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Posts Tagged ‘photos’

Magical and mystical…

Posted in Celebrations, Holidays, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 1, 2011| 2 Comments »

I don’t have words to express “being” last night in the Panteón of Santa María Atzompa…

Marigolds and tall candles grave

Elderly man and woman in cemetary with candles

Tall candles and flowers in cemetary

Mother holding child, illuminated by candles

Elderly woman bending over grave with tall candles and marigolds

Feeling so incredibly privileged.

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A shell of his former self

Posted in Animals, Gardens, Nature & Science, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 8, 2011| 4 Comments »

Remember Argiope from 2-1/2 weeks ago?

Orb weaver spider on web in Stalpelia gigantea.

Turns out, she isn’t as sweet as she looks.  Today, HE came, HE saw, and SHE conquered!

Female argiope and shell of male hanging above her.

Leaving him a shell of his former self…

Shell of male Argiope suspended above the female in web.

Within a half an hour, she had finished him off… leaving not a trace that he had ever existed.

Female Argiope hanging in web alone.

And, she was alone again, naturally!  Alone, that is, until their offspring hatch…

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She’s baaack…

Posted in Animals, Gardens, Language, Nature & Science, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 27, 2011| 3 Comments »

Argiope’s neighbor (of Orb Weavers blog post fame) has returned! Two days ago I spotted the Neoscona oaxacensis (Ms Oaxaca, to her nearest and dearest) nestled among the leaves of a succulent in the pot next to her original home. However, no large round insect catching web was seen.

Neoscona oaxacensis spider nestled in the leaves of a succulent

Apparently, last night Ms Oaxaca must have stayed up pretty late. This morning, when I came out to say, “buenos días,” I found her happily sitting in the middle of a brand new web.

Neoscona oaxacensis spider in the middle of her web.

According to SpidCat, the range of the Neoscona oaxacensis runs from the USA, down to Peru and the Galapagos Islands. They are not only beautiful and harmless, they keep the flying insect population down. So, if you’re lucky enough to have one in your garden, leave her be. If you don’t want to take my word for it, there was the study published in the California Avocado Society Yearbook (1980) that concluded,

…the significance of the orb weaving Neoscona in avocado orchards is probably not that they prevent dramatic population increases in the pest population or control the pests through the year. Instead, the presence of spiders, even in years of low pest populations, may dampen the increases in pest species during the later months of the season and serve as stabilizing agents to restrain the pest outbreaks during the interval between pest population increases and the numerical response of more specific parasites.

Anything that is good for avocados, is okay by me!

(ps) And now for something completely different… The answers to the Name that film quiz are:

  • Birds of America = Vecinos y enemigos
  • Brokeback Mountain = Secreto en la montaña
  • Easy Virtue = Buenas costumbres
  • Midnight Sting = El golpe perfecto
  • People I know = Noche del crimen
  • Tenderness = Asesino intimo
  • That Evening Sun = Una historia de traicion
  • Up in the Air = Amor sin escalas

Sorry, no prizes… just this bonus bizarre title translation my Spanish teacher contributed: Mrs. Doubtfire = Papá por siempre. Definitely a case of, lost in translation!!!

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Orb weavers

Posted in Animals, Gardens, Nature & Science, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 20, 2011| 8 Comments »

Clothing, tablecloths, and rugs aren’t the only things being woven in Oaxaca.  The terrace has a new resident, an orb weaver spider (family Araneidae).  I think, because of the stabilimentum (the white zigzags on the web), she is in the genus, Argiope.

Orb weaver spider on web in Stalpelia gigantea.

She had a larger orb weaving neighbor in the pot next door…

Alas, after a couple of days, the neighbor disappeared and her carefully crafted web fell into disrepair.  However, that left more food for Argiope.

Orb weaver spider on web with wrapped up green bottle fly

Apparently, green bottle flies are a favorite, because this is one of several she caught in a single day.  She’s chosen the perfect site for her home — in the garden’s previously blogged about, Stinky plant, attracting flies (aka, Stalpelia gigantea).

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Lush life update

Posted in Gardens, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 27, 2011| 3 Comments »

Returned from the mercado this afternoon to find…

Garden pot breaking on top of the garden god

… a crack in the pot.  Garden god bursting with pride???

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Lush life

Posted in Gardens, Weather, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 26, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Torrential rain by night; brilliant blue sky by day…

Garden god surrounded by succulents and cactus

This is the way the garden grows during the rainy season in Oaxaca.

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Crossing a riverbed for breakfast

Posted in Food, Neighborhoods, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

No, I didn’t have to ford a raging river… just make a harrowing 5+ second dash, while dodging speeding cars in an effort to cross Calzada de la República, which used to be a river that formed the natural boundary between Oaxaca and the village of Jalatlaco.

Today, Jalatlaco (“sandy embankment” in the Aztec language of Nauhatl) is a barrio (neighborhood) of Oaxaca, but República and its traffic continue to provide a daunting barrier and some colorful street art.

Colorful street art on wall with female skeleton, bird, and serpent

However, once beyond República, the atmosphere changes.  Cobblestones from the old riverbed line the streets and slow the pace;

Doorway on a cobblestone street.

color and foliage, not to mention crowns, add to the character;

Green wall with gate with crown and palm tree.

and stone walls line the narrow streets, shielding the neighborhood from the bustle beyond.

Stone wall

By the way, my breakfast of huevos divorcíados at El Biche Pobre was colorful and delicious!

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Strolling along Constitución

Posted in Culture, Random associations, tagged , , , , , , on July 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Just strolling along Constitución en route to and from the Oaxaca Lending Library.  First en la mañana…

Cross of flowers extending from a lamp post

and across Reforma, pasted on one of the previously mentioned Old and dangerous buildings.

