Belize

Pine Mountain News

Hello again from Pine Mountain. Fall is definitely in the air.
We had our first hard freeze this week with temperatures
below 32F ( 0 C).

Soon the first snow will be upon us. It will be time to bring
the skis out. Now it is time for the poem of the week.


Poem of the Week






Snow flies in Colorado

by emily d stine

Snowflies in October, civilization slows to a crawl.
trading jack-o-lanterns for snowboots, a blizzard in fall!
Cocoa, runny noses, and snowdays to boot,
snow angels, ice skating, even a snowball or two.

Blizzards in Colorado--one, two, three feet of snow
so tall you have to shovel a path when your dog has to go.
A time to for a hearty stew--muffins if you're lucky.

And trees snow decorated like Christmas outside,
nightmare before Christmas on the great Hallow's Eve.
The ghouls and the gals knee-deep in the fun

The mountains in the distance, crisp, frosted in snow
The streetlights on the boulevards, topped with flaky
ice cream scoops. And all in the middle, in between it all,
me, my imagination and snowflakes to dream!



Feature Story of the Week

Belize

I am, in at least one respect, a terrible world traveler;

I don’t really speak any language but English. I can

sort of understand some stuff in a couple, most notably

Spanish, but most of my speaking actually consists of

pointing urgently. I mention this because I recently

returned from Belize, where the official language is English.

The locals don’t necessarily use it at home, but nearly

everyone I encountered spoke it well.

This is a legacy of Belize’s past as a British Colony, when

the small country on Mexico’s southern border was a

part of an empire on which, they boasted, the sun never set.

It’s also a fine little place to have a vacation. I say little, and

I mean it. While it’s not an especially small country in terms

of geography, although it’s not huge, it’s only got a

population of about 300,000.

What it does have is a wealth of cultural and, especially,

natural beauty that’s hard to match in Central and South

America. It’s becoming an increasing popular tourist

destination and travel spot. I was there for one reason:

Jacque Cousteau.

I should probably explain. About forty years ago,

Cousteau filmed and charted the Great Blue Hole,

a huge underwater sinkhole located in the already

impressive Lighthouse Reef. While watching entirely

too much PBS as a kid, I saw this and always wanted

to go. I was right. The spot is incredibly beautiful, and

this was some of the best scuba diving I’d ever done.

I also went to see the Hole Chan Marine Reserve,

which isn’t far from the Great Blue Hole. It’s an area

designed to preserve the natural underwater life against

fishing and pollution. It’s also a great place to dive and

swim with Nurse Sharks and Spotted Eagle Rays, if

you’re into that sort of thing. I am.

I also wanted to see Altun Ha, the ruins of an ancient

Mayan city. I figured that since the Mayans were

predicting the end of the world in 2012, it might be

good to see some more of what they did before that

happened. There are five hundred or so structures in

the central square mile, including the fairly freaking

huge Temple of the Masonry Altars, which I feel

could do for a catchier name.

If you’re more nature minded, you can catch the

Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. While it

possesses a plethora of native flora and fauna,

I was really interested in was the Jaguar Sanctuary.

I’ve always been a big cat lover; so getting to see

these big cats in action was a real treat, and one

that no nature lover should miss.

If you’re not running from Jaguars, swimming with

sharks or exploring the ancient Mayan city type,

you can take heart in the fact that there are also miles

and miles of pristine beaches looking out onto the

pale blue Caribbean. There’s always something

interesting to do or see in Belize, and I really wish

I’d had more time to spend there.

Pine Mountain Evening

It is evening once more at Pine Mountain ranch.
We have just finished dinner and are relaxing in
the family room.There is a warm fire in the fireplace
Laurel and Grace are playing a game of scrabble. I
am in my easy chair reading my discovery magazine

Tonight I am drinking my sample coffee from
http://www.coffeefool.com. Tonight's coffee is
Pumpkin Spice. This American roast coffee tastes
just like pumpkin pie and a slice of pumpkin pie
on the side makes it perfect.

My pie and coffee are finished now and it is getting
late. Laurel won the scrabble game and now it is
time for bed.

Good night all see you next week.

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