It is a rainy day and I thought I would write something short. How many times can I say that I have nothing to say? Would you like to know that I read this morning about the Phillies losing to the Braves? Or that I planted six “pito” seeds this morning? Or that I visited a well at a gas station earlier this afternoon in response to a call for my “GPS services?” Or maybe that I have been watching Dexter recently? Or reading Life and Fate, by Vasily Grossman? Or that I think this series of questions actually makes me appear busier than I am?
Anyway, life progresses here in the Comayagua Valley. My brother recently left after two weeks of traipsing around Guatemala and half a month of sitting around in Flores. We survived and have begun the planning for the great 2012 adventure to cross Asia by way of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Lake Baikal, Mongolia, and Beijing. I look forward to the railroad’s daily variety that a dusty town in Honduras simply cannot provide. But who expects it to?
These next few months will determine the long-term personal success of my time in Honduras. By the end of November, I should know if my research has been completed. The time has to come to make my legacy here: the exciting interaction of land-slope on soil humidity and, therefore, rice yields. Putting aside overstatement, I am excited to truly begin a project with a defined and achievable goal. I forgive myself for the project relying nearly completely on myself. On one level, it does require that my two counterparts communicate regularly with me, but aside from a few phone calls and a bit of honesty, I require nothing from anyone else. If I stay focused and organized, I should be ready for next year with a good set of information aimed at helping rice farmers begin to conserve water while increasing production. It sounds too optimistic to be possible.
Aside from this study, I will be working in a few other areas. As I have now entered my second year since leaving the USA, it is time for a new set of trainees in my project. Thus, I will be travelling for a few days to my old training site in a few weeks in order to help on a training exercise. It nice of them to invite me, although I suspect my proximity (1 hour) to the training site has more to do with the invite than anything else. I will also be slowly trying to get a hold of seeds from as many species of trees as possible in order to plant them around the office property. The goal here is to have examples of timber, forage, and fertilizer trees that I can use to discuss management options with land owners, cattle farmers, and the normal producers. I will continue my attempts to bring Brosimum alicastrum to the valley in order to improve the nutrition of the livestock and, someday, make a business out of it.
And now you know.
