Springtime in Lomas

Normally when you think of Spring, you think of tulips . . .


. . . and ladybugs. . .



and butterflies.


In Mexico, we have scorpians . . .


. . . and chinches . . .

. . . and God only knows what.

It is not as warm and fuzzy. Although, I guess it would serve for an entomology study.

Thanksgiving

I had lots of "helpers" in the kitchen this year. Alex and a friend were in charge of the pumpkin pie. Things were a little wild at first, . . . .


but then everyone settled down and got to work.

In the end, they did a great job . . .

They even put their initials on the pie so that everyone would know who made it.

I think that they did a great job.

Felicidades quinceañera!

Yesterday, Tiffany celebrated the 15th birthday of a very good friend of hers. (The Mexican 15th birthday is similar in importance to the American 16th birthday. ) She got ready and the girls were on their way.

Tiffany got to see a lot of friends.

There was dancing.

There was silliness.

There was love.

In fact, there may have been too much love.

Earthquake

We had an earthquake!!! I slept through it, but my night owl, Tiffany, felt everything. In fact, her bed moved. We also have some minor cracks in the house, but nothing (I hope) that effects its structural integrity. Luckily, the epicenter was approximately 200 miles away. We live south of Mexcio City the quake originated near Acapulco.

Spring is here!

The golondrinas have arrived and with their arrival the official arrival of Spring in Lomas. Three years ago several pairs of barn swallows built their nests on our patio. Our house is evidently in the middle of their breeding grounds. They have returned every year since then to mate and raise their young. It is a joy to witness this process every year and we are really looking forward to a new batch of chicks.

Popo

Popo has been puffing today. It shot out a very large cloud this morning which has almost completely dissipated at this point. Nonetheless, it gives one pause. My theory which is based on rationalization and not science is that as long as the volcano is open and not pugged up everything will be fine. Also, according to CENAPRED (Mexico's National Center for the Prevention of Disasters), our home is located outside of the "danger" zone. Still, I am constantly reminded of nature's immense power and my need to be humble before it.