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     It was of some interest that the McAllen Monitor had a good  article concerning  a bird known as the "tiger heron"  .   Its AKA is "bare throated tiger heron", and apparently is a rare sighting in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

     Here they are commonly found around the various small ( 1 - 3 square miles) irrigation control impoundments found on the east side of the face of the Sierra Madre Oriental all the way from Allende, Nuevo Leon to the area east of Valles, San Luis Potosi'.    It seems to like to wade along the edges of these huge ponds (or small lakes) looking for goodies to pluck out of  the shallows.

       They can also be found along some of the ancient Spanish Colonial period canals that are still in use in areas such as where our Quinta is situated.   Another area with an excellent combination of canals and irrigation impoundments and small brooks and rivers is that which is adjacent to the El Chorrito religious site and old site of the Hacienda de la Meza, about 25 miles northwest of the Quinta (by straight-line;   45 miles by highway).   The ancient canals and spring-fed character of the watercourses gives this heron...as well as others....plenty of fare on the menu pretty much on a year-around basis.

       Among others "leggy birds" that can be found with some dependability are  cattle egrets, common white crane (garza), green heron, "el gigante"-great blue heron, straight-bill and curved-bill curlew, and others that do not come to mind right now.   (Don't ever become old.)

       Sea gulls, beach snipes, pelicans, osprey, and other such maritime and coastal birds arrrive at the face of the Sierra Madre Oriental more often than is worth mentioning.    Because of its rarity it is also hardly worth the mention, but, every few years flamingos on their way to and from Campeche State's southeastern coast....and their whooping crane cousins from their Aransas winter address come around.    They are probably hung over from a hard night on the town the day before...or something....and wind up in our area when their GPS is out of kilter.   This is in no wise common, but it does occur.

     ALSO!!!!   About a week ago, I was out kibbutzing with my neighbour who is busy putting in quite a fancy place next door.   He is the brother-in-law to the hacendado of the oft-mentioned Hacienda de la Vega.   They live in the fancy city of San Pedro de Garza Garcia, adjacent to Monterrey, and are finally moving ahead with the building of a mansion of sorts next door to us.

     They are nice people, very organized, and they have three daughters who seem to like the country atmosphere and cheerfully participate in heavy gardening and even some of the lighter construction work. 

      As I was walking back up to the Quinta, I heard a sharp, cat-like shriek and instinctively thought it was an encounter between two old tom-cats who call the Quinta home (debateable).   Turning, I noticed that it was actually a bobcat who had been involved in a stare-down with our old dog Prince ( a mainly black w/brown tips dog whose ggggggrandfather was probably a Doberman).      This bobcat was a male, about 35 - 40 pounds, and oddly very dark in colour.   He ran off towards the Rio Corona about 100 feet away, where cover abounds,  and returned to Nature. 

     The good part for me, in a way, is that now my neighbours know that I am not just a long-winded Texan telling enthralling tales of the animals who move around between the dusk and the dawn in the Valley of the Rio Corona.

This particular cat was out a bit early, because normally they wait until darkness to sneak out free-range hen eggs (fairly common in our neighbourhood), left-over dog and cat food (very rare!).

    Thanks again for your attention.   There will be more later, as usual.

The Old Gringo

Another source of good information and experiences

      You can find us....and scores of other foreigners living in Mexico....and share experiences, ask questions, and compare notes.   A complex and interesting site with divergent views, left and right, younger and older, from all over the Republic of Mexico.   Clic onto this link,  expat-blog.com - or, better yet, just clic onto the header above....Another source of good information and experiences....and you will wind up where you want to go.

Very interesting questions that have convoluted answers

       There is a Canadian who is married to an American woman, and they are in the postion of being able to retire early and travel.   The thing is that they still have some home-based business activities and some computer-based business that they enjoy.    It was their understanding that employment or operation of a business in Mexico is permitted only under the strictist regulation, registration (tax numbers, sales tax participation permits, etc.).    All of this is true.    BUT.....

       Usually, the continued operation of a computer-based business in a private personally owned or leased home/apartment/condo....will not be subject to any special interest from Mexican authority.   One of the reasons people do not like Mexico is because of the possible "arbitrary" administration of business and labour law.......and conversely, one of the reasons why people like Mexico is because one can normally do almost anything that is otherwise morally correct....and if you keep under the radar....don't strut and brag...keep it cool, calm, and collected....almost always nothing will happen to you.   This is especially true if you are dealing in small amounts of economic activity....either in cash....or in such a way that you can conduct your business banking still in the United States.   It is figured that the money in the bank in the United States will filter, legally, into Mexico and continue to fuel the demand-driven, free-enterprize economic sectors. 

