June was the month for heat, frequent showers, and humidity. You're lucky you didn't visit me then - the abundance of blossoms didn't offset the swarms of mosquitos. July has been a relief, mostly nice summer weather. Hopefully this year's busy hurricane season will not take a toll here but, living a few miles inland, we should avoid most of the problems if we get that sort of unwelcome visitor.

I have continued to stay healthy since my "weight reduction program" last year. No problems since my slow recovery, so I have been very active and enjoying the ride.

My dogs have been doing quite well, eagerly looking forward to the daily morning adventure walk. Solo Vino has recovered from a couple of setbacks - treatment for heartworm, and a bite on his leg as a result of not backing down from the neighbor's big junkyard dog.

My alternative energy activity has seen a few recent successes. Here are some photos of a recent installation in my village:
http://pueblosacbe.com/gallery-tarzanpower.html
The setting up of the business continues to move very slowly, but with small incremental progress. Mexico may be the ultimate test of patience, but I still enjoy being in the slow lane.

I have organized and updated some of the project websites. Take a look, especially if you want to see some photos and movies of how things look here. The movies take a while to load, but I think they are worth the wait.
http://pueblosacbe.com/
http://palkuntah.com/

I have been doing some survey and documentation work for Guillermo Siliceo, an amazing developer who is building several homes in my village. Here is a preview of his earlier work in Mexico City.
http://pueblosacbe.com/gallery-memo.html
Stay tuned for occasional updates on his new projects.

For those who are familiar with the mini-drama of my past friend Jim Ann, here is an update. She has ignored my offers to equitably settle our finances for over a year, and she has been spreading her famous texas tales and venom in the local rumor mill about me and my associates. So I recently presented her a final offer of a property equal to her investments with me here. Her response was to threaten legal action. How nice. I hope she can just get a life, take the offer, and move on to some more constructive activity.

Fortunately my faith in the potential of humanity is not lost. We continue to be visited in the village by wonderful volunteers who share their skills and experience in return for our hospitality. This building of community is what it is all about in the long run.

Well, that's about all the news for now. Take care, and write soon!

Bill Barton