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This is just a brief piece to remind the OROG Community that we are still here and about. We arrived back into the Magic Lower Rio Grande Valley on Monday afternoon just past. The earliest hours of Monday were a bit of a challenge.
What is called "la madrugada", an ominous-sounding word that actually only means, generally, the period between 00:00 hours (midnight) and what we would call "morning's first light", we were involved with a long-lasting, extensive cluster of thunderstorms. They were originating both in the mountains...then moving East...and in the North, coming down from Texas, and moving South where the clusters unified with each other and proceeded to bring down the Tears of Angels upon us.
We received in that area, which is roughly 20,000 square miles, anywhere between two and ten inches of rain during a six to ten hour period. When I left at 07:00, gutter-rushes and puddles were everywhere. Chaff and small to medium sized limbs, along with a few large limbs and trees were downed, and they paralleled the little paved route to the main highway. In keeping with the general situation in Mexico, the small, rural road has now improved to the point that, what would have been a washout 20 years ago, has become just a drive that required only mature caution and deference.
Our arrival at the destination in Texas was accomplished before noon. My job, besides unpacking, was to process some of the few pictures that had been taken in the days just before the storms. To the left are two flowerings of the peculiar trunks that shoot up out of the hennequin maguey after between seven and up to fifteen years of that plant's existence.
In the light of the late morning, one can appreciate the truly strange, weird, peculiar, even almost extraterrestrial nature of the sprouting. At the tips of the branches are flowerettes that, in different times and in similar places, were taken and planted to develop another great extension of hennequin maguey plants.
At one time, in Tamaulipas and generally around its capital city of Ciudad Victoria, there were over 2,000,000 acres of these plants...all rowed up in great lines, awaiting for that very moment when the plants began to confess to their pregnancy (as in the above photo), which would result in the sacrifice of the already dying central plant (el quiote), and the subsequent planting of her 100 - 200 babies. The main "asparagus", which is strictly my term, as in "Texas Asparagus" to entertain my tourists on the excursions into that area, would dry into a very nice, straight pole. That resource would be used as the apex-point for a roof of a jacal (ha - KAHL), the name of a rustic mud, stick, and rock home, and/or any of its humble but comfortable rooms.
The leaves of the maguey would be battered and beaten by English thresher machines in order to reveal and allow extraction of the magic fibre within. Those machines were made specifically, in England and to a lesser extent in Mexico, to make the access to fibre easier. Great maritime rope and all nature of work clothes reinforcement was drawn from plants identical to those pictured. They were the many time great-grandmothers the plants the OROG sees.
My oldest child...named after two of her mother's fore-bearers...planted Blue Mist weed in a huge pot, and the planting exploded with growth and production of flowers. This greenery shown above is Blue Mist weed as well, but perhaps more primordial because it is from the area of its "known" origination. It is famous for being the "rest-stop" of preference for the Monarch Butterfly that moves between a couple of places in North Central Canada and a few places in South Central Mexico. That stopping place is a quadra-generational migration between those areas which ebbs and flows during the decades. Each year there are long moanings about how there are not as many now because George Bush killed them all except for the survivors.
This year, however, Obama came and restored them to life. But he did it at night so that no one would know.
All kidding aside, however, destruction of the forests near Agangueo, in the highlands of the State of Michoacan, between Mexico City and Guadalajara, due to the value of one 100 foot trunk is around 100,000 dollars, has done a bit of damage to that race of butterflies. But they always come back...and this year in force.
The next picture shows a small but important planting we have near our grilling and outside cooking area when we have guests who want to burn meat. The pictures the OROG sees is actually the flowing of oregano. We are hoping to disperse the seeds over about 200 square feet near the "parrilla" (grilling place), and thereby have an almost marketable harvest of "wild oregano", which is the best thing for poultry cooking and a thousand other things.
We use a lot of these natural, local, common, and enjoyable spice plants in our effort to have a wide selection of both Mexican and other national palates pleased with our very humble kitchen. We have, besides the oregano, rosemary (romero), basil (albaquar), and such things as cebollin (say - boh - YEEN) which are true chives, that are found now in abundance in the Quinta's gardens. We even have mint and another plant the Mexicans call "Vicks" because it has that very pronounced mentholated fragrance. And it is used by the locals to alleviate the problems associated with sinus, nasal, and upper (as well as lower) lung involvements.
