OK! I have been away for a long time. I promise my family not to use Facebook and Instagram for a while, so I am jumping over here.

 I have been a faithful spouse to my wife of 51 years. It has not always been an easy time. We have had our differences and our arguments, but we have also had had many wonderful times together. 

Overall of those years, I have worked in fields where I have had a lot of female colleagues: Medical research, Medical illustration, Instructional design, Teaching, Organizational design, consulting, and art and illustration, all are full of female professionals. Over the years I have learned to appreciate the talents, skills, and leadership provided by my female colleagues. I have also developed many sincere and loving relationships with my female colleagues. Never has there been a romantic relationship but rather a deep understanding and feeling of companionship and love for so many of them, I can truthfully say that some of my relationships could very easily have slipped into illegitimate relationships, but I often struggled to keep the proper professional perspective, but in each case, I was able to keep the relationship proper.  

In my last session with my therapist, we peeled back some of the issues that haunt me to this day. Why do I feel like an anachronism when it comes to my moral and ethical character? We dug a bit into my family relationships, my education, my religious upbringing, and my natural desires for love, affection, and sexual needs. I grew up in a loving and engaging family where the physical expression of love was almost non-existent. I never recall ever hugging or kissing anyone else in my family until very recent years. The only time that I told my mother that I loved her and that I hugged and lightly kissed her on the cheek was when she was on her death bed dying. I never told my dad that I loved him or ever gave him a hug like I do with my son John. On the other hand, When I married Carolyn Cantella and was around her family things were quite different. There were plenty of hugs and kisses and a physical show of love and caring. I blame a lot of it on the different family cultures. My two German grandmothers surely must have been rather stodgy from what I can gather from the few descriptions that I got from my parents surely set the stage. The few old photos seem to depict such characters. Can't tell much about my grandfathers. I never knew my maternal grandfather Kennedy from Ireland. My fraternal grandfather, I did have an afternoon with him when he was 95 and we talked at length about my great grandfather and his times on the Chisholm trail when I was in high school. Carolyn's family was of French Acadian Landry stock (my MIL) and Sicilian stock (My FIL). They were not at all stodgy from my perspective. This difference in family cultures would cause me considerable distress in the early years of our marriage and would ultimately result in my estrangement from my family in my middle age.

Back to my upbringing and why I feel like an anachronism.

I was brought up in a Catholic family. My mom, a Kennedy, made sure that I went to Mass and attended Catholic schools (St Pius School in Pasadena 1st grade, St Mary school in Houston (grade 2-8), and St. Thomas HS, Houston (Grade 9-12). So I had a solid grounding in Catholic education and doctrine. Note that St. Thomas was all male, so I no longer had girls around me in the classroom, like I did in grade school. I was an altar boy, as well, through the 6-8 grades and at St. Thomas, as well. The Dominican nuns kept me in line and indoctrinated us.

In College I went to the A&M College of Texas and was in the Corps Of Cadets for two years, So I had no women classmates for five of my six years in college. I went to the University of Texas in my fifth year to get a degree in Architectural Studies, so that was the first time to have been in a classroom with women in 8 years. All of those years in college I was active in the Neumann Club (a Catholic-oriented extracurricular organization, and went to Mass every Sunday, and would often step up as altar boy. I became a leader in the clubs both at A&M and at UT, and even UH and Rice during the summers.

At TAMU I was early on introduced to Lawrance Sullivan Ross. an icon in the history of the university. On his monument in front of the Academic building, his epitaph read "Soldier, Statesman, and Knightly Gentleman" That statement would drive my character for the rest of my life. I became a soldier (not much of one), I was never a real statesman (I was elected to various campus positions, to a block grant commissioner position in the city of Houston, to a school board vice president, and a few other quite minor positions, and I tried to be a Knightly Gentleman. That last goal is the one that has me feeling like an anachronism in a world where women are treated like second-class citizens and objects to conquer and abuse, etc.

