FROM WHERE I SIT Elusive Springtime MARCH 16, 2013 Pat Spilseth
I smell the fresh scent of SPRING in the air. I’m imagining juicy green grass, newly sprouting, on my lawn, blue waves pounding the shoreline, and robins and bluebirds returning from sunny southern climes.
After all, isn’t the spring equinox March 20? There are two equinoxes every year – in March and September – when the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night is nearly equal. Newspapers are calling reader to guess the date of our annual ICE OUT! Usually, there’s a prize to the best guesser.
Yes, it’s official; spring will definitely happen, eventually. Who hasn’t had enough of freezing sleet, snow banks, and endless flakes falling? I’m tired of looking outside my windows to dirty 12” snow banks, slippery sidewalks of ice, and speedy drivers crashing into each other. Then the sirens begin to wail, ambulances arrive, and stretchers appear, lawyers are called and law suits filed. Some people will do anything to make a buck!
I’ve had it with bulky, black, down overcoats, adding pounds to my body, stretchy wool hats, mittens, and rubber goulashes! Messy snow boots, crusty with sand and snow, litter the foyer of my house; coats, caps and scarves drape the bentwood hat rack standing in the hallway. The basket of furry slippers is next to the door, greeting guests as they arrive with wet boots.
I’m tired of hot soups, grilled cheese sandwiches, and tuna casseroles. I’ve eaten enough beef, pork, and turkey roasts to line my stomach for years. Cold winter weather brings on cravings for cookies, especially if the icy forces Buddy and me to stay inside. To combat the grayness of winter doldrums and isolation, I get out the butter, eggs, sugar and flour. I bake. I eat. I add unnecessary pounds to my aging body. But my spirits soar with a sugar high as smells from the oven waft into the rest of the house, drawing me into the kitchen for another cookie or two or three. Nothing can beat a gooey chocolate chip on gray days.
Most cross-country skiers, kids skating with their dogs, and fishermen in their cramped ice houses have left the lake empty of color and activity. But in a few short weeks, boats will roar through the lake channels and water skiers in wet suits will appear on the Bay. Para sailors will float in the skies with their colorful sails. As soon as the temperatures rise about 50 degrees, neighbors in canoes and kayaks will paddle past me as I sit on my deck reading. Everyone has been waiting for a eternity for springtime weather!
Grandkids will appear in my neighbor’s yard next door. Soon they’ll run to my house, looking for Buddy, my friendly Beagle and they’ll inquire what kind of cookies have I baked today. Then I’ll hear about Cooper’s new soccer and base ball teams, his batting average, and the cutie’s endless stream of girlfriends. After all, he is so handsome. Feminine Ellie will demonstrate her dance routine and kick a soccer ball to Ethan and Jackson who would rather play baseball and hope that Buddywill fetch their run-away balls.
Bikes will circle Casco Point as Dads bring out weathered docks to stretch out on the lake as soon as the ice clears. Pounding will commence: new roofs, decks, and new home construction has already begun. Spring cleaners will begin toting excess stuff to be stored in over-stuffed garages. Lawn furniture’s winter dirt and dust have to be sprayed with the garden hose; gardens must be tilled and seeds planted; lawns need fertilizer and an extra dose of moisture. Window washers will tote water buckets, rags, and spray cleaners to polish the glass and clean off spider webs left over from last fall. Homeowners will check on which chairs and boards needs a fresh coat of paint. Storm window will be removed and screens cleaned. Hanging baskets of flowers will appear on decks, and window boxes filled with geraniums and petunias will add a well-needed dose of vibrant color to life on the lake.
Spring clean up routine makes the season a busy time of year. But there’s a new sight and sound: along with the cardinals and nuthatches at my bird feeder outside the kitchen window, I hear a persistent loud woodpecker knocking at the redwood siding on our house. Those persistent ants are back! YUCK! Time to get out the ant poison, but careful, Buddy may think the poison is food, his endless obsession. At night I can hear the cries of raccoon babies prowling the trees in my yard looking for a hole to sleep; mice and moles will appear, and bunnies are hopping from shrubs to gardens in the neighborhood. Those elusive deer and coyotes that lurked in the park and marsh in my neighborhood will have added foliage to hide in as leaves appear on the maples, oaks and elms. It’s exciting to see deer run through our yards and dive into the lake to swim across the Bay to a more wooded area. They’re so fast and so beautiful.
