Kitten needs home - porfis

Adorable kitten needs a good home!

We've had it since Thursday - she gets along well with our dog, and would get along with our cats except thay want to hurt her.

She is in really good health and today I will get meds to rid her of any parasites.

She is eating and using the litter box when in her box.

She uses the garden when outside and doesn't go on the patio.

She is very playful and so much fun to watch.

We just can't keep her.

Like I said our cats are out to do her harm and we can't continue to keep them separated.

 

 

Things are Wild in Mérida

The Wild9 9th World Wilderness Congress is going on in Mérida as I sit here in my jammies typing this note.

Here is a link directly to their brochure ,
and here is a link to their webpage




I happened to be at the Fiesta Americana on Friday night and observed participants to this congress taking care of registrations, signing up for seminars, discussions, workshops, etc.  And I also saw some of them relaxing in the bar.    This has nothing really to do with anything...except that I saw them.

This is a big deal for Mérida, the Yucatan, and Mexico in general.  Each past conference location has contributed greatly to the location in which it was held.

Associated with the conference are a group of painted jaguar sculptures along the Paseo de Montejo.
It is fabulous to have sculptures on Montejo again.   Here is a link to Yucatan Today's story and some of their photos of the jaguars.

I plan to go today and walk Montejo and take photos of the Jaguars myself.  The Yucatan Today article says 10,  I've only seen 6 as drive bys, so the walk will tell the tale, or tail...

The President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, the honorary host of WILD9, was the opening speaker and welcomed the participants.  presidente Calderon is considered a 'green president' because he has launched many national, regional and global environmental initiatives. He supports environmental issues and there is the promise of significant and effective new environmental action.

One of the highlights of this conference is Jane Goodall.  She will be speaking as well as leading a workshop.

So, these are exciting times.  OK, Tom is up, and we can get a move on and go walk the dog and take the photos!
More later!!!!

PHOTO Time - we had a lovely walk, tired out the puppy, saw folks we know, took pictures...

So, the doorbell rang, and ...

So there we were, a lovely overcast, cool, rainy morning discussing our options for the day.  Today is one of those rare days where we have nothing on the schedule until I need to leave for spanish class at 5.  

So what to do on this great free day - well I want to go to this store, Pacsadeli, that sells all sorts of import food items.  I have been but not in about a year, maybe more.  Friends last night told me they carry miso, and oh do I love and miss miso.  

Oh, and the Michael Jackson movie is playing, it's only here for a short run, and everyone that has seen it says we must see it as well.  I do like MJ music, but that's it.  I like it but am not crazy about it, now bring Black Sabbath or Uriah Heep to town and I'm first in line.

Well anyway, we were cleaning up a few things and the doorbell rings - Tom goes, and next thing I hear is him cursing, so up I get and hustle to see what's the fustle...


Well here's what he's upset about -

Trust me, he wasn't smiling when he was originally holding up this bag.

This is what was inside

of course by now we've dried them off, dragged out the old cat carrier, put them on a towel, and are feeding them some gound pork.  Thank goodness I had just made dog food yesterday so there is a good supply of soft wet food.

So this is the smallest of the two, this picture is fuzzy, but shows how cute it is.

Here you can see it's markings

This is kitten #2, the bigger of the two.

And here they are together, full bellies, warm and safe...but not for long....

Look at that little white point on the black kittens tail.  That's the only white we see on it!

we do not want these kittens

but I am sure someone out there will take one or both.  They seem to be maybe 4 weeks, still a bit wobbly, but agile.  Able to eat on their own, so far they haven't used the litter box, but...

We must be on a list because about a year ago someone threw, yes hurled a kitten over our front wall in a pink plastic bag.  Luckily the kitten wasn't injured and we placed it that day.  Although that placement didn't work out the kitten eventually went to another friend JT, who is taking very good care of it.

JT????????

Dia de los Muertos or Hanal Pixán, as it is known here in the Yucatan

Today is Dia de los Muertos.

November 2 

We live in the rumbo/barrio/neighborhood of San Sebastian, which has it's own church.  We are also just a block away from the church la Ermita de Santa Isabel de Hermitage, which has a lovely Parque La Ermita just across the street from it.

For the 3rd or 4th year now the Ayuntamiento AND various other organizations have sponsored a Hanal Pixán event on the street between the park and the church, reportedly for tourism.  Trust me, WAY more locals come to this event than tourists. More than 200 altars are reported to have been presented by the different neighborhoods of Mérida this year.

Dia de los Muertos celebrations vary regionally here in Mexico, with the Yucatán's Hanal Pixán being a bit different from the rest.

There are actually two Days of the Dead: November 1 and November 2.  The tradition dates back to the Aztec civilization. Coincidentally or not, these days are also the Catholic holy days of All Saints' and All Souls' days. In Mexican culture, the lines between ancient tradition and the customs of the Spanish Conquistadors frequently blur.

November 1, is reserved for the children, for honoring the souls of the little angelitos. November 2 the adults are remembered.

The Maya people believe in immortality of the soul. As a part of this belief system they created a series of worlds where the dead would go, according to their destinies, sort of like Dante's Inferno and the 9 levels of hell, although not all go to hell or purgatory.


Day of the Dead, or el Dia de los Muertos, is a happy celebration in Mexico when the souls of the departed (difuntos) return to join their families and friends in the land of the living. It is a joyous time, celebrated without tears, which can make the return pathway slippery.
 
