X marks the Spot.

Over the last few years we've occasionally taken other peoples' dogs to be sterilized at ADAY in Merida -a low cost, all volunteer clinic.  At the end of October Sean took 6 dogs and we hope to repeat this a few more times this year. We intend to arrange a place in Celestun to hold clinics closer to home next year.
Blanco at the clinic after neutering.

Two dogs ready for surgery.

Machucon and Bombo, dogs we had spayed and neutered previously, watch over the return of their friends.

Returned by way of the flooded streets of Celestun.  We're lucky to live outside of town on higher ground, but this is terrible for the people/animals in this neighborhood!

The plants have been loving the rain and the bugs have been less overwhelming than recent years. We've been encouraging the growth of baybean on our beach side fence and it has been a popular spot for all manner of bird, lizard and bee.   

Dear old cat friend Spot is no more and his absence is tangible. Nothing I say about him could do him justice; he was a force of nature and he is missed. 

I had nearly given up on seeing this bougainvillea bloom.

 

Video from Sean's Nov.3rd morning run:

 

Ginger has been having some health problems, but she's doing well enough to enjoy a walk to see the flamingos.

November morning walk.

Zoot after a good roll in poo.

 

Where the road becomes water.

Win some. Lose some.

As of December, Ernie has been with us 6 years.
His snore is something you have to hear to believe.

At the end of January a long run of fence was stolen from the rental property, and another attempt was made to remove a door.  Without a perimeter fence the lot is useless to us.  Disappointed, but glad for resolution, we removed all the improvements, including the remaining fence, and we'll use them when we buy a property. 

Our beautiful Lucy died February 19th.  Her passing hit me hard; she was one of my best friends and left us too soon.

17 year old cat Spot has good days, and not so good days. We put a few steps to the roof and a rail on the casita for him.  Both he and Maldi have been enjoying the new views.

Roxy is doing well with the treatments for heartworm.

We call Hazel, Murci and Tori The Heroic Trio.  They play together like this for hours every day.  This Bumi is their favorite thing in the world. 

Same game, different day.

Daisy had a run in with something in the yard during the night.  
She looked like this early in the morning.

It started as a few bumps and a little swelling, then quickly turned ugly.  
She needed an injection of corticosteroid, and some antibiotics.

She's fine now, though we still don't know what caused it.

Steve McQueen had a tiny bit of the same thing, but was likely spared worse by being a complete scaredy-cat.  
Pete & Steve play another round of the ongoing game -who's taller?! (spoiler:it's Steve.)

Xmul visited for a few days.  

Full-on Linda cuteness.

New year, new plan.

This new year did not come to me with its customary flash of optimism.  
It is still raining.  Almost daily.  This has increased the difficulty of keeping so many dogs in a small space tenfold.  Poop raking has become a serious strength and conditioning routine!  That is a good thing, I suppose, as I have been feeling puny after an injury laden year.  This weather has been great for the spiny grass (xmul).  It has been making walks miserable, especially for the shaggy dogs (and me, the designated xmul-remover).

Sisters Blue and Eve wait for the rain to pass.

I may finally have to break down and import a case of Natures Miracle pee odor remover -damn the price!   Except that as of this month, pet food is to be taxed.  That is going to hurt!  We go through about 100 lbs of kibble a week.

Archie enjoys some morning sun.

More beach houses are going up and we are feeling hemmed in.  With no prospects of compatible volunteers on the horizon (we've temporarily removed our Helpx profile), we have little hope of making much progress at the alternative site.  We need a plan.
Land prices on the coast are currently outrageous, so it's unfeasible to consider adding on to our existing lot.  The same money it would cost to widen our lot by 9 meters could buy us hectares a few miles inland.  We are doing our best to save to buy land.  At least, being vegan in the Yucatan makes it easy to save on eating out!  We've literally eaten out once in the past 2 years.

Sweet, strange Greta wants a belly rub.

Amber makes the most of the 1st sunny day in weeks.

Hazel digs a hole while Amber jumps through the sand she kicks up.

Amber pauses. 

PuppyG supervises Merci's hole digging technique.













Amber and PuppyG play.
 











PuppyG and Merci.

Spot (the cat) will be 18 this month! 
 

The sweet little black and white stray is now a being called Roxy -because she's extremely nice and very brave, just like Roxanne Modafferi!  I hope she shares the same fighting spirit, as she has been diagnosed with Ehrlichiosis and late stage heartworms.  We've begun treatment and it has been unsurprisingly tough on her.  There is no guarantee that she'll recover, but at least she's inside, out of the cold and wet. 

Roxy (who is obviously good with other dogs and cats) and overlord Spot.  When her treatments are finished, we'd love to find her a home of her own. 

'Cold' weather means more dogs love hammocks.  

A tired me, ready to watch a movie -note my Elewah pillow.  

Full crew in my hammock...

and under it.

Stella can jump in on her own, but Tuesday prefers to be helped.  

This is how she asks for a boost.

one cat to rule them

Even in a land of dogs a cat can be king.


















From our pack to yours, Happy New Year!

I meant to post on 4/20, but I forgot.

Happily, there is nothing new to report.
Crepuscular pulchritude:















Spot and Maldi, just doing their thing:














Henry finally got his haircut. With two more fluffy dogs in the house,
I may have to invest in clippers.
The trick is to cut away all that is not Henry:














Speaking of the new fluffy dogs, they're doing great. It's gratifying to see them so happy, knowing what a crappy life they had and how close they were to suffering a cruel death. If you missed the previous post, these 2 were hog-tied and stuffed into boxes to be thrown away at the dump. Still, they remain optimistic. Dogs are amazing.
Early on, April preferred to be in a sheltered spot:


















Maggie is a bit more outgoing:














After they were here about a week, we took them on a walk. 
April in the lead:














She had a blast:


















Maggie is still covered in cuts and bruises, but it didn't slow her down:














she's a sweetheart:














Maggie and April think things are looking up: