DREAMS FROM THE PAST, FOR THIS PRESENT

"ONE OF THE, easiest activities to take on is reforestation. Calls the attention thanks to the memories of El Yunque reforestation. A project should be implemented to plant trees in our roads and urban spaces using unemployed youth, and displaced workers. They could be trained in landscaping design and self employment and after this training to start their own business of landscaping and reforestation.

Green Brigades could be organized for reforestation, with VESTS (emphasis mine) related to this project. In a municipality of Chile, some time ago, I noticed the positive
effect among the citizens of these type of vests among workers of direct help to the citizens.

If a wide project of reforestation is developed we would have created new businesses, new jobs, a coolest country, a project of benefit for Puerto Rico and a heritage for the generation of our grandchildren. A tree takes five years to grow enough to offer shade and could live for over one hundred years. The question is, could we plant 2 million trees in highways and urban spaces to enjoy their shade in 2014?"

FROM
el nuevo dia
author
Nicolas Munhoz
Economist
page 45
14 July 2005

In my view, Nicolas, an obscure economist has surely planted a lot of beans and tomatoes in his life. When I thought I had seen/read/observed any possible sign of non-sense, Francisco Vacas, the editor, allow this manure to appear on this daily shopper, passing as a newspaper.

Nicolas was in memory lane mode about a reforestation that took place after some hurricane
in depression times. NOT the mental, the economic from the thirties.

I will not get in the facts of trees lasting a hundred years or growing in five. He should have read some manual about threes lasting 1o or less and growing in thirty. There is no understanding of
the issues, reality of watching television, reading newspapers or observing trees in sidewalks.

The most hillarious part is the one about the VESTS. It is a great injection of positivism in some
municipality in Chile to watch workers wearing some lame, cheap vest as is always the case, to make one feel optimistic.

This is the third side of the coin in Puerto Rico. Good intentions in a vacuum. If you look at the pictures appearing on this blog, or if walking by Ponce de Leon Avenue, or reading about my
inventory of trees you will have the picture of the future of any tree in Puerto Rico in the urban context.

Most empty headed goody goody people with good intentions repeats this crap like a mantra, expecting everyone to believe it. Unfortunately, most islander inhabitants believe it.

Time to go with a question: Why if the world is overpopulated every ignorant fool writing about things they do not grasp, often end "to leave something for our grandchildren". Their grandchildren will certainly be happy having shade instead of some fat bank account.

CHRONICLES FROM LUQUILLO BEACH THE FORMER BEST BEACH IN PUERTO RICO, USA

BAD NEWS FOLKS.. something rare in this wonder isle. We went the ecoturist way, to the beach in the tittle. It is a historical place since I saw the Atlantic Ocean at the age of eight for the first time then. I remember the blue, intense blue a moment never forgotten. Later, I have visited Luquillo, perhaps ten times in thirty years, perhaps less since I am not fond of the sauna heat, sun screens and all the paraphernalia that goes with the BEACH.

Too many children, fat, obese, noisy ones, with fat, obese parents. Perhaps five out of ten people down here belong to that segment of the population. It is like watching babi-rusas down at the Bronx Zoo.

The water was nice, there were perhaps ten tourists, white/blonds, surely there are others colored; for every thousand isle inhabitants. The music, makes you puke REGUETON for some time too loud as always the case, some tolerable regue, and most noticeable, the amount of people with their own radios in five different stations
all the way up seems to be decaying, IPODS? No money for batteries? That is a good
one, keep a tally.

The service of renting the chairs/umbrellas, pathetic. One guy picks your license, puts a white sticker, writes C/U, ten bucks the umbrella and five for the chair. To pick up your license is the TRIP. Since it is not in alphabetical order but in a stack kept together with a rubber band, the poor dumb fellow goes to every damn driving license at random until he finds yours. Then you walk with the poor overworked
fellow to pick the umbrella. At least this guy had a smile and earned his deserved
tip.

