The Boyd after the fire

This burned area is about half way between home and Dripping Springs, still west of the worst of the burn. The fire must have been was cool, as fires go. The yuccas in the photo above are burned (they look like short, black stumps). But the live foliage on the yucca did not -- it is there, even if it has since died. This area was south of a road that acted as a firebreak at least in this area.

Thursday (off work), I plan to walk into the Boyd to see how the massive old hackberry trees fared.

How are the bugs this year?

This little guy was nestled in my walking clothes. I did see him before he saw me!

He is not really smushed -- just sort of folded up in my t-shirt. He scurried away indignantly when I escorted him outside.

I have been stung twice recently. The owie is all gone in about 10 minutes, but the stories last a long time (ask me about my bot fly...)

Cozumel photos

The Harbour in San Miguel hosts ferries to the Mainland (blue and yellow boats) and typically a couple of massive cruise ships. Sunday, so cruise ships stopped in, and plaza was much quieter.


The beaches on the east side of the island were about deserted on Sunday on the south end of the island, but closer to the trans-island highway, the locals were out in force.


The sea was turquoise and the sands were brilliant white. Beautiful.

Everybodys home!!!!!!!

(Mom hates it when to many ! are used.....) Melody is writing this post, not Quincy even though it is posted from Quincy's account...

Quincy got home last night and seems to be disgustingly over jet lag already. So for the first time in a month, we are all together again.

Quincy had a great time in Germany and came home with a full wardrobe of colorful Euro-clothes that look surprisingly good on her. (BTW, Never compose a blog post about your daughter when she is sitting next to you. Inhibits the free flow of ideas...)

And now, we return to our program...

No post from Cozumel yesterday since we were concerned that we had left Jacob to deal with our domestic fire emergency. But before we found out about the conflagration, we did some birding. Just as we were watching wildlife, wildlife was watching us... (Photo above). Not much worries me wildlife-wise, but crocidillians of any sort wig me out. Each pond I walked by had at least one resident caiman, and since I knew there could be at least 2 per pond, I really worried when I saw only one.

Talking to Jake assured us that not only was there nothing we could do, but he had everything under contol. So we returned to our play! Highlights of snorkeling yesterday included a walking conch, spotted sting ray, and a sea turtle. The sea was clear and beautiful, and the sand was brilliant white.

We finished the day with dinner at a seafood place frequented by locals. La comida esta muy bueno!

Today we visited the Mayan ruins at San Gervasio. Go figure how Mayan ruins ended up with a Spanish name! The site was much more extensive than the guide book implied (maybe because we failed to get to sites like Chichen Itza and Talum?), but the weather was stupid humid and hot.

We are ready to go home to see what the charred desert looks like. Quin will be home later in the week and it will be good to have the family under one, intact roof again.

We interrupt this vacation...

Actually, we do not interrupt this vacation. Stu and Mel are still playing in Cozumel as Jacob deals with the conflagration about 2000 yards from the homestead. Photo above is from today's Sun News, which, oddly enough, never arrived. This ridge burning in the photo above is visible from the house -- indeed, it is not much farther than a mile.

The latest update is that BLM is fighting the fire. The Sun News reported that 130 people were there, and Jake says that there are only about 4 hot spots visible as of about 8 pm Las Cruces time. It was an exciting day -- he watered things around the house and had stuff (read: pets) ready to go in case an evacuation was called for.

Jake says that most of the smoke has moved on, the dogs have calmed down, and he is keeping a responsible eye on things.

Thanks to all our good friends who called and offered Jacob help. We cannot thank you enough. He is handling everything beautifully and reassuring his parents that they do not need to cut their vacation short.

More on the fire tomorrow.

Update (6/18): The around here fire is pretty much out, although we watched some glowing spots from the porch last night after we got home from Mexico. The fire is not out yet, but it moved east and is now on the Missile Range, where access is a real problem.

Cozumel Saturday

This handsome fellow greeted us at the Cozumel Country Club this morning. Iguanas were pretty much all over the place as were basilisks (great footage from National Geographic on why basilisks are also called the Jesus Christ lizard is here).

Darwin-wise, we thought the lizard to the right needed to find a darker tree...

