Mérida Ponder Meetup

[Jonna]

Sorry it has taken me a bit to get the pics up.  I've been really busy and also not feeling well so things are getting put off. 

We had a great day at Robie's house.  His pond is beautiful, and I discovered that he also is a bonsai enthusiast and has some beautiful ones that he is creating.  We had lots of wonderful food, good conversation (well, with my limited Spanish) and a great time.   

Part of Robie's pond:




pond talk in the backyard:


Bonsai that Robie created, it is a Ceiba tree.  They are enormous in the wild and the Maya here in Yucatan consider them the tree of life with roots that reach into the underworld and branches that reach to heaven. 



Then we had a wonderful meal.  Robie made paella and it was scrumptious!!  I need some help with names but from the left:  Caesar and his wife, Robie's wife, Robie, Robie's uncle, Neo and his wife.





the girls



It was a great time and I was really happy to be there. 

[miguynmkoi]

Wow!    Looking at all the beautiful plants so green and alive in Robie's pond I can't wait for Spring!  The bonsai tree of life is magical in your description.  Thank you for sharing what looked like a very fun gathering.  Love paellas.  Yum!

[Jerry]

Looks super. Nice pond and good friends and good food.  how do you top that?

[Julles]

That is really creative and pretty, the way the rocks come into the center of the pond, with plants on the rocks.

Thanks for the pics.  It looks like it was a lot of fun!

[Mikey]

Looks like fun.  Sorry to hear you have not been feeling well. 

Hey, what's with the cold weather?  I see people in a sweater, long sleeve shirts and a jacket.... 

[robie]

hi jonna 
i hope you feel beter ¡ ¡¡
its my time for the pics ,















my others bonsais

[robie]

next meet   7 de febrero ¡¡¡¡

hope you can go ¡¡¡

saludos jonna que te mejores ¡¡

[Jonna]

Great pictures Robie! 

Yes, we were all bundled up.  That cold front that froze Florida gave us the coldest temps in 150 years, it actually got into the 50's at night.  It was in the high 60's that day and at least sunny but that's really cold for us.  My pond temps have gotten as low as 68F and I have been worried about the cichlids and the angel fish.  They all seem to be fine though, I think because it was gradual and not prolonged, the ponds are up to about 72 now.  It was in the 90's yesterday in Merida and high 80's over here on the coast where I've been the last few days.  I was pretty sick of the cold, I don't have the clothes for it or any heat and these high ceilings and thick stone walls are great for keeping the house cool but they can get pretty cold.

[Mikey]

Thanks Robie for sharing the photos.  Is the netting to catch falling leaves, keep out birds or both?

Jonna: Do you guys even have furnaces for heat? 

[Julles]

So cool to see all of our various ponds.  The fish are gorgeous.

Where's Mimi?

[Jonna]

Mike, no we have no heat at all.  You can buy small space heaters and they flew off the shelves during that cold front.  In general, there is no need for heaters although there are always short cold fronts (called nortes) that come through they are usually gone in a couple days.  This last one was not only a lot colder than most but it hung around for more than a week, maybe 2 weeks.   Some people have a reverse on their air conditioners that will take the chill off.  I don't have AC but if I get it I might consider that type in the bedroom.   I had an interesting thing happen when the weather warmed a bit, the walls started weeping.  My downstairs is well over 100 years old and the walls are 18" to 2' thick and made of rock and an early type of mud or concrete.  The cold lasted so long that the rocks in the walls got thoroughly chilled and when a warmer breeze came through one night they started condensing and water was sweating off the walls.  I turned the fans on and opened all the doors and it was dry by a day or so later.   Spooked me though.

Mimi just got back from Calif.  She has been up in Cathedral City since early November taking care of some rental unit problems we had and a bunch of other business.  She flew into Cancun Thursday and we've spent a couple days on the beach in Akumal and are heading back over to Merida this afternoon.  It's a 3 to 3.5 hour drive.  I saw on the weather that it was in the 90's in Merida yesterday   It's been in the high 80's here at the beach but with a lot of wind.  She was up at a friend's house outside Yucca before she left and they almost couldn't get her to LAX because of the mud washing across their drive.  Her friend's husband had to come home from work and get the tractor to clear the mud off the concrete around the gate so they could open it.  She's very happy to get out of the cold and rain. 

[robie]

Thanks Robie for sharing the photos.  Is the netting to catch falling leaves, keep out birds or both?

Jonna: Do you guys even have furnaces for heat? 

it is for both ¡¡¡
but dont work very good ¡¡

saludos mikey

[robie]

jonna  this sunday  at robie`s  house ¡¡

pond party  11 30 am ¡¡¡

 

i hope you can come ¡¡¡

saludos

[marla]

what a beautiful pond and garden robie.....just seeing green and sunshine in the pictures makes me long for this winter to be over.

[Jerry]

Hooray for 80s at the beach!  You guys needed that.

[robie]

jonnna  i hope you are fine ¡¡¡
and see you sunday 11 am my house ¡¡¡
saludos