Brundageba

My husband was out walking the dog this morning and observed a young father with child walking across an uncut field of waist high weed grass in our subdivision.  The man was wearing flip-flop shoes.  Now yesterday we had a boatload of rain...it was a wet field known to be loaded with Fer de Lance.  My husband made it a point to talk to the fellow about the danger of walking through that field like that.  The mans response: " I've never seen a snake here"    My husband reiterated that it was in fact high on the danger scale to walk through there like that ( in flip flops and with a youngster mind you) . 

The only thing we can come away with, is that  these are new folks in town, and exactly why I started this entire thread on snake season in the first place. We may come off as "know it all" , "paranoid" ,"old farts lacking a spirit of adventure" but tell them anyway. 

Gross but it gets the point across in that this is one of the less repulsive photos on-line.  

Ok here's something interesting...   I was watching a nature show on TV. The guy was commissioned to catch Fer de lance in Mexico for a research facility.  So the camera guys follow him around documenting tales of encounters as he goes on the hunt.  He interviews a guy bit on the hand.  He lost fingers...gone.  But he lost as well part of his leg.....and was NOT bit on the leg.   I'd LOVE to see that again because to this day I find this hard to believe.  But the explanation was the venom traveling in the body can do this.  

So anyway...be careful

Great Book on Panama history and the canal:  Path Between the Seas by David McCullough.  I strongly recommend reading it . You can find it in bookstores and as well used at the BookMark and as well on Amazon.com.  Why that came to mind is the book tells the story of how the flag you see there  became the flag of Panama.  The history of Panama is pretty interesting....at least I thought so.

Mello sells a product: "Snake Away"   When you look on the side of the can of granules it appears to be kitty litter and ground up moth balls ( Naphthalene)
 You can use Kangaroo...but it really stinks.  The moth balls last in the rain and are cheap.  yah...I HOPE they work !  I won't weed the beds until lots of  moth balls are in there  for a few days.   ( the yard then smells like my mothers closet) Even then I prefer to let it go until the dry season.  Then I go at it with leather gloves and a stick to spread the plants so I can see the ground and my hands....no surprises.  I've included this entire thread for new folks here.  The longer I live here the more stories I hear and snakes I see.  I took poisonous snakes rather lightly when I was new here.  I wasn't really as careful as I should have been.   This is an internet photo of a snake bite on a finger.  There were so many others that were worse....so that gives you an idea.   BE CAREFUL where you walk and stick your hands.

"They made my doggie house(s) too small !!!!"

Why "the last"  ?

This show is one not to miss.  Howard has been sneaking around with his camera here for quite awhile. 

Yes......but as we know that can change ( laughing)

If "they" wish to relocate the Fer de Lance(s) in my yard...they are welcome.   A gardener here in my community got bit on the hand & he was foaming at the mouth and passing out before they could get him in the car.  He was in the ICU a long time and has some neurological problems for awhile. He kept his fingers and lived only because he got to Regional Medical Ctr quickly.  Our neighbor paid for his medical expenses and loss of employment.  Fer de Lance are seriously bad.  Talk to any Ngobe Bugle about snakes.   They will keep you listening for at least a half hour talking about friends and relatives who died from snake bite. Gets your attention!

Here ya go:

The one we got yesterday was a baby...maybe 6 inches long at the most.   THOSE are the ones that can really do you in !  The one in the picture was taken a year or so ago off the back canyon ( just behind me) .  We had let the wild grass get high and the gardener that was whackin the weeds down spotted it.  He went home and got his .22 and nailed  it in the head ( good shot).   Now we keep the brush whacked low.    The garden beds behind me?....I put mothballs in there and I don't worry about weeds until the dry season when everything thins out.  As well I toss mothballs out on the hill behind me. 

GREAT article !!!   Very well written and so very true.  You'll be caught by surprise.  The very folks you thought would die with you here will be leaving next year....the best of friends go.   The newest ones can be at your throat in a second because they have "better ides", "better ways of doing stuff' and can't stand the way you think or do things.   ( you've become "local")    In time if you stay ...you slow down, you become a bit more tolerant, you roll with the punches and get over being upset about stuff here  quicker.   So much of it really doesn't matter.   In time we forget about the conspiracy theories we talked about all the time and they don't matter either.  Suddenly what matters is the beauty of the sunrise and sunset, good health, fresh air, a loving husband, great neighbors and a sweet dog.  You stay....you're content.  Life's good.

