When you only have running water every other day, it's important to plan well and work your butt off when you do have it. Today was such a day and Roger and I started early with the sprinkler and several yard projects.

The Muscadine vine that we have grown from seed has been languishing in a pot for what seems like forever, but yesterday's acquisition of a local grape vine meant today was grape-planting day. Using two wooden posts cut from the finca, we ran a 20' length to hold the two grape vines. Two strands of barbed wire, two feet apart, should be strong enough to hold all those grapes I'm envisioning impatiently.

I folded the barbs down with a pair of electrician's pliers, then placed concrete blocks around the plants as the last two puppies for sale pretty much have the run of the yard and tend to run smack dab into whatever I don't want them to run into

The seeds from Mike are coming up like gangbusters and I needed to make yet another raised bed for the scallop squash and Charentais melons. Roger does all the "men's work" stuff in the yard, like toting bags of dirt and spading the beds while I tend to the established plants and move the sprinkler from bed to bed. We haven't run outa' room yet, but this rental yard is filling up quickly.

I picked up some pretty flowers in Catarina yesterday and, as I started planting things around the yard, I realized that football must have been on my mind as I was shopping. I now have several LSU-color combinations around the house.

My fella and I put in a good day's work, enjoying overcast skies and breezes from the Mombacho Volcano as we sweated off all those calories we had imbibed the night before. It's 3:30 now, or should I say beer thirty! Life is good in Nicaragua.