Salad daze...

Proof of life... sorta.  It is starting to get hot, in the 90's today.  The perfect time for a fresh salad.  And here is my salad bowl.  It has been a challenge to get them this far as it has been so dry for so long.  They need daily attention.  I have laundry baskets that I shield them with to keep them partially shaded... and to keep out those pesky white moths that will hone in on the arugula, lay eggs, which turn into little caterpillars and there goes your crop.  However, for now, from the garden to the plate in a matters of minutes.  I feel so healthy.  My exciting life.

Life goes on...

A year into the pandemic, I've adapted to staying close to home most all the time.  A trip in the city is out of the question... until I need coffee.  I've noticed how many people close by, have set up fruit and vegetable stands.  New places to eat have popped up.  Fresh meats, taco stands, even car mechanics, all really close by, all started by folks adapting and trying to get by. 

So it is easy to shop local.  It's outside, in the open air with everyone masked.

And I can get pretty much anything I need, all within just a couple of kms. 

Oh, that's how it works....

I had an agave that flowered after six or seven years.  I think it may have been a coyote agave, but really, I can't remember.  Most all of my many agaves have been attacked and killed by "el toro," a beetle that attacks the roots and is one tough insect.  However, this agave survived long enough to flower and when it was done, I pulled the plant and cut the flower stalk to let it dry.  

Weeks later, these little plants appeared on the fertilized flowers.  I've never had a stalk around long enough to see this happen before and I guess I have babies to cultivate.

Where are these from?

I got these beautiful pieces years ago from Henry Wangeman of Amate Books.  They always had the very best stuff and I have two houses filled with wonderful things I got from Henry and Rosa. 

Of course, I never wrote down where thing were from, so does anyone recognize these pieces? 

The designs do not look Oaxacan, but there are so many different styles, they well may be.  And these deep chocolate colored glazed are big and heavy. 

They may look simple, but they are masterpieces to me and Henry said they were special.  Any ideas? One of my favorite early moments in Oaxaca came on my first visit.  I bought a nice black pottery piece from San Bartolo Coyotepec and while standing in line at customs with friends, I blurted out, "Wow, I hope my pot made it through."  Needless to say, everyone around me gasped and then smacked me... in the nicest ways.  "Chris, you are an idiot."  Just to be clear, the pottery arrived undamaged.