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Spring has sprung in El Terreno

The seasons are completely different in central, mountainous, semi-arid Michoacan than in any other place...

1 minute read

Homegoing

Getting home to El Terreno is kinda like this We’re gonna miss the neighbors and...

1 minute read    — 1 comments

What we won't miss

That scary hill! Here’s a taste of driving home from the city - sorry for...

1 minute read

Wildfire

We finished a controlled burn in El Terreno’s vulnerable corner just in time. That afternoon...

2 minute read    — 1 comments

Controlled burn success

Last week we tried our best to start a fire in El Terreno. We thought...

1 minute read

Then, then, now

From dust to dust…We’re 11 months into this permaculture adVanture! Here’s a new set of...

2 minute read    — 1 comments

Controlled burn fail

This semi-arid region is prone to wildfire. To protect El Terreno’s trees, we tried a...

1 minute read    — 1 comments

Trash

Before we knew how to get our trash picked up, we were highly motivated to...

2 minute read

Border security

We love the neighbor dogs! Ever since Torce introduced us to our wonderful neighbors we’ve...

2 minute read

Door-to-door sales

We’re proud of what we haul by bike, but truck burdens are impressive, too. Water,...

2 minute read

Missing the green

I believe it used to be that green, but I barely remember. When we got...

1 minute read    — 1 comments

Butterfly food and babies

Not only do the caterpillars depend on milkweed as their sole food source, adult monarchs...

3 minute read    — 2 comments

Roaming the drylands

We have freedom to roam out here, and I’m learning to see the beauty in...

1 minute read

Dry season thorns

I’m learning to appreciate the shades of green we see in patches during this dusty,...

2 minute read

Happy trails, happy tails

The best thing about living en El Terreno? Hiking. (Avocados are on the list, though.)...

2 minute read

Desert mountain flora

Now that the landscape is bleak, the ground is dusty, the plants are bare, the...

1 minute read    — 5 comments

Brick city by drone

After we moved to El Terreno in April, a brick-building city war born on the...

1 minute read

Gas shortages

Depending on who you ask, there might be a fuel shortage in Mexico, or it...

1 minute read

Time for that bottle of wine

We had a lousy day last week, beginning with my running the truck off the...

3 minute read    — 3 comments

More flowers of Mexico

In the part of central Mexico where we’re living we see some of the same...

1 minute read    — 1 comments

Using Solar Electricity

Continuing from the Off-grid Solar Electricity Overview this post describes the ways electricity collected from...

2 minute read    — 1 comments

Flowers of Mexico

I can’t wait to flood your feeds with better pictures of flowers, now that I...

1 minute read    — 1 comments

Cheap eats

There is so much good food to enjoy in Morelia - with all the fresh,...

2 minute read    — 2 comments

Terminal bloom

Agave is a fascinating genus. Know why some people call it century plant? There’s a...

2 minute read

What planet is this?

When we hike up the hill in the mist we end up on another planet....

1 minute read    — 2 comments

Off-grid Solar Electricity Overview

Off-grid Solar Types Direct Thermal - There are many types of off-grid thermal systems. Some...

1 minute read    — 2 comments

Learning the language

I figured we’d be forced into Spanish language proficiency by living in Mexico. Immersion, right?...

3 minute read    — 4 comments

Brick city

On a recent bike ride we thought we’d find a different way home, and stumbled...

2 minute read    — 1 comments

La colina de la muerte

Virtually every time we go into Morelia we have to take the scariest hill, whether...

1 minute read    — 2 comments

Pools for pears

Good trade. A woman showed up at our gate a few weeks ago with a...

2 minute read    — 5 comments

Bike paths

There are few bike lanes or paths in Morelia. In the city center there are...

2 minute read

Muddy ride

The rainy season continues. Thank goodness for bike chain cleaner. Actually we’re not taking very...

1 minute read    — 2 comments

Higher ground

We got fresh perspective by hiking up to the highest point we could find and...

1 minute read    — 3 comments

Hiking with old dogs

We love hiking but our old dogs can’t keep up. But we put hiking on...

3 minute read    — 2 comments

Pretty in Pink

El Terreno is pretty in pink. This land is slowly returning to “normal” after decades...

1 minute read    — 1 comments

13 pesos

Someday we’ll have a bike delivery business. We imagine selling coffee on beaches or in...

1 minute read    — 1 comments

The Right to Roam

This is a right to roam country - at least that’s the way the culture...

3 minute read    — 1 comments

Electricity off-grid

We don’t have electricity here. That is, we’re not on the grid. We do have...

3 minute read    — 4 comments

Then and Now

We arrived late in the dry season and three months later this place has bloomed!...

2 minute read    — 3 comments

Picadura escorpion

Here’s what I learned from my first scorpion sting: pre-emptive strikes have a place, even...

2 minute read    — 4 comments

Root bound

I’ve been moving trees. Trees that are failing to thrive, and a few that look...

2 minute read    — 3 comments

Good dogs make good neighbors?

I met a neighbor when his dog crawled under our gate. Uncle Stan thought an...

3 minute read    — 6 comments