The walk to the bathrooms in paths made out of concrete, some with fake bricks were
all full of...make a guess...sand, garbage, tropical almond seeds, and else. No one has
swept these in weeks or months. The palm fronds are hanging or have dropped, on the sand, on the roads, everywhere you can look. The grass is all umkempt. The gutters, pavement with gravel, sand, plastic bags flying, cups, cans and so on.

The recycling bins up to the rim, plastic, glass and aluminum falling on the ground,
but there is no reason to be surprised. Ladies and Gentlemen. Who is in charge of the
maintenance of this dirty beach with tons of dead dry algae, drift wood and else by
the water? The ones and only PARQUES NACIONALES, in a tense struggle to defeat in stupidity the 007 RN and FIDEICOMISO DE CONSERVACION in any relevant issue regarding maintenance of green areas/environment/habitats.

Do not go anywhere..do not touch your mouse. The beginning of this adventure starts with the traffic jam to enter. There is just ONE LANE, with two silly, not two bright employees, in their ugly dark green uniforms. Instead of four, easily accommodated in the same booth, and TWO LANES, possible just with opening the exit, closed at this rush hour. Believe it or not.

WELL, the bathrooms at this beach, or any other public establishment in Puerto Rico such as baseball, basketball stadiums, public schools are a shame. Intense urea fumes in the atmosphere, clogged pipes, urine puddles all over, turds on guard and no toilet paper in sight. One has to see, smell to believe such barbaric potty training failure on one hand. A sign of the cracks in family structure and modern motherhood. I am fiftyseven years old. To watch this sick behavior/indifference
from the public/authorities tells a lot about discipline and priorities of the inhabitants. To witness the same patterns after that original trip to the Atlantic is not amusing.

The other reality, is the incompetent officers, in PARQUES NACIONALES, where are the supervisors? Does any body cares? That is why I express my criticism with such candor. There is nothing to hide. The time for accountability has arrived. Why is the top beach in the NORTH, forgotten by the volunteers environmental garbage collectors segment of the twenty tribes with their niches? Too bad for wrapped in the flag characters, PR inhabitants. Some seem to LOVE this, others
demand that you love it, I can not, will not. As Tina that ugly one, sang: What's love got to do with it?

I write more. When those mystics started EL YUNQUE campaign to have it, (destined to disappear under HOUSING DEVELOPERS MERCENARIES) ES), included in a 7th wonder competition, I let it slide. If this country can not keep clean public toilets in a beach of such exposure, beauty and its surroundings, what the hell will they do with a SEVENTH WONDER?

Unless these day dreamers really think the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT in charge of El Yunque and other National Parks installations will remain responsible forever to protect what evidently, judging from my experience, the clowns in government and Parques Nacionales, Fideicomiso and Recursos Naturales (007RN) can not, will not care for. It is time to call a spade, a spade.

And that is that...Another failed trip to the beach... Not a better toilet story than my post on GUANICA with portable toilets to the rim in MAY 2009: Friday, Saturday and Sunday....Puerto Rico, had a bumper sticker: TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT. I humbly add, take the blinders off, it is what it is.

BONUS FOR PR ISLANDERS

LOTS of beach fans seems unable to enjoy their stay
unless they bring a barbecue with dogs, burgers or chicken. Like
a security blanket.
The smoke in your eyes, fumes, charcoal, pollution. Where do you think this
hot charcoal refuse and ashes go? From hundreds of people?
You are correct! Right in the trunk of the trees and palms where their fat asses
had spent the day!

SEARCHING FOR PRIVACY AND QUIET IN OVERPOLULATED SURROUNDINGS

YOU probably noticed that our garden, its four cardinal points, is surrounded by concrete on the ground and the walls. In Santurce, many decades ago, became fashionable to pour concrete on every possible space in the backyard and
around the houses. Just to avoid the weeding. Many houses pretty or not, made out of concrete or cinder blocks.

If the house is over ten feet high as ours, you are fortunate to receive some ventilation during the day/night, if there is any, or is not blocked by higher structures. Otherwise,you better get a fan/air conditioning if you have
the resources. For the buying and the monthly billing. Otherwise think positive, how
many people have a full house sauna?