      In terms of keeping things cool, calm, and collected...I would liken this to the difference between the low-class dancing and writhing and acrobatic celebrations in the end-zone when a  wide receiver scores a touchdown as opposed to the players who put the ball down or toss it to the referee, and/or who kneel and quickly cross themselves or point to the Cosmic Giver of Talent to express gratitude, and then return to their bench to enjoy the moment.....it's a matter of class.     If you want to do a little something in Mexico, then you should be like the second player, and not the first.

       One smiles a bit when the drunk at the end of the bar belts out with something like , "Yeah, in Mexico there ain't no laws....if you can get away with it, pay off the right people...then you're in like Flynn.    Yeah, I've been there a couple of times, and I know what I'm talkin' about."     The fact is that Mexico....at a national, state, and local level is heaped up with tons of plus-sized laws.   The Constitution of 1917, the basis of law in Mexico.....is a gargantuan document that, some joke, establishes the distance between parking meters in Tampico....on Tuesday.     The beer, wine, liquors, distillates, and alcoholic preparations law in Tamaulipas needs to have three camel caravans of 1,000 camels each to bring in the amendments to the next State Congressional session.....almost.   What is funnier than these absurd statements is that no one really laughs at these jokes, because everyone knows that the jokes are closer to the truth than not.

      In short, the problem in Mexico is not the lack of laws and regulations....it is the massive number of laws and regulations.    So, my rule of thumb is....if you are a younger person and you have found the perfect place in Mexico where you know that you are going to live for ten years or until Death do ye part, and you have the capital on-hand (roughly three times more than what you have calculated.......seriously), then I would recommend, strongly, to establish your beauty salon, book store, Pollo Loco franchise (a good choice, actually) strictly along the legal lines....including the Draconian labour laws (more about that later).  Take out the permits, take out your tax number, register your employees in Social Security (Mexico's sabre-toothed, giant ground-sloth socialized medical system{default}) or devise a slightly more expensive private insurance program for you and your employees {preferred},  hire the CPA, as required to do your quarterly filings for the employees' housing fund contribution, Christmas bonus escrow, scholarship contributions for employees' minor dependents, personal and/or small corporation anticipated income tax withholding, etc.etc.etc.

      If, however, you are a geezer....or even a pre-geezer.....then it seems that the attitude among authority is that you are not really going to be doing any damage to the employment picture.....that your pensions and other capital improvements that you are presiding over in Mexico, and your  incidental employment of people to do "temporary projects"...will be tolerated....if you happen to recieve guests in a two or three bedroom bed and breakfast operation.   One of the reasons people will work for you without coverage as required in the common labour package, is because you will probably pay 3 to 6 times more than the minimum otherwise required by law and be a "kinder and gentler" employer.    Just make sure to pay your ad valorem tax on your house and property, every year or at least every other year.     More on these taxes later.

     Remember, that your humble correspondent is not authorized, credentialled, or in any way qualified by any authority save for that which is provided by a half-century of experience....and by the experiences dating back to the 1880's of family members living in and doing business in Mexico.    Also,  free advice could be considered to be worth the cost.....but one should also consider that each case is at least slightly different from any other case.    Like the Old Arriero (mule & donkey pack train driver) said one time when trying to describe the Gringos to the people back in his village...."Yes, I saw many of them in Guadalajara....they are very big and pale....They are....how do you say....like the snow-flakes....they all look just alike, but they are all a little bit different."     That is the case with your circumstances concerning remunerated economic activity in Mexico.

        

HELLO again from rural Mexico and/or deepest South Texas!!

FRIDAY, January 15, 2010

       Three "Winter Texans" encountered me as I came out of the HEB grocery near our place in Mission, asking if I were the same "crazy Gringo" who has a place in the interior of Mexico. It was a fairly predictable take-down.....one that occurs about three or four times per month. Usually they are folks who have been referred to me, or had me pointed out as "certifiable"....but that I could be considered at least a nominal authority about matters concerning Mexico. These folks were fairly normal in that they had the same reasonable questions and concerns about investing, living, and generally hanging around in Mexico. What I shall put in print below is a fair combination of this little meeting and perhaps a hundred others, at different times and in different places.