In my therapy sessions with a couple of different therapists, one a male and the other a female, that character trait came out loud and clear. My therapists have commented on that character, but I still feel so out of place in this world, but I like being out of place! To me women are special creatures to be honored, blessed, cared for, loved, and guarded.  I just became a Knights of Columbus member and am currently reviewing a series of blogs on the role of men in the Church and the world and what I am seeing so far is right on. I am also in a Wednesday morning breakfast group called "This Man is You," a group trying to create men for leadership roles in the church, the community, and the family. I think that I am finding a lot of support in these two groups 

 Good Sunday morning in Houston, Texas!! It is a beautiful Fall day. 

 welcome back to my blog, "Pintail Flights"

It has been over 7 years since I have posted on this blog. A lot has happened since my last entry, so let's catch up!!!

I have been back in Houston since 2011 - some 10 years!!!! : Let me give you a quick summary of the past 10 years!! 

OMG, a lot has happened. I find myself now an Octogenarian!! I turned 80 on August 4, 2021!!!! I never thought that I would make it this far!

Since my last entry, I have left my contract job with Aramco. I spent four months in Mexico in San Miguel de Allende to fulfill my time out of the country for foreign tax exclusion in 2010. It was a wonderful time for me, but for Carolyn, it must have been hard since she had to return to Houston to take care of business at home and then she returned to enjoy the Christmas season.

Once back home in Houston Carolyn and I drove the F-150 to Austin, TX to see our new granddaughter, Brooklyn Hall, and then on to Saratoga, CA to see our other new granddaughter, Jolene Sicore!! It was a long but enjoyable drive across the Southwest to San Diego and up Highway 1 along Big Sur to Santa Cruz and finally into Saratoga.

Over the next few years we made several trips back out to visit our daughter's family in California. These trips were by plane. We went out to see our last born grandchild, Clyde, when they were living in Los Gatos. He was a beautiful infant, but he soon begin to exhibit seisures and was diagnosed with a rare form of malformation of the brain tissue that has left him as a bedridden child requiring constant care and love.

Once I was back home I picked up a consulting gig with John Wilson Associates working on a BP project for the Thunderhorse project designing and teaching a course on dropped objects for crew on the rig. I made monthly trips to Houma, LA to teach the large group of crew and visitors to that massive offshore rig. As I was working the Thunderhorse project I picked up another gig with Shell Oil Company at the Bellaire Technology Center working with Stu Furgang, a former manager for a previous gig with ExxonMobil,  in the Shell Upstream Learning where I designed and developed numerous engineering and Geoscience courses. I was later pulled into the Shell Global Learning Design Team to work on the Shell Project Academy and spent a deal of time going back and forth to The Hague, Netherlands.  This Shell gig lasted three years before the funding dried up and I was left looking for another consulting gig.

Within a month of leaving Shell, my old Exxon colleague, Brian Nicholson, pulled me into a gig with BP working through Intellinex/Xerox functioning as the project manger for BP Refining Academy and later as the US learning lead for the Chili Programme out of the London Offices. This gig was a huge global change management project affecting all subsurface activities. The projects lasted four years. 

That took me into 2016.  I had been visiting artists studios in The Sawyer Yards on 2nd Saturday Open Studios for a number of years. With no consulting gig in hand, I decided to get a studio in the newest building in the Sawyer Yards Creative Campus - The Silos, and give my art career a full time effort. I am now enjoying the community of creative individuals less than a mile from my house. I have become a fixture in the community for five years now. I do miss my consulting gigs, but my caregiving demands for Carolyn, now in late stage Dementia/Alzhiemers, make gig work and the travel involved not an option for me. I suppose that I could work virtually. I did work virtually for BP long before the Pandemic forced the workforce to do so. 

Ok, so now your are more or less up to date with my professional life. I will continue this blog as I move forward. It will explore facets of my life and the world. I will try to keep it up to date and on target to help others.

