Every time we come to Ajijic, we go through a mental list of what's changed and what hasn't.
This time, it seems quieter -- even though it's festival time. St. Andrew is the patron saint of Ajijic and his feast day is November 30. The festival leads up to the big day. The fireworks at 5:30 a.m. don't even wake me. The ones at night go off for maybe two minutes. The mariachis parade past -- they don't set up camp nearby for an all-nighter like they have in the past. The action seems much more focused on the plaza this year.
Part of it is that it's chillier than it was the last few times we were here for Thanksgiving -- so all our windows are closed. At least the ones that can close.
The egrets are gone! No jub-jub birds discussing politics all day long -- at first I thought the Obama win must have left them speechless.
The real reason is that "they" destroyed the neighborhood trees the birds hung out in. I honestly don't know who "they" are. It was two trees on two different properties. The one we can see wasn't cut down -- just de-limbed. So it's quite ugly. If you want to cut down a tree, you need to pay for a permit, even if it's in your yard. I think "they" thought they could get away with not getting a permit this way.
I'm sure the birds just moved someplace else, but I imagine they were stressed out by it. Even though they bothered me, I feel bad for them. I also feel bad about the trees.
The lake has gotten very full. VERY full. If you've been here, you might remember the park with all the picnic tables to the west of the Ajijic dock. It's now flooded up to the top of the benches. They have sand bags placed around the park . . . but they haven't quite done the trick. On the other side of the dock, the water comes pretty close to the doorways of the houses and businesses. You used to be able to park there.
We walked along the lake for several blocks west of the dock. The soccer field is complete drowned -- you can only see the top couple of feet of the fence behind the goals. A tennis court looks more like a fence around a fish farm.
I'm reading a history of Lake Chapala -- and apparently up until the 1950s it flooded fairly regularly. So I guess this is a sign of returning health. I'm just glad our house is a block or two away from the beach.
This afternoon, we're planning to take a walk to the lake near our house. I'll try to take some pictures and upload them when we get back to Seattle.
Re-reading an American Classic
9 years ago
3 comments:
Only two blocks from the beach? I never knew that. You need a boat! And if you had a boat you could ride it on the lake, and if you had a pony you could ride it on the boat. Just think of all the possibilities. You might need to get a Tonto, however. Eric
Glad the lake is recovering, but hope it knows to keep its distance from Casa Gecko! People and trees--no accounting for what they do--my neighbors hired someone (years back) to cut down a fire-damaged tree, but failed to specify to the hired guy, who proceeded to chop down the tallest, healthiest tree, which had been home to the local hawk. The hawk died a week or so later, which I blamed on the neighbors . . . was glad when they moved sometime later, although I'm sure they didn't intend to kill the good tree or the hawk. Have a lovely Ajijic Sunday and safe journey when you return stateside.
Oh, I have a Tonto. He does the dirty work for free. (If he reads this, you know what the next line is gonna be!)
We found out that the reason the lake is so high is that they opened the dam, because the water behind the dam was too high and they were afraid the dam would be damaged. Which makes one wonder: why was the water behind the dam so high? And we didn't think to ask that one at the time.
I've been talking up dragon boating to every able-bodied person who expresses an interest in getting out onto the lake. And quite a few people are interested! Our neighbor, Claudette, would prefer a sailboat, but I think the lake is too shallow for that. Her second choice is a pontoon boat -- and I have to say, that sounds pretty good to me, too.
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