It fascinates me how the beach changes every day. I took this photo from exactly where I stood yesterday; now, instead of a wide passage to the sea there remains only a narrow one you can step over.
From mini-tsunamis to mini-lagoon
Category: Nature
General observations, generally during dog walks
Rare yellow turtle emerges from brown Uruguay surf
Semana de Turismo (or Semana Santa, or Pascua) gone, walk to the beach means socks and a jacket, and perhaps moving ‘firewood’ a notch higher on the to-do list. And having the beach to yourself. The waves are puny and brown, but almost iridescent with the blue they reflect from the sky, the sands blows crazy, and the channel cut by rainwater hosts mini-tsunamis. Here’s a (mercifully) short video clip, with lots of wind noise.
Always something.
My pet tarantula
House in the country not yet habitable. Workers Martín and Rafael preparing to leave Friday afternoon when Martín calls me in to see our new visitor. After some little discussion of how they weren’t dangerous, Martín said they usually kill them just to be sure. I said let it be my guest for the weekend.
It’s a small one.
Related: Itsy bitsy spider
Lookaloofah!
I chuckled as I picked through the cellophane-wrapped loofah sponges at Tienda Inglesa a long while ago, thinking how in the USA most shoppers would probably take horror in seeing seeds in their bath sponge. I, on the other hand, sought out the one most laden.
They got a late start, and now–finally–I’m seeing fruit. The vines have really hit their stride: you can practically watch them growing.
The loofah sponge I bought desperately needs replacing…hope on the horizon!
Rain and ranas (audio)
You may have heard about the extreme flooding nearby in Argentina. In Uruguay, 15 people were evacuated near Montevideo. Lots and lots of rain.
And when it ended, the area surrounding us became an amazing chorus of frogs. In this short clip I kept panning, hoping to catch distant flashes of lightning, to no avail.
Rana is Spanish for frog. But you knew that 😉
Stairs and stairs
Adieu to March
Though I took this a few days ago, the weather has remained lovely
I find March is usually the most pleasant month in Uruguay: the heat has abated, the hordes have returned to Montevideo and Buenos Aires, and while not guaranteed, there’s a good chance of some lovely days for long walks on the beach.
Neighbors have loaded in tons of firewood for the winter. I will wait until I have to.
Parrot at Don Vito
Daniel, our favorite mozo (waiter).
Scared of the wind
Can’t say I blame them, but still…huge and pretty eucalyptus, gone.
Dumbbell squash
Another oddly-shaped volunteer squash from the plant near the chiquero (pigsty).
18.5″ (47 cm) long. We could have let it get much larger, but at this stage it’s still like a summer squash.
And there will be many more.