Point one

       A lot of folks have the idea that a Gringo can go to Mexico and live on 600 dollars a month. Please be aware that such is impossible, unless one would wish to diminish his standard of living to the extreme. To be blunt, my rule of thumb at this writing and under the economic conditions we are encountering, both good and ill, is that a minimum expenditure in an urban area for day to day living for a couple would be at least 2,000 American dollars/month. In some rural areas with adequate infrastructure and housing alternatives, a couple might be able to get along on 1,600 dollars per month.

      This usually would include about 300 to 500 dollars per month for a modest but comfortable house or apartment in a decent setting, and slightly less in the rural areas. In the rural areas there are fewer places to let, but they can usually be found with a little effort.

      Electricity, for instance, can be somewhat expensive, given what little the user may be powering. In our little place, for instance, we pay between 50 and 70 dollars every two months.....which seems reasonable....until one considers that we power a medium sized refrigerator, a few pig-tail lights and lamps and even fewer incandescent.....all of which are vigorously policed and turned off when not in use. There are two old-fashioned televisions, one of which is used quite a bit, and the other very seldomly, and two small air-conditioners, one in each bedroom.....which are also used very, very sparingly.

Point two

     It is all but necessary....I would go ahead and say unavoidable.... to take out essentially what is a Mexican passport....in the form of what is called Forma Migratoria - III, or the famous FM-3. This requires a visit to the Mexican counsul most convenient to the applicant. One must also have a valid American Passport, proof of income which can be earned without employment in Mexico which, at this writing, would be equivilant to about 1,600 American dollars per month.
     There are other somewhat mundane things, such as a letter to the indicated official of the Secretaria de Gobernacion expressing why the applicant would want to live in Mexico. Another is the provision of six passport photos.   With this document in hand the holder can purchase land anywhere in Mexico, with certain limitations concerning the size of tract, and with certain prohibitions concerning location of the land and/or house. The FM -3 also facilitates the engaging of everything from obtaining a telephone, satellite/cable television installation, and even making a longer term lease on a desired property. Normally, where purchases are not allowed, leases are....and in some cases....inheritable and renewable 99 year leases are permiitted.    It is also easier, sometimes requisite, to have your FM-3 in order to open a bank account or recieve money transfers.

Point three

     Buying and/or building a home may well not be the best alternative for a first-timer, or for a person who does not intend to be at his residence at least 80% of the time. In the opinion of the Old Gringo, it is best to "get one's feet wet", and rent or preferably lease for a year or so before jumping into the deep end of the pool. And...before even that.....the new Mexican "residente immigrante" should have either mastered the process of documenting his vehicle at the border for what is called "temporary importation" and/or how to master the Mexican autobus system. The Mexican bus transportation system is a marvel for those who can adapt, in that it provides comfortable medium and long distance travel for relatively inexpensive fares. Most 2nd class, and all 1st class and deluxe busses are almost almost always clean with functioning HACV systems, assigned seating (from the original terminal), clumsy but effective luggage control, and even terminals that are from survivable to pleasant.

     Another alternative for the newcomer that would beat hanging around in Mexico for excessively long and pointless periods of time is to take a couple of group tours....and enjoy them....no matter how funky they might be. Your objective on such a tour would not be to "survive" going to Mexico or to be entertained....but rather to determine if you can adapt to the order within the disorder, the contradictions, the inefficiencies, the food, the language,and so forth.

It will be my pleasure to continue my pontifications about the how's and why's and when's of doing things in Mexico, all from the point of view of one who....as Yogi would say...been that and done here.

Posted by The Old Gringo at 8:42 AM More later!

Peculiar but Worthy Question

     Another fellow was talking to me the other day and said that he had gone to Monterrey on a bus tour, and was amazed to have seen so many places along one of the highways they had travelled with little ramshackle structures, usually pretty neat, but strewn with old, dead tires.   There would be a sign with the word "vulcanizadora"... or the shorter "vulka"....and sometimes the little places would have a vehicle jacked up, apparently being attended to by some kind of specialist.

     Finally, it dawned on my travelling friend that he was seeing a tire-repair business, which specialized in the on-the-spot patching (parching) of tires with what the shopkeepers refer to as "breathing difficulties". 

We should take advantage of this question to urge any newcomers to driving, especially medium to long distances in Mexico, to make use of these places for any reparable condition your tires might have.   Although they look a bit ramshackle, the proprietors are magicians....whisking the tire off, taking the tire from the rim, locating and extracting, if need be, any foreign items in the tread...(nails, bolts, glass, etc.) and then sealing a good patch on the ailing tire's wound.

