Just Routine Days

 

NATURE WOMAN SPEAKS

This may be our favorite time of the year at our Winter Residence.  The weather is cooling down a bit and the humidity is lower.  But mostly it is quiet; very, very quiet.  Luis and Joannes, and Randy are the only people in the condo complex besides us.  Muy tranquilo.  There have not been many adventures to report upon.  Things are very normal and routine; it really is our home here as much as at the Northern Estate.  (Sound really rich, don't we?)  So here is a little report of the everyday from Mrs.T.

 

 

It has been quite warm this year in Mexico.  But it is getting cooler so that when I get in the pool every day I tend to give a little EEK!  (She also goes EEK! when she enters the hot tub at our summer estate. –dt) Our pool is too short to swim much but often I do my yoga exercises (except for two which are impossible to do without drowning myself).   Usually at night I go out and float on my back and look at the stars.  I do this Zen meditation where I think of myself as a star and send out warm healing thoughts to all those I love, especially the halt and the lame. (That includes us two.  –dt) So if you feel a surge of good health late in the evening it is probably from me; hey, you never know.  I end up sending good wishes to all sentient beings.  I hope mosquitoes are not sentient because I simply cannot wish them well. (Mrs.T is a mosquito magnet. –dt) I read once in Albert Schweitzer's biography that he would not swat a mosquito.  I guess that is the difference between a saint and your plain old garden variety eccentric!

 

Speaking of fauna I have a couple of semi-pets.  Every night I go out and look for the little geckos who run up and down the screens on our patio and sometimes venture upside down on the ceiling.  I always encourage them to eat more bugs.  (She talks to them and the iguanas in the back also. –dt) One day a housefly landed near one a gecko the screen.  The fly was almost as big as the gecko.  The gecko started forward to check it out.  I really don't know what he was thinking because there was no way he could have possibly eaten it.  A gecko's tongue should exceed his grasp I suppose.   But the fly was not buying it and chased the gecko right down off the screen and into the bushes!

 

This year for some reason the Chihuahuan crows have become quite bold. (I don't think that is the actual species.  Any bird people able to identify them?  Sorry no picture. –dt) They fly down and perch on our tables under the palapa or strut around the edge of the pool making various shrieks and squawks and whistles.  Dan has opined - and correctly I believe - that they are imitating other birds or sounds they have heard.  Therefore whenever they start I shout "Nevermore" at them.   I don't seem to have enhanced their vocabulary but I have annoyed Dan quite a bit. (And Edgar Allan Poe is rolling over in his grave.  –dt)

 

We are preparing for Christmas in our own Mexican way.  I have put up our tiny Christmas tree.  I use jewelry for most of the ornaments.  I imagine that armadillo Christmas ornaments would be unusual in Ohio but here they seem right.  Instead of a nativity we have a Nacimiento which has an elephant, a camel, and a horse because everyone knows that is what the Magi rode.  Of course it has no baby Jesus because he hasn't been born yet. (He will go in on Christmas Eve. –dt) The same yet different; I like remembering putting out our crèche every year with Nick and Marla and then reading the Christmas story from the Bible after we lit the candles.  As Tiny Tim said on that long ago Christmas day, "God bless us every one!"

 

Here are a few pictures:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157632194939164/

 

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. 

Happy Holidays!

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

You Need to Laugh at Yourself

EVERYDAY LIFE

Mrs.T is not gregarious.  As many of you know she would live alone in our woods without human contact if it were possible even though she is quite good in groups.  I am toward the opposite side of the spectrum.  That is, I have no problem bumping elbows with shoppers on 'Black Friday', an event that we miss down here at our winter home.  And I am not prone to embarrassment.  I follow the advice of Richard Feynman in his book What Do You Care What Other People Think? - at least the title.  So sometimes (often?), I surprise R; she has a little story about such a recent event.  As an introductory comment, her renditions of Rule Number 1 and Corollary One are not quite accurate, but they are close enough and that is how she remembers them.

On to her story.  (No pictures for this one.)

 

It was all my fault, of course.  I know this because of Rule Number 1 which states "It is always Rebecca's fault."  Dan has explained that this rule is for my benefit so that I need not dither trying to decide whose fault it is and can proceed directly to step two:  feeling guilty.   Even Dan is willing to admit I do pretty well with feeling guilty.  (She has mastered that. –dt)

 

Dan's electric shaver was broken.  The outside part of the wire was crumbling off.  It was my job to hold the wire straight while Dan wrapped electric tape around it.  (Some of you will recall my 'rabbi' beard. –dt) Two days later the shaver ceased to function.  Rule number one applied.  The question was where to get a new one.  I suggested Mega, WalMart, or a large minisuper.  (Yes, that sounds oxymoronic; but that is correct. –dt) Corollary Oneapplied.  Corollary one is: "Rebecca is never right except when Dan thought of it first."  Since I had forgotten to say "I'm sure you think we should look at Mega, WalMart…," we had a problem.  We were ambling up the street thinking about this when suddenly Dan rushed up to a rather beaten-up pickup truck and started knocking on the window.  "Where can I buy one of those?" he asked.  The young Mexican man who rolled down the window looked puzzled.  "Que?"(What?) he responded.  I was confused myself.  "How do you say buy?" Dan asked.   "Comprar," I answered promptly.   "Where me comprar," Dan asked and stopped in confusion.  "He had an electric shaver a minute ago," Dan told me.  (I am quite positive I saw him shaving.  And my Spanish is better that Mrs.T implies.  –dt)

Look at it from the young man's point of view.  It was Sunday afternoon and he had come to visit his girlfriend.  Naturally she was not ready when called for so he waited for her in his truck with the music playing loudly and the air conditioner going full blast.  He got his shaver out of the glove box and decided to spruce up a little more while waiting.  Some old man started knocking on his window and when he opened it yelled at him in English.  (I did not yell; R always says I yell.  I just have a voice with volume.  –dt) He put down his shaver and turned to the gringo.  "Que?" he asked.   The gringo talked to his wife and said something that the young man was pretty sure included ""comprar".  "Is it possible?" he thought. The young man gave a beautiful smile.  The young man had been trying to sell his pickup for several months.  Alas it was not to be.  The old gringo's wife asked, "Donde compramos un machina electrica por afeitar?"  That was pretty clear if not quite correct.  "Mega, o Walmart, o un minisuper," the young man replied.

