Save the Cerrado: Catching up

January

It rained for 23 days in a row in January; for the month we measured 54.5 cm of rain (21.45 inches). Despite the inconvenience of wet clothes, mildew, and mud everywhere, I was relieved since after three months (Oct, Nov, Dec) of very little rain I worried we might face a drought this rainy season. If it doesn’t rain enough between October and March our water supply can run out in the dry season, June to September.

Preparing for resilience in the advent of climate changes means re-imagining life in a drier land instead of a place of abundant water. Rain catchment in the rainy season and water conservation the rest of the year are challenges we need to face. We plan to make a pond out of the pit that provided the earth for our cob house so far. Perhaps we’ll dig a new pit for the rest of the cob house – the living room and small kitchen/dining area – and use it as a cistern for water gathered during the rains.

Banana trees planted less than a year ago love the rain and the goat mature.

The mud pit from which we took sand/clay/soil to build our cob rooms filled up with the rain
and we have an idea of how it will look when we transform it into a pond.

Grace and I share of love of mushrooms which pop up after the rain.

We don't have good resources to identify them but we we
able to ID a few.

A rainbow above the cob house and the straw 'rancho'.

In midJanuary our second longterm guest arrived, Jaqi, from Pleasant Valley, PA, who was joining us for two months. Jaqi and I became friends through a Climate Change group convened in Fall 2008 by Len Frankel, of Bethlehem, PA, to read Six Degrees of Climate Change (by Mark Lynas) . We ended up walking many miles together as part of the Climate Walk for All the Grandchildren, a pilgrimage along US Route 11 from New Orleans to upper New York State. Guy and I have enjoyed Jaqi’s company and hospitality in the US and were delighted to receive her in our Brazilian home.

Jaqi on her arrival date visits the radio tower in Brasilia.

Jaqi found her chair and the kitties found her lap.

Jaqi arrived while it was still raining and had to deal with the endless downpours, occasional leaks in the blue tarp that covered her cob room, and mud and puddles everywhere. We all admired her good spirits, undampened by the rain, and her energy for exploring and joining in with the farm work. May we all be so vibrant at 78! (More about our adventures with Jaqi in February and March posts.)

Jaqi, Grace, and Camila hurry to get the hay in before the rain.

The teardrop garden with Grace's fence to protect it from the chickens starts to grow.

Also in January our menagerie increased by one foster dog, and two colorful fowl. Mabel, a little black puppy, found her way from the road, where she’d apparently been abandoned in the very wet weather, and into our house. We tried to find a home for her, including a trip to Anapolis to attempt to place her in a shelter, but discovered that no one (so far) wants a small (but not tiny) female dog. People around here seem to prefer male pets, and tiny or large dogs.