It's raining cats and dogs

It was raining for days...and not just tropical afternoon showers...it was raining hard and it was raining all day long. In addition to finding all the leaks in the roof, we found...or rather they found us...cats and dogs. This was a week of animal stories.

Anyone who has traveled in Puerto Rico knows that one of the most difficult things to see is the amount of stray animals on the roads. Skinny and mangy, animals are left to fend for themselves. Road kill is frequent. Dumping unwanted animals on an isolated country road is prevalent.

Before the strays showed up, we had a doggie guest, Titleist...a service dog who warned his owner if he needed to take his seizure medicine. We never saw Titleist in uniform...he has a vest he wears to go to restaurants, etc. but he quickly became part of the family. Just ask Puppy.

After Titleist left, Maxine appeared. She didn't arrive at the gate, like most strays...rather Tina took Rafael and Tony to the bottom of the hill to save her. Rafael lives part time in Ciales and the family dog watching over his mother's house was taken, so he was in the market for a new one. Abandoned in a box, she was not in good shape...but was in good spirits. Tina took her to the vet to check out her mange and dangling leg. While first sleeping in a box in the garage, Maxine made her way to the balcon the next day and when Rafael picked her up, she was already part of the family. Good Luck you guys. I hope things work out ok. After promising a home for Maxie, he found out his brother had already gotten another puppy...oh. well...now the dogs have company while taking care of the house.

Now we just have a kitty problem. She was so shy...curling her back and hissing ...
and today I found her in my room. Ay dios mio...what to do. Puppy barks...he ignores our cats, except to eat their food...but this black kitty really gets him going. Anyone want a kitty?

TJ Ranch...Valentine's Day is coming soon

TJ Ranch is pleased to announce the marriage of Carlos and Melisa. Yesterday they came, along with their photographers, to document the road to matrimony.

Last Valentine's Day they fell in love, although they weren't sure of how the details were going to work out. She was living in New York and he was here. This year the wedding is planned and everything is moving right on schedule with the couple settling in Puerto Rico.

So...love is in the air......Valentine's Day is around the corner and TJ Ranch is the perfect place for your romantic getaway. But be prepared...TJ Ranch is very fertile. Many babies have been made here. Back in the '90s we had some Australian campers who wrote to us as they were making their way east, back to Australia, to announce the news. Although we didn't care for knowing the details of what went on under the banana trees, our friends from Cabo Rojo made their first- born here...and I think the same is true of our grand daughter.

If I don't get my annual valentine's day card out this year...Have a very Happy, Healthy and Loving Day...and Year...and here's last year's card:

The Caves are Open!!!!

Las Cavernas de Camuy are back giving the full tour. One year after closing due to an accident, the caves have reopened and guides are once again leading tourists through the enormous galleries of the camuy cave system. The tour for the past year was a trolley ride down to view the sink hole, but didn't include the walk through the cave. Saturday, January 24th free tours were given and Sunday there was suppose to be music and more celebrations.

The Caves and the Arecibo Observatory are two important turistic sites in Central Puerto Rico. The limited tour of the Caverns was a disappointment for many, so I'm glad that the full tour has resumed. From what I hear, the Observatory is still in financial instability, but hopefully the scientific community will receive renewed funding this year.

I hear that the Caguana Indian Park in Utuado is closed temporarily. I hope that will open shortly with expanded exhibits. This is a beautiful region and I would hate to see it get "over developed", but there are many existing sites that could be improved. Bosque Rio Arriba is suppose to be very nice for walking its trails, but the main gate is usually closed.

Lago Dos Bocas has improved over the years with its landscaped setting and ferry boat rides on the lake and rivers. Restaurant boats also shuttle passengers to their restaurants, especially over the weekends. At one time, kayaking was offered on the lake; I'm not sure if any boating is offered lately.

So come on down and visit us in the mountains of Puerto Rico and enjoy the cool mountain air and see the local attractions.

Happy New Year - I'm back!!

The "holidaze" are over. In Puerto Rico they last a long time...through Three King's Day on January 6th. Today is January 12th and it's a Puerto Rican holiday, Maria de Hostos...and next week is Martin Luther King Day...so here in Puerto Rico we celebrate any holiday we can.

We followed our Christmas tradition and made pasteles (similar to Mexican tamales). Pasteles are made with a dough of grated green bananas, pumpkin, various root vegetables and coloring and have a meat filling of chicken or pork. They are then wrapped in paper and banana leaves and tied in a neat little package to be boiled. We also made some of yucca, which can be boiled or baked in foil and are called empanadas. We set up our assembly line with "abuela" leading us to a record 473!! At 85, abuela Raquel, doesn't tire.....a cap on her head, string around her neck (for wrapping), we set up our factory. I found a paper from 2006 that said we had made 347. Some of our pasteles are gifts, some we eat right away and serve our guests, some we sell, and the rest we freeze. Pasteles taste the best in summer when no one has seen them for months...easy fast food....boil 'em up and you have a full meal....yum!

