House construction plans, garden, property development

We met with a new architect at our property this week. He had excellent suggestions regarding house placement and design. Deciding where, when and what to build will require a lot of thought and study. We both agree this is something that we will take our time with. Meanwhile, we are beginning to meet with master builders in the area. We visited with one who lives up the street from us. He showed us a video of an amazing wood chalet he built near Volcano Poas. The house was complete prior to the earthquake that occurred in the area earlier this year. This house was one of the only ones left standing or without substantial damage. In this type of earthquake country it really pays to have a good architect/engineer design the foundation and house.

I continue to be amazed at how quickly the plants are growing in my vegetable garden. The past few weeks of growth would equal a month in the Pacific Northwest. When the days are clear the sun is extremely intense which requires that I water in the morning and evening. I viewed the garden during a torrential downpour to witness how the water moves and pools in the area and noted places where drainage needs to be improved.

A team meeting with all of the workers was held at the spring on Friday. They had a proposal to divert some of the spring water to create a more forceful waterfall. Some people had doubts it could be executed in a way that didn’t look obvious that the water was diverted. The team meeting was good, everyone gave their input and in the end we decided it was best to leave the spring in its natural condition.

This week’s first picture is the view from the end of our property, looking out towards other farms. The second picture is of part of my vegetable garden. The last picture was taken at the team meeting.