Everyone can appreciate the flowering and spectacular show that the Lord's Nature puts before us. This usually means that even the small things, such as the picture to the left...showing the "explosion flower"...are lurking around to surprise the visitor.
Another is the "Butterfly Weed" which we have allowed to sprout here and there on the grounds of the Quinta. That poor plant has the misfortune of having hosts or owners who are horrified at the appearance of "worms" on the plant and who then fumigate or physically destroys the poor butterfly larvae, who are only doing what nature intended.
Those larvae, of course, become various types of very impressive butterflies, so each fumigation is an emotional and physical setback for both man and plant and beast.
Here, one can see the flowering of the famous "Crown of Thorns" plant, and in the background are some of the butterfly weeds along with a good stand of "romero" or what we call rosemary. This particular romero is, in fact from around the area...I do not know if it is native...but it has been known to be in this part of Mexico for at least the entire colonial period.
We could go on and on about all of this. Some of my impatience comes from having to deal with quirks in this computer and my lack of ability and/or intelligence to understand how to fix or adjust what is going on in this computer's brain. Frankly, it is more than just a bit of a daunting task.
We now show the "gift" we were given by a family which has an abundance of cats...which is a rarity in our community and surrounding area. This is a pure-bred, full-scale, alley cat who is full of joy and playfulness.
That demeanour does not sit well with our older two females, although the tri-colour does try to practice tolerance and provide instruction to the white male. One problem we have, however, is the fact that the kitten is absolutely and certainly deaf.
We began to notice that he did not respond to loud noises in the least. I can clap my hands, very loudly, within 9 or 10 inches from the back of his head, and he will not even move or flinch or...hear.
Beyond that, he eats well...perhaps 10 to 15 times a day, and he likes to sleep in inconvenient places. With that considered, it should be understood that he is a purebred cat. He quickly understood that he was the owner of the house and would abide by his own disposition.
We shall do some more in a bit. Thanks for the attention and interest.
El Gringo Viejo
What is called "la madrugada", an ominous-sounding word that actually only means, generally, the period between 00:00 hours (midnight) and what we would call "morning's first light", we were involved with a long-lasting, extensive cluster of thunderstorms. They were originating both in the mountains...then moving East...and in the North, coming down from Texas, and moving South where the clusters unified with each other and proceeded to bring down the Tears of Angels upon us.
We received in that area, which is roughly 20,000 square miles, anywhere between two and ten inches of rain during a six to ten hour period. When I left at 07:00, gutter-rushes and puddles were everywhere. Chaff and small to medium sized limbs, along with a few large limbs and trees were downed, and they paralleled the little paved route to the main highway. In keeping with the general situation in Mexico, the small, rural road has now improved to the point that, what would have been a washout 20 years ago, has become just a drive that required only mature caution and deference.
Our arrival at the destination in Texas was accomplished before noon. My job, besides unpacking, was to process some of the few pictures that had been taken in the days just before the storms. To the left are two flowerings of the peculiar trunks that shoot up out of the hennequin maguey after between seven and up to fifteen years of that plant's existence.
In the light of the late morning, one can appreciate the truly strange, weird, peculiar, even almost extraterrestrial nature of the sprouting. At the tips of the branches are flowerettes that, in different times and in similar places, were taken and planted to develop another great extension of hennequin maguey plants.
At one time, in Tamaulipas and generally around its capital city of Ciudad Victoria, there were over 2,000,000 acres of these plants...all rowed up in great lines, awaiting for that very moment when the plants began to confess to their pregnancy (as in the above photo), which would result in the sacrifice of the already dying central plant (el quiote), and the subsequent planting of her 100 - 200 babies. The main "asparagus", which is strictly my term, as in "Texas Asparagus" to entertain my tourists on the excursions into that area, would dry into a very nice, straight pole. That resource would be used as the apex-point for a roof of a jacal (ha - KAHL), the name of a rustic mud, stick, and rock home, and/or any of its humble but comfortable rooms.