The Dead are full of Life.
We see it in the statues, toys and trinkets of el Dia De Los Muertos. Miniature skeletons sporting mohawks and big grins play in rock bands. Paper mache skulls bear pink flowers for eyes and green lizards on their brows. Wooden skeletons on rods dance wildly, with arms and legs flailing, whenever you pull their string. The calaveras sing, dance, laugh—they even ride on merry-go-rounds and drive rickety wooden trucks.

 

 

The Calavera, (skulls and skeletons)  are the number one symbol for the Days of the Dead. They are not presented to terrorize. Conversely, the calaveras represent the playfulness of the Dead as they mimic the Living and frolic amongst us.  On the Days of the Dead you will also see the Devil.  He came to the holiday from the Catholics, who tell us to be saintly or be banished to Hell or Purgatory.

Dia de los Muertos is not a morbid occasion, but rather a festive time. Generally speaking, the holiday's activities consist of families welcoming their dead back into their homes, and also visiting the graves of their departed loved ones. At the cemetery, family members clean up the gravesite, decorate it with flowers, and set out and enjoy a picnic while visiting with other family and community members who gather there. In both cases, celebrants believe that the souls of the dead, the ánimas, return and are all around them. 

Here in Mérida the Ayuntamiento has spent a lot of time preparing the cemetaries for this celebration.  Cleaning, painting, restoring statuary to its upright position.  And unfortunately, I beleive they have removed the dogs as well.  Always before on my walks through the Cementario General there were quite a few dogs present, this last week I saw nary a one.

The meals prepared for these picnics are sumptuous, usually featuring the foods the departed loved ones liked.  A traditional dish here in the Yucatan is the chicken and pork dish, mucbilpollo.  There is also a traditional special egg-batter bread, pan de muerto. Gravesites and family altars in the homes are decorated with flowers and adorned with religious amulets and with offerings of food, cigarettes, sodas, whatever the things were that were favored by their dead relatives; and toys for the children.

So here are a few photos from tthe celebration at La Ermita on Friday night.

Some altars

It was really special when a family would invite you to step in to their home to view their personal altars

and there was tthe crowd...

and the Corredor de las Ánimas

each year there isa symbolic cemetary with significant themes; this year was about equality, justice, and rights for all.

I especially liked the one :"Derecho a Que Las Mujeres Valgan Mas Que Una Vaca" That a woman should be of more value than a cow!

Some of the background information was taken from YucatanLiving.com, YucatanToday.com, and GlobalGourmet.com  - some excerpted, some lifted in completley.  None with permission, my bad!

Stuff with Lida and Diana

I post with some infrequency about some of the things we do with friends Lida and Diana.

This past Wednesday was Lida's 3rd 29th birthday.

So I made a special lunch and had them over;

they also brought with them their friend Vanessa who owns a ScrapBook Crafts Store here in Merida. Scrapbooking and Crafting are passions for Lida and Diana, as are their rescue pets. You can read a great story about their rescue pets at yucatanliving.com.  And you can check out their own blog about the animals here.

So, back to my story - There is a big crafts fair at the convention center this weekend; Lida and Diana are working there at Vanessa's booth for her store ScrapBook It. We went to see them on Friday morning. L y D also have a corner of their cat and dog theme crafts available for sale to help them with the expenses of all their beloved beasties. Of course I picked up a few things.

We strolled around a bit and then on our way out we noticed another fair in another of the big salas and stepped in. There were items from states all over Mexico. I was drawn to a display of absolutely gorgeous tropical birds.

And just couldn't help myself - I now have 2 pairs of Zebra Finches.  

We have a large cage that we used in a display on the patio; it is now being made bird ready so for a day they will need to live in this little jaulita, which by the way resides in the trunk of the car, because you just never know when you might need to transport a bird or 2 or 4.

While living in Colorado I always had finches and canaries.  Tom would build me fabulous flight cages and I would breed and sell the birds.   I see a new project for Tom in the very near future.   I already have a few ideas for small flight cages; 

What do you think of this?  I could be sure it is wide enough to wheel inside in case of storm/tormento/huricane...

Oops, my bad!

It was recently pointed out to me that I had neglected to do something. This in and of itself is of no surprise to me. I find myself forgetting or neglecting to do more and more things.

Fortunately, for me, this one is quite easy to take care of.

I apparently have not updated on the completion of our grilling station.

Recall the post about building the grilling station?

So here it is in all it's glory - It's gorgeous, it works, and I couldn't be happier.

Now we just ned to add proper lighting, exten d the roof line to create a cover, a couple steaks and some fish, a few beers, maybe a margarita, some veggies on skewars, ....

Bugs and Beasties Beware!

It was a Wild week in the sanctuary.

After my mom departed (I started out calling her 'the momster' and then thought Oh some might equate that to monster and think I was being mean or negative. And really I was was thinking it in an affectionate way. How odd) Anyway, after she left on Wednesday morning it was back to business as usual.

Gaby, the lovely woman who comes every Wednesday and helps, actually does most of the housekeeping was here. And for some reason we decided to move all the stuff in the pantry, you know fridge, well fridges, yes we have 2, wine cooler, storage bins, etc. Underneath one storage rack in a pile of dust bunnies we found a black scorpion.

No, not this one.

I didn't think to take a photo, which I really should have cause Tom killed it with his pink flyswatter.

Then next thing you know there goes a mouse and the hunt is on. Tom with pink flyswatter, me with the broom, and Gaby with the dustpan. We even brought the puppy in and she let us know exactly where it was, she is truely ruthless.

Let's just say - we were victorious and the house is currently free of 1 scorpion and 1 mouse. Oh and the bodega is missing 2 rats. We are ruthless hunters of little creatures. Oh and one large cockroach drowned in the pool.

Bugs and Beasties Beware, we have a pink flyswatter and we are after you!