Last Night's Storm

Buenas tardes!

Lots of clouds have been brewing around this place every day, and while we have had 1.7 inches in our barrio, spread out over a 3 day non consecutive period, and a little rain and a little thunder and a little wind and a little lightning here and there, 

last night's midnight storm was a humdinger and since the contest began on the 24th this year, it is the biggest storm closest to that date.

And since I am the boss of the contest, I pick last night's storm to really begin our rainy season, as far as our contest goes. Please realize that I am not smart enough to be the boss of the rainy season itself.

 

Alamos resident, Gail Morden, came closest.

Guessing June 29, 5:30pm, put her 6.4 hours and minutes from the start of the storm here at our house.

Felicidades, Gail! You get the earrings!

I am certain those lightning bolts were right outside our window and I lost track of the power outages we had. But I guarantee that when there is a power outage in our bedroom, during a rain storm, in the summer, there is no air to breathe.

We only received 1 inch here in our rain gauge, but it happened fast as the storm lasted less than an hour, moved out, but returned around 2:30am to add more electricity and wind.

I am sure there were a lot of unprepared people out there.

 I know I was unprepared and have spent the better part of the day sweeping rain out of the open air sala, that is of course, the unfinished living room.

But it is good to have watering the yard out of the question.

There could be more rain this afternoon. I just hope it comes before dark so people have a chance to gather their belongings, put their bikes and donkeys under cover, put up a blue tarp where needed, and close the windows, which is what Senor was running around doing at 1am.

Congratulations, Gail! See you soon with delivery and can I pick up my basil plant then, too?

Mil gracias to everyone who joined in the fun!

Linda Lou

Our Sweet Cookies

 Hola.

 We have lost our sweet cat, Cookies, or 'Dawg' as Senor and I so frequently and fondly referred to him.

 He died very peacefully in his sleep, and he had been sick for awhile.

Normally I would probably not share something like this, but he was a popular cat. A lot of people knew him in Carnation, and people came to know him on the road during our travels south to Mexico.

 Here in Alamos, he had a lot of friends, and we think he made a lot of friends through the blog, too.

 More people asked about Cookies, the cat, than about us.

In general, he was not the most outgoing cat to visitors to the house.

 Often when we had guests he preferred to watch from a distance, although with certain people he would be very friendly, rubbing against them and practically begging for attention.

He loved catching and eating lizards almost more than he loved laying completely still on the asador with the fake doves, secretly waiting to attack when the real ones came around to eat. 

His day time sleeping arrangements were made under the coolest palms, in the dirtiest dirt, or on his back on the cool cement tile floor, and at night I often found him on top of Senor's stomach, rising up and down as Senor snored away peacefully.

He spent his night time hours in and out, in and out, and he required much more attention than a newborn baby. All twenty-three pounds of him kept our cupboards full of Whiskas, his favorite food next to chips and  cheese licks.

His regular cleaning and washing schedule always occurred, on the bed where Senor and I sleep, at promptly two am and included a thorough licking of our faces and hair.

Cookies had many accomplishments: 'Lizard Slayer', Hummingbird Chaser', Keeper of the Asador', and 'Flower Crusher' are only a few, but his greatest accomplishment will always warm our hearts when we think of him.

 We arrived in Alamos, in June, 2008, with loads of belongings and the two cats, Cookies and Ashes. After we had been here for around a week or two Ashes was suddenly missing.

 For days we called her, we walked the streets looking for her, we had the announcer truck travel through the barrios letting people know that we had lost our white and gray cat who had a tail that curled up high over her back. We were so sad, but Cookies was even sadder.

 He would not eat, he was listless, it was obvious he was heart broken.

Then late one afternoon Cookies was missing.

 We did not see him through the night and through the next day. We didn't know what to think.

  I sat in a chair in the yard and cried. 

We had not been able to part with these two cats that belonged to our kids who had both just gone off to college, we could not have left these cats behind in Carnation, nor could we have given them away, we brought them so far and now, they were both gone.

Late the next evening, Cookies came back.

 He was panting heavily, his eyes were cloudy, his fur was matted, he was drenched from a rain storm. He collapsed at our feet and we rushed to give him bowl after bowl of water. 

