Country Animals & Birds

The countryside around here is always a wonderful place to poke around. These are some of the animals and birds we come across in our travels.

This black mom and white baby were fun to watch.

Bougainvillea

I have blogged before about the beautiful Bougainvillea that we see all around us down here. But this year, they have been especially nice because the winter has been so warm and dry. I’m attaching a few new photos to show you just how spectacular they are. This bougainvillea's tiny white flowers are hidden in the center of each of its colourful bracts. The hundreds of large bracts on a Bougainvillea are actually modified brightly coloured leaves. Bougainvillea vines have small thorns and bright green leaves, as well as the colourful bracts. A Bougainvillea can grow to over 20 feet in length and width. They sometimes grow into neighbouring trees and if not cut back, will continue to climb higher and higher. This results in a spectacular waterfall of colour from the top of the tree to its base. Bougainvillea is a very popular plant because of its overwhelming saturation of colour. They look fabulous growing in front of anything white, or in front of a sandy beach & deep blue sea. Bougainvillea also look spectacular with a powder blue sky as a backdrop. They are also a real dazzler when planted in front of lime green foliage. Contrasting colours of Bougainvillea look especially beautiful when the plants cascade over walls and fences. Bougainvilleas' vibrant colours range from Crimson Red through Sunburst Yellow, Salmon Berry, Pucker Up Pink, Asian Apricot, Snow White,

Fabulous Fuchsia,

Butter Yellow,

Magic Mauve,

Soft Coral

and Pink Blush.

Obstacle Course In The Square

When there are hundreds of people at the weekly Tianguis, it can sometimes be difficult to navigate your way around.

It gets even worse when there's a carnival in town, and they set up in the square.

In the exact spots where the regular vendors normally set up.

Somehow the regular vendors manage to sandwich themselves between all the rides and sideshows.

Leaving very little space for customers to get around.

Luckily the carnival rides don't operate during the day on Thursdays.

Or it would be even more of a nightmare.

I arrived at about 6:45 am this day to beat the crowds.

The majority of shoppers wouldn't start to arrive 'til after 8 am.

After 8, the crowds would steadily get larger and larger 'til it becomes a real zoo.

Can you imagine making your way through this maze?

Definitely not a great day for taking children to the market.

Obviously the carnival vendors takes precedence over the tianguis vendors.

Seems they get to park wherever they want.

I'd bet it comes down to whoever pays the best, gets the best.