Cat Commando: Sak Boox

She is often told she is a gritón. It means someone who "exclaims consistently and noisly", and it describes her perfectly. So far I have interpreted some of her cries as:

"Hey, everyone, Mom especially, I brought something cool home to play with!"

"Let me drink from the big garrafón while you fill my water dish. This water is a day old and I need new water NOW!"

"Give me some of that meat you are cooking or I will jump on the counter and get it myself."

"I need you to pet me now, right now, or I will pee on your clothes."

"I don't know what you mean with this 'NO' crap, but I want something to eat now or I will pee on your rug."

She is the cleanest cat with the fewest health issues. She is very independent and other than the nuzzling with Moka, which could consume hours a day, she is aloof compared to the others. She has a special gritón to let them know what she thinks about playing with them. It is a scary yelp telling everyone to stay well away. You'd think she was being attacked by a ferocious beast, and she is just saying, "Don't even think I want to play with you."

Helping Moka guard the unpredictable printer, and hoping for an invitation to drink mom's milk.

Sometimes she simply moves into the space Moka is occupying who gets boxed in and lets her have it. Here she is either imitating Moka sticking out her tongue or she is thirsty.

Cat Commando: Moka

I went back and read the 27 entries I have posted on the cats. Excessive, I know. So if you prefer, just skip the story and peruse the photos. Maybe I am preparing myself to enter an article or pics to Cat Fancy or something, who knows? This is my inspiration, that's all. These usually bring a smile.


Moka is on a routine inspection in the kitchen. "This area could use some straightening up!"


She is very protective of her family, still ever the inspectress, investigator, and security guard. She is often with Sak Boox hanging out or cuddled up in a corner somewhere. There is no doubt Sak Boox is her favorite. She still loves her her kids and Buster, and has gotten used to Weasel.

These two are almost as ALIKE as they look. Can I call Sak Boox a Siamese cat even though she is black and white? What's more she looks like so many other local cats. Theresa's cat could be her twin. She sure has Siamese personality traits!

This is one of the tender moments they enjoy daily.

And THIS is proof that Moka is still letting Sak Boox suckle! The others were cut off many moons ago.

Moka still likes to sleep in Pablo's clothes, and enjoys a good nap inside an empty carton box.
The heat is intense in the middle of the day and most of the commando can be found resting on the cooler floor, near a fan if possible. This tongue shot cracked me up.

She can do things on the computer that I am unable to do (or undo!). Maybe she is rewriting my book for me! That would be a help. She is less helpful on the computer than this photo portrays, I guarantee that. But she is like my little puppy dog and wants to be within petting distance at every given moment.

Her hunting skills have improved. Moka has learned it is easier to find kitties to play with her if she brings a live animal...the kids got bored with the rubber bands.

A Tropical Afternoon Rain

This is a portion of the patio on a partly cloudy day.

We are outside in the pool, enjoying a bit of sunshing and occasional relief of some passing clouds. Out of the blue we hear the sky roar. Thunder. We have to search to find the approaching cumulonimbus cloud. Sometimes there are many, coming from several directions. A high percentage of these afternoon rainstorms begin with a whipping wind. Within seconds the patio will look like this: (The cats like the maze it creates.)

The wind swirls around in the patio and churns up the mats that cover the cement surface. If we have a little advance warning, we anchor them down with bricks or plants. But these storms often surprise us, leaving us mere seconds to cover the pool and gather our asundry items to make it inside without getting pounced by pitchforks of rain.

If multiple clouds join up, the rain seems to last forever. It might only be half an hour, but it comes down so heavy in sideways sheets it floods the entire patio. The mats float around and leaves the yard like this. Often the mess includes several downed leaves and branches. This is just one of many surprises that can cause a change of plans during a tropical afternoon.

Cat Commando: Buster

I am posting nothing but fun and cute stories this week. Harsh realities be damned! Too much sadness last week and stress. So back by popular demand, prepare yourself for some cat updates interspersed with some happy plant reports.

BUSTER - Commando Skipper and Surrogate Dad.

