VIVIR EN LA PLAYA INTERNET

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1 VIVIR EN LA PLAYA COSTA PEDASI COMMUNITY NEWS Issue #10-May 2016 If anyone would care to contribute we would be very glad to receive submittals relevant to our new lifestyles here in Panama. Please feel free to share your experiences, tips, sightings, and announcements of interest. If you would like to be removed from our mailing list just us to let us know your preference. INTERNET The new internet infrastructure seems to be pretty much on schedule. The demarc in Pedasi is installed and the enclosure for the one on our end has been built and ready for the Equipment to be installed. The fiber from the road to the tower site has been buried deep in conduit and is ready to be connected. The tower parts have arrived and were painted last week. They are waiting to be constructed on the pad next to the equipment housing. I have not talked to Jose in a while now but I am happy to see steady progress towards the end goal.

2 LANDSCAPE It is interesting to note that Andromeda has revamped the landscape at their front gate. They have added stone walks, large rocks, and many new plants. I think it is nice that our sister development is working to keep up the look of things here at the end of the road. It has been a couple of years since they last freshened up the entrance and that is about as long as you can expect a feature area to last before it needs an overhaul of some sort. It is also noteworthy that they have added a second, larger, water reservoir tank to meet the needs of their growing community. You can see they are in process of enclosing the tanks to mask them from view from the road. Our own landscapes continue to prosper and will certainly take off once there is some consistent moisture in the ground. We are all set to add some additional work as the wet season slowly begins. The Board has anticipated the weed growth as well as the opportunity to plant 100 new trees in selected common green spaces. The new palms will be about a meter tall to begin with but after a couple of seasons they should begin to have a large impact in the overall look of the development.

3 THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK We are happy to welcome Jay and Naomi Kaskie to their new home in Casa 46. This is an interesting house that has blended some very contemporary design into the overall look of the community. This is the first home I am aware of that features a man cave. Jay has been allowed his own space in the garret at the top of the spiral staircase. The roof of the low tower on the back is a patio affording spectacular views of the ocean. Inside the open floor plan has a glass curtain wall connecting the space to the pool deck, yard, and ocean beyond. Jay and Naomi took a moment out of their too busy day to wave hello and then it was back to trying to find a place to store the sweaters they now know they did not need to bring. I miss those days; not! IN THE GARDEN It is still a dessert out there being kept alive by what moisture can be pulled out of the air. It is soon time to be pruning but I have been holding off until I feel the rain is closer. I need to cut the Japanese grass off to the roots soon also. If you do not cut it back a couple of times a year it just sort of thickens up like moss until you feel like you are walking on pillows. It responds well to a military style crew cut and quickly grows back to a lush looking lawn. I also have a big sack of fertilizer on my shopping list as it is soon time to dose everything with its six month shot of vitamins. It is a full day to be sure everything gets fed but I only need to do it twice a year. We did have some fun this month when the dogs discovered a Northern Tamandua or ant eater in the yard. I went out because the barking sounded more urgent than when they see one of the many feral cats out in a field across the road. The Tamandua was just looking for bugs to eat and that is fine by me. They eat up to 9,000 insects a day, mostly ants and termites. They are rather friendly and did not seem bothered at all by the dogs. It was about 30 long but if you subtract the nose and tail it is

4 not a big animal at all. When I got close enough to take his picture he very slowly left and headed to the tree line behind the back fence where I suspect he lives. He is a welcome neighbor that helps with the insect control. WEATHER REPORT The weather has been changing and definitely transitioning to the wet season. The humidity has been increasing and as the wind diminishes it has been uncomfortable. At least the bone dry sun and wind are no longer sucking the moisture we have out of the ground, pools, and plants. When we do get some cloud cover it helps to keep the temps down and a couple of evenings and morning have been downright cool. The north wind has been dropping off and beginning to switch to the south where the best rain comes from. We did get a couple of short showers that were marginally beneficial, but that is how it begins. Tonosi has been getting a lot of rain down on the tip of the peninsula. That is normal for them as they seem to be in a line to catch much of what the wind blows past us but then hits down there. It appears that winter is beginning and indications are for a typical wet season. PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS, & RANDOM THOUGHTS Larry Cronin is down for a visit. His first words were boy is it dry here. Hopefully he will be saying boy is it wet here before he leaves. Sunday, April 24 th we had our first rain shower last night. It was not much but enough to wet the ground and send the humidity soring. The day is looking promising to get some more but it is still early to have the significant rains that are to come. With the rain we last power last night about 3am. It may have been a lightning strike but whatever caused it was, it was enough to knock the power out for hours. My favorite appliance, the generator stepped in and filled the gap like a champ! The U.S. Embassy in Panama is pleased to announce its new passport renewal by mail for the convenience of U.S. citizens residing in Panama. Beginning May 2, 2016, eligible adult U.S. citizens will be able to renew their passport without appearing in person at the Embassy. For more information visit the Embassy Website. Late Sunday night into Monday morning we lost power again for about 12 hours. I was told that this outage went all the way to Coronado but have not verified it nor found out what the cause was.

5 Our newest resident Hoyt will arrive from the states in a couple of days now. He is all packed and ready to leave now. Another Power outage last night!!!! Come on Fenosa, this is getting very annoying. It is a busy Sunday on the beach today due to a large boogie board competition going on there. I was having coffee in the bohio watching the beach when a helicopter circled in low over the house. To my surprise it landed in the vacant lot to the west of the house! Six people got out and walked down to the neighbors where they will be staying. I have not met them yet because I am on dead line here but it has already been an interesting day. Elinor Roosevelt gave us these great words to live by;