We had no idea where he had been or what had happened. We were just happy to have him back.

Around fifteen minutes or so, after Cookies had returned, Senor heard a squeak and looked up and there was Ashes, sitting right on the concrete at his feet.

Cookies went to get Ashes and bring her back home.

Sweet Cookies! August 1993-June 22 2014

The Big Cattle Drive

Hola.
I thought you might enjoy this afternoon's cattle drive. It may not look that big, eighteen cattle ,one a two week old calf, but it is on our street and that makes us special.

So, I had been told the cattle would be moved sometime this afternoon and while we watched the USA play Portugal, I kept listening for the bells and hooves. Well, they must have been watching the game, too and as soon as the five minute over time ended and I recovered from Portugal's tying goal, I looked down the street and saw Jose and Carlos' truck and knew they would move the cattle soon. They move them twice a year and I have shown you before, but this time I decided to take a movie of it.

Real quick I put the car inside the gate so it would not be in the video and I stood in the opening of the gate as they came up the street. As I was watching them it occurred to me that they could come inside the open gate, right where I was standing and so when you see the camera start shaking and jerking around a little you will know that I am starting to get a little nervous about my position. I was thinking how stupid am I......... especially when they did use to run right into the yard long before we put up the gate and then we would become part of the big cattle drive, running around like idiots trying to chase big horned bulls out of our yard.

Overall, you'll get the idea. Our street. Our claim to fame, 'The Big Cattle Drive'.

Rain is rain

 Buenas dias to summertime.

 It has been feeling like summer here in Alamos for quite some time now. 

 The pool is open on the main street, and families are under the huge cottonwoods, carne asada is on the grills, litres of coca cola on the picnic tables.

People are avoiding the Plaza by noon, some wandering inside the church where the big fans are blowing, and shifting the thick hot air from one pew to the next.

Over on the more shaded Alameda, people sit on the park benches all day to escape the heat in their homes, while teachers send students back home to get out of non air-conditioned rooms.

 The street sweepers are out at 4:30, in the early dawn and I wave to them as I take my walk to the arches. The gardeners are already fast at work by 5am, cutting back thick vines of bouganvilla.

 The 'Monkey Man' is up early trimming palm fronds.

The two rains we have had cooled us down momentarily but now the humidity is way up there. 

Still I can't think of any place I would rather be.

While guesses for the rain contest have ended now, the fun is just beginning as we wait for the 24th to arrive, which is when this year's contest begins.

 We had a good storm on the 20th, with over 1 inch of rain here in our barrio. It was a relief for the garden and the water shortage we always feel this time of the year.

 Last night we also had a wonderful show of bolt lightning. 

It was very close, to the east, and went on for over an hour, with rolling thunder and rain that accumulated here to only .1 of an inch. 

Still........... rain is rain.

feliz summertime to you wherever you are...........

Linda Lou

TV Time

Hola, buen dia.

Here she is, in the west wing....the Tucson new old goodwill tv. We could get her to do nothing when we got her home, but at the Tianguis on Sunday, we bought some very long rabbit ear things and they did the trick.

So while Senor grilled up some rib eyes, I messed with the tv.

 I got four channels. Two were showing 'The Simpson's', one was showing a tella novella 'soap opera' and channel four was live from Brasil, with rotating coverage of events from all twelve stadiums there and this is great because now we will not have to go back to Navojoa and stand in the electronics department to watch the World Cup. The security guards did not seem to mind, but I didn't see how we could go back this morning to watch Mexico play Camerun. 

 

It is also very possible that we will get all this on the internet as well. We will know more today.

 While Senor grills, the clouds roll across the northern sky and the full moon rises in the east.

For most of this week, a good chance of rain has been predicted for Alamos, on Saturday, but it looks like that moisture has scooted north to the Obregon area and we probably will not see a drop.

There are still a few days left before the contest cut-off date. So, feel free to join in the fun and anticipation of the big storms. 

You can get more information in the two earlier posts.

Have a great Friday, the 13th, everyone!

Linda Lou

Rollin, rollin', rollin'...........

 Hola, hola, hola. Look at this!

