All of these grow on "the Ranch" with no maintenance (or very little) once planted. And these photos were taken on only about a quarter of the spread here. This year the Summer months were warmer than usual and the rain was frequent, so everything is still blooming like crazy and the fruit trees on site are heavy with fruit. I have pledged to start using lemons, kumquats, oranges and pomegranites on a daily basis even though I'm not a huge fan of some of those. They are all here and I hear my mother's voice saying "Eat more fruit!" ...

From the Guadalajara Reporter in the last two weeks are lots of reminders that this place is very like up North in many ways - but usually with a Mexican twist. For the first time in this area they will begin imposing fines on autos that fail emission tests. Until now it was a suggestion, that might get ticketed. Then the fine would be forgiven if the situation was corrected within 15 days.

As Guadalajara centro has gotten a "facelift" recently the current mayor has banished hundreds of street vendors from the area, with a mixed response. The front page story said the area now has an "eerie stillness".  Many of the vendors took part in protests outside City Hall in response. This is perhaps the busiest time of the year for them and the hardship it places on these folks is huge. I personally think it is a harsh thing to do, particularly at this time of year and I love the street vendors! It is part of the heart and soul of the region and an editorial piece penned by another expat here echoed that thought.

Amazingly, they will begin to enforce and fine pet owners who are irresponsible for reasons ranging from not picking up after their pets, to allowing them to wander unleashed. And for more serious reasons such as neglect and damages done to others or their property by your dog they will take action leading to filing criminal charges against the owner. Finally! Many of these laws have been on the books for awhile, but not enforced. It seems to be related to who is in office at any given time ...

Lots going on here Lakeside - theatre, various benefits and LOTS of visitors. American Thanksgiving is this week (Canada celebrated theirs last month). This is also the week that Ajijic celebrates it's patron saint, St. Andrew (San Andreas).  It's loud, raucous and a party going on until the wee hours nearly every night. The newspaper published an explanation of the fiesta that was excellent. The "cohetes" which are loud bottle rockets set off every morning are meant to drive evil from the area, or are set off because prayers follow smoke into the sky and directly to God. These are pre-historic beliefs but still widely held by many. The festivities on each day are sponsored by various groups of workers in the area, but the largest is the final day sponsored by returning family members (hijos ausentes)who are working in the US and return this week to remember their home, families and their church.

"Castillo" in the making

Dia de Los Muertos alter on the Ajijic plaza

These guys are putting together one of the castillos that will be lit up as part of the Dia de Los Muertos celebration the first few days of this month. These handmade structures are amazing to behold when they set them off - producing spinning, shooting and generally exploding showers of sparks and fireworks. Look at a photo in my post dated 1/13/15 to see what that looks like.

I took the two photos below at the plaza in Ajijic on Nov 2 (All Souls Day) and this huge altar was very impressive, incorp-orating a skeleton on the left and a Catrina standing on the right.  The Catrinas are feminine skeletons, usually dressed up in long dresses and large hats, as this one is, but not always. Please look at my posts from 12/5/14 and 12/13/14 for great pictures from a year ago, when they had a wonderful collection of La Calavera (skull) Catrinas on display on the malecon in Chapala.  There was no display this year. They couldn't have topped last year's group anyway. What imagination!

The photo below shows a bit more detail of what is actually put on the altar for the person who is being honored. For those that aren't familiar with this Mexican holiday, it epitamizes the way people view death in this country. It's refreshing, but hard for those of us raised in other areas to grasp. I read an article in the local English language newspaper that explains from the Mexican perspective that "Most people don't have a fear of death" but they fear the process of dying. This is a quote from a Mexican nun who runs a non-profit hospice facility - very small - in this area, by the way. But, I digress...

To continue with the explanation of this holiday, people celebrate (literally) the dead relatives and friends by putting out their favorite food and drink, and with photos and other memorabilia on the altar. Then they visit the grave site and have a picnic and swap anecdotes about the departed. The marigolds are thought to attract the souls of the dead to visit the party. A couple of years ago we visited the main cemetary for Ajijic during this holiday and it was refreshing to see all the families, friends and visitors there to view the beautiful gravesites that had been painstakingly cleaned up and decorated, having comida (picnics) there and laughing at funny stories being shared. Those of us from north of the border should, perhaps, take a cue from this perspective, as death is historically treated as such a tragic thing with our funerals attended by grief-stricken family and friends. Yes, we should miss our relatives that have passed, but I personally don't think that grief serves any purpose if extended for any long period of time (my own perspective based on having lost several close relatives including my Mother and Father).

Another alter inside the Cultural Center