A few summertimes pics…..

The water is beautifully clear with lots of fish chasing fish. Brant caught a big sierra from the kayak one day who were viciously chasing bait balls along the beach. Sadly for us and the sierra that he broke the line before he could be affixed to the kayak. Standing on the beach I could sees 12-18 “ long sierras darting by.

People always ask what we do here in the summer. How do we cope with the heat, what is left to do? It’s a good question. We wondered too but we have kind of established a bit of a rhythm which seems pleasant though still a bit odd.

These orioles spend the summer cracking open these cactus buds. These buds have hundreds of tiny spines that find their way into my socks. (Yes, I know I should be wearing my shoes)

This year we worked on lots of maintainence projects —which I try to think of as an immersion Spanish course though I think the recipients feel a little tortured. (I’m probably causing Mexicans to go out and learn English they so won’t have to struggle through a Spanish conversation with me anymore.)

This year I learned these Baja plums (indigenous to the Baja) can be picked and become even sweeter on the counter. They have become my favorite summertime fruit. That’s good because we have about 10 or 15 of these trees which no one else seems to like. There is a nut inside that I have not figured out how to efficiently remove—next year.

The desert changes. It gets drier and drier and just when you think the plants are going to keel over, there is rain and the cactus blooms and everything turns green…overnight. Love watching the surprises out there… mangos, sapodillas, beautiful cactus blooms… as well as iguanas eating the jamacica, goats and cows looking mournfully into our less assessable yard.

And here is the appropriately named prickly pear. I followed the you tube directions but still ended up with spines in my lip and tongue. Tasty but not worth the pain until I learn a better technique. Brant wisely decided to wait to see how this went…..

Buffy is now requesting that I bring his food upstairs

Here is a Xantu or Costa Hummingbird. The Xantu is found only in the southern Baja. I am going to work on the the hummingbird photography because there is a cool purple streak above their eye that you can not see here. They are tiny but aggressive—divebombing the orioles that try to eat their food.

There are fewer people and you start recognizing everyone everywhere. And despite the very hot midday heat there are new restaurants and homes popping up. It is very difficult to just stand in the sun at 3 PM, yet everyday we see people carrying 100 lb bags of cement to a wall they are building with some Mexican music blaring and often with lots of laughter…truly it’s amazing.

So here is our banana the day after their “house party” while we were away for a night…..

And finally there is time to read a book, do a solid hour of Duolingo, start up some knitting projects, plan that summer trip,watch the rays, swim along the coast in incredibly warm water, get back to scrabble and of course, lots of pickleball for those who don’t mind getting sweat showers from their partner.

I think this cactus bloom looks like those old fashioned christmas bows.

This is our third summer, the first seemed the hottest (and bizarrely with a deluge of flies) but since then we seem to have figured it out a bit. Walk out to the beach for a swim or pickleball in the morning followed by AC and desayuno followed by pool and indoor chores, then gardening or the beach once it cools down. And of course, rooftop sunsets. Not a bad way to spend a few weeks (especially when you can enjoy Chinese dinner nights with friends or rotary socials or baked potato beach dinners or poolside scrabble) as long as you have some AC in the afternoon for trip planning.