      Usually the whole process takes less than 12 minutes and normally costs from 30 to 50 pesos, depending on how much effort is involved.   It dawned on me that until I changed out my tires the other day, each of the old tires had been patched one or more times....(the poor right rear had 3 patches).

      It should also be pointed out that I have never had a "parche" (PAHR chei) fail.   It should also be pointed out that a person can have a tire taken off and checked for a leak and all the tires aired up to the appropriate level for 10 or 20 pesos.  (Remember the spare!)

      Now you have my plug for the independent roadside small businessman in Mexico.   These fellows will frequently make 10 to 15 times the daily minimum wage in Mexico....it's hard work...sometimes very hot or very cold...but it is all cash....morally correct work....and they, for some reason or another....seem to be uniformly competent and honest.   

Routine return from the Quinta to Texas & Weather problems

       Just arrived from the Quinta.....on a very cool day.....the President of Mexico is in Reynosa, cutting the ribbon to mark the ceremonial openning of the Anzalduas - Mission International Bridge. The bridge has been open for about a month already but there are a lot of things that both sides are trying to bring to a complete finish. The highway accesses have not been finished, and both sides are having staffing shortages, although it is not a 24 hour facility....that will come later, although it was promised at the beginning. And, there are the computerized identification systems that take pictures of one's face and license plate as that person comes and goes.....and once on the other side....as one goes and comes.     In any regard, we made it through town easily enough and had a short wait at the McAllen/Hidalgo - Reynosa Bridge .

       The period from December 23rd up to my return was written up by the gods of difficulty. One episode of very high winds and cold from the 24th through the 29th....along with a prolonged power outage due to the fact that the service offices were closed from the 24th through the 25th of December. We did manage to keep our water supply from the ejido because their pumps and systems were in an area that remained with power.....as did almost all areas. Then we had the outbreak that started up around the evening of the 6th of January and became increasingly bitterly cold....finally culminating in temperatures reaching down to 23 F on the morning of the 10th of January. Temperatures remained below 35 F for most of the period from 8 January through 12 January. It was miserable.

       Many of our plants werer killed or severely damaged, although just as many seemed to survive without major insult. Our various cats and dogs seemed to suffer only slightly.....but the girl cats fared best since I would let them stay inside. The big avacado tree that produced so well during the Summer appears to have made it through the cold with no damage. The royal poncianas that bloom out in solid red splashes during the Spring normally lose their leaves during the Winter, so this event simply solidified reality in that respect. It seems to me that the royal ponciana trees (flamboyan) will have little or no ill-result from this episode.

       There was a bit of freezing fog, freezing light rain, and very little snow. Higher up in the mountains we could see with binoculars that things were pretty well blanketed by snow and freezing rain, from about the 2,500 fasl point on upwards. The lowest temperature recorded in our area was -12 C which I believe is around 15 F...occurring at a point about 10 miles west of Cd. Victoria at an elevation of approximately 6,000 fasl....at a weather recording station on the old highway over the mountains that goes to Juamave and Tula.

       According to a weather poobah who was being interviewed on the local television channel, this December was the coldest composite in the history of records in Cd. Victoria....said records dating back to the 1870's. He also indicated that January was stacking up the same, although there are many days remaining in the month. It is interesting to note that while these figures are probably true, no single day's temperature, either as a low-low or a low-high, set any record. It was just the incessant hovering in the 50's and 40's, with many overnight lows coming in around 35 F or thereabouts.

        We were also favoured with a visit by some very kind and adaptable clients during the worst of the weather....arriving on the 8th of January. They went about their birdwatching in dismal conditions, enjoyed our parlour's fireplace and some pretty decent meals....warm room....hot showers.....and even a bit of televised sports and news. It was a father - son pair, very civilized and quite intellectual....so it made things a lot easier on Diana (who had to handle all her normal chores, plus the booking and reservations during times when even things in Mission - McAllen were complicated by power outages, grindingly frigid freezing temperatures, etc.)....as well as on Alvaro and me. It amazes me the high quality of folks we seem to be blessed with as guests.

       For a bit I shall be in and around the Mission - McAllen area...so more notes and observations from around here and the Ejido Francisco I. Madero will probably be showing up on our blog. Right now, early morning 13 January 2010, I'll be signing off only to return at some unpredictable time in the near future.