Topic: The Great Outdoors

Monday, January 05, 2009 - 03:16 PM

I finally took some time off around the New Year. I didn't do any work, but that doesn't mean I stayed away from my computer. I used some of my time to work on a project that has been in my mind. I thought it would be fun to do a series of images that merge the wonderful people around me with this incredible environment. I think it turned out pretty well. Well enough, in fact, that I am doing my first picture blog.

Thursday, December 18, 2008 - 12:31 AM

We have both been pretty strung out lately. We are both just getting over lingering chest colds that still leave us a little winded. They were probably brought on, or at least significantly exacerbated, by stress. We have just been so busy. There is always too much work to do. We've fallen into a rut: work, eat, sleep, repeat. I think it happens to all of us. You just get so caught up in day-to-day life that you forget to live. Sunday, we cried uncle.

Sunday, May 27, 2007 - 06:35 PM

Subtitled “Stuck”

The Monday before last, the cleaning lady was coming for our “move-in” cleaning. She is terrified of dogs, so we decided to pack them up and take them somewhere. We had been wanting to take them to the beach, so we opened up the map to look for a location that appeared suitably isolated.

Thursday, May 17, 2007 - 12:49 AM

Martha Armenta, the president and driving force behind Conrehabit, has initiated an unprecedented and incredibly bold outreach program to fundamentally transform certain cultural aspects of daily life in some of the more remote villages in the mountains of Sinaloa. Working proactively to educate the villagers, both young and old, to the virtues of living with nature as opposed to seeing the natural world as something that needs to be dominated, feared and exploited; she is making surprisingly quick progress.

Sunday, April 22, 2007 - 09:30 PM

When I volunteered my time to help Conrehabit expand their reality, I really had no idea what I was getting into, nor any clue as to where it would lead. Now, with more than 9 months into this relationship with nature, I am truly overwhelmed by the shear volume of encounter and adventure I have experienced in such a short time, everything from Bramadors to very big snakes.

Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 04:25 PM

When Martha told me she was returning to the village of the Bramador I immediately volunteered my truck and my time, for this was clearly going to be a high quality adventure. Not being real sure just what a Bramador was or did, added to my sense of participatory anxiety, which is requisite for any decent adventure. This impromptu trip would go from Mazatlan to San Ignacio for a late lunch and then on to the village of Tacuitapa, where we would spend the night out among the folks and experience the unique talents of the Bramador. I asked Martha about the accommodations and with a wave of her hand told me “The people in the village will take care of us. I’ll let them know we are coming.” In the face of her overwhelming confidence, I thought to myself “Well, this is certainly the easiest B&B I have ever booked.” Martha went on to elaborate about how this place is not on any tourist itinerary and that the people were ready to share some of their natural treasures. Well, so far this looked to be a trip as charmingly spontaneous and unpredictable as the woman herself.

Saturday, November 04, 2006 - 02:08 PM

Well...Snickers the Wonder Dog actually managed to catch a rather large Iguana today. We were on our afternoon bicycle ride, I on the bike and Snickers following along behind; she doesn’t have her own bike yet. I am not sure how she managed to corner and capture the damn thing, but it was (and still is), about one meter long. When I realized she was not right next to me or even close behind me, I stopped and looked back to see her in the lizard hunting mode, about 50 meters away.

Saturday, October 28, 2006 - 03:32 AM

Since Snickers the Wonder Dog is half Coyote, I have worked very hard with her through the years to keep her from wanting to chase and eat, either small crawly things or large running things. All the time has paid off and she has become a very well behaved dog, willing to do as told; most times. Her transformation from the frozen north to the tropics has been a bit of an adjustment, to say the least. The most evident change has been the loss of about 10 pounds of hair off a 45-pound dog. Always willing to dive right into any northwest river, either winter or summer, she has always seemed very accustomed to water; except here. I think because this water makes noise, doesn’t taste like water and also chases her, the ocean is still a strange thing for her to comprehend. However, the principal thing that has caught her full and complete attention, are the Iguanas.

Thursday, October 26, 2006 - 02:45 PM

When thunderstorm Paul rumbled through, the rains left large puddles and some small ponds in various areas. I spent Wednesday morning doing some clean up, for an eventual dump run, out at Conrehabit. About halfway between the gate and the casita I came across a section of road with water running across and down about a 75-meter stretch. Being somewhat familiar with this particular section of road, I wasn’t too worried about getting mired, however, given past experience, a good look would be wiser than a blind charge. As I carefully viewed this flooded track, I noticed a little island about 30 meters away, with a small stranded female.

Sunday, October 22, 2006 - 05:00 AM

I think being retired in Mazatlan will turn out to be more work than work back in the so-called first world. My fate was sealed after my first turtle encounter on Playa Bruja and successful rescue and rehab of a very wild Greyhound. The turtles were easy, they just needed a little help over and through to obstacles to the beach. The Greyhound was another matter altogether. When I discovered that my wild dog had bonded with Martha, I knew I was no longer just passing through Mazatlan. After several in-depth conversations about the needs of the natural world surrounding this growing area, I thought I might be able to do some good with all this time that retirement had bestowed on me. I was becoming mired in Mazatlan without even knowing that it was sneaking up on me

Wednesday, October 18, 2006 - 07:23 PM

The first turtle encounter happened two days before hurricane Lane hit Mazatlan. I was walking myself, my dog and my dog’s friend, along a beach known as Playa Bruja; the shaman. This is a section of sand rarely seen by tourists, in summer on foot; most are on 4 wheelers and horses. From a ways off, I noticed a small squiggly thing at the waters edge and went to investigate. I found a baby sea turtle making its terrestrial journey across the hot summer sand to the edge of the sea. I watched as a wave washed ashore and spread it’s long, foamy sheet of water and engulfed the tiny creature and carried it into an uncertain future.