To fight concrete refracting heat and noise, I have chosen
different plants for the different areas with the same principles. I am not going to
spend my spare time pruning/trimming silly hedges. Instead I will plant the chosen
ones in such a way that when reaching adulthood the height will create a wall to stop others from looking and viceversa for privacy.

It is necessary to point that concrete is also the worst medium for acoustics. It increases the resonance, particularly of bass sounds. Every structure becomes a resonance chamber. One can hear the shitty common place music all the way up,
children/adolescents hollering, Mah, reminding me of a cow, conversations and else.

In the front of the house or west side, Murraya Paniculata. This bush can grow up to
twenty feet. It has small dark shiny leaves. White flowers, red seeds,
great for birds. The soft fragrance of the flowers is similar to: lemon, gardenia and Frangipani in its subtlety, contrary to the overwhelming sweet of Nerius oleander and Ilan-Ilan.

The ones I planted are about 3/4 feet tall, about a year old, and grow slowly. These bushes with a singular beauty fell in disgrace when plant propagators/garden installers decided to plant a TREE,
Ficus of any kind, but most popular is Benjamina, for hedges! This stupidity makes
YOU property owner who does your own gardening a hedge slave for life. Or your
finances will suffer, paying gardeners for hire. All because the Murraya grows slowly.

My plan is to let them grow straight or be substituted by other submisive cousins without any pruning ever. I want a natural wall with their tendency to round tops,
when left alone. I noticed that the populace believe that pruning whatever comes growing of the ground is MANDATORY.

For this reason in Puerto Rico, USA, and that fifty states country, you see the same
wasteful habit. It is pathetic to see the natural shape of a Calistemon/Bottle brush, nice wild/rebelious growing Pleomeles, or any other tree/bush with weeping tendencies growth become an ice cream cone. In this godforsakenisle is also common to see Arecas, those stupid looking palms, become a topiary!

Now back with the Murrayas, they will provide shade, fragrance, privacy decreasing the noise from the street. There is a wait some years but I am not in a rush. In gardening, waiting patiently is one of the virtues that one can get, learn, or refine at
least in the garden.

North/South sides of the garden, check the pictures in the right side of the blog if you
may, there are different vines, mentioned before. Also one Murraya, two Bouganvilleas, fast growers. There is one over ten feet high in 18 months in the west. These will also provide, shade, noise reduction and lots of color.

Finally the east side, perhaps my favorite side since it has the most of the bare ground in the house. There are 3 species of Frangipani, between twelve inches and seven feet tall. They are white, yellow and yellow/pink/white. Guaiacum, Arica papayas, Dracaena, Cadillo, Polyscia fruticosa and Hibiscus. Of the last two there are tree species of each. In essence the same principles are in mind. Privacy, fragance and quiet.

One thing to consider when planting along walls is future growth habits. In Puerto
Rico, machete yielding neighbors will dismember your vegetation without a blink.
I wil make certain that the branches grow in the direction of the driveway. With the vines on the fence, the risk is the same, but I do not worry. A vine can not be mutilated unles is one of those developing hard wood with time. In the tropics
Petreas come to mind.

And the environment, biodiversity, habitat, where are they exactly is it in this picture? Jaha, bilingual laugh. Contrary to isle crusaders of the third kind, every stone is in place in my granite tower. Everything mentioned so far, plus the other eighty species, help spiders, lizards, birds, bees that visit my garden daily or live in the ground:
centipedes and earth worms.

Now is time to go. Thanks for dropping by. Until next.

ANTHOLOGY THE BEST FROM ENDEMISMO TRASNOCHADO SPANISH DAYS FOUND IN ENTRADAS ANTIGUAS

12 August 2007

EL PARQUE MAS CARO..