Buster retained a bit of the wild after his traveling adventures of July through September 2007. He has this look when he eats, like a savage cat devouring his freshly killed prey. He has taken quite a liking to human food. If I don't offer him a taste from my plate, he cries and gets his feelings hurt. Yesterday he was grinding on Pork Chops Wodarski: spuds, gravy, the works, like it was old home week. He even likes spicy food I heat up with an habanero chile or two.

Buster is usually on a mission. What his daytime mission is I'll never know, since he spends most of the time on THE OTHER SIDE. Here he is heading for the cat corner in the farthest living room to see if any catnip has miraculously appeared. When he gets there he'll be content just having a bath and playing with any of the other kitties who come to see him. Later he will come lie next to me on the floor, but he still doesn't like to get up in the hammock.

Buster still spooks easily. He has calmed down considerably since his triple traumas: his best friend Jim's disappearance, the two 7.0 earthquakes that shook our world, and the long painful trip from Hawaii to Mérida, including his two months as a street cat. This is his "I'm not too certain if I trust this situation!" face. Thankfully he doesn't always run away after he gets this look, but instead he enjoys a good brushing and some tasty treats.

Buster is a mature cat, but he doesn't act old at all. He likes to romp and play with the others, and he still lives for outdoor adventure. Buster sends his aloha to all his old friends.

Succulents and the Zen Garden

This is one of the permanent planters at the corners of the pool. Below are stick cactus, jade plant and two Mayan gods from Copán protecting them. The geranium that used to live here didn't make it.

I am still working with the Zen garden (and catbox). While the backyard has more fruit and flowery plants, it also has Pablo, who enjoys his meditation time watering the plants when rain is not abundant. I take care of the little front patio. Therefore the plants must be of the ‘throw and grow’ variety, or very low maintenance.

The Zen garden has gone through several changes since its creation. The ti plant, papaya tree, sago, diffenbachia (dumb cane), philodendron, and the palm tree are doing great. The sand, pounded nearly into cement by the harsh rains, no longer interests the cats as a place to relieve themselves. The driftwood and canoe are happy there. The two plants in the hubcaps are surrounded by seashells and river rocks; you can hardly see them.

The plants have changed a bit since the first attempt. I planted some melon seeds and they rapidly spread. But there was a sweet potato (camote) sprouting in the hanging basket in the kitchen, so I buried it in the Zen garden. It seems to be stronger than the melons and may just win out. I like vines, but only the kind I know I'll be able to control later. This is a small area and they can’t take over like the throw and grow squash that consumed our property in Kona one year. I really made a bad decision tossing one innocent squash in front of our coffee shack. We had squash growing up the side of the house. (Ok, that is an exaggeration.)

We recently brought one spider lily home from the beach. They can grow in lousy soil, and they flower all the time. They have only a faint scent, but the white flowers can add dimension to an arrangement or cheer to the Zen garden. Once they start spewing seeds, I will have to be watchful. This is another plant I had experience with in Hawaii. In the long run I like spider lilies around me, I just have to keep up with removing the seeds. This one pictured above looks sad, but it will revive itself once it's familiar with its Zen-ness.

The spearmint in the pot below didn’t survive my watering plan, which is basically rainfall. But I have hope for the Serrano chiles planted in here now, as several seeds have sprouted and it is the rainy season. The light green vines are the sweet potato.

Below is the melon vine. There is some aloe vera hiding behind it and a few other things. Oh, and the chayote that grew in the frig. I thought I'd see what happens to it in the throw and grow garden.

Along the wall in the carport I planted a variety of succulents. We brought some nopal home one day, and some of the cuttings have sprouted interestingly shaped arms. It reminds me of one nopal I had in Kona a long time ago that grew little arms and a little head, and we put a little hat on him that came on a tequila bottle. Ah tequila memories….

Here I am with my pet cactus, Pancho, in 1989, in Kona, Hawaii.

I spread out some mother-in-law's tongues along the lengthy narrow garden. I had lots of them in Kona, and after a while they were like weeds. Once you plant one you can’t get rid of them. But they are very low maintenance and they look good.