Spring is almost here. Though I haven’t put away winter coats, sweaters and cords, I long for lighter clothing, bright colors, and getting the Adirondack chairs out onto the deck. Maybe I’ll pump up the bike’s tires, just in case the weekend’s promised warmth will allow a few spins around the neighborhood. 914
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Ancient Mayan Ruins
FROM WHERE I SIT Ancient Mayan ruins in Mexico Feb. 15, 2013
Last week we flew to sunny Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and visited the ancient Mayan ruins at Tulum. Each time we take a trip outside the USA, I’m reminded of how young my country is in relation to other countries around the world. When we visit our daughter in Mexico City, we’ve enjoyed the ancient canals of Xochimilco, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the far south of Mexico City. These canals were built in pre-Hispanic times by the Aztecs who created floating flower and vegetable gardens. Tourists buy flowers, fruit, Corona Mexican beer, and tacos from boats floating on the canals and enjoy the music of mariachi bands floating on another boat. Many canals were part of Mexico City until the Spanish came with their horses and filled in this mode of transportation.
In the 1990’s Dave was flying American Airline flights to Cairo, Egypt, and took his family along to a different world. We rode camels to the pyramids and colorful Ramadan tents erected in the desert. We visited bustling, ancient markets from before Christ’s time and entered the City of the Dead where people live in tombs of wealthy, deceased residents where electricity was piped in for TV reception. People living there still cook on open fires on dirt floors.
Sometime I’d like to visit England’s Stonehenge where historians are still studying the monumental rock formations created thousands of years ago. I loved friendly Italy where I visited Rome’s Coliseum to see where gladiators had fought lions and Cameo Joe sold ivory cameos to fascinated tourists. As I walked through the underground tombs, where bones slept and ancient Christians worshipped, history’s timeline cast an eerie spell over me.
Most of us are fascinated by Europe’s towering cathedrals, castles, and royalty. Tourists can observe that life was so different in those years filled with opulent splendors for the ruling classes, but Charles Dickens wrote of the underclass’ dire poverty, their daily struggle to raise families with little food and shelter.
We read that Mexico’s Tulum ruins are the third most visited archaeological site in Mexico just outside of Playa del Carmen on the Riviera Maya south of Cancun . On a cliff overlooking the Caribbean, Tulum represents an advanced civilization that flourished from around 1200 AD until the arrival of the Spanish. It was one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Mayans. Tulum was inhabited by 1000 to 1600 people who lived in platform dwellings along a street and supervised the trade traffic. Most inhabitants lived outside the walled city, leaving the interior for residences of the governors and priests and ceremonial structures. At its height, between the 13th and 15th centuries, it managed to survive about 70 years after the Spanish began occupying Mexico and brought Old World diseases causing the city’s demise.
Tulum means “enclosure”. It was protected from invasions by a 16 ft thick wall on three sides, interrupted by five gates. The original name is believed to have been Zama or Dawn, reflecting the west-east alignment of its buildings facing the sunrise. Tulum had access to both land and sea trade routes, making it an important trade hub, especially for obsidian, a dark stone highly valued.
Tulum appears to have been an important site for the worship of the Diving or Descending god, the main god honored at Tulum depicted on several buildings as an upside-down figure above doorways. Castillo, or the castle, is Tulum’s largest and most prominent building. It served as a landmark for sailors. Directly opposite the castle is a cove and landing beach at a break in the sea cliffs, perfect for trading canoes to come in.
The Temple of the Frescoes in front of the castle was used as an observatory for tracking movements of the sun. 13th century frescoes are contained inside, but visitors are no longer permitted to go inside. The Mayan frescoes represent the rain god Chaac and Ixchel, goddess of weaving, women, the moon, and medicine. Supernatural serpents are a common motif. On the cornice of the temple is a relief of the head of the rain god.. From a distance visitors can make out his eyes, nose, mouth and chin.
Coastal and land routes converged at Tulum, apparent by the number of artifacts found in or near the site. Contacts with areas all over Central Mexico and Central America are apparent by copper artifacts from the Mexican highlands plus flint artifacts, ceramics, incense burners, and gold objects from all over the Yucatan. Salt and textiles were some of the goods brought to Tulum by sea. Typical exported goods included feathers and copper objects coming form inland sources. They could be transported by sea to rivers and taken inland by seafaring canoes with access to the highlands and lowlands.