Our debut. First in a series denouncing Cuban Alberto Areces Mallea, Phd and Mexican olmec princess wife. 15 acres of forest/ground destroyed. In eco/environmental disaster conspiracy with the following: Fundacion Luis Munhoz Marin,
www.flmm.org, 007RN, www.drna.gobierno.pr/,
FLMM Board of Directors, Municipality of Trujillo Alto and other accomplices, photos have not been published (75). There is no soil analysis, no record of insecticides, pesticides used as mandatory
by Federal Law,
and possible fraud of a non agronomist signing documents as such, nor
is the mandatory inventory of FLORA/FAUNA, required before ANY
wood restoration, reforestation in any educated circle.

16 AUGUST 2007

SOCIEDAD DE HORTICULTURA

The precarious situation for customers of services in
landscape installation and maintenance in Puerto Rico.
Total anarchy, without any protection for this segment of
the population, scams and rip offs.

21 August 2007

SUBSTITUYA LA GRAMA

Lawn substitution for gardeners and readers not willing to
pollute water, air, soil or disturb the quiet with gas/oil
operating machines.

22 August 2007

HORTICULTURA PRAGMATICA

The importance of physical condition and stamina while
practicing pragmatic horticulture.

23 August 2007

RENE THE BOTCHED JOB BUSH CUTTER

Critical observations of this overeater a la Pavarotti 'gardener'
of PASEO DEL BOSQUE, en Santurce. Partner with Rodriguez
Bou, the Madman Architect. Description of ingnorant practices
and names of the vegetation destroyed by this pillsbury looking
fellow.

This starts a new trend to inform readers who have no idea of how
this more humble day by day blog started. Also to suggest environmental theoreticians without rudimentary notions of this wide subject, crusaders of this persuasion to place in their blogs the Caveat emptor clause.
Since they do not: plant, read, propagate, walk or write about
relevant issues other than a dead one. Thanks for the fun times.

The environment is not what I believe it should be, but what these poor quality pictures demonstrate. Ignore this reality if you may, but this is more responsible than weeping, beating a dead horse on the head...and or
collecting signatures from the convenient air conditioned room of your residence/office.

The monkey knows the tree which is climbed.
Or the higher the monkey climbs the more
it will be exposed.

GET THE BLINDFOLD OFF COULD YOU?

DO NOT KNOW... In this field one has to multi task, the obssesion with 007RN, shows once again, the blindfolds of this obscure group, ignorant MYSTICS of essential
notions of what biodiversity, environment, habitats and everything else is.

They can not identify the average mutilated tree in our urban context( except in the mall of their preference) or determine if sick, planted, taken care off correctly. Is all for entertainment purposes. I suggest to this credential less preachy, touchy fellows that either they educate themselves, get some workshops to write with some authority beyond the sentimental, flimsy moods that caused the 1000 futile ones.

To show our readers in far away lands the reality of urban trees, the environment now and certainly what it will be in the future some pictures result of the First Tree Inventory of the Rio San Juan Area in Ponce de Leon Avenue. I dedicate this effort
to our Crusaders with the Blindfold, The Lesperians.
They do not walk in our streets. They never mention the subject perhaps because I, your humble servant have.

PICTURES STORIES

Marvel at Rio: This ugly construction created some reaction
initially when some Mahogany trees were cut off from the premises.
Students chained themselves to the fence, they appeared on the news.
Here is the result. Nothing changed. Rio Piedras used to be a charming place. Now is a ghost town, just missing the tumble weeds. This park was ugly,
from the start, Puerto Rico could be the only place where restoring
results in an uglier version, more expensive than what it used to be. In addition of lost somewhat old but shady Mahogany trees versus dead ugly, dry,
palm trees.

No trees/The lesperians do not see them: during my ten miles
walk on three days during the inventory of around 700 trees and
90 empty spaces I mentioned all the issues and problems with the
standing trees. Where are the trees that should be in these squares?
Should others be planted? The thing I still do not get is the silence
of the crusaders mentioned and every other fool in that bag about
these.