It's a new year and I'm still talking about my garden. My tomatoes are slowly appearing, the peppers don't look great and I have more seeds to start while picking up goat poop to mix with my compost. Like most things in the jungle, certain plants go wild without much care. Check out our roof garden. Unlike most roof gardens in the city, our roof garden appeared on its own. We've already have eaten stuffed chayotes and are drying out our loofahs...waiting for the next harvest.

And so...welcome 2009....we're ready! We're gonna try to grow more food, try to continue our morning walks to the end of the farm..touch the banana tree and then cirle the camping area "track" and come home for breakfast, and try to meet more people from more places than ever before. January has brought us wonderful people so far and we're looking forward to meeting more.

I'll be talking to you soon...with more pictures and more info from TJ Ranch, Arecibo and Puerto Rico. Adios and Feliz Ano Nuevo!!!

What to do in Puerto Rico-the Nutcracker is coming to town

You don't have to live in New York to see fine ballet; you don't have to be freezing to see The Nutcracker Suite; you don't even have to go to San Juan!!

The Ballet de San Juan is coming to the Teatro Oliver in Arecibo, Puerto Rico on Friday, December 5th for one day! Presentacion de El Cascanueces del Ballet de San Juan dirigido por Orlando Carrera el 5 de diciembre.

• 6:30 Welcome cocktails
• 7:30 Ballet
• 9:00 Noche de Bohemia (various artists invited)

For Information and Tickets ($35): 787-487-6416 * 787-675-5880

Thanksgiving Thanks

As Thanksgiving approaches and we all take time to reflect and give thanks, I want to formally thank all the guests who have come to TJ Ranch.

Living on a farm in the boondocks has its limitations in that we don't get away much to "see the world"; but the most important aspect of the world, its people, have come to us. Over the last eight years we have met people from all over the world. In many instances the line between "guests" and "friends" have blurred and become one, which really isn't a problem except that we feel badly when we have to charge... but back to the point at hand.

Ron and Evelyn, I must mention by name... our first guests who mailed us a deposit for their full stay and have been my technical gurus to follow til death do us part.

A diabetes' educator came on vacation and when I mentioned Tony's "borderline" condition she sent us a care package with meters, booklets, creams and ointments...the care packages keep coming and so does she. Thank you Wilma.

Maybe it was just luck that a nurse and a fireman were here when the gas stove blew up in Tony's face, but we thank them for the cold water response and the care packages that followed. We also learned to search for wi-fi cruising the streets of Arecibo in their rental car.

The two veterinarians came separately that Christmas when our cat had infected stitches. Both vets opened our eyes to the variety of jobs veterinarians do, from traveling with the CDC to cancer research in John's Hopkins' lab. Thank you vets.

Our sun-dial is set to Wisconsin, the home of our other guests/friends.

We were sent a beautiful CD/DVD from Germany of TJ Ranch and Arecibo. We hope to see Emilio and Susi in 2010 when they return to Puerto Rico.

We never heard of the Isle of Man nor Estonia (shame on us) before guests came from those faraway places. The Estonians took us all over the world from their laptop....and the Israelis wanted to hook up the kids for a free trip to Israel based on their lineage.

Thanks go to Heather for leaving her copy of Breaking Dawn for Tina (and then for me) saving us a trip to Borders in San Juan.

We can never forget our birdwatchers from Cape Cod and DC who have opened our eyes (and ears)to our co-inhabitants of the farm.

Thanks to our native american trooper/governor security force from Connecticut and now we know that the Friday after Thanksgiving is Native American Heritage Day. She keeps us up to date on the "real world" and politics...and is another guest who has crossed over from guest to friend.

For all those I haven't mentioned, please don't feel ignored or forgotten. You've made TJ Ranch a very special place for us and we'll be thinking of you during this holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving....and Buen Provecho!

Life on the Farm

It was getting too much. This picture just shows a small piece of the flock. Tony's morning ritual was getting out of hand; our little pond was too small; and you already know about my chicken problem.

What are animals on a farm for if not to eat? Today was the day....we used to kill ducks by using a wax to remove feathers and down....like waxing your legs, but we don't have the wax and we don't have the time to do all that. Today we're doing it Puerto Rican style...removing the feathers and the skin (the best part). We'll be eating duck fricase in no time. Fricase is a typical stew for duck, rabbit, goat or chicken. Today's special is chicken soup...can't get much fresher than this...maybe this weekend we'll have some pate for appetizers. In all we have 13 ducks and 13 chickens in the freezer!