, Black Water is adjacent to Trial Farm.

With more rains expected over the next few days we anticipate that the waters will continue to rise and the rivers will continue to swell with water coming down from neighboring countries. We'll continue to monitor the situation as it develops.

I will keep you up-to-date! Today it is sunny, but cloudy, and we hope it stays that way. The rivers can only take so much rain ....

We are not really worried yet, but some of our neighbours, who have relatives in Guatemala and in El Salvador, are, because there is no communication with those parts of Guatemala, where Stan poured and left those countries with flooding and mud slides.

All these catastrophes, in SEAsia, in America, China, everywhere ... and humankind still thinks they are superior and can control everything. We can do nothing. Nature will always be stronger and show us just how tiny and insignificant we are in the big picture. And some other thoughts: WE are responsible for what is happening in the world. Not only weatherwise. Definitely. I wonder if some other people think the same ... Seems not so many ...

Well, my dear friends and family, I need to get back to work.

I will let you know what is happening!