There was some excellent birding on the golf course at the country club. We id'ed northern jacanas, an American Bittern, a green-breasted mango, yellow-faced seedquit, bananaquit, and a Yucutan woodpecker, all lifers (I think). And the food was even great at the end of the walk.

At the end of the day, we got a rental car from a shop in Cozumel to make snorkeling easier. This is not to say we are testing the amphibious properties of the beetle. But it is easier to get to beaches with a car...

And snorkeling was excellent. The fishies were bright and as curious about us as we were about them. It is the quiet season in Cozumel, so beaches are not crowded, as I suspect they can be in high season.

Beetles were made in Mexico until 2003, and this one looks to be in about mint condition. It runs on nostalgia -- it has wing windows, no air conditioner, a 4-speed manual transmission, and about 2 buttons on the dashboard (lights, hazards). What more do you need? No DVD player, radio, GPS, fan...

Jacob

Even though I'm over here in Germany, I just want to add that my dear brother returned from Thailand. According to him it was really cool, but not as awsome as Peru.
Jake, if you decide to read this, post some about what it was like and add some pictures, since you got the good camera.......

BTW just wondering, Mother, why didn't you post this?

Cozumel Friday

Headed north on the island today for birds. Although there was not a huge variety of species, this was the most amazing rookery I have ever visited.

The innkeeper at Casa Viento arranged a bird tour to a mangrove swamp. Although close to the populated areas of Cozumel, the swamp is accessible only by water, and we saw nobody all day. We went in a small boat, and Alberto, the captain, poled the boat most of the way. It was such a super way to go birding -- the quiet transportation did not scare the birds, so they allowed us to get really, really close. (See ibis below, really, really close.)

The rookery was incredible. The picture above is about right for density, but and the rookery was huge, with several large areas of intense nesting. Among the nesting birds we saw were: white ibis, glossy ibis, tri-colored heron, snowy egret, reddish heron, little blue heron. We also saw an ancient, huge osprey nest, green herons, Mangrove warblers, white crowned pigeons, royal and least terns....

Did I mention that we got really, really close? The little guys to the left are snowy egrets. They were adorable.

Finished the day with our second fabulous meal in Cozumel, then a nice, long stroll through town. Last picture is of the gazebo in the plaza.

Hillsboro Peak

Sunday's hike took us to Hillsboro Peak. Starting elevation was 8200+ feet, and the top of the hill was 10,011 feet (tower was 61 steps higher).


Susie and Phillip joined us. The weather, scenery, and terrain was beautiful.


The Forest Service Lookout (MJ) gave us a tour of the tower (imagine how long that took...). Many times I have been to towers, but this is the first time I have ever met the lookout. What I learned: beer is never unwelcome!

A few wildflowers were out. There were fields of iris plants, but only a couple remaining blooms. Must have been gorgeous a couple weeks ago. And a last little guy saw us home.

Hike was longer that we thought, but there is nothing like a New Mexico Blue sky.

White-rumped swift sighting

Wind is so strong that it just blew a white-rumped swift by us as we were out walking. Never expected to see one of those in our airspace!

Road Art

Not really road art, but it is art beside the road. Close enough. I am such a sucker for road art, like the giant catfish of San Antonio.

Road art gives character to bland places, not that there is anything bland about Southern New Mexico and Highway 28.

And King Arthur called. He wants his helmet back.

What did Stu and Mel do on their 25th wedding anniversary?

Aahhhh. Chope's! Enchiladas beyond compare.

Windy today, predicted to end at 4. Nearly 2 hours ago. Still windy...

Made for a good excuse to goof off and not work hard around the yard.

But we did use Sierra Vista and the need for some plants as an excuse to go to south.

From these pictures, it looks like there is only one enterprising mural painter in Southern New Mexico.

PHC, weekend in Southern NM

Above, the stage for Prairie Home Companion. The show was excellent (and I am not a fan of the radio show). A most entertaining way to spend an afternoon.

Stu and I took our usual Sunday morning walk. From when we left to when we got home the temperature rose 17 degrees. It peaked at about 101 this afternoon but is already below 99. Woo hoo!

And below, Stu's latest set-up for beer cooking. He is making a wit, and the yeast prefers lower temperature, so the box houses insulation (styrofoam peanuts) and the copper sticking out the top goes to a heat exchanger keeping the brew at about 70 degrees.