Even we do not have low temperatures or that white fluffy stuff we sometimes see on TV and which the northern tribes call snow there was no doubt that Christmas was just around the corner.
(Click on the picture to see it full size, use a back button to return to this spot.) For one, the FM1960 (which is a name of a 6 lane road and not a radio station) turned into one long strip shopping center parking lot with cars moving slower than a senior citizen out for a walk. Even for us, who live very close and know every shortcut and rabbit trail it was at times difficult to get around. The other clue were the Christmas decorations all around us. Some people really tend to get carried away. They were not only doing nice things with lights, but many of them bought inflatable giant snowmen, life size figures of Santa Claus (endowed with rudimentary motion), electric rain deer, some of whom would nod their heads. Driving around at night with air conditioning on it was possible to create the illusion of White Christmas.

Not that I wanted to. I like it warm. The other day as I was cleaning up the garden and constructing a compost pile I noticed a small green capsule with a striking gold trim. Obviously an chrysalis of some insect, but what kind? Well, I put it into an old plastic soft drink bottle with cut off top and left it in the garage. Few days ago I remembered it and was surprised to find a butterfly! We had a few warm days, probably even warmer in the garage and that translated into a clue for hatching. Well, what was I going to do with the poor thing? We still have a few months to go before legitimate spring starts and in the house it would dehydrate. But luckily this year I again enclosed the back porch, even though this time I did a better job than last year. Removable plastic panels instead of a vinyl sheet. This is where we keep the more sensitive plants over the winter months. Hibiscus and impatients are in full bloom and the lime tree is going to bloom any day. Ideal place for a butterfly to spend a few months! As I was relocating the garage specimen I noticed another butterfly in the porch area already. Obviously another chrysalis must have been attached to one of the plants we moved in. It creates a pleasant environment in the afternoon on a sunny day when temperature inside is around 20 deg C.

All this talk about Christmas lights. Did we decorate too? Well not this year, unless you count the two little ersatz greenhouses I built in an attempt to help bridge two of the papaya trees into the next year. So far it worked - in the sense of influencing the weather - we have not had a night below freezing yet, even though usually we get hit by the beginning of December. The true test will undoubtedly come in the next few months - can a 60 watt bulb make enough of a difference? I suspect I will be devoting more time to describing this gardening adventure. And if we do not get any freeze at all we will get eaten by mosquitoes next year.

And now for something completely different. Would you buy a used car from these gentlemen? Actually they look more like the members Sadam's security forces warning Iraqi scientists not to talk to the inspectors.








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