The leaves of the maguey would be battered and beaten by English thresher machines in order to reveal and allow extraction of the magic fibre within. Those machines were made specifically, in England and to a lesser extent in Mexico, to make the access to fibre easier. Great maritime rope and all nature of work clothes reinforcement was drawn from plants identical to those pictured. They were the many time great-grandmothers the plants the OROG sees. My oldest child...named after two of her mother's fore-bearers...planted Blue Mist weed in a huge pot, and the planting exploded with growth and production of flowers. This greenery shown above is Blue Mist weed as well, but perhaps more primordial because it is from the area of its "known" origination. It is famous for being the "rest-stop" of preference for the Monarch Butterfly that moves between a couple of places in North Central Canada and a few places in South Central Mexico. That stopping place is a quadra-generational migration between those areas which ebbs and flows during the decades. Each year there are long moanings about how there are not as many now because George Bush killed them all except for the survivors.
This year, however, Obama came and restored them to life. But he did it at night so that no one would know.All kidding aside, however, destruction of the forests near Agangueo, in the highlands of the State of Michoacan, between Mexico City and Guadalajara, due to the value of one 100 foot trunk is around 100,000 dollars, has done a bit of damage to that race of butterflies. But they always come back...and this year in force.
The next picture shows a small but important planting we have near our grilling and outside cooking area when we have guests who want to burn meat. The pictures the OROG sees is actually the flowing of oregano. We are hoping to disperse the seeds over about 200 square feet near the "parrilla" (grilling place), and thereby have an almost marketable harvest of "wild oregano", which is the best thing for poultry cooking and a thousand other things.
We use a lot of these natural, local, common, and enjoyable spice plants in our effort to have a wide selection of both Mexican and other national palates pleased with our very humble kitchen. We have, besides the oregano, rosemary (romero), basil (albaquar), and such things as cebollin (say - boh - YEEN) which are true chives, that are found now in abundance in the Quinta's gardens. We even have mint and another plant the Mexicans call "Vicks" because it has that very pronounced mentholated fragrance. And it is used by the locals to alleviate the problems associated with sinus, nasal, and upper (as well as lower) lung involvements.
Everyone can appreciate the flowering and spectacular show that the Lord's Nature puts before us. This usually means that even the small things, such as the picture to the left...showing the "explosion flower"...are lurking around to surprise the visitor.
Another is the "Butterfly Weed" which we have allowed to sprout here and there on the grounds of the Quinta. That poor plant has the misfortune of having hosts or owners who are horrified at the appearance of "worms" on the plant and who then fumigate or physically destroys the poor butterfly larvae, who are only doing what nature intended.
Those larvae, of course, become various types of very impressive butterflies, so each fumigation is an emotional and physical setback for both man and plant and beast.
Here, one can see the flowering of the famous "Crown of Thorns" plant, and in the background are some of the butterfly weeds along with a good stand of "romero" or what we call rosemary. This particular romero is, in fact from around the area...I do not know if it is native...but it has been known to be in this part of Mexico for at least the entire colonial period.
We could go on and on about all of this. Some of my impatience comes from having to deal with quirks in this computer and my lack of ability and/or intelligence to understand how to fix or adjust what is going on in this computer's brain. Frankly, it is more than just a bit of a daunting task.
We now show the "gift" we were given by a family which has an abundance of cats...which is a rarity in our community and surrounding area. This is a pure-bred, full-scale, alley cat who is full of joy and playfulness.
That demeanour does not sit well with our older two females, although the tri-colour does try to practice tolerance and provide instruction to the white male. One problem we have, however, is the fact that the kitten is absolutely and certainly deaf.
We began to notice that he did not respond to loud noises in the least. I can clap my hands, very loudly, within 9 or 10 inches from the back of his head, and he will not even move or flinch or...hear.
Beyond that, he eats well...perhaps 10 to 15 times a day, and he likes to sleep in inconvenient places. With that considered, it should be understood that he is a purebred cat. He quickly understood that he was the owner of the house and would abide by his own disposition.
We shall do some more in a bit. Thanks for the attention and interest.
El Gringo Viejo
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