Mercado de las Orquideas

What a weekend! It has been the San Miguel Mercado de las Orquideas which was sponsored by the San Miguel Orchid Lovers. The Orchid Lovers are a group of people in San Miguel who DO love orchids and want to share their love of orchids with other people in San Miguel. It was just one year ago when my friend Mary invited me to join them at their annual dinner. I had grown or maybe I should say I maintained some Phalaenopsis in the past but really didn't know much about orchids. And growing orchids here is complicated by the low humidity. Some orchids require more humidity than others but it is somewhere in the 30-70% range. Some need cooler weather and others warmer. My beginner list was for orchids that looked like they had a fighting change in SMA. I joined the group and I've learned a lot but I think raising orchids could be a life long learning process even if you are starting at a much younger age than I.

This past Friday night was the 2016  dinner and Saturday morning the expo opened with 24 vendors. I wish you could have seen the venue. It is a wide space, kind of a wide alley and both sides were lines with gorgeous, gorgeous orchids. People came, both Mexicans and gringos, and I think all of the vendors did well. At least when I went back this afternoon, the tables still had orchids but they were spaced out a bit. 

I had my list of "Beginner" orchids so I thought I knew what I was looking for but I have to tell you that it was so, so easy to be seduced by orchids that were not on the list. I think I did pretty well although I did not stick strictly to the list.

I wanted a cattleya because I didn't have one and they are so beautiful. I have heard that they are harder to grow than Palaenopsis ( you know the one you always see in the grocery store) so I thought I would start with just one.

 

The tag on this orchid is Lysudamuloa (Lys) Red Jewel. I think it might be some kind of cross between Lycaste and something. I liked the flowers and I like the leaves that are large, long and kind of soft.

 

As you can see I have a lot to learn.

 



I already have several Paphiopedilum or slipper orchids but I could not resist this one with its variegated leaves. It's tag calls it a Paphio Coloralum. Can't wait for the bloom to open.

 



If you saw this in the jungle, would you think it was an orchid? It is a Bulbophyllum, Lion King x Annandalei. It wasn't on my list but it was the only one I saw in the whole show so I had to have it.

 



Somehow this orchid got to my house without a tag. It is a big plant, about 2.5feet tall and just about as wide and it was heavy. I carried it home from out past the instituto along with a heavy bag with a pot and potting medium. I don't know if the plant had a tag or if it was lost but it is a Cymbidium of some type. Another orchid lover told me that they had Cymbidiums in a pot and it sat outside all year long. There are two other shoots on it with blooms so it should be spectacular for a while yet.

It has been a great weekend but my purse is much lighter than it was on Saturday morning.

Instead of a Christmas Tree....

Instead of a Christmas Tree, Mexicans celebrate  the birth of Jesus with a nativity diorama in their homes, businesses and churches. I've seen them before made with some live vegetation and moss but gradually I'm seeing them decorate the vegetation as we would in the US with Christmas lights and glass balls. This manger was in the Monjas church. I was in the church for quite a while and these two little girls were standing in front of the diorama pointing and whispering to each other. I was kind of waiting for them to move on and then it dawned on me that they "made" the picture.

Since before Christmas I've been trying to go to all the churches to photograph their nativity scenes but most of the time I've been in town and ready to photograph there was a Mass going on. Today I thought that finally I'd get in the Parroquia because from what I can see from the back of the church it looks like they have a colorful and twinkly scene. Nope. The main floor of the church was decorated with white roses and roped off in anticipation of a wedding. I'll have to go back again. I'll also have to go back to the San Juan de Dios Church. The doors were closed. Although the doors of the churches in the Centro are almost always open, the San Antonio and the San Juan churches are closed except when there are services going on.

This nativity scene was in the San Juan de Dios Mercado. Actually there were two nativity scenes in the Mercado. In both of them the baby Jesus was disproportionately large for the other figures in the scene but then he is the principal character.

While I was at the Mercado I checked to see if any of the stands were set up to sell toys and candies for Mom's and Dad's to buy presents for their children for Three King's Day. Not yet so I will go back.

I love the Nativity scenes. So appropriate for remembering the reason for Christmas.

Dressed to the Nines

 The phrase Dressed to the Nines developed as an extension of the much earlier phrase to the nines, meaning  'to perfection, to the greatest degree'.  Maybe  I should have titled this blog, Dress for the Ca-Nines because it is about Mexicans dressing their dogs in doggie clothes.

When I go into PetSmart in Houston I'm not surprised when I see an aisle filled with doggie clothes but I just wasn't expecting it when I was at the huge sidewalk market for Three King's Day. There was one whole stall with a few dog beds and crates but most of it was filled with doggie clothes. And they were much more creative than the doggie clothes I see at Pet Smart. I had to push my way into the crowd around the stall to be able to take even one photograph. The Mexicans were buying gifts for The Three Kings to leave for their dogs.

Since January 6, I've seen some of the new wardrobes on the dogs. After exercise class yesterday I wish I would have had my camera because there were two little dogs out for a walk with their owner. One was dressed in a zebra striped vest and the other had on a flowered print dress with a tiny little ruffled skirt. They seemed to be very happy in their new finery as they pranced around in the Jardin and they certainly made me giggle. Don't ask me what the owner was wearing. The doggies stole the show.

I think Carly is kind of embarrassed. All she has is a plain old red vest with a velvet collar that I sometimes put on her if it is really cold when we go out for a walk. I think she would like a white dress with a flirty little ruffle.