Today, we continue to wonder at the knowledge of the Egyptians, Aztecs, and Mayans, who understood when to plant, when to harvest, and how to build pyramids. The knowledge of the moon, sun, and tides these ancient civilizations had is totally amazing to anyone visiting these sites today. 859 words
Last week we flew to sunny Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and visited the ancient Mayan ruins at Tulum. Each time we take a trip outside the USA, I’m reminded of how young my country is in relation to other countries around the world. When we visit our daughter in Mexico City, we’ve enjoyed the ancient canals of Xochimilco, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the far south of Mexico City. These canals were built in pre-Hispanic times by the Aztecs who created floating flower and vegetable gardens. Tourists buy flowers, fruit, Corona Mexican beer, and tacos from boats floating on the canals and enjoy the music of mariachi bands floating on another boat. Many canals were part of Mexico City until the Spanish came with their horses and filled in this mode of transportation.
In the 1990’s Dave was flying American Airline flights to Cairo, Egypt, and took his family along to a different world. We rode camels to the pyramids and colorful Ramadan tents erected in the desert. We visited bustling, ancient markets from before Christ’s time and entered the City of the Dead where people live in tombs of wealthy, deceased residents where electricity was piped in for TV reception. People living there still cook on open fires on dirt floors.
Sometime I’d like to visit England’s Stonehenge where historians are still studying the monumental rock formations created thousands of years ago. I loved friendly Italy where I visited Rome’s Coliseum to see where gladiators had fought lions and Cameo Joe sold ivory cameos to fascinated tourists. As I walked through the underground tombs, where bones slept and ancient Christians worshipped, history’s timeline cast an eerie spell over me.
Most of us are fascinated by Europe’s towering cathedrals, castles, and royalty. Tourists can observe that life was so different in those years filled with opulent splendors for the ruling classes, but Charles Dickens wrote of the underclass’ dire poverty, their daily struggle to raise families with little food and shelter.
We read that Mexico’s Tulum ruins are the third most visited archaeological site in Mexico just outside of Playa del Carmen on the Riviera Maya south of Cancun . On a cliff overlooking the Caribbean, Tulum represents an advanced civilization that flourished from around 1200 AD until the arrival of the Spanish. It was one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Mayans. Tulum was inhabited by 1000 to 1600 people who lived in platform dwellings along a street and supervised the trade traffic. Most inhabitants lived outside the walled city, leaving the interior for residences of the governors and priests and ceremonial structures. At its height, between the 13th and 15th centuries, it managed to survive about 70 years after the Spanish began occupying Mexico and brought Old World diseases causing the city’s demise.
Tulum means “enclosure”. It was protected from invasions by a 16 ft thick wall on three sides, interrupted by five gates. The original name is believed to have been Zama or Dawn, reflecting the west-east alignment of its buildings facing the sunrise. Tulum had access to both land and sea trade routes, making it an important trade hub, especially for obsidian, a dark stone highly valued.
Tulum appears to have been an important site for the worship of the Diving or Descending god, the main god honored at Tulum depicted on several buildings as an upside-down figure above doorways. Castillo, or the castle, is Tulum’s largest and most prominent building. It served as a landmark for sailors. Directly opposite the castle is a cove and landing beach at a break in the sea cliffs, perfect for trading canoes to come in.
The Temple of the Frescoes in front of the castle was used as an observatory for tracking movements of the sun. 13th century frescoes are contained inside, but visitors are no longer permitted to go inside. The Mayan frescoes represent the rain god Chaac and Ixchel, goddess of weaving, women, the moon, and medicine. Supernatural serpents are a common motif. On the cornice of the temple is a relief of the head of the rain god.. From a distance visitors can make out his eyes, nose, mouth and chin.
Coastal and land routes converged at Tulum, apparent by the number of artifacts found in or near the site. Contacts with areas all over Central Mexico and Central America are apparent by copper artifacts from the Mexican highlands plus flint artifacts, ceramics, incense burners, and gold objects from all over the Yucatan. Salt and textiles were some of the goods brought to Tulum by sea. Typical exported goods included feathers and copper objects coming form inland sources. They could be transported by sea to rivers and taken inland by seafaring canoes with access to the highlands and lowlands.
Today, we continue to wonder at the knowledge of the Egyptians, Aztecs, and Mayans, who understood when to plant, when to harvest, and how to build pyramids. The knowledge of the moon, sun, and tides these ancient civilizations had is totally amazing to anyone visiting these sites today. 859 words
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