¿Cómo se dice "Extreme Closeup"?

I'm pretty sure if you look closely at the shiny back of this oversized fly you can see me and my camera -- or at least the windows behind me. And if that's not neat-o enough, how about that high tech fabric on my über-cool pants?

(And no, I was not wearing them -- they were hanging on the clothesline.)

Fotos que me gustan (número dos)

My friend Margaret seemed disappointed that I hadn't put anything new up here for a while.

So these onions were a sort of olive branch, if that's not too mixed a metaphor.

Or simile.

Or whatever.

And now I've finally found time to post the rest of second batch of random photos I like.

As before, they each have a story.

Let me know which, if any, you want to hear . . .

Los niños de San Agustín

[. . . more story later this week . . . ]

Fotos que me gustan (número uno)

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

So -- having recently cut the personal statement for my application to Weston Jesuit down from over 1200 to 657 words (with the noble help of 4 brave souls) -- I'm disinclined to use any here at all.

So here's hoping that cliché holds water.

Planta de Café

This is the new Coffee Plant that snuggles into the hillside between our upper and lower campuses. Next month they'll start, for the first time at full capacity, the multi-stage process of prepping and roasting the coffee -- a process they can keep up through September, I'm told.

The students and staff of the project (led by Cecelia, shown here with her daughter Abigail) are also using a brand-new nursery for growing 3 varieties that are perfect for the soil and altitude here. Local farmers are even encouraged to trade in old plants (that over-tax the soil, don't produce well, or aren't ideal for various reasons) for the new ones.

The education and organization that all of the above requires will be helped along considerably by the new construction being done right now: a laboratory, offices, a greenhouse, a reception area, and an important conference room as well.

The coffee itself has won awards when it was roasted by hand and should do even better with the increased consistency and fine-tuning the plant and it's machinery make possible. Let me know if you want some shipped to you!

Globos

Water is big here, even when it's not the rainy season. People celebrate their friend's birthdays with buckets of (often cold) water -- in bed, before they wake up. A glass of water in someone's house or even a water bottle bought in a tienda gets the diminutive pet-name-form aguita. And a huge part of a Carnaval -- especially for kids -- is the globos de agua. They stockpile them, use them untied to squirt water semi-accurately in the chosen direction, and -- when the time is right -- tie them up tightly for a satisfying explosion on contact. My gringa compatriots have been more popular as targets, but I've been doused as well -- and a big splattery one grazed my head the other day. Anyway, here are some highlights from the days leading up to Ash Wednesday (when the water shenanigans are allegedly over -- though there was a kid walking down the aisle for ashes with a big squirt gun in his hand.)