The metal cilinder: This is a bonus for the fifty or so islander
inhabitants that visit the blog. It is is on the Vertical Garden istallation
mentioned before at Western Bank. What is the point?
These metallic aberrations fixed to the ground and trunk will strangle
the palm since there is no space for growth in the future.
Believe it or not.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL PRESCRIPTION SECONDARY REACTIONS

I WILL GET later to the tittle. Meanwhile, if you come here to read about gardens,
horticulture, maintenance and such my apologies, I have neglected to inform this
reader segment on such happenings. But some of the stories to be told are new, even
if the plants have been with me for some time now, the Thevetia and Zamia for example. It will be a nice change of pace. Going out of our residence becomes a pain in the ass, environmentally wise as I will mention later.

Ipomoea alba, this climber was a seed exchange, mentioned before, if interested as the exact time that was planted go back in time. The flower diameter is about six inches. It begins to open between four thirty and five daily, one can see it completely opened the morning after, for a short while. Even when it fades is beautiful, it closes tightly and falls. Thanks
to Hazel Topoleski in Texas, I have this unique vine/climber, related to Bejuco de Puerco, another Ipomoea with a tendency I dislike a lot, it grows on the ground as grass or other invasives, ruining the effect.
Please go from the bottom up, not hard to figure out.

Zamia, from Bayamon, by division. The original, old, twice as big was inside, a problem with exterior plants. It got the worst plague of scales
I have ever thing in decades. This one is about five years, the pot was a present from a former IRS, coworker infatuated with his AUDI. A nice
fellow, great humor, do not know what will become of him if that car ever gets scratched or stolen.

Gisela and Jessica Trellis, these are made with nylon strings. The
T pipes as you could have guessed were for clothing lines. The second trellis looks much better as an upside down sail. If you look carefully the p strings are one on top of the other. The visual effect will be similar as
those highways with many levels and angles. There is a spider in residence where the two top strings are closer to each other, a bonus for any gardener, and some competition to the fourteen lizards of all colors between dark/brown/black to pale cream and sizes that
accompany me daily when I water them plants.

Most of the vines are assorted Ipomoeas I collected for the last 2/3 years, t among them
Clitorea ternatea, a favorite, and a rare one Cavalinna maritima. Advise to the wise gardener, these vines transpire a lot, even with moderate heat.
I do not suggest to plant them in pots at all, too much watering required.

The women with the actual names, were two blondes. One a senior, the other a junior. Nice blue eyes Teutonic all the way...unannounced envoys who God only knows what happened to them. Brought memories of old
refried hyppies.

Thevetia and Bixa orellana, the first is from a seed I collected, planted
in front of a cemetery in Villa Palmeras, where an old lady sell flowers
for the occasion in front of her house. I have never seen this tree that could grow up to forty feet high in my life. Later, during the last four
years I have seem some old specimens. I tell you what, unless you do not
mind sweeping leaves, seeds and flowers in the hundreds, do not plant it
in an urban context close to any paved areas.

Bixa orellana is a great conversation piece, the flowers are pretty, particularly a pink variety that is not the one I have. The native indians
used it for coloring food and other activities that you can research for sure.
I do not like the shape and size of the leaves and will not be able to plant
it anywhere in the yard for aesthetics reasons. I can not help it. But I know if I had double the area to garden, it would have it in a spot away from the rest.

ABOUT THE TITTLE

I have been thinking that to call , define, describe yourself as environmentalist demands
getting rid of your lawn, palms and hedges. Why? Unless you cut your grass with a herd of goats
or other rummiants of your preference, or a push mower, some can be used with horses, you
are polluting the environment in the following manner: gas, oil fumes, or spilled on the
ground, water. You are making noise, disturbing the peace for neighbors, flora and fauna.
If you are a LAWN FREAK, surely using fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides and fungicides
to keep your sterile good for nothing lawn lush and green, you are forgive me for being
so blunt, not my nature, screwin it up everything for everyone....and CLAIMING to be
an environmentalist. Unless you are a CATHOLIC, I inform you that one can not
be half a vegetarian, or cross the bridge just one half. PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH,
plant something, learn something about the environment, perhaps a dozen botanical names,
share it with your worthy constituents, go out and SMELL THE ROSES.


