non-haphazard scenes

sometimes things in the field seem purposeful

they look so deliberate and arranged

one last one for 2018

A last visit to the field before we see this 2018 go by. A fruitful week: we sampled trees in four more paddocks and mapped the northern corner of the ejido. It's evident, these neotropical mountain forests are used for ranching; they're forested rangelands in which livestock benefit from an array of grasses and forbs found throughout a diverse terrain, like green grass in the valleys, and where streams offer drinking water and trees provide shelter and shade. These are multifunctional landscapes with benefits (services, resources, contributions...) as well as conflicts, I for one have enjoyed the beauty and coolnes of riparian areas, at least the ones with well-conserved gallery forests, while also succumbed to pervasive seed ticks.

cows doing their thing
top-left: keep your distance (as I learned)

you cannot run away

El Sabinal, a new favourite

herramienta

just some tools of the (resin) trade

California 33

Hermosa celebración, con muchos invitados al básquetbol y la barbacoa, fue el 33° aniversario de la fundación del ejido California de Villaflores, Chiapas.

fueron 14 equipos

el de California (nomás faltó don Chus)

al fondo la milpa

estrenando uniformes

barbacoa —la res de 454 kg— para todos

(sin palabras)

satisfechos espectadores de colonias vecinas y lejanas...
hasta del ejido La Suiza

The Morelia 2019 workshop

Nothing short of a great workshop with amazing people, gracias!

Forefront-Reserbos workshop friends (with a few missing)

And many thanks also to our local (Morelia) organizers.

just below the summits

We hiked up the triple-peaked mountain: finally el Tres Picos!

The path up through the mountain ridges was beautiful and surreal. Simply amazing.

Big hug and thank you to all that joined this adventure, including an incredibly cooperative weather.

2,433 meters above the sea

everyone is back!, fulfilled, safe and ready to drop

September

Briefly said: lots of water, hiking and tree counting, wildlife colors, and an end-of-the-rain-season resin harvest. Getting closer to (some sort of) the end.

September 2018 @ California

las últimas de agosto

Cerramos un mes más, uno de visitas -trabajadoras-, lluvias, juegos y mucha vida.

"Gusanillo" o "Cebadilla" (Schoenocaulon officinale)

caldo de pata desde el fogón (!)

avispero sobre un pitillo

hongos

carpintero visitando el traspatio

es hora de jugar - it's time to play

Llegaron las "maestras" a Tres Picos y California. Un día entero de maravillosos juegos y actividades con temas ambientales. Pura diversión y aprendizaje para y con los niños.
😄
¡ Gracias Amayrani & Indira,
y también Ari & Angelita !

We had a great weekend of marvelous environmental games and activities. One whole day each in Tres Picos and California, it was all fun and lots of learning for the kids and everyone involved.

masters' on their way

Thanks to Felipe, Mateo and Marcos, Wageningen UR Master's students, who helped complete the forest inventory in riparian areas. Measuring trees, digging up soil and taking forage samples; ten plots in two days plus one rain shower. Streams, canyons and their associated vegetation play a very important role in rangelands and forests, and now we have a little more data to support this.

cooling off 

a micro-depression in the field

acompañado

Estuve unos días por la montaña con un 'asistente de campo': algo de trabajo mañanero, sumergidas en el río, basquetbol, empanadas calientitas y un par de buenas tormentas.

navegando con GPS

encuentro con una colonia de orquídeas (Epidendrum ciliare)

spectacular blossom

on some occasions you stumble upon pure beauty

Furcraea (Asparagaceae)

or a cool and shady stream canyon 

moment of content

la canícula

Farmers are worried that despite some occasional showers, two of which got me when I was there last week, an adequate rainy season is yet to start and crops have already been sown in the fields.
Work continues though: The systematic sampling of trees in the landscape, the sporadic mapping of paddocks, resin production measurements (due next week), and of course opportunistic encounters with nature and other treats:

ants

yerba santa maize & bean tamal (!)

Tres Picos (and this waxy guy again)

Escuela Telesecundaria 168

No está de más, felicitar a las y los muchach@s de la Secundaria en Los Ángeles por su graduación el pasado 4 de julio de 2018.

😄

el bailable

la ceremonia bajo el domo, bien surtida

con el Graduado

y en su honor, una hermosa orquídea de traspatio:

Epidendrum ciliare

ceras fulgóridas

Lo localicé al vuelo y al acercarme noté sus adornos cerosos, unas alas cósmicas y melena de león.
En palabras de Neptalí: "un portento de bicho".

Cerogenes auricoma (Hemiptera)

orquídeas de junio

En una reciente caminata por la montaña, allá por Barranca Honda, había varias orquídeas en floración junto con otros objetos inesperados.

Nidema boothii

Prosthechea livida

Prosthechea radiata

Domingoa purpurea

instalación

arte-objeto "zapato"