These clouds from late yesterday show what we see for days, here in Alamos, before the big storms hit. These are to the east, over the Copper Canyon, and we can see on the online radar that it has been raining heavily east of El Fuerte, slowly heading our way.

 In these two shots, above and below, you can see a difference in the lighting as the sunset to the west progressed. See how the long horizontal cloud below the dome appears to be rolling? It was rolling out and downward and back under. It was spectacular to watch and to top off the cloud formations, as it got darker we were treated to a terrific lightning display.

You have five days left to join in the rain contest.

 You do not have to live in Alamos!

 You can live anywhere in the world!

 Just make a guess for any day and time, June 24 and after, and specify am or pm. The afternoon of June 24, is heavily booked with some guesses, so if you want to choose that day, you need to get real specific in your minutes. Read the post before this one if you need more info and to see what you might win.

Okay, good, I just didn't want you to miss anything.

Linda Lou

Dia de San Juan Rain Contest

 Buenas tardes!

Every day the rain gets a little closer to us. See those mountains in the top photo? They are not even mountains, they are rain clouds building to the east, over the Copper Canyon.
It is pretty exciting to see the clouds. These began early this Sunday morning. I first saw them around five am and there was a strong cool breeze coming along with them. Now, at one in the afternoon, they are still there, but more broken apart and beginning to billow up with creamy white fluffs on top.
Each day they get larger and each evening they appear to be closer.

If you have followed the blog for awhile, then you're most likely familiar with the Rain Contest I have each summer in honor of the Patron Saint of Water, San Juan Bautista. His Saint day is on the Mexican calendar, June 24, and that day is believed to be the official day of the beginning of the rainy season.

I have never had rules for the rain contest, but last year over 100 people participated, so this year I find I need rules. They are easy.

Just guess a DATE and TIME, and SPECIFY AM or PM that you think the rains will begin. Your guess must be for the 24th of June and beyond that date...( no guesses for dates prior to the 24th)............

Yes, you can pick the 24th, the actual date, but several years ago, the rains did not start until July 4th. So, you choose.

You have until June 16 to get your guess in, that's 8 days from now. No more guesses after that.

And I get to choose which rain qualifies as the Big One. Last year's rain was really good on the 12th, and I counted that as the beginning, but it was super good on a later date after the 24th. So I gave a prize for the rain on the 12th, and then extended the contest and had a second prize and winner.

I have decided that waiting for the actual official Saint Day of the 24th is more exciting....and more official. So it may rain before the 24th, but the winning guess will be for the 24th and beyond.

Yes, you can pass this on to your friends, but if I don't know them, and someone else makes the same choice before them, you'll probably have to mediate to let them know to pick another date and time.

The time, and whether it is AM or PM is really critical for me. You have to include that, if you don't, I'll just remind you.

And below, is what you will win if your DATE and TIME, with AM or PM, is on the money.

I keep a ledger and every person's name gets written down with their DATE and TIME and  AM or PM.

You don't have to leave your guess here on the blog. You can put it on the Glasspondstudio facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/Glasspondstudio?ref=hl
Or you can email me your choice, or you can post it to my Etsy shop ( the link is on the right of the blog, just keep scrolling), you can call me up on the telephone or tell me on the street.

I always have a lot of fun doing this. I hope you do, too!!
Linda Lou

Harvesting the Walla Walla Sweets

Hola.
One of the best treats of the northwest, the Walla Walla sweet onion.
Now, one of the best treats of our garden here in Alamos.
Okay, not quite as big as the ones up in the northwest, but Senor thinks that is because he planted them too close together. Well, there is a new planting season just below the horizon!
We always cut off one end, and partially hollow out the onion, stuff it with butter and salt and pepper, wrap it in aluminum foil and toss it on the grill. Delicious!

All right, just to get your juices going, I will be starting the Dia de San Juan rain contest pretty soon. I will post the information in a few days, but you can start thinking about it. I know I am thinking about it because it is pretty darn hot and dry here. Water rationing is at its highest, but the water pressure is good. In fact, I am on my way out the door to water the jasmine.
Que le vaya bien!
Linda Lou