Neighbor killed a Fer de lance today...we killed one yesterday ( Brisas)    Don't go sticking your hand in bushes doing weeding work.   Boots, leather gloves...moth balls tossed in the beds a few days prior to weeding are all good ideas.   As well, I have snake chaps I wear with boots when I'm in the field doing machete work.   Be careful if you are new here....those snakes hide real well and can really do some damage.

Our very first dent in our then new  pick up is in the shape of two cops on a bike.  Bill stopped then made a quick left turn and they plowed into the rear quarter panel. Dent's still there.   There was on the spot negotiation and hand shakes and we were off. ( after the initial attempts to scare the cr** outta Bill ) OK,  Bill stopped too fast on a turn and they were traveling too close to our tail.  It was both of our faults...so ...hand shakes and off we went.  Yup...tough baptism of our new truck....

Atta way !...and most likely the thugs won't follow you home after you go to the bank.  Low profilin it . Way ta go.   Our Yaris will be there soon at the rate my husband is colliding with the curb.

Judy...you crack me up...still laughing !!!!!

Heartening !   This is a move in the right direction. 

Our Yaris has soooo many battle scars from the curb.  So does my husband as I repeatedly give him sh**. for each new one. Now, there are so many I don't care anymore.   Parking in town is like self inflicted demolition derby !!  (gotta be extra careful if you bolt out to run across the street that you don't fall on your face with the un-level asphalt !!!!!)

I'm touched by your concern for others Marcelyn.  We need more of that.  Mighty sweet !!!! 

How did the petition go?  Folks in my Neighborhood Watch community would like to get more signed and to you. Many could not make it to Chiriqui Storage Swap meet.  We will be having a get-together Nov 10...might be a good time.   Meanwhile I would like to get some of those petitions and make them available ASAP to our folks here in Brisas.

Thanks........ALISON

Thanks !....

Go Danny go.......

Somehow I created my own gallery but have yet to discover how to put a photo in it since the first one.   I keep getting MEMBER GALLERY.  How to I add photos to my own gallery?

Keep fighting Marion.  Someday soon this will all be history.  One day at a time.  We never stop thinking about you...and send our prayers as well

Alison and Bill

Flossy sez..."Ya'll come on down"

( BBQ chicken...her favorite.  She can't wait ! )

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It seems it's quite clear that it is near impossible to be placing these 12 year old gun toters who murder in jail....here according to what I read on the mandate of treaties signed by the Republic.     Rehab/retention/vocational institutions ( into which they are retained for purposes of redirecting their criminal paths) seems the only solution to immediately get them off the street. The Rep of Panama is now is a very tough spot...and so are we. Don Ray said it will probably take a blood bath and a major insurrection of the populous to see some real action. Ok so if it takes the immediate building of numerous "rehab/vocational" facilities ...fine , break ground!   That's how  I see it...or understand it.  Problem is (as Roger points out...) the politics of this makes movement in a positive direction quickly very difficult.

Excellent...thanks Roger B.   Mobilization of NGO groups...such as "Big Brother/Big Sisters" that exist in the US , (groups such as the Kiwanis, Lions Club and I'm sure there are more) need to be encouraged to step up and take a bite out of youth crime by helping establish more programs.    The mentality of the barrio child criminal may be one that is feared here...I don't know.  I am also not informed as to how the social welfare system works here that mandates correction/protection of children in home settings that encourage crime.  My mom was a child social worker in a large city in the USA..  I grew up hearing her stories and her frustrations, and as well meeting her young clients.  Even in the best systems...this problem of juvenile crime is a challenge.  I remember in my college classes the question of whether or not a child should be tried as an adult was a big deal...still is....and it's 55 years later. 

One thing is clear .   If something pretty radical is not done quickly in this country, it will soon be a blood bath here with youth gangs.  That would be a shame to see happen.  Meanwhile each of us needs to take very seriously how very unprotected we are living in what is considered to be affluent communities by these young thugs.  Just when you least expect it...they could be in your face. Paranoid?  You bet.