Tuesday at the Tiangus

Went to the tiangus (market) today - it was huge - kinda like all the souqs in Damman on Thursday morning. All sorts of things for sale - from clothes to food to hardware to whatever. It was fun. Found a handful of things - honey, some branding irons, fried plantains, etc. One thing that disturbs me, but I saw this in the Dammam markets, as well, were the song birds in cages for sale. Birds like mockingbirds, cardinals, green jays, orioles, vireos, starlings and some of the local parrots. There were, of course, the array of normal cage birds: canaries, budgies, parrots, finches, chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, etc. It was the captured wild birds that I hate to see. My best birding companion and friend, Nicole, would have been aggast. Carolyn, likewise, could not bear to look at them. For me it was taking stock of what would be a very illegal market in wild birds back in the US.

Back at the apartment I worked on another painting. It is the Port Isabel Lighthouse (I think that this is the last of the Texas lighthouses). I hate the paper that I am using - it bleeds when the wash is too wet, so I have had to go with gouache (opaque watercolor). I will salvage the painting for the principle. I should finish it in the next day or two.

The attached painting is a quick watercolor of some more boats in Zihua. I did this last night before dinner. More than a study, but less than a finished full or half sheet watercolor in my normal style (tight - illustration).

A fun day

Friday was a really fun day. It started out bad - couldn't get my debit card to work - had to call the credit union and release the lock - too many attempts (forgot the damned pin #). After that the day began to improve. Went to the Fabrica de Aurora to visit and meet Victoria, an encaustic artist. The place was getting ready for the monthly Art Walk. It is an old fabric mill that has been adapted to a art and design center. A quick trip around made me sure that I would return in a few hours for the Art Walk. Hurried back to the apartment to do some artwork and change clothes in time to rush back to the Art Walk - what a great time I had. Met lots of really good artists that I will get to know. There were several other encaustic artists, a really good traditional artist ( he also plays an awesome blues harmonica), a number of other good realists, but most were abstract contemporary artists.

After the Art Walk we went to the Buganbilla restaurant for dinner and a good margarita, and to listen to Jack & Francis play some awsome classical guitar. They work so well together, so I bought their CD.

After that we headed over to La Malinche to listen and dance to salsa before the Monroy Blues started up at 10:00 PM - this group is great. They are all one family (brothers, cousins, aunts, etc.). An old bull fighter quit the ring and got into music, so now, at 82 years, he is a leader of this fantastic group. Will get thier CD, as well.

I do believe that I had one too many of Joe's margaritas - but it was sure fun. Wish all of you could have been with all of us in the crowd there that night - it was rockin"!!!

Another painting finished today- a watercolor of pangas in dry dock.

The First Week of December in SMA

Here are the other two studies that I did not attach to the last post. These are scenes along the highway in Michoiacan as I remember them. Lots of imagery like this is in my memory bank. I have the colors a bit too green for this time of year. Any finished painting will have a lot more yellow ochres.
A birding note: while I was in the Zihua area the one bird that I did not see was the common house sparrow!! I have seen that bird everyplace else that I have gone in this world, but for some reason it was absent there.
At any rate, life is good. Am in a really nice apartment in Colonia San Antonio, with a great view if the western half of SMA.
Lots of pigeons in this part of town. Someone must have a pigeon coop around here or otherwise encourage those darned birds. They do get rather nervous when a raptor is working the area. Makes me think of the homing pigeons back home that they sell and race out of Quality Feed Store in our neighborhood. There is a small group of Homer enthusiasts in the Houston area and they race their birds almost every weekend. They will take them out for 50 to 175 mile races. It is amazing how fast those birds return home (of course some don't make it back - killed enroute or enticed into the feral pigeon population). It was a big sport (gambling) back in the old countries of Europe not too many years ago - still is. There are other breeds of pigeons, just like chickens, that are bred for show (fantails for example) or meat (white kings, for example). As a yoiung teenager, Ray Loomis (married to Pamela Woods Loomis, twin sister of Cynthia Woods Mitchell) built large pigeon coops or cages for each of us boys in the neighborhood and gave each of us a breeding pair and a 50# bag of feed, with the intent that we would raise squabs for the restaurant market, thereby learning business skills and keeping us occupied with worthwhile activities. I was different, as I wanted to raise quail and pheasant, so I was provided with a long run pen for my birds. I had bob white quail and silver pheasants. The project did not keep us occupied for very long, unfortunately. We all lost interest when we realized how long it would take to get any payout. It was a neat idea, though, and it did teach us a lot.

More Zihua and Michoaican studies

Here are the remaining four studies form my trip to Zihua.

It was a really fun and relaxing trip. I am so glad that Kathie posted that notice on the Civil List here in SMA. I did get to go fishing for half a day on one of the panga fleet. It was with Fernando Ignacio. Aother guy, Salvador (Angel) was supposed to come along to share the cost, but he had a bad eye infection and couldn't make it, so Fernando and I headed out into the Pacific. So great to be out in those big oceanic swells streaming across from the far side of the Pacific. I just love being out there in small vessels. The coastline of Mexico's Pacific coast is spectacular with the mountains crashing into the water and jungle growth on the mountainsides. At any rate, we caught about 20 Sierra mackeral about 3-4 lbs each and about 6 0r so Bonita or Black Tuna trolling jogs behind the boat. we would troll through breaking schools of the Sierras and would usually hook one or two each time we made a pass. One boat next to us hooked a nice Dorado (Dolphin or Mahi mahi) and it was jumping all over the place. I was hoping to hook into one, but we never did. Lost several fish to sharp teeth or the stiff tackle that we were using. I would have preferred to have my light level wind tackle that I use back on the Texas coast, and to stop in one of the schools to cast into them. Would have been even more fun to use a flyrod. Next time I want to take one of the larger boats way out to the deep blue waters, well offshore for bill fish. Nevertheless, it was a very fun time. I took three of the Sierras home to have cooked at Carmargo's little restaurant down the road from the Hotel Irma. I emailed Kathie to have her meet me there for dinner and to listen to Michelle Lavallee sing. It was a lovely evening. There was a young couple from New York there on their honeymoon, a couple from Norway, a coulpe from Austin, TX, and a couple my age from Vancouver, BC (he was a sailor). Of course there was Carlos and Perla, the proprietors, and Michelle and her family (she lives next door). What a great last night in Zihua!

The drive home was pleasant, but Kathie seemed to put us on all of the back roads of Michoiacan, Guererro, and Guanajuato. Nevertheless, we were back into SMA before dark - a prime concern. Stopped off to share a dinner at the Golden Dragon on the edge of SMA before getting to Maricella's B&B. I just had the time of my life - added 55 new bird species to my Mexican checklist (now at 174), saw small caimans (like alligators/crocadiles), beautiful big iguanas, and tons of small racerunner lizards, a lot of Mexican Gray Squirrels, and so many different butterflies. I wish that all of you could have been along.