Jose Luis in his shop

Bananas on vine

The market is endlessly fascinating. Household goods, food, small animals, clothes, musicians and small bands, jewelry, potions, saddles, spices, it’s all there. The market is not only a place where goods are sold, but a place where deals are made. There are fences and scam artists. There are people pawning the family jewelry. Maya women who have travelled in from the pueblos to sell small amounts of cilantro or mint from their kitchen gardens. And today a well-dressed, middle aged woman tried to sell us a bottle of skin cream she had in her purse. She acted as if it was illegal goods, very surreptitious.

We spent some time with three gentlemen who offered us some of their morcilla (blood sausage) and soft French bread as we sat and chatted. One was the brother of Cholo, a famous Mexican comedian. Then there was “Peter,” interested in practicing his excellent English, and best of all, Isaiah who wanted us to know that the town of Tikokob was full of homosexuals and transvestites. They were reading the paper and talking when we arrived. They obviously meet there every day. Who knows why?

Isaiah introduced me to a Spanish word I hadn’t known – handcuffs are called esposas! (wives) Men are caught by the police and brought to jail “esposado.” See? You always learn something at the market.

A guy had a one-month-old parrot for sale. He had bred it himself and kept it in a box. It was absolutely adorable, but he wouldn’t let me take a picture.

I found some poison for the leaf-cutter ants that have been devastating the garden. It’s in the form of pellets that they carry to their nests to consume. I feel sorry for them, but they stripped an entire pointsetta plant of all leaves and blossoms in one night plus made several large shrubs disappear. They’re amazing to watch as they carry huge hunks of vegetation, all in a line, scurrying purposefully home. Nocturnal beasts.

The photos were taken at different times.

Love for sale

More love for sale

Kitchen ware

Cholo's brother at his conversation stand

Is he winking?

Yum

Lorenzo P. in his shop

Toy or taxidermy?

Peppers

Huge jicama

1. We had a helluva rain/electrical storm, hopefully the end to the awful heat we’ve been experiencing.

2. The Unrewarding Pets (feral cats in the back yard) were unusually cute.

Here are photos of these events. All the rain pics are from our front door.

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Curry Irvine-Geller

Chihuahua show, WA

Piggies, Yucatan

white tiger

circus tiger, circus solary, merida

Cows, Puyallup fair, WA

Carp. Lake Yamanaka, Japan

More to come…

Last laugh

Fruit, Tokyo department store

Carton of Cheetos

Western Food, Japan

Salad, Acitron, Merida

More to come…

Sea lions near Kyuquot

Kyuquot BC

Favorite Kyuquot photo

Restoring old schoolhouse, Kyuquot Inn

Eric's Kyuquot Inn, BC

Kyuquot morning

Merida toilet seats

Kyuquot, BC

Yucatan

Citrus irrigation near Oxcutzcab

Cujo in Magnuson Park, Seattle

Assembling a village bull ring, Yucatan

Under the bull ring, Yucatan

Pike Street Market, Seattle

Vancouver BC

Casa Catherwood, Merida - collection of lithos

Ice rink, Galerias Mall, Merida

The following series of pictures are of Detroit’s Heidelberg Project. For more information on this artist’s effort to make a palette out of a crumbling neighborhood, look here. The artist who created this project is Tyree Guyton. Read more about Tyree by pressing here.

Detroit

Heidelberg Street

Incredible

Lorna G

Sachiko Fushitani

Noemi

The Incredible PhilHarmonic Gorbman

Fabric artist, Oxcutzcab Yucatan

Friday night, Oxcutzcab

Mona Lake Jones, poet laureate of Seattle at the C Art Gallery

Salvatore

Noemi

Salvatore y Noemi

Jim. Phot by Louise Vogel

Don George

Sharon C.

Jeanne S.

Celia Gorbman, a few years a go

Teenager, Xmatquil, Yuc.

Mary A

Maya Shaman

Character at Seattle’s Pike Street Market

Construction worker, Vancouver B.C.

Lupita, Carolina and two babies

Alberto Castillo 2008

Alberto Castillo, 12/09

Clown, Merida

Nilla Stepanova

My cuz, Esther

Reggie Miles, saw player, Pike St. Market

Jose Luis and Lupita, about 30 years ago

Max Gorbman

Marcel Washington and daughter, Destiny

Friends

Women in Oxcutzcab market

BG at 18

A man and his dog

Celia Rose Gorbman

Luna

Chuburna

Leann VanSweetheart at her wedding 4/10/2010

Candy, Seattle

Sara, Merida

C. Collier, Merida

Vince and Afra