 

So we went to Mega and bought the cheapest one they had.  After bringing it home and charging it for 18 hours it made a small noise.  Rebecca returned it and bought a Remington.  Now Dan is clean shaven and not a bit abashed.  (But Mrs.T was thoroughly amused. –dt)

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

Yes, we are still alive

WHERE HAVE WE BEEN?

You may have been wondering where what we have been doing; we have not sent out a newsletter for a couple of months.  Essentially we have been engaged in mostly routine activities:  eating, sleeping, shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc.  There have been several art events and and a few visits to Columbus, but not much out of the ordinary.  And of course we have been watching OSU football.  And enjoying our quadrennial game show called Presidential Elections.  Between those activities Mrs.T has been busy working outside a bit, limited while her leg healed.  But before we depart at Halloween for our winter home, Rebecca thought she would put together a story about a short trip we took.


My broken leg was feeling a whole lot better so Dan and I decided to take a little  trip.  We went to visit Fallingwater, a house built by Frank Lloyd  Wright.  (Two websites about it:  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallingwater and http://www.fallingwater.org/  dt)  It is located in western Pennsylvania about 3-4 hours from our house.  It was an easy drive.  We did make one stop in a town along the Allegheny River for lunch.  It was not the stop we intended but it had one of those serendipitous bonuses.  The town apparently has a lot of eastern Europeans because we found several eastern churches; Catholic, Orthodox, Byzantine; within a few blocks of one and another.  Pictures show the typical onion domes.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157631792786194/


Fallingwater is built over a stream with a waterfall which comes just after the stream exits from under the house.   Because Dan and I both still had mobility issues we only went through the first floor.  (There are over 100 steps for the complete tour, including the guest house.  dt)  The house was interesting and the grounds were fabulous.  No pictures are permitted inside unfortunately.

The trip through the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania  was lovely.  We learned that here 'laurel' is another name for rhododendron.  The trees which seemed to be a week or so ahead of ours in Ohio were at the peak of fall colors.   We drove beside and over several tributaries of the Ohio (They go to the Allegheny first.  dt).  White water rafting is big here as there are a lot of rapids.  I told Dan that we could try it but his answer was a definite "NO!!"  (There is a large state park named Ohiopyle on the Youghiogheny River for those and other activities.  dt)

We visited colonial era Fort Necessity which is one where George Washington lost to the French and Indians,   OOPS!  There is a nicely done visitor's center which includes an informative movie about the fort and the major batte.   I thought it was interesting that part of the uniform for the colonial soldiers was a tuque. (Hello Canadians.  dt)   It was very rainy so we did not walk out to the actual fort.  The picture is of the children's area.

We also stopped at the Touchstone Center for Crafts where they teach things like ceramics, jewelry, glass, and blacksmithing.  (A glass acquaintance - 'The Fig Eater' teaches there.  dt)  They were between terms when we stopped.  Dan thought we might take a course there because it is not too far from our home.  That was fine with me but I  did notice that their cabins were primitive - read: No hot water. (Actually no water at all.  dt)  So I explained that if we went to a class we would be staying at the Olde Stone Inn or another bed and breakfast..  You can say all you like about ambiance and a true local experience but I prefer my ambiance with hot water.

After we returned  I went to the doctor and was pronounced healed - sort of.  I am now allowed to do anything but if I do too much my knee gives a twinge or two.  I am happy to be doing my yoga again and working outside,  I have been reading zen and came upon an interesting phrase to describe what happens when you are too self centered:  "various desires begin  to behave mischievously".  I told Dan some of my desires were about Moose Tracks ice cream.  Dan had no need to elaborate on his! (What could she mean?  dt)   Both Dan and I thought that this was an interesting way of describing it.

Of course being in Ohio which is believed to be a key state in the presidential election, we have been bombarded by political advertisements.  Dan watches "Morning Joe" a Republican (perhaps a bit -dt) show in the morning and "Hardball" a Democrat show (definitely -dt) in the evening and mutters or yells at both of them.  He has gotten me really confused.  Still he does not vote at all inspite of much harassment from me on this subject. (I am called a Commie. dt)   I have already cast my absentee ballot so I think I should not have to listen to this nonsense any more.  I do have a few ideas about how to help our country grow and improve but no one has asked me, aside from one lady doing a poll.  I did send the White House one email and got a form reply.  Sigh!  (Her email should have been directed to Obama campaign headquarters; she did actually send it there also. dt).

I have been dividing some of my plants which became confused and started blooming.  So it goes.  But I am ready to head south.


Adios.  The next time you hear from us we should be in the sunshine.
Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

We have switched to working in 'the cloud'. If for some reason you cannot see the pictures, please let me know.

Two photos

Hello Everyone.

In the last newsletter Mrs.T mentioned how Oscar took photographs using his kites.  Here are a couple of bonus kite photos of Holbox Island - where R went to see the whale sharks - kindly sent by Oscar.  Thank you, Oscar.

Enjoy,

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

Mrs. T in the water again

NOT QUITE WALKING ON AIR AGAIN

Mrs. T had another superlative adventure in the underwater world back in Mexico but on the opposite coast from our winter home.  Currently she is in the midst of recovery but should be ready to go south again come the end of October.  Enjoy her story.

Whale sharks are the biggest fish in the world. (Note:  Whale sharks are fish; actual whales are not fish.  -dt)  They are 30 to 50 feet (10-15m) long.  But in comparison with the great white they are not scary at all.   For one thing they are covered with polka dots.  It is hard to be afraid of a shark in a clown suit.  For another thing they have no teeth.  Whale sharks are filter feeders, they eat by slurping up small bits like krill and plankton and tiny fish all in through  plates in their mouths and spitting out the water. (Like true whales -dt)  Really I suppose they could give you the world's largest hicky.  But as that usually does not occur, people go to Holbox Island in Mexico in order to swim with the whale sharks when they migrate there every summer to feed.  (There are other places in the world that they also feed including other islands near Holbox.  - dt)  And that has been one of the items to do on my 'bucket list'.

