Category Archives: Rural Living
Of bees and boobs
We’ll call him Jose, though that isn’t his name. He’s a diminutive man, even for a Tico, I thought, the first time I saw him, and from his clothing and high rubber boots, a farm worker. Out here in rural … Continue reading
Bovine bliss
As a child growing up in Philadelphia, I neither knew nor cared much about cows. When the family piled into our car and headed west through the dairy states towards Minnesota, my dad’s home, I enjoyed seeing them, and idly … Continue reading
Free medicine
When Jack’s life-long potassium deficiency disappeared, everyone, especially the doctor, was gob-smacked. His condition had required him to ingest mega-doses of the mineral all day long, or risk not being able to get out of bed. For twenty years, each … Continue reading
Bitch-slapped by life
Life reached out and gave us a bitch slap recently. We’d taken an overnight trip with friends to Puntarenas, on the west coast of Costa Rica, a couple of hours away from our Puriscal home. At eight that morning, we’d … Continue reading
The Sting
I had a big day planned yesterday: lunch and a movie in the city (Escazu, Costa Rica) with girlfriends. We may be seniors, but we’re still girls, right? But I begged off, due to a headache and upset tummy. The … Continue reading
Batty over bats
In general, I’m not a fan of bats. They simply don’t conform to my notion of cuddly critters. And there’s that whole vampire thing. Not that I believe in them, but it happens that I’ve been binge-viewing season one of … Continue reading
Clean, or happy?
Before we moved to Costa Rica, we learned that we could find someone to clean the house for about a dollar an hour. I was ecstatic. Back home, I cleaned when company was coming. It’s not that I don’t love … Continue reading
Home invasion
Our home has been invaded three times now. The first two times, they tried to scale the outside walls and crawl in through the space between our roof and ceiling. The last time— I hope it will be the last, … Continue reading
Ant revenge
When we returned from our trip to Puerto Viejo, our friend Louis, who had been staying in our house, pointed to the ground and said, “Hay hormigas cortadoras de hojas!” We saw a tiny flotilla of green sailing down the … Continue reading
Goodbye dry season
Every morning my eyes popped open to the same sun-soaked, chirp-filled backdrop of palm and cedar trees. Not that I’m complaining. It’s hard to imagine a better alarm clock. Sun-shy, I wished, to little avail, for a few clouds during … Continue reading