Today I will be at my studio for the October 2nd Saturday Open Studios. If you can make it please visit me at studio #227 in The Silos, 1502 Sawyer Street, Houston, TX77007

Cheers,

Richard

Paragraphs On Padre Boulevard More than a BookstoreR

Paragraphs On Padre Boulevard More than a Bookstore



Sam Listi, my husband's friend since St. Thomas High School,  suggested that Richard should have a book  signing in South Padre.  We are going down again, soon.  Would love to meet you!



Carolyn Hall

rshall1@swbell.net



519 Bayland Avenue

Houston, TX  77009

Finally, after many years of effort, I have received a shipment of my book on Texas Lighthouses today!! Sometimes, I wondered if I would ever finish it, but perseverance pays out in the long run. I will post details soon, but for now I going to tip a glass of champagne in celebration and breath a long breath of relief.

 

I am back to my blog after a long hiatus. Things have been crazy since I last posted. A demanding new job, some health issues,  a great deal of time culling through and sorting 30 years of accumulated stuff in our attic and storage room out back and a lot of work going into my book on Texas lighthouses. I plan to post frequently from now on out.
Richard 

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.

Spent the heat of the day sitting on the the beach front doing some watecolor studies and listening to Michelle sing some wonderful songs in french, spanish and english. These are four of the studies. I'll post the others in my next post.

The sun is setting over the mountain as I write this - just so pleasant to hear the surf crash, to feel the air cool down, to smell the salt air and to see the boats coming in to the harbor after being out all day long with the sun setting behind that mountain across the bay. What I wish I had was a really good margarita to top it off (one of those really good margaritas that they make at Rogorios in San Miguel de Allende).

The cruise ship anchored out in the bay is shuttling those last few passangers who still are onshore. When all are onboard, it will weigh anchor and head back north in a few hours, leaving us back to normal, until it returns with a new load of tourists on Friday for a day stop. That ship is a monstrosity. With all those decks - it looks top heavy and just ugly, particularly with all it's lights aglow. Give me a good sailing ship any day.

Over on the beach front today where I was painting, the local fishermen are loading up thier pangas and pushing them on logs to launch them into the surf for a night of handlining for whatever they can catch, and bring that bushel or two of small fish, with maybe a couple of bonita or a dozen mackeral back to the beach front fish market for the morning sale. You can see their little lights bobbing up and down out at the head of the bay and beyond, into the Pacific. There is usually 2 or 3 men in each boat and by morning they will still be there trying to get that last few fish before heading in.

Last night, while I was talking to Steph on Skype, I had my door open to the outside porch, and a bat flew just into the door and out. Kathie, who is renting a large house up on the mountain in back of me, said that they get bats in that place every night (the living area that is not closed in). I can see them in the failing light right now flitting around trying to find a few morsels. I have also seen a number of squirrels, but don't have a field guide to identify them (will go to the library in SMA and find out what they are). No other mammals have I seen. I think that I just found out where there is a small colony of bats in an old building next to this hotel. That is where thy arepouring out of. I'll check it out tomorrow.

Oh, I did find a freshly killed (by car) vine snake, a rear fanged snake, slightly poisonous, that I had to examine to find the fangs way back in it's mouth, They are a long, very thin green snake, with a long head, adept at climbing trees and vines in search of small lizards, birds, and insects. Cool find. Just wish it had been unhurt, :(

Zihuatanejo, Mexico

The Bahia (Bay) of Zihuantanejo is one of the best anchorages along the Mexican Pacific coast. It is a beautiful bay, not huge by any means, but large enough for cruise ships to call on the port. The Sierra Occidental drops right into the Pacific, and by nature's work this bay was created

Away for Thanksgiving

I have been enjoying my stay in Mexico. San Miguel de Allende is a town for the arts: dance, theater, visual art, music, etc. There is always something going on at the plaza, or Jardin, in front of the Parroquia, or parish church, in the center of town. I have been doing a lot of artwork, making contacts with galleries, writing, and networking. I have also been able to do some virtual consulting work. Have not had a lit of free time to just have fun, but what the heck, my work is fun.