So when my marine biologist friend Oscar whom I know from Puerto Vallarta asked if I would like to go snorkel with the whale sharks I said, "YES!"  I asked Dan if he wanted to go with me, but Dan is not a water person.

So here I am at the extreme eastern edge of Mexico where the whale sharks come to slurp.  After two flights - it is nearly impossible to go anywhere directly from Columbus - I arrived at Cancun and was met by Oscar and his friend Fred.  A long taxi ride and a short boat trip and we arrived at Holbox and rode a little golf cart to Hotel Mawimbi.

It was at Mawimbi that I began to see that Oscar knew lots of local people.  This little hotel was right on the ocean and was operated by a friendly Italian family.  Onny ran the hotel and her husband ran the dive shop and the boat.  We met Alexandra, (Allie) who worked with dolphins, and her husband Luca who has a very nice Italian restaurant.  Also Chile (Juan) whose boat we rented, and another guy who went to college with Oscar, and his family. 

The whole economy of this tiny island revolves around whale sharks.  The first day we went out there were 4 whale sharks and 59 boats full of people who wanted to swim with them.  So we decided to skip it.  We went looking for mantas.  We found a group and went snorkeling with them.  The people  with me were 20 to 40 years younger than I.  They were also more fleet of fin.  Everyone would splash off in the direction of the manta with me paddling slowly but determinedly in the rear.  The people on the boat could see better. Suddenly one called : "Rebecca, Look Down!!"  I looked down to see a giant manta gliding up under me.  For mantas it was small, about 10 feet (3m) across, but it was an amazing feeling to be gliding around above him or as they say in Mexico "asombroso".

The people on the boats were very protective of me.  When we rode on the larger boat with 8 other tourists there was one seat that was especially nice with a back, as opposed to bench seats, of course everyone headed for that seat until the captain said that seat is for "La Senora."   (You may recall Mrs.T's previous fall -dt)  This was the second day we looked for whale sharks.  Even though Oscar had assured me that they would be there later, something to do with tides and the relative temperatures of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, I was a little discouraged.  They were everywhere!  They counted 79 whale sharks that day, and when you are as big as a whale shark that is quite a lot.  Also there seemed to be fewer boats so there were plenty of whale sharks for everyone.  

When you first start swimming with whale sharks they seem awfully big.  But everybody else was jumping in so I was not going to chicken out.  Actually they are very placid animals.  They just swim peacefully along slurping up the stuff floating on the water.  When you swam beside them you could kind of draft them like a race car; they pulled you along in their wake.  You could see their tummies and gills bulging and retracting as they sucked in and spit out water.  Their small eyes regarded me thoughtfully as I swam beside them.

When the whale sharks sped up a little the younger snorklers put on a burst of speed and tried to keep up.  Although I tried, I could not quite keep up and began to fall behind.  "Rebecca, come back,"  the captain called.  I obediently paddled back toward the boat where they pointed me to the next whale shark heading our way.  (Hmm - sounds familiar -dt)  This was not a problem because they were all over the place.  Every so often the whale sharks would want to take a break.  They would hang out tail down in the water doing nothing at all.

The whale sharks have a huge mouth 4 or 5 feet (1.5m) wide.  But since they do not have teeth it was not too alarming.  "If you see a huge mouth heading toward you do not panic," our divemaster had told us.  "The shark knows you are there and when he gets to you he will simply dip down and swim under you."  Well, usually.  I was swimming parallel to a shark but about five feet away.  The shark turned its head to look at me and then turned and swam straight towards me.  Do not panic I thought; it is going to swim under you.  But the whale shark continued straight toward me and nudged me with his huge mouth. Whether he was trying to taste me or getting fresh I really am not sure, although Oscar claims that the shark liked me more than any decent shark should.  At any rate after a moment the shark turned and swam away.  I continued swimming with several more sharks but none showed any more than the usual interest.  I was exhausted but happy.  And to put icing on the cake as we went home we slowed down to see the flamingos.  (There will not be any in our yard!  -dt)

On another day we practiced flying kites on the beach.  Oscar and Fred fly large kites to take pictures of wildlife.  (Oscar owns the kites. -dt)  They can take pictures from a kite flying 500 feet (150m) in the air and not disturb nesting birds or swimming whales.  Oscar gets grants and writes scientific papers about this.  They have a remote control that points the camera and tells it to take pictures.  It is important to practice on the ground because when they fly the kites from the boat they don't have much room and everything has to go smoothly.  I did not really fly a kite but I did hold things.  I like kites; it was really a very agile kite, and it was amazing how the camera worked.  Oscar had two really good Nikons and a lot of different lenses filters and such.  Too much light can be a problem when flying a kite so high.  Of course he had special housings for underwater photos etc.  Being a scientist does not come cheap!

So after we got everything checked out Oscar, Fred, and I went out - just the three of us - on Chile's boat to take pictures from the kite.  Chile is a very good captain and can make very minute adjustments in speed or direction which are necessary when you are flying a kite from a boat.  Again I did not do much but it was interesting to watch.  The wind had to be at the right direction and speed for the whole thing to work.  For example it took a wind of more than 6mph (10kph) to fly the red kite.

We went to the nature preserve on Contoy Island because the naturalist there wanted pictures of the nesting area of the magnificent frigate birds.  Since we were taking pictures for them the naturalist gave us permission to snorkel in the preserve when no one else was there.  This was the best snorkeling because the fish were not bothered by a lot of people.  I saw: a school of large barracuda, parrot fish both large and small of all different colors, enormous fat brown groupers, tiny iridescent fish of different colors, wrasses, damselfish, butterfly fish, angelfish, tangs, needlefish, trumpet fish, rays , turtles, and who knows what.  This was fabulous.

