Roseate Spoonbills

These beautiful pink birds are not
seen very often here, so this
sighting was a treat. The photo-
grapher-in-chief fortunately had
a camera ready. They aren't as
blazingly coral-pink as flamingos, but they are a heavenly shade of pink. I don't think I have ever seen quite so many at once!

Nate

Nate is stalled off Campeche,
which is to the west of us, on the
west side of the Yucatan peninsula.
When he decides to move, it will be to the Northwest, and maybe Texas will get some rain, finally. We are seeing some of the outer bands, and it looks like a good thunderstorm is working up. 5" of rain has fallen in the last few days, so we don't actually need it. However, when you think of the months that go by without a drop, maybe more rain is a good thing. At least we know where the house leaks!

Hearts of Palm

Yes, it's just a palm tree. But such a useful plant. Our fence is woven with the center stalk of the fronds. Brooms are made from the leaves, as are beautiful hats, bowls and really neat grasshoppers!

Mexican scaffolding, one year ago

Nope. I wouldn't go up there. But they would . No fear. I saw them make this contraption, and it consists of sticks, baling wire,maybe some bubblegum and not much else. No one was hurt!

Today, One year ago

Since we weren't allowed to have a sunset tonight, I thought I'd go back into the archives to see what happened last year on this date. There was work being done on the house with a really scary scaffolding, and there was a thunderstorm, just like today!

Gobsmacked, or what you think as soon as you're 60

I had a moment of clarity in downtown Merida, also known as Centro, today. I was driving up Avenida 60, turned left onto Calle 61, left onto Avenida 62, then left on Calle 63. These four streets surround the big square, or Zocalo, in Centro. I was amazed at this elegant symmetry! I love the numbers part of it. Am I the only one to notice this? It was too cool. Someone tell me I am not completely losing it! Maybe I'm watching too much Anthony Bourdain. This sounds like something he would say.

I'm a lucky dawg

Maggi has just turned 1 year old. She loves to dig giant holes in the yard, but hasn't quite realized she could easily dig under the fence! She will root around in the sand, just like Tuli, and frequently looks like she's breaded. Oh yes, and she's a BIG dog. She almost barreled into me going down the stairs. Now I let her go first!