If what I have claimed to be the first inventory of trees in the Metro Area of San Juan is not,
then is the second. Certainly, the great society of islander arborists could find
if the claim is valid or not. I wrote it is the first, and so it will be until
something different appears.

SETTING TRENDS BEYOND THE SURFACE

ENDEMISMOTRASNOCHADO HAS accomplished a feat that no one else has claimed in modern or past times. The first complete INVENTORY of palms, trees
planted on both sidewalks from Rio Piedras ' Ghost Town' to Miramar, San Juan. Area.

If you are of the lesperian persuassion, (an obscure cult of make believe environmentalists) see it your way, this feat it is like eating four hundred hot dogs on the Fourth of July at Nathan's, in the world famous Brooklyn Coney Island Park, in fifteen minutes. With a little difference, the walking of fourteen miles (maybe more) helped me get thiner/handsome with ten pounds less.

Another slight difference is that once upon a time, the matriarch defined collecting
signatures through the web as 'DOING SOMETHING'. Diminutive, Paul Bayman, biologist, member of the Sierra Club with similar skills/resume, defined my views as 'mere whining'.. Well Pablito what do you say know? After all, you give tours about trees but seem unable to see sick/mutilated trees and the indifference unwilling to denounce/correct, give guidance, having some credentials, missing some courage in the University
of Puerto Rico? Oh, pardon moi, perhaps it is not in your job description or in the
Civic Ladies Position of the Sierra Club. Deaf/blind/mute apparently on this issues.
Ooopps, I just remembered of the promiscuous relation between Sierritos/Fideicomisos de Conservacion. Forget my words please, it can not be helped.

One thing is certain. I do not ENJOY when others hit a wall after the facts, there is no happiness here, (the will is similar), just a great desire to squash the responsibles ones of every ecocriminal activity soon or surely later.

KEEPING the focus, the Botanical Garden, theoretically is full of entomologists,
botanists, arborists and such. What are these scientists into? No one knows, is a well kept secret or mistery. There is not
a web page with the inventory of botanical names of what they have planted in their green pastures, or their discoveries, and/or research available for people as your truly.

Parques Nacionales, 007 Recursos Naturales (007RN), Fideicomiso de Conservacion, are crippled on the same leg (Spanish saying). How many employees are in these four good for nothing, government agencies. Five thousand, 1, 2 before
the firings/forced retirement? NO ONE thought of the relevance of a TREE INVENTORY EVER? Even though this notorious trilogy of agencies should be the ones setting trends, informing, educating the populace? If you offer me a position
I do it for free. I have the credentials and burning desire to be an Ilustrated Despot
in charge of your dead brains staff and managerial personnel.

Well I made the first inventory ever in our history, that I know of at least in fifty years. Horray for me...Thanks to the readers who have follow this adventure. Now, if you have a similar situation in your country, nobody listening, do the same...The environment will appreciate it...

END OF INVENTORY
UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO TO
PINHERO AVE
Begining

Almacigos 4
DK 1
Pitheloubium dulce 1
Eucaliptos 6
Lagerstromia 4

CERRA ST./ELISA COLBERG ST.
TO MIRAMAR STREET
End

Almacigos 111
Empty Spaces 1
Mutilated 2
Totals 130

Now that hatched chickens have been counted, It is pertinent to measure these
trees, with necessary recommendations as to which ones should be eliminated, uprooted for
growth defects or diseases. Later to plant the best species in the almost one hundred empty spaces, of mysteriously disappeared ones.

On my next posts, I will mention some anecdotes of what has been learned in the process. To the readers in countries with similar situations, an invitation to do something, go out yourself. What you do not know ask, search, investigate.

Words of Wisdom

Genghis Khan that marvelous
conqueror, forgave many things
from his opponents, except one:
Do not shoot the messenger

Sorry! I did not study
biometrics...