I'm overdue for an update and starting to get the usual "are you ok?" sort of comments, so just a note to assure y'all that everything is great and Max and I are fine as frog's hair (yes they do, but you have to look real close!)

With the apparent end to hostilities out back that prompted the last entry, the endless stream of trucks illegally filling the area ended and they did plant trees and so the rumble and roar, the stench of diesel smoke and the choking dust have mostly subsided and it felt so good to not experience all that I pretty much just crashed. Actually it felt good like when you pull out a big splinter, the post trauma euphoria is wonderful.

Also most of us here get questions about our safety with all the headlines about drug problems. We abide by a simple code "drugs? - don't do it and you won't get killed" - seems to work every time it's tried. Generally the problems are along the border areas and nothing has changed here and we continue to feel comfortable and secure, so to all that are concerned, don't be, you can read some of the same headlines in cities NOB.

Of course we continue to bask in the glow of apparent global warming, or climate change or whatever you want to call it. Our "winter" started out a bit cool in Dec and early Jan and then changed to a bit warmer than normal so we've been in shorts for some time now and the small portable heaters are stowed for the season and the fans are out. We are in the dry and dusty period preceding the rainy season which will start in June.

Here at the casa we measure seasons by each current nuisance. Like the jacaranda trees, early in the year they begin to loose their leaves and they have a million tiny ones attached to sort of spines or sticks that are maybe ten inches long. Both fall in profusion and clutter the decks and clog up my outdoor fountain the little birds like to frequent for refreshment. Then when that stops the jacaranda trees burst out in purple flowers that are gorgeous, but again, millions of them that fall like a purple rain and cover the ground and decks, car etc. and each is soft as a baby's butt, but stick down when stepped on and require chiseling off with something more than a broom. They get stuck in the open sun roof on the car and for weeks after are blown out when the roof is open at highway speeds.

Also at this time the cherry moia tree drops it's leaves which are large and of course all of them head directly toward the pool where they float like tiny ships on the great money pit. And a couple of other trees contribute their fair share. Then later the palms will drop their seeds on everything, they resemble rabbit droppings. At some point the rain birds will sing and 13 weeks later the rain will begin and everything turns green as a gourd with the exception of the dirt streets which turn into lovely soupy mud pits. That season is a bit cooler due to cloud cover, so right now until mid June is our "summer".

My neighbor decided to throw a dinner party last evening, so I power washed a bunch of lawn chairs and the outdoor table and we had a lovely afternoon/evening in the drive - why eat inside when it's so nice outside? - guess it's a Canuck thing, I was the only American in the bunch, but lovely people. That will be another season coming up, they (snowbirds) begin leaving in late March to mid April and then it's just Max and me and the outside cats, Shorty and Smoke. We don't eat as well during the ensuing 6 months due to the absence of my neighbor and it is quiet, but the season's will repeat in an endless parade of promise as they have for centuries here in our little slice of paradise and the snowbirds will return as do the while pelicans on the lake and one day we'll scratch off another season, another year from the calendar of our lives.

Today is my Spanish lesson day, so guess it's time to get it together and study.