We went through the museum at the nature preserve and climbed on observation tower so we could look out over the area.  Much of it is covered with mangroves since the water is brackish, i.e., a combination of fresh and salt water.  One day Allie told us that some manatees had been spotted.  So we headed out in Chile's boat to see if we could spot them.  He told us he knew the area well.  "Do you take people out to see the manatees?" we asked.  "No," Chile replied, "I take tourists out at night to see the alligators and crocodiles."  My enthusiasm for snorkeling with manatees immediately declined.  In fact we saw two crocodiles but no manatees.  

So I spent a blissful week, swimming with whale sharks twice, snorkeling on the reef 3 or 4 times, flying the kites several times - actually I mostly watched - and riding around looking at seabirds.

It was the  last night and I was hanging up my wet suit in the bathroom when I slipped.  "AYUDARME, AYUDARME, CAIGO!"  I called.  Help me, help me, I fell.  Onny and Allie and some other ladies heard me and rushed to my room.  Onny assessed the situation.  "We need men," she declared.  She stuck her head out the window and called about four hefty men who hoisted me to my feet but alas it was not to be.  Both my knee and my ankle were in bad shape.

My Mexican friends were kind, gentle and helpful.  They dosed me with natural cures, arnica, and a couple of others I can't remember the names of.  They wrapped me in ace bandages and packed me in ice.  After several discussions I couldn't quite follow - they were in rapid Spanish, I was in pain, and I was feeling a little blurry from the natural medicinal herbs - they decided not to air evacuate me; there was no doctor on the island.  The general consensus was that nothing was broken because I could wiggle my toes.  They even cut a flamingo walking stick to size for me and nailed rubber on the tip.  The next day after helping me pack all  I was transported to Chile's boat for the trip to the mainland.  Chile's father was waiting with his taxi to take me to the airport where he helped me get a wheel chair.  In Ohio after x-rays and ct-scans, I have a fracture and an immobilizer.  But the doctor said if I had a fracture this was the best one to have.  Glad I did it right.  It was fabulous and I would do it again in spite of the rough ending.

Here are some photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157631088736982/ 

Most of the photographs were taken by Mrs.T; the great underwater photos were taken by Oscar and Fred.  Ignore the date stamp.  The link will appear twice as it will also be pasted into the email itself.

(Alternate link to photos:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157631088736982/ )

Mrs. T is on the mend.  She is not getting around much however.  She will be using a walker for about three weeks and then will have a knee brace similar to those used by athletes.  We have no idea yet how long that will be on but it should be off before we head to the condo.

Hope you are staying cool.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

Photos, Photos, Photos

Hello Everyone.

With the last couple of newsletters some folks had difficulties with the links.  I think the problem was with our new word processing program.  So in the future I will embed the links directly into the emails.  Here are the links from the last two musings: 

Our pictures:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458%40N07/sets/72157630611991378/

Pictures from the paper:  http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BA&Dato=20120705&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=207050802&Ref=PH

Link to Suzy's blog:  http://www.sue-feathersandflowers.blogspot.com/

Link to the Uke Man:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kjTToXK1KI

I tested this email in Hotmail, Yahoo mail, and Gmail - so if you cannot connect with the link now the problem is at your end.

Enjoy,

dan and rebecca

http://www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com/

More on the storm

TO THE BIG TREE

One of our long-time friends inquired if Mrs.T would be using some of her new poetry skills to write about our big storm.  The muse composed the following lines:

FALLEN GIANT

The great white oak

Oldest of trees in the forest

Stretched up his limbs in supplication

Send us rain

Send us rain

Send us rain

He evoked the ancient covenant.

Wind answered,

Black clouds roiled high and higher,

Lightening flashed across the

Darkening sky,

Rain fell in torrents.

The drought is over.

The forest lives.

But the great lord of the forest

Lies torn and broken, felled by the storm he called.

Young trees weep.

Rebecca Sellers Terrible

That summarizes it rather well.  And here is another ditty about trees, this time in song by our good friend Tom, aka, The Ukelele Man:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kjTToXK1KI 

Soon Mrs.T will be off on another adventure.  Some of you know where she is headed but for others we will wait until she returns and writes about it.

Hope all of you are staying cool.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

We are using a different word processing program so some links may not work cleanly; please just cut-and-paste.  Thank you.

Busy, busy, busy

CATCHING Up

Here it is mid-July and it has been a couple of months since our last newsletter.  I had been encouraging Mrs.T to put something together but she indicated that she was not sufficiently inspired and passed the task off to me.  And then her computer died so she had an even bigger excuse.  So this update might be more journalistic and less entertaining than those of the resident muse.  

We have been busy especially over the last six weeks and so I will give some snippets of our comings and goings.  As it has been a while since our last electronic epistle, this one is a bit long.  You can actually follow most of it just through the pictures.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157630611991378/ 

I will give you a rundown in more or less a chronological fashion although the pictures may be a bit out of order.  Here goes:

Glass Art Society Conference

You may recall that last year we attended the GAS conference in Seattle.  We had not been to one of the meetings for a while and Seattle was most convenient because it afforded us an opportunity to visit my brother John and his wife Suzy.  (Their house was a bit of a hotel at the time with lots of visitors.)  We had a great time and saw many friends that we generally only see at the conference.

This year the meeting was in Toledo and we felt a bit of an obligation to attend as it was in state.  And we were fortunate to see many of our good friends again.  We really hope that the conference will be in some more exciting location; that gives us an excuse to travel.  Next year it is scheduled for Boston.  

One of the highlights of the visit was a tour of the Libby glass plant.  Tours there are unique; we gained some insights into manufacturing of fine glass ware.  Unfortunately no photos were permitted.  You probably have some Libby glass; it is one of the brands considered a 'must have'.  The Libby money built the museum.

Another treat was that Richard brought many students from THE OSU and they did a demo.  Ted T was the master of ceremonies and the whole effort was choreographed nicely even if a bit spontaneously.  Check out Ted's jacket.

The contemporary glass movement had its beginnings at the Toledo Museum of Art.  If you have an opportunity you should visit the museum and the relatively new Glass Pavilion.; it is a wonderful facility and a magnificent work of architecture.

