Hola Arturo, glad to hear you have been exploring ATP. There is so much here and so many knowledgeable and humorous people. I live in the tropics 19 degrees above the equator. I was born and raised in the US, was able to take an early retirement, moved to Guadalajara (big city) for a few years and now here in Colima. I always have my options open to return to the USA but i just have not felt the urge to do that...so here i am. I've been in Colima for 7 years now and i have noticed climate changes in that short period. Weather was so predictable for the first few years. The rainy season would start in June with periodic rains and end in the middle of October. Now things are not so predictable. I start planting my garden in February and everything grows so well, with many plants flowering year around. This year, during the time the Volcan de Colima (aka Fuego) was exploding, i planted in February as is customary...but nothing grew, some seeds hesitantly germinated...the weeds didn't even grow and there were very few butterflies and bees in the garden (probably because nothing was growing). It was so odd, and i didn't connect this with the volcanic activity until recently (end of July to today), the garden started growing...all new growth so now i am having Spring (February) in August. I am beginning to think that the plants and small garden critters are able to know, via their connection with the earth, that the magma is rising in the volcano. I have learned to watch the activity of the ants to know when we are going to have a storm. They all want to come inside and they become very busy with their activities. 60km is quite close for a volcano to be. Do you have many sheep? You are lucky to have a barn to keep them protected from the ash. So many domestic animals perished on the mountain here but there was no human loss of life. And, we were lucky with the ash...only two minor dustings, while people to the northeast of Colima were hit with heavy ash fall. How do you feel about your volcanos? I do not find that people fear the Volcano here although it is one of the 10 most active in the world. I do not feel fear...i find it fascinating and i feel a kind of privilege to be able to witness geologic history being made. Perhaps i would feel differently if i was dependent on farming for a livelihood. I saw the photos of your greenhouses and your location looks beautiful. What do you grow? Beverly