I am currently in Zihuatanejo, Mexico for the week of Thanksgiving. A woman in San Miguel was driving over to Zihua for the holiday and put a note on the local chatline for anyone wanting to come along. I responded, and it turns out that I was the only one that could travel on her dates. Kathie and I drove here on the 19th. Seven hours on the road, sharing the driving and talking alot, it seemed to pass rather quickly. It was a beautiful drive through the Mexican countryside and mountains to the Pacific coast. We stopped in Patzuaro for a quick sandwich and chips. Outside of Morelia was a great birding wetland associated with a large lake. I think that I will try to organize a birding trip there out of San Miguel in a few weeks.

So what about Zihua? Well, it is an old fishing village on the Pacific Coast southwest of Mexico City. About 30 years ago, the Mexican government built a resort area about five miles up the coast and called it Ixtapa. Today Ixtapa is large resort area with lots of big hotels, restaurants, and golf courses. I was over there today and found the general atmosphere rather not to my great liking. I much prefer the atmosphere of Zihua (except for when the cruise ships port for the day and all the people come ashore to shop and look at the sights.) So today I went into the cneter of town (Zihua), across the little slough that is the main harbor for most of the panga fleet (little 26' open fiberglass craft that are seen all over the world.). I went there to gather sketches for possible paintings. Wow, was there a lot of stuff to work with. It would sure be a lot easier to capture all this with a camera, but where is the challenge. When I was in architecture we were not allowed to use a camera for the city centers project and that's what I am doing now en pleine aire work.

Trying to drum up a fishing trip. Can't seem to find anyone to split the cost. Darn-it. Also don't know about a dive trip. The visibility isn'r but about 5 meters. might just do some snorkrling and free diving around some of the nearshore rocks. There is some coral and a lot of small fish, but nothing like then Red Sea or Belize.

Consulting work: ups and downs

Last week I was told that I will not be returning to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to work on the Aramco UPDC project. That is two of us learning designers who are not returning and I am sure there will be more. I am convinced that it is a business decision, based on the meager output of the team this past year due to uncertainties around SME input and availabilities, organizational structure, management, and leadership. I believe that upper management expectations were not met, so the thing to do was to reduce manpower and reorganize and alter expectations for the coming year. Perhaps there will an opportunity to return when they get their act together, but in the meantime, I have clients to find and service. There are opportunities out there and I will find them. Networking and research are the two most important activities right now, and I have been doing a lot of that since I was told that I was not coming back. Here in San Miguel I am also tempted to complete the illustrations that I started when I first arrived, but I need to focus. There will be time to do art again. I am confident that income producing work will result if I continue to expand my network. This is the life of a consultant - up and down :)

Exciting sunsets on the rooftop terrace.

I find the rooftop terrace of Maricela's Guest House such a great place to work on my artwork. From the terrace I have a wonderful view of San Miguel de Allende. I am in a place very close to the center of town on the fourth floor, so the panorama is 360 degrees. The Parroquia (main church in town) is about two blocks north. East is up and over a small mountain covered with centuries old homes of Spanish architecture. South looks over a similar array of structures. Finally, west is the view out into the valley and in the distance are two mountain ranges. That is where the most beautiful sunsets occur (obviously). Last night was one of those special times. Maybe it was because it was the Dia de los Muertos, and all the deceased were kicking up dust into the clouds as they came to the dinners placed out for them in almost every household and business in town. Whatever, the sky evolved into absolutely the best sunset that I have experienced here. As if the sunset itself was not enough, the birds, all kinds of them, I think, realized that it was the Day of the Dead and they needed to hurry home to greet their dead relatives, for out of the grey of the high sky finches dropped almost directly at me in quick flitty flight to land inches and feet away from me in the big hackberry tree in the yard nextdoor (realize that I am positioned almost in the canopy of that tree - not ground level). I would spot a tiny image in the grey sky and it would quickly grow in size and appear to be headed right for me and at the very last minute it would seem to dodge me to land in the dark understory of the leaves of that hackberry - dozens and dozens of them - all talking to each other, excited to chat with their bedmates about the great times they had that day in the grass fields of the hillsides and valleys around SMA. There was flight after flight of egrets (mostly cattle egrets) heading from the day of feeding in the farmlands to their roost on the large presa, or lake, just out of view from the terrace. Then too, were the 5 varieties of flycatchers active in this immediate couple of blocks that flitted around chasing each other and claiming the best spot to perch and scan the darkening sky for the influx of small flying insects that began to emerge as the day was closing down. Thier characteristic flight up into the apparent empty sky a few yards from their perch would surely yield them the rewards of some small morsel - I could never see the small morsels that they were after. Then there was the quick smooth flight of a bat falcon right in front of me a few yards away as he headed for the bluffs and the bats that hang around there feasting on the beatles that use the thermals rolling up the bluffs of the mountain carry them into the valley to feast on the crops there.