You will also note that downtown Toledo has a lot of public artwork.  Many parking meters and bike racks have a knitted cover.  Benches are painted in styles of different famous artists.  Sculptures abound.  There are many galleries and they have a monthly art walk night.  We picked up a very colorful frog for the pond.

Visitors

Shortly after we returned we had our first visitor - our son Nick.  He drove down from Madison and stayed at the Holler Hotel, a.k.a, our house..  He came partly because of our next visitors.  But it is always nice to have our son visit.  He was able to see how the tree plantings were doing (fairly well at that time) as well as go to Columbus and visit his sister and other friends.

The second group of visitors were a bit rarer:  We had the pleasure of a visit from John, Suzy, and as a bonus daughter Amanda and her daughter Nova.  John and Suzy have not been East for some time and it was great that the family could all be together.  Nova is such a sweetie, although Suzy said we were just lucky not to see her other side.  But such young children do have their moments.  And they all were able to take a day in their short schedule and visit us out here in the sticks.  Now they have a better appreciation of our landscape and environs.  You can read more about their trip - and see plenty of pictures of granddaughter Nova - at Suzy's wonderful blog: 

  http://www.sue-feathersandflowers.blogspot.com/ 

Flora and Fauna

Unless you are brand new to our musings, you have read something about our flowers and animals a time or two (gross understatement).  So I guess I should spin a story about them.  First I must note that after a while the sightings of animals is routine: Oh, there goes a deer.  Oh, there goes a turkey.  We still like to see them, but generally it is not so noteworthy after the five years we have been here.  But nonetheless, there are a few things to mention.  (You may want to refer to some of the pictures.)

Tubbie the turtle has left it seems.  You may recall that we have had several turtles appear and leave over the years - Stinkie and Sinkie in particular. Tubbie, a softshell we believe, stayed around for quite a while.  But then another turtle showed up; my guess is that it was Tubbette.  In any case they both are gone, probably off to turtle Niagara Falls on a honeymoon.  We also had a box turtle show up for a while.

Until this year we rarely saw rabbits around the house.  We really are not quite the rabbit environment; they prefer a bit more open grassy area.  But this year has been different.  The rabbits have been as prolific as they are often portrayed - they are everywhere this year.  One tiny one even hopped on Mrs.T's hand as she worked in the wild geraniums around the porch.  It literally fit in her palm.  Maybe the very mild winter contributed to this population explosion.

Likewise we have seen plenty of deer. They do not hesitate to come almost right to the house.  R woke me this morning to see three munching in the front yard.  I saw one baby so young and small that it was nursing.  Unfortunately one never has a camera at hand when it is needed.

You will see the picture of a lizard, plenty of them this year.  And the snakeskin shed by one of our inhabitants, probably a black snake or some water snake.  And then there were the two German shepherds that came from some neighbor quite a bit down the road.  And please note the scarlet tanager - a lucky picture although we see them almost every year.

And then there is the question of next ownership.  Phoebes built the nest - a marvel of architecture - a couple of years ago.  Phoebes return to the same nest each year and raise a couple of broods with a break in between.  This year some wrens decided they would take over the nest when the phoebes took their interlude.  There has been squabbling over nest ownership.  We have even observed both types of birds going in and out nearly simultaneously.   We are not quite sure how this will be resolved.

You will notice the picture of a raccoon.  Now there really is nothing special about a raccoon, although capturing a picture of one at night is a bit challenging.  But this raccoon is a bit special.  It took us a while to realize that the fish food we stored on the porch in a metal garbage can was also raccoon chow; they love it.  Although we had put a bungee cord around the lid it was not quite tight enough and this raccoon managed to pry off the lid and down a goodly amount.  We heard him on the porch making a lot of noise a couple of nights and I managed this photo as he scampered off.  So we tightened up the cord.  Well the raccoon was quite aggravated the night when he (or she) discovered he could not open the lid.  So he pushed the entire garbage can about two feet in an effort to loosen the top.  With a little more effort he might have pushed it off the porch.  Now we are more careful to make sure things are snugged up.

Finally, you may note the profusion of water lilies.  They also have spread like gangbusters.  And there are even some red and yellow ones.

The Derecho

The afternoon of Friday 30 June will stand out for quite some time.  That was when the derecho came through.  A derecho  -  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derecho - is quite an exciting weather event, if you like that kind of excitement.  Straight-line winds up to 90mph (145kph) whipped through much of Ohio including our county.  Trees went down willy-nilly.  About a half million folks, including us, lost electric power.  The event was comparatively brief but the aftermath was a full-blown disaster.  Muskingum county was hit very hard.  We were trapped with - as we would discover later - about ten trees across the drive including one in front of the house.  One of the trees that came down was probably the oldest and largest on the property, a white oak several hundred years old and 3 or so feet (1m) in diameter.  (It grows each time Mrs.T tells the story.)

We immediately contacted our neighbor who you might recall does tree work and removed a tree from our roof when we had the last big storm several years ago.  He said he would get to us as soon as possible.  But as we had no damage to the house and were not in immediate danger he would be busy with other work requiring more immediate attention. 

This link takes you to several pictures of what it was like in Zanesville; Macy Trees LLC is our neighbor's company.  Jamey said this was probably the biggest tree he has ever worked on.  Be sure to look at all the pictures so you can see how this house was crushed.

http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BA&Dato=20120705&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=207050802&Ref=PH 

The crew managed to get to us Monday and cut a path out through all the downed trees.  We were able to go replenish our supply of drinking water and buy some food that would keep without electricity.

Yes, we were without electricity for the weekend.  Fortunately we have a small generator.  On Sunday I filled it with oil and a bit of gasoline and miraculously it started right up.  We had not opened the deep freezer or the refrigerator and things were still cool enough.  We plugged in the deep freezer and moved in things from the refrigerator freezer and kept them frozen.  And no electricity also meant we had no power to the water pump. The hot tub provided assistance allowing us to bring buckets to flush the toilets.  As noted we relied upon bottled water for drinking. 