Poster pasted on side of building advertising "Tianguis Cultural; Libertad y Resistencia; Plazuela del Carmen Alto; 25 Julio - 01 Agosto"

And then, en la tarde… father, son, and daughter waiting to perform on a stage set up at the Jardin El Pañuelito.

Father, daughter, and son dancers sitting on sidewalk waiting to perform

Going from here to there is never just going from here to there!

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Old and dangerous!

Posted in Buildings, tagged , , , , , , on July 2, 2011| 2 Comments »

Viejas peligrosas was the headline of an article in yesterday’s Noticias, chronicling the dangerous old buildings in the 484-block historic center of Oaxaca.  According to the article, 23 properties are at high risk of falling, are magnets for trash disposal, and are sources of disease.

Although en español, I encourage even non Spanish speakers to take a look at the revealing slideshow of some of the more egregious, but highly photogenic, properties at the end of the article.

In addition, I’d like to nominate this building:

Front of dilapidated building

And, what do you think about the roof???

Collapsing tin roof

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Ch-ch-ch-changes in the ‘hood

Posted in Random associations, tagged , , , , on June 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

After 35 days up in the USA (and yes, I was counting), I’m back in Oaxaca.  The old stove still “decorates” the driveway of my apartment compound, apparently following in the footsteps of the two refrigerators which graced the driveway for almost a year.

Old stove sitting on the side of driveway

However, there are a few changes in the ‘hood.  I arrived home yesterday, to discover a delightful new neighbor moving into one of the apartments below me; the stump of a tree across the street that must have toppled during one of the recent storms;

Tree stump in front of building

and a new canopy atop the Guelaguetza Auditorium.

Sun-shade on the Guelaguetza Auditorium

This is a “take two” attempt at this controversial sunshade; the first tore before it was even finished, causing last year’s Guelaguetza performances to be relocated to the university’s soccer stadium, across the city — making yours truly a very unhappy camper!  With family visiting, it was the first time I had shelled out the big bucks to attend and, not only could we not just walk up the hill to the event, we weren’t able to enjoy the fabulous views of the city and the mountains to the east, that the Guelaguetza Auditorium provides.

FYI:  Over the past week, Chris at Oaxaca-The-Year-After, has been blogging about the controversy.

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The Fathers of Oaxaca…

Posted in Celebrations, tagged , , , , , on June 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »

One of the sights on the streets of Oaxaca that always brings a smile is a father holding his young daughter’s hand in one hand and her little pink backpack in the other.  In the absence of a photo of that delightful scene, here are a few other padres y hijos…

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And the tree came tumbling down…

Posted in Environment, Parks & Plazas, People, Science & Nature, Weather, tagged , , , , on May 18, 2011| 3 Comments »

Oaxaca has been trapped in a low pressure trough that, according to Conagua, stretches from Chihuahua to Oaxaca and is bringing moisture from both the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.  It’s made for dramatic sunsets!

Pink clouds against purplish-blue sky

And, for the past three nights it’s brought spectacular sound and light shows… lightning streaking across the night sky in a 360 degree circle around the city; the rumbling of thunder in the distance and loud cracks when it hits close to home; torrential downpours and hail, even though it’s 80 degrees F (what’s up with that?); and hurricane force winds.

It was all too much for one of the massive 130+ year old Indian Laurel trees on the Alameda…

Trunk of fallen tree

El Instituto Estatal de Protección Civil was on the job, roping off the surrounding area with yellow and red caution tape.

Yellow caution tape blocking off area around fallen tree

Workers gathered to receive their instructions,

Yellow jacketed workers in front of fallen tree

environmentalist and artist Francisco Verástegui was interviewed by TV Azteca Oaxaca,

Man being interviewed by Azteca TV about fallen tree

a rope was placed around one of the limbs,

Rope around fallen tree limb

chain saws revved-up, as scavengers went about their work gathering twigs and small branches…

Man with chain saw and woman gathering small branches of fallen tree

and a truckload of the precious firewood departed the Alameda with a youthful escort.

Truck carrying chopped wood from fallen tree departs Alameda with three boys following behind

According to today’s news, this laurel tree wasn’t the only victim of these storms; other fallen trees crushed cars, power went out, and flooding occurred.   However, as they say, “ojala,” no human casualties have been reported.

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Screen time

Posted in Random associations, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 16, 2011| 2 Comments »

Are you…

Santo Domingo through chain-link fence.

Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Oaxaca

Guerreros baseball player at bat; fielder poised to catch ball seen through backstop netting.

Guerreros de Oaxaca vs. Los Olmecas de Tabasco

Giant Swallowtail butterfly against window screen.

Giant Swallowtail Butterfly in Oaxaca.

…inside or outside?

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Stinky plant, attracting flies…

Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Nature & Science, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 10, 2011| 5 Comments »

Twenty-four hours in the life of one of the more bizarre, and almost prehistoric-looking, residents of the terrace garden, a Stapelia gigantea…

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Trying to identify this plant I did a Google search using the terms:  cactus, stinky, flies, star flower… because it definitely smells gross, has incredibly large zebra striped star-shaped flowers, and is a favorite of green bottle flies!

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Serendipity on Viernes Santo…

Posted in Celebrations, Holidays, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I opened the front gate this morning to find the sidewalk had morphed into an Estación de la Cruz.

Station of the cross on the sidewalk with Jesus and Nuestra Señora de la Soledad.

Worshipers prayed, recited the appropriate devotions, and then slowly moved on.

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