As the sun was gliding behind those distant moiuntains flight after flight of white-winged doves coming in from all directions headed, bullet-like, to a group of trees in Parque Juarez a few blocks from my perch, and over to the north was a flight of white-faced ibis headed, I am sure, for the same roost as the egrets out someplace on the Presa.

Cowbirds and grackles, swallows and hummingbirds, feral pigeons and house sparrows - so many birds were, for some reason, more evident to me those few precious moments then any evening that I have spent in that wonderful place that I call my retreat - the rooftop terrace of Maricela's Guest House - was it the physical manifestation of the many souls coming home for their annual return home to the feasts that have been placed for them by their living loved ones. It was the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) all over Mexico.

How I wish that I could have shared that wonderful experince with my birding compadres - my loved ones - my family - God has been truely good to me!

Good night and love to each and everyone who reads this post!

San Miguel de Allende, GTO, Mexico

I need to write some enrties in this blog!!

Tonight is Halloween and a part of the Dia de los Muertos celebration. This is such a big thing here in Mexico. I have been about the center of town since about 5:30 pm and just needed to get to bed, as it is now 10:30 pm (or rather 11:30 if didn't move my clock back for daylight savings time). I wish that I had a camera, but my three were taken in two bags last month shortly after we arrived here and I have yet to get any replacement camera. Therefore, I will try to describe the scene verbally, particularly for those of my followers not at all familier with Mexican culture. I cheated and found some images on the internet that represent some tiny bit of what I saw :(

To begin with, El Dia de los Muertos has its roots in the beliefs and rituals of the Aztecs, one of the major indiginous peoples who lived in central Mexico over 500 years ago. The Aztecs believed that dead relatives returned home once a year to seek nurishment and community. Basically, Dia de los Muertos is set aside to remember those who have died. The custom is to invite the deceased to come home on this day to visit the living, so an altar is created and certain items used in it's construction, each item playing a significant part in the whole structure. There are marigold flowers - the floral carpet leads the souls back home and the marigold is believed to carry the smell of death, incense of copal (a woody aroma) helps lead to lead the departed to the Ofrenda or offering, candles also provide a guiding light for the soulsphotos or images of the deceased give the dead a feeling of being back home again, and there are objects that the deceased liked, salt is displayed to remind us of the basic elements that we will all return some day, foods, alcoholic beverages and candies (sugar skull and catrina figures remininding us of life's fragility) are placed to feed the dead - it is believed that the spirit receives nurishment from the smells and then the food is shared by the family, and then there are hundreds of paper sheets that have cutouts of skeletons, flowers, birds, and coffins and they are hung overhead or on the backgrounds.

So these altars are in many of the stores, homes, and public places around town (actually all over Mexico). On the public square (El Jardin) there are altars for many of the national heroes and figures. These are larger altars are manned by people dressed as the hero or as guardians. Each of these larger altars is layed out on the pavement in a 12 x 12 square and images are created using corn and other grains, beans, etc. The images are them edged with yellow marigolds.