Meanwhile Rebecca was preparing to depart for Iowa for a poetry workshop.  She left on Saturday 7 July with the clean clothes she could gather up.  Still no electricity.  Finally it came back that evening.  I was left with a lot of dirty dishes and clothes to wash.  I just caught up on that before Mrs.T returned on Friday 13 July.

Poetry in Iowa

Just a short mention that Rebecca enjoyed her visit to Iowa and learned a lot.  However, getting there and back was not half the fun but half of the hassle.  Planes were delayed both directions, especially on the return.  But she can tell that story later perhaps.  The town and campus are delightful and there are a few pictures she took around Iowa City.

Vroom Vroom

Not much rest as on 14 July the annual motorcycle event traversed our property.  The organizers had been out surveying the course the prior week.  I talked to them and they pronounced that the 160 mile(250km) course was a disaster and they had to clean up and reroute much of it.  They apparently were able to get everything in order in time.  No pictures this year.

Firemen's Festival

Philo and the surrounding area is served by the Harrison Township Volunteer Fire Department.  (Brush Creek Township where we live does not have a fire department.)  Each year this festival is one of the main fundraisers for the HTFD.  It is a good old-fashioned small town event.  Enjoy the pictures of our parade and fair.

Well, that should about do it for now.  Perhaps the muse will be inspired after her workshop to produce something more exciting for our next installment.

It has been hot and very dry here so we hope wherever you are that you are keeping cool!

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

Into the forest 2012

RETURN TO SUMMER HOME 2012

 

The day I began editing this story, summer had returned.  The temperature soared to almost 90F (30C+) and it was humid.  It was actually hotter than Bucerias.  Another day or two like that and Mrs.T would have been up in arms for me to turn on the A/C.  However it was just a one-day event and the weather is back to pleasantly seasonable levels.

 

We have our summer/winter rotation fairly well down to a routine.  Two points need to be made.  First, both locations are our homes, not just houses.  Although Ohio is certainly more of our home base, our condo is just as much a home.  Secondly, we count our blessings that we are fortunate enough to enjoy this ability to shift back and forth and enjoy weather that is better for our health – mental as well as physical.  To our younger friends we can only recommend:  work hard and live long.

 

But each time we rotate there is some new adventure or little challenge awaiting us.  This year I had the task of resolving issues related to our telecommunications.  When we discussed moving to the forest, I made clear my need for high=speed internet and decent television (and no mowing).  Both items presented challenges upon this return with the hardware and the service providers.  Our Master Geek, Nick, has also provided yeoman's assistance with the machines.  A big thank you goes to him for his efforts.

 

Here is R's story about this year's return to the holler:

 

 

 

Well we are back north.  Having heard what a warm winter they had in Ohio we hoped to return to summer.  Alas, not so.  As soon as we came back it turned cooler and rained a lot.  Sigh!!  The good news is that a lot of my flowers were in bloom.  We came back to 'a host of golden daffodils' and a lot of wild flowers too.  The dogwood and red bud trees were blooming so it was hard to be too depressed.  I immediately went out and started weeding and chopping and came down with a slight case of poison ivy, still being treated with hydrocortisone cream.  Dan, not to be outdone developed a bunch of little bites under his arm which I diagnosed as chiggers.  (Mrs.T does not have a medical degree however.  –dt) I suggested spraying a lot of OFF under his arm but he rejected that idea in favor of a long soak in the hot tub - drown those little rascals is my theory - and washing all the bedclothes.

 

Well this meant I would have to make the bed.  I hate making the bed!  We have a king-sized bed and I cannot reach the middle very well.  What happens is when I put on the fitted sheet there is always a large wrinkle in the middle.  When I tug at one side that wrinkle disappears but another one pops up.  Then I have to go to the other side and repeat the process.  Eventually I get the bottom sheet fixed and move on to the top sheet.  This sheet does not wrinkle.  What it does is hang down longer at the top than at the bottom.  When after much tugging I get the top sheet straight, it is on to the blankets which behave the same way.  The bedspread is more complicated because you not only have to get it straight all around, but you also to leave just the right amount at the top to tuck the pillows in.  Why, you wonder, don't you have Dan make the bed, or at least help me.  I have tried.  Sigh!  Any bed that he touches looks decidedly scruffy!  I am sure in my mind that he is capable of making a bed but he won't do it.  The only way I know of getting a man to make a bed is to send him to boot camp.  There is a funny story about my nephew Evan- who is a Marine- but I won't go into that.  I thought about making Dan do pushups if he did not make the bed right but decided it was easier just to make it myself.  (Making a bed is a waste of time.  And I could do it perfectly well  –dt)

 

When we came home we immediately had problems with our TV and our computer. (The internet provider actually, but that is another long story.  –dt) Dan worked very hard to solve these problems and it involved a lot of phone calls such as, "If you want customer service, push number one".  Don't you hate those phone calls?  Also, it turned out when we came home we had a 55 inch radio.  The guy finally came and took it away.  He will, we hope, return it all fixed.  Nobody fixes things here anymore but fortunately this was under warranty.  The computer problem was to use a new satellite with more computer juice. (Bandwidth on the provider's new satellite.  –dt)  Evidently we have it now and we can make Skype calls from our house.  They left the old dish and I am trying to think of something to do with it in my garden, a birdbath perhaps?  Any suggestions? 

 

Meanwhile I have been working outside with my flowers and pond.  I was happy to see all my fish made it through the winter, and even I think some new babies.  Not only that but we have a very large turtle.  I am not sure if Stinky or Sinky has returned but if he has he has grown quite a bit. (Most likely it is a completely different turtle waiting to be named.  –dt)  The turtle is quite fond of the waterfall.  Whenever I turn it on, he surfaces and gazes at it rapturously.  Unfortunately we also have a good sized black snake.  (R has the classic snakes and spiders phobias; neither bother me.  –dt)  He basks near a rock at one side of the pond. 

