5/1/12 | My long-awaited journey to the Ecuadorian Andes is over and I yearn to return. This vacation was truly a relaxing, educational and energizing break from the city life for me. Hacienda Zuleta is a wondrous and graceful estate with the most beautiful horses I have ever ridden.
I do believe that I shall plan on retiring there in 2016 when i reach the age whereby I can draw my pension. The immigration laws in Ecuador allow for a retiree with income from a pension to obtain a residency visa. I am not otherwise eligible to live in the country. While the majority of Americans settle along the Pacific coast or near a southern city in large gated communities with most of the comforts of home, I am interested in buying a few hectares of land in the Imbabura province and building an adobe house.
I have made plans to return to Zuleta for the Thanksgiving holiday. Enjoy my photographs of Quito, the Hacienda and the surrounding countryside.
|
|
Be the first to post a comment.
|
4/14/12 | I continue my Sunday mornings at PAWS no-kill shelter in Lincoln Park. A few weeks ago I thought I had found a companion for Grigori ~ of course this is my idea, not hers. So Luigi became my first foster kitty from Kitty City. He was 3 years old and weighed 16 pounds. Yes, a big boy, but so sweet and gentle and immediately responded to me so we brought him home. After one week he became so comfortable ~ a good thing, surely ~ that when Miss Grigori felt intimidated and ran just by the fact that he approached her, he thought it was play time and chased her. Needless to say, she reacted by spraying and spitting. So, while he would have been able to adjust and accommodate her, this is her domain and he had to return.
The story has a happy ending: Grigori has regained her natural confident relaxed demeanor in her domain. Just one week after returning to PAWS, Luigi has been adopted by a young family with a one-year-feline.
Call me crazy, but i want to keep trying. Perhaps two older male kittens? When I return from my trips in April and May ... the search will go on.
|
|
Be the first to post a comment.
|
2/26/12 | My days and nights in Arizona were a welcome break from the grey, the chill, the drudge, the malaise. Met so many interesting and kind folks, mostly from the Midwest, not surprisingly.... in the inn and at the hacienda on the Mexican border.
Rancho de la Osa: A short lesson on my mount Mariah was well worth it ... I needed to learn to post during a trot and a lope. At least I know how to do it, just need more time in the saddle to perfect it. She was easy with a rein and very responsive ... just wasn't able to use my Lumix much on her back! Took a few short strolls around the hills above the ranch tho. Nights were star-filled and quiet but for the coyotes and the great horned owl in the compound. The fires were warm and smoky and the meals satisfying and congenial.
The Azure Gate in Tucson: splendiferous breakfasts, luxurious digs and a beautiful 5 acre estate teeming with birds. Not enough time to revisit that city. Managed to find a unique antique 'ladies' chair in a shop and it's costing thrice what i paid to ship it home but it will be my memento. i will sand it down and repaint it with desert colors.
So this morning I assumed my usual schedule - three hours tending to the felines at PAWS shelter in Lincoln Park. Wendy and Felicia, the big black pair of kitties, were adopted last weekend!
This afternoon is mild and sunny and slow. So I will upload the AZ photos and send those personal pics to guests from the ranch, Mel and Marty from LaCrosse WI, now living in Tucson.
This will blow your mind ~^..^~ the Sound Opinions show introduced me to Dessa, a woman from Twin Cities with degrees in Philosophy, who is a champion slam poet and rapper. Well, it was time that my musical tastes evolved once again........
|
|
Be the first to post a comment.
|
2/12/12 | I have found a volunteer opportunity that suits me fine. The PAWS Center just 2 miles from home is staffed by 95% volunteer workers ~ the bulk of the funds from adoptions go to the dogs and cats who live in the cozy bright cageless rooms within. So every Sunday morning early I work three hours before they open to the public disinfecting, sweeping, scooping, mopping, window-washing and then petting in Kitty City. Here is a photo of one of my favorite girls ~ Wendy.
On the way home, I stop by the Farmers Market, then home to my feline for reading, relaxing and cooking for the coming week.
Next weekend I travel to Tucson for a B&B stay then 3 nights at a 300-year-old hacienda on the Mexican border for riding and bird-watching. I intend to take lessons in Western riding for my trip to Ecuador in April. I should return with a host of nature and local culture shots.
|
|
Be the first to post a comment.
|
1/6/12 | The holidays are past and the long stretch of winter has begun. I enjoyed an extended visit to my mother's in Florida from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day with a driving trip to Venice FL on the Gulf at mid-week. It is a pleasant experience to journey across the state ~ only 160 miles ~ from the Atlantic coast to the Gulf. The interior of the state in that region is flat scrubby land dotted with cattle and horse farms, orange groves, canals with walking paths, hunting lodges for boar and birds, and nature preserves. Arcadia is a small town with an abundance of antique shops and a lovely tea room where I lunched on the way and back.
The photo of a sandhill crane is from a field along Clay Gully Road in Pine Level FL. They flew over as I was driving home from Myakka River State Park and landed alongside the road where they grazed and posed for me.
|
|
Be the first to post a comment.
|
Previously published:All 42 blog entries |