The next thing are the catrina dolls and costumes. When the dead return they return in thier finest clothes, but they are only a skeleton. Therefore, a popular costume for this day (and halloween is a big costume day here) are the catrina costumes - most of the catrina women wear a long dark colored dress (often of Victorian vintage) with large brimmed hats sporting feathers and stuff. As you recall these represent the dead, so the face is painted white in the image of a skull (black for eye sockets and teeth showing) the arms are often white with bones drawn on them. The men typically are dressed in tuxedos or black suits and a white skull face is used, as well. These catrina characters will parade into the square amid clamorous music and pomp and then mill around the crowds in the square. A large majority of the people with costumes will have their faces painted. Usually it will be one side of the face with the white skull and the other side normal. There will be other costume, as well.

Then there are the costumes of the indiginous people dressed in the garb of the Aztecs with incredible feather headdresses - today feathers are predominately pheasant, peacock, and other domesticated foul, but originally the feathers were from some of the spectacular birds of the region. The rest of the attire is a mix of leather and colorful woven fabrics. Then there are the indiginous tribes of northern Mexico, particularly the Apaches, and their garb is quite different. They are clad in animal skins, skulls, and horns and eagle feathers. Their dances are more primative than the dances of the Aztecs. In both cases there are sounds eminating from these groups that are immitating sounds of nature: flutes and whistles and drums and rattles and horns and clay vases - all used to create so many different sounds in an erie kind of way. Around their ankles are large wraps that have attached dozens of large seed pods that create a rattling sound when they walk. This part of the square is in front of the parroquia or main parrish church of the community. Mingling all around the square until midnight are children in costumes and bags begging for candys and treats (So now I know why the hispanic trick-r-treaters in our neighborhood come around so late). It is quite a festive scene.

Of course the square is also full of mariachi bands playing to anyone willing to toss some coins their way. So from one side of the square are mariachis and on the other side is the indiginous sounds, and on another are the sounds of contemporay music form a nearby bar and the sound of children. A constant change is focus.

The square is also adorned with cutout papers of every color imaginable. The whole sight and sound was an overload to the senses.

After I had enough of the festivities I headed to Joseph's place to listen to Bob Livinston play a solo set or two of progressive country and then to jamb with a great local blues band for the rest of his second set. Great, fun musical entertainment!

After a long time away

I must get back to my blog entries - I am so sorry for being so distant. I made it home to Houston from the Kingdom, but was there only a few days before I headed out for Mexico; San Miguel de Allende, to be precise. Anyway, Houston was a whirlwind of activities (haircut, credit unions, etc), but while there I realized just how much there is to do there, to get things back in order. That old house is just too much for a single woman, Carolyn, to manage well. When I get back there for a long visit I will have a ton of projects to get into (just on the outside). I do love that old house, though.

At any rate, the trip to San Miguel de Allende, was uneventful. The flight on Continental was delayed about 30 minutes so that the pilot could arrive to fly us :) Once to Leon it was an hour taxi ride to SMA. The driver was a student in architecture (4th year), so he was able to tell a lot about the architecture and the land, as well. He talked the whole way to SMA - which was great! The hotel was the Mirasol -I recommend it - on the edge of the Centro - our friends, the Hickey's told us about it. Stayed at the Mirasol for two nights and tthen moved to an studio apartment in Colonia San Antonio. It was marginable. Paid up until the 17th of October, at which point am heading for a B&B for a few nights, while I look for another short term rental on a studio apartment. Don't know when I will be heading back to the KSA, but I expect sometime in November or early December. I'll be here until it is time to go. Carolyn, on the other hand, is staying in Texas.