 

My wildflowers are blooming quite well.  When I am out driving on errands and see wildflowers blooming in unattended locations - not at people's houses - I stop and dig up a plant or two to add to my wildflower garden.  I cannot do this when Dan is with me because he thinks I will be arrested. Well I haven't been yet.  (One day….  –dt) I found a flower on some old coal mine land last week that I did not recognize but it turned out to be a flower I knew but in a color I had never seen - a blue Virginia Waterleaf; I had only seen white ones.  By the way this year I have some white forget me nots.  I always have loads of blue ones but white ones are new to me.  In addition to wildflowers our son Nick came home for a visit this past week and he and I planted trees.  He bought ten rootstocks which he plans to use to graft on starts from apple trees at our old house.  He also brought me two little peach trees.  By the time we had everything planted and protected from the deer - we hope - we were quite tired.

 

About every twenty years or so, the Catholic Church changes a few words in the mass.  Not a lot and not the main point of it all.  Oh they may throw in one big words like Constantinople; no that's not right- constitutional; no – consubstantial; anyway something like that.  But on the whole the changes are relatively minor.  I am convinced they do this to keep people like me from sleeping through church and are trying to make us sit up and pay attention.  At any rate this past year was a change year.  The first half didn't matter much because we were in Mexico and mostly mumbled our way through the Spanish responses as best we could.  This past Sunday I was daydreaming a bit and the priest said, "The Lord be with you," "And also with you" I responded automatically.  Of course everyone else responded with the new improved version, "And with your spirit."  (Which I learned originally in Latin –dt)  "OOPS!" I said out loud without really thinking about it.  Several people in surrounding pews tittered while Dan looked at me like: Who is this strange woman beside me: I have never seen her before.  Oh well.  (It is all about trying to get a more accurate translation.  NB: Mrs.T is not Catholic.  –dt)

 

With all our planting done Nick and I spent a day at The Wilds looking at animals, I thought a baby Bactrian camel was especially cute.  They come from China and are almost extinct in the wild.  They have a lot more fluffy hair than Dromedary camels and two humps.   (The Wilds – www.thewilds.org – is a unique animal reserve for conservation and research especially with endangered species.  It is on 10000 acres of reclaimed strip mined land.  –dt)

 

 

Here are some pictures around the house and at The Wilds:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157629598945498/

 

 

Hope your spring is off to a good start.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

Say "Cheese!"

AT IT AGAIN

 

This season every time Mrs. T goes diving she has a new adventure.  This week was no different.  Here is her short story about this week's excitement:

 

Art is long and fame is fleeting.  Still, everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame.  Mine is now – at least the guys I dive with tell me I'm going to be famous in Mexico.

 

It happened like this.  This week we were diving at Las Islas Marietas, a small group of islands just outside the bay that are a marine and bird sanctuary.  Often when you dive there a park ranger comes along in a small boat to check that you have the wristband that shows you have paid the park fee.  The dive company supplies these and includes the fee in the cost of the trip.

 

Seeing the boat approaching I instinctively held up my wrist but the ranger shook his head.  After a brief consultation the dive masters explained that they wanted to take pictures of us.  The pictures would be used to advertise Las Marietas.  We all agreed to participate.  The photographer took a few pictures of us in the boat.  Then the first dive group of three divers, in their 20s, and their dive master put on their dive gear and got into the water.  The photographer yelled some instructions.

 

"They want you to get in the water with those guys so they can take your picture," Alex told me.  "You will be famous!" he encouraged.

 

I agreed – to get into the water – so the other three dive masters rapidly inserted me into all my dive gear and I jumped in and swam over for the photo shoot.  I expect the photo will have the caption "People of all ages enjoy diving at Las Marietas."  Either that or my inner beauty was really shining through!

 

We had great dives but the water was cold.

 

 

We are excited to be having another visit from Rita next week.

And Happy Birthday to Monsieur B.

 

No pictures this post.  But I guess you should scan the web to see if Mrs.T is indeed famous.

Dan and Rebecca

SIRENA Means Mermaid in Spanish

FURTHER ADVENTURES OF THE SIRENA

 

No we have not disappeared.  Things around here have been rather normal, except for the weather.  We have had an unusual spate of cloudy days and even several days of rain – just sprinkles except for one day.  A few days of precipitation in the winter are not out of the ordinary but this year has had more than what we have come to expect.  Nothing tragic.  But the muse has not been inspired to write much.  And she has not been painting much either.  She has been able to squeeze in a few shopping trips.  (See the picture of the new wall hanging that graces 'Daphne's' room.)  She has been doing some group jigsaw puzzles.  (Thanks Judy.) And she and several of the other ladies managed a trip to the drag show at the Luna Lounge.  (Photos courtesy of Judy S.; thank you again!)  So it has not been completely dull.

 

And we are surrounded by our second group of Canadians, now of the French variety from Quebec and Ottawa.  They are friendly and likeable folks and we enjoy their company.  Unfortunately our French skills are a bit rusty, if they much existed at all.  But we are quite happy they are here and pleased to include them as nos bons amis.

 

Mrs. T continues to SCUBA dive every week if possible.  R was not pleased one week when her trip was cancelled because the other folks arrived too inebriated to safely venture onto the boat as rightly decided by the captain.  And although most of the diving has been anticlimactic since the encounter with the whale, each week still holds its adventures.  So she decided to write about this week's dive to give a taste of what happens even during a 'routine' dive.

 

The poem preceding this installment was written shortly after the Jonah experience.

 

DIVING

Rebecca Sellers Terrible

 

 

I leave behind a world of light

Falling backwards into free

I seek the glory of the night.

 

In shaded depths of faded sight

Within the wonders of the sea

I leave behind the world of light.

 

In realms ruled by creatures of might

In fathoms floating heedlessly

I seek the glory of the night.

 

Small fishes luminescing bright

Through corals coursing endlessly

I leave behind the world of light.

 

In caverns of a wondrous height

Their denizens I dimly see,

I seek the glory of the night.

 

Where ever many stars are bright

Where never is a boundary

I leave behind a world of light,

I seek the glory of the night.