There are lots of jade bush cuttings. The planters in the back patio are supposed to be bonsai, but they grow so fast! There is one more little cactus mixed in here. One day I bought a plant from a little Mayan lady downtown for ten pesos. The day I brought it home was the day the succulent garden took its shape and all its components were assembled. I think it looks pretty cool. Not too bad for a throw and grow low maintenance gardener.

You can see below that the pineapple plants have not embraced their location. This is one of two that look pekid. They are alive and have a Mayan god to aid them in their search for chlorophyll or whatever it is they are lacking. I think they look good in the giant planters that square off the pool, especially with their flowering miniature succulents.

Aloha Oe

A plumeria blossom floating with a single droplet of rain in honor of my friend Bill.


Last week while cooling off in the pool, a wind whipped up and a few plumeria flowers drifted down to the water. Watching the flower floating in the calm clear water mesmerized me back to all the great times I’d had living in Hawaii. Hawaiian music sweetened the air and I realized how much I miss my friends there. I appreciate the quality friendships I earned during my twenty years in the islands. It was a pleasant reminiscence but one without regrets, because I am happy here in the Yucatán. I still think that my best survival and recuperation option was to relocate, and for me this feels right.

Luckily in today’s world we can stay in touch via Skype and Facebook and Twitter, etc. Today, not only can I talk to my friends, we can watch each other AGE on our webcams!

When I first moved here I was staying in touch with several friends, but we all got busy with our ever-changing lives and the communications waned. Time passes and we realize we have lost contact with those who we hold dear.

Two days after my Hawaiian moment in the pool, I received word that two of my friends in Kona died last week. Today is Wild Bill Burke’s burial. I am sorry I can’t be there to say a final farewell, so I offer the above photo to send my aloha and my condolences. Bill was a great person, and he will be missed. He was a crusty foul mouthed sailor with a New England accent. He was as wild as he looked and he liked to suck up the scotch. These were part of his most endearing traits, because he always kept us laughing. As a friend he was always there for you when you needed him. I doubt he ever did another person wrong, although due to his generous helpful nature, people took him for granted sometimes; he even took that in stride. He could fix anything, and was invaluable to the success of the Fairwind operation for years. He was an excellent sailor and boatman. Bill went to lunch with friends one day last week, enjoyed his cocktails, spun some tales, and when he went to sleep that night he never woke up. He lived his life to the fullest until the very last day. Since he passed in peaceful sleep, I feel confident he is in eternal peace right now. Or raising hell in some other time or space.

Here we are, left to right, Bill Burke, me, and Dave Winter enjoying an authentic kava party at the coffee shack in 1991.

The most important rule at a kava party is that everyone don a 'lava lava' (men's pareu)...here Dave, Todd and Bill are learning to securely tie on their first skirts!

Our other friend who passed away was not someone I knew very well, but she was part of our Fairwind family. She had been around in the early days of the family business and knew just about everyone who passed through Fairwind doors. Penny was frail when I last saw her a few years ago, and her health had been failing. I do hope she is in a happy place. She is already notably missed by her loyal kitty and close friends. In her honor, I would like to offer this floating flower to send my sympathies to all her friends and family.

Pitaya & Tuberose

The Pitaya

We harvested the lone pitaya. The other two flowers and their potential fruits withered and fell off the vine. Our fruit wasn't the most flavorful, but my reaction was - it would make a tasty beverage (with sugar, water and ice). It looked good, and let's face it, it is my first pitaya fruit. There is some hopeful news: there are two new blooms getting ready to flower. We shall try again!

The Mexican Tuberose

Finding this in my patio was a surprise! It looked like a tuberose, it smelled like one, but I thought I had some sort of iris growing there. I'd been watching it grow and just yesterday I noticed these!

I looked it up and sure enough this is what a Mexican tuberose looks like. Mine is secured to a bambu pole to give it the strength to carry on. The plant looks healthy and I am trying to give it my full support. (The wide leaves around the base of the tuberose are a flowering succulent.)