Weather here is beautiful - daily highs in the 70's and nightime lows in the upper 40's (although the last couple of nights have been in the low 40's). Days usually start off a little cloudy, but clear off by noon and the rest of the day is sunny. This is the Central Highlands of Mexico. About 5000 feet above sea level. The habitat is largely semi arid with numerous mountain ranges amid a series of flat valleys or plains. This is the bread basket of Mexico - lots of agricultural activities all around this part of Mexico. On the tops of the taller mountains ranges the habitat changes to a conifer forest (small conifers). The valley and plateau are a scruby savanah with numerous different grasses, cacti, and low trees, mostly of the acacia family (mesquite, huisatche, pepper tree, etc.). The density of the brush is greatest along the arroyas (creek beds) and up on the hillsides away from human development. Some of the scenery is quite beautiful and pastoral - wish I had a camera to capture the scenes.

So far my naturalist observations have been from the rooftop of this apartment into the neighborhood, a local park not too far from here, and several walks across some undeveloped fields to the Mega Store on the edge of town about a mile from the apartment; or from the bus on my way to Mexico City. Most of my observations have been focused on bird life - my only sightings of any other wildlife was a six-lined race runner lizard (or something akin to it) - no mammals or other reptiles/amphibians of any kind :(, and some of the native flora mentioned above. So here is a liost of my avian sightings so far: Flycatchers - Great Western Flycatcher, Great Eastern Flycatcher, Kissadee, Vermillion Flycatcher, Gray Flycatcher, and several yet to be identified; himmingbirds - Broad-billed and Rufous are the only two that I have positively identified, but there are many others, particularly the females, that are difficult to separate; doves - White-wing, Inca, and Common Ground Doves; Orioles - Altimira and Bullock's; Curved-bill Thrasher; Tanagers; Barn Swallows; several unidentified swifts and swallows or martins; wrens - Cactus and Benwick's; various inidentified field sparrows and warblers; Pine Siskin; Great-tailed Grackles; Yellow Capped Woodpeckers; Indigo Bunting (caged in a restaurant - sad); egrets - Snowy, Cattle, and American Egrets; unspecified Cormorants; White Pelican; Black Vulture; Raven; Cowbirds; unspecified Grebes and Ducks (too far off to see clearly); Grooved-bill Anis; and the typical human hanger-ons - House Sparrows, House Finches, Feral Pigeons, and Starlings. Interestingly, I have spotted no raptors.

I would like to get out into the countryside - up some of the creek beds and nearby lake and up to some higher elevations on the nearby mountains in the conifer forests; and a nearby ecological preserve. Better yet, I would like to travel down into Oaxaca and Chiapas for some of the true tropical and jungle birds found there. Then there is the Yucatan Peninsula and the Caribbean Coast and the Pacific Coast for seabirds, waders and other passserines. If I stay until January I will most definitely make one or more of those side trips. The busses here are fantastic.

Heading home

This is my last day here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a while. I leave here and hope that my contract is negotiated to my liking, so that I can come back to work on this project. Nothing is certain until I sign the cantract. I anticipate about a month for the date that this current contract ends (27 September). In the meantime, I am looking forward to some quality time with my family, particularly, Carolyn. I will surely miss the people that I leave behind here, but I trust that I will be back, so this will be a brief interlude. If, though, I can't return, then I will be saddened by the separation from these good folks. Oh, have I had an interesting time here. There are so many things that I have availed myself to. Diving, fishing, birding, art, line dancing, natural history, architecture, writing, parties, etc. and etc. Through these activities I have made so many really good friends. Fortunately, things like Facebook, blogging and such make these separations more manageable and tolerable.

My plane leaves out of Bahrain at 11:20 tonight and I stil have a lot of things to attend to, so goodbye for now.

Gillian's home

Gillian Perrott, a very good friend here in Saudi Arabia, was full of Irish hospitality when Carolyn and vacationed there in July. She was so kind as to let us use her Saab to get around. To have such friends is wonderful and for that I did the two pencil drawings of her home there in Kinsale, County Cork. Gillian is a very independent and skillful person, tall and quite attractive, and very personable. Carolyn and I are so grateful to be her friend, and in return I drew these two drawings for her. She was astounded when I presented them to her, but they were a simple way for me reciprocate. The drawings are on 9" x 12" drawing paper using graphite pencils. Cheers - Gillian and thank you.