 

 

A bit about the poem.  When we go diving I sit on the edge of the boat, hold my mask and regulator (the thing you breathe with) firmly to my face, give a little push, and fall backwards into another world.  It is always a shock; the water feels cold at first in spite of our wetsuits.  You move slowly with some effort.  On the other hand you are weightless.  And if you relax the water will often carry you where you want to go.  If the water is surging back and forth – imitate the fish.  Swim as they do when water is going your way, and then rest flat against the bottom or anchor on a rock while the water flows back.  Often a fingertip is enough to hold you still.  (I have to say the tips of my diving gloves are beginning to wear out.)  I was surprised to discover that fish do not swim all the time.  They spend a lot of time just hanging out and either lying on a rock or sand or floating in calm water.

 

The sounds under the water are magnified and distorted.  To hear things clearly you need to stop breathing for a moment; the sound of your breath and your bubbles when you exhale overwhelm a lot of other sounds.  One of my favorite things is listening to the whales sing.  Their songs are a cross between a low pitched hum and an oink.  Exactly what they are saying is open to dispute, but they are definitely discussing something.  There are some common calls recognized as mothers talking to babies, distress calls and things like that.  (Chow time?  -dt) But most calls still are mysteries to us.  They say whales also talk or sing at a frequency too low for humans to hear.  The same thing is said about elephant communication.  I wonder if an elephant stuck his trunk in the ocean if he could talk to the whales.  Just a thought. 

 

Underwater everything slows down at least for me.  The sea creatures dart here and there easily.  There is a lot less light underwater; perhaps that is why many of the fish and corals are so brightly colored.  The deeper you dive of course there is less light.  Many of the fish here are luminescent.  One of my favorite is the blue damsel fish.  It is dark blue with light blue shining spots.

 

Alex is my dive master.  Yes I do realize that Lincoln freed the slaves, so perhaps I should clarify that Alex is the dive master I always dive with while staying in Bucerias.   (If you do not remember Alex, there is another picture this month.  –dt) Usually just the two of us dive together and are more or less dive buddies; we know and trust each other implicitly.  Sometimes Alex has other divers as well as me and then it is business rather than just pleasure for him.

 

When you dive a lot with the same person it is amazing how well you can communicate with hand signals.  (Perhaps you have seen TV programs where divers have microphones, but that is much too expensive equipment for the casual recreational diver.  –dt) When Alex is leading a dive group it is sort of an underwater tour where he points out the sights and animals, etc.  When it is just the two of us diving alone it is more of an exploration.

 

Alex is a fisherman.  (And he makes more money taking people on fishing trips.  –dt) Sometimes when diving with just me he takes his spear.  I on the other hand like to collect shells.  (Anyone want several boxes?? –dt) And of course there are octopi.  Alex and his family love to eat octopus.  I have had it and do not like it that much.  So when there are just the two of us we will catch an octopus for Alex's supper.  I actually almost never do the catching as they are too fast for me.  But I can often spot them and point them out to Alex. 

 

The other day we were swimming along when I saw a good-sized octopus swim by me.  I turned after it and as soon as he knew he had been spotted he immediately dropped to the ocean floor and tucked in his tentacles pretending to be a rock.  (To see the ability of octopi to hide, view this clip full screen:  http://www.sciencefriday.com/videos/watch/10397   -dt)  I caught Alex and made the octopus hand signal.  Alex grabbed the creature and began shaking it vigorously.  This is a thing Alex does to dispatch them: first you grab the octopus, then you shake it, then you squeeze it, then you pull out some part of its insides, and then it is dead.  I don't know how to do this and I don't want to know.  If Alex wants to eat octopi, he needs to kill them as far as I am concerned. 

 

Well he had just about finished the shaking part when I spotted another octopus.

"Octopus!" I signaled.

"Yes, yes, I know." Alex nodded.

"No. Another octopus!"  I poked Alex and pointed.

Alex, wanting both, thrust the present capture into my hands - shaken, not squeezed (HaHaHa  -dt) – and swam off in pursuit of the second creature.

 

Well this first octopus was still very much alive and determined to escape.  I was trying to hold onto as many arms or legs as possible.  And it kept trying to elude me.  In desperation I tried to trap it by pushing it against my tummy.  This seemed to work fairly well until suddenly I realized there seemed to be a lot less octopus than there was a few moments previously.  Grabbing the remaining part and staring down I determined that the octopus was attempting to climb under my buoyancy vest to hide between it and my wet suit.

 

A couple of pertinent facts need mentioning here.  First is that octopi have no bones and can squeeze into very small spaces.  Number two fact is that if you are wearing a 5mil wetsuit, you can't feel much of what is happening on the outside of it.

 

There commenced a tug-of-war with me trying to pull the creature out by three legs and the octopus trying to crawl under cover with the other five.  Well of course it won.  And squirting out an indignant cloud of ink pulled my vest closed behind it.  Well, what could I do now?  And more to the point, would it try to crawl out the back? I swam slowly in a circle and did not see it.  I thought I might have felt a lump on my stomach.  I still had an uninvited passenger.  Then Alex arrived with the second octopus, already dead.

 

"Where is the octopus?" Alex signaled.  

I pointed to my tummy.  It is hard to believe how much amazement can register upon a face covered by a diving mask.

"You ate it raw?" Alex must have been thinking.  He shook his head, "That's impossible! Where's the octopus?" he signaled again.

I pointed to my stomach again.

"Did it swim away?" Alex asked.

"No!" I tried to point under my vest.

Alex shrugged, "I don't get it."

 

After we had swum around for a while longer, I looked down and saw a couple of tentacles tentatively emerging from behind my vest.  I poked Alex who finally grasped the situation – he also grasped the octopus.  After a short struggle it was subdued and added to the dinner menu.

 

Sometimes it is easier to go to the minisuper.

 

Here are few pictures:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/9151458@N07/sets/72157629088147118/

 

Nope, no underwater pictures.  Mrs. T does not take them; she would rather watch the things around her than fool with a camera when she would mostly have pictures of empty water.

 

We will be back up north about Easter and hope to see many of you in April and May.

Dan and Rebecca

www.casa-de-terrible.blogspot.com