Growing Food In the Garden

A year ago, this 10 foot "tree" was only a seed! Imagine my surprise when I returned after last summer, and saw this beautiful papaya plant. I thought we would be eating papayas in a few weeks, but they have actually taken about 4 months to ripen - which, I am told, is why the fruits are so sweet. They have been allowed to grow slowly, with no chemicals, and are much better than the ones you buy here in the shops. All you have to do is broadcast the seeds from one of the papayas. Some of them will find their ideal growing conditions - and...what a bonus!

Surprise Visitors

I very seldom see scorpions (called alacranes here) in my house or yard, but these ormigas sure found them! These ants visit your property, and go right through, housecleaning, and eating every living thing (well, every insect, anyway) that they can find. They surrounded this alacran, and within a half hour had devoured it. Then they moved on.

Christmas Visit by Enrique and His Mother

Chasing butterflies - and actually getting them to land on his finger - is one of Enrique's favorite activities here, where they fly right through the living room.

End of the Season

It's early April, and many of the Northerners are heading home from Mexico. Semana Santa is over, and the beach is getting cleaned - by volunteers and by the tide...
I have not been blogging this season, so plan to catch up my "blog followers" with a selection of photos taken over the last few months...below is one of the oil paintings inspired by the jungle of my yard down here. It is called Jungle Flower, and you can see it if you go to www.carollopez.com, and look in the Available in La Manzanilla set.