Yesterday we let you know about the dry weather. And thanks so much for all your emails and comments. (makes us feel loved) 😉 The temp, though hot, is not unbearable like those hot humid days back in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It’s just pretty warm. Also, the barometric pressure is not fluctuating too much and that cuts down on body aches and brain fog. (if you have it, then you know what I mean) The flowers that you saw are hanging on without much water -just wait until the rain comes. The brown disappears. It’s a profusion of tropical flowers in color and variety that even the non-garden lover can’t help but notice. And, yes, Becca, that is a fig tree! A beautiful one at that.
No water means dry ground.
Dry ground means lots of dust.
It also means…
FIRE!
But don’t be alarmed. It’s on purpose. Mexicans call it “controlled burning.”
Of the several explanations I have had (did I say several? -more like a dozen) it seems that this gets fields and other grassy areas cleaned out before the rains come.
No one is fazed by the fires. Just us newbies. And there are fires everywhere.
The photo at the top of this post was right in front of our friends Mike and Blanca’s house -I mean the adjacent lot, right in front. The wall you see on the right is the next door neighbor’s wall to their home. Nice way to wake up in the morning. We saw the flames for this from our house and they were at least 20 feet high for a bit.
Here are some more that we caught on the road.
On the drive to Puerta Vallarta
Right beside the highway into Guadalajara (sorry, bad photo)
In the mountains
View from our terrace
Burning tree
[youtube dtq5hNa4z2E]
A couple weeks ago I was having a hard time breathing. My guess is that we were acclimated to the conditions pretty well before we spent nearly 2 weeks in Puerta Vallarta where it is not nearly so dry, dusty, and smokey. The coming back into this environment is what seemed to be the trigger. We all adjusted after a bit.
The dry, dust, and smoke are just a temporary condition that is most severe during the month of May. But it is nearly over. How do we know? The rain birds are singing. (more about that later)
Interesting! We have controlled burns here in Arizona and some uncontrolled like the one right now that is 0% contained and has burned about 400,000 acres of pines. It’s getting close to a record here. It seems to be a problem though when rain comes and there is no vegetation to hold the water. It turns into a muddy slide and some say causes premature erosion. It seems like that would be a problem there also. Do you know if it is?
We did wonder the same thing but it doesn’t seem to be a concern -at least no one is concerned about it. 😉
YOU MUST BE DREAMING ABOUT RAIN!
Hi there when I read the title I thought this was another adventure like your house burning down or your car or some other interessting event.I’m glad its (just) controlled burning. Miss you guys love you
You probably have been informed that the rains will start about the middle of June. When we were there for a few months, we were at the Birds of Paradise and the smoke across the libramiento and the Jacarandas just about did me in, allergywise. Then there are the bo-bos (sp?), those tiny gnat-like bugs that you inhale when you breathe that last a short time. But these, too, will pass.