Ride of the Valkyries

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Hum the tune ‘Ride of the Valkyries’, as you gaze at this image of Sigrún the Swan. She is racing towards us because Teddy dared to frighten an egret with his deadly camera. Her wings are thumping on the water like the noise of 20 Vikings smashing their oars. Sigrún is a relatively new addition to the many critters on our local pond, arriving about 2 years ago. I have been so curious about her (or him). One of the local birdwatchers told us that she was likely bought privately and escaped, or was released, to the large reservoir a couple of miles west.

Every year we welcome flocks of white pelicans who are stopping briefly on route to the north for the summer. These are arboreal pelicans who live on lakes in forests. The birdwatcher told us that Sigrún had terrorized the pelicans so much that they disappeared from our area. I don’t know if she mistook them for other swans or was just being territorial. She regards all the other critters on our pond as her flock (herons, egrets, ducks, geese, nutria, turtles, bluebirds, blackbirds, coots) and doesn’t take kindly to humans intruding…

As she approached, her wings remained up and her neck curled back to fully threaten us. I must admit that I was anxious and stood back from the water’s edge. A swan can easily break a person’s arm. Eventually she calmed down and her wings lowered. We were duly chastised and sloped off trying not to frighten anything else. It was a while before I went around the pond again but I kept thinking of Sigrún. What kind of person buys a wild animal that can’t be domesticated? Mute swans are not indigenous to our area and can be a pest with their territorial natures. I have seen Sigrún sleeping with the other water birds so she is happy with the original inhabitants (apart from humans).

Is she lonely? I haven’t seen another swan in our area. The containment pond isn’t a perfect habitation as it is really a flood defense. The water naturally rises and lowers throughout the year. I pride myself on my rapport with wild and domesticated animals but pride comes before a fall. On my last few visits to the ponds, I talked quietly to Sigrún and gently got closer to her. It seemed as though I was making progress; she was tolerating my presence. Most recently I encountered her on the path that leads around the pond. Talking all the time, I got within about 2 feet of her and she was showing no signs of aggression. Then I got too close, she raised herself to her full height and walloped me with her wing!

Immediately I backed away – she could have hit me harder but it was scary. I was shaking as I walked away from her. Halfway around the pond I realized I would have to turn around and walk past her again for my own confidence. This time she retreated into the water but her neck was still very tense. Usually I am respectful of wildlife; I was so annoyed at myself for frightening Sigrún and myself. I anthropomorphized about Sigrún and thought that my friendship would be welcome. Dejected, I went home with my head bowed and my tail between my legs. (My tail is striped, in case you are interested) Later I sought solace with my much friendlier garden critters.

Until I started researching mute swans, I had no idea that they played a key part in Valkyrie mythology. Valkyries were mythical creatures who led the chosen slain Norse Warriors to Valhalla (Heaven). I thought the swan looked like a Sigrún but for all I know it might be a Thor. Maybe it has a more prosaic name such as ‘Swan in Charge’ or ‘Fluffy’? All my squirrels are named too. At the moment we have a group named the McHughs, which was my mother’s maiden name. These squirrels all have funny wee turned-up noses – just like my family and me. This year we have a wonky sparrow living in the garden but that’s a tale for another time…

Please don’t republish Teddy’s photographs.

It’s been a while…

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Have you ever wondered why a fellow blogger suddenly stopped posting?  I have been blogging, fairly consistently, since 2015.  In that time many WordPress friends have dropped off the map.  Sometimes I knew the backstory – occasional deaths or mental health crises.  Other bloggers are overwhelmed with real life commitments and the toll that regular posting takes on your time.  The rest are a mystery but I surmise that boredom, change of lifestyle, or a desire to escape social media may play a part.

My extended break is for all of the reasons stated above.  Health has been a major factor; mine and others in my life.  Last Spring 2023, I fainted, knocked myself out and ended up in hospital for a few days.  My recovery was protracted with seemingly endless dizziness.  One of the many measures I took to combat this was to reduce one of my mental health medications, with my doctor’s knowledge.  This had an inevitable effect on me and my mood has been low for months.  In the past I would have tweaked or changed medication but I am reluctant to do that.

Another personal crisis preempted my disappearance from WordPress.  A dear friend, who had been battling Stage IV cancer for many years, entered into hospice care for the last six months of her life.  I wanted to be fully present and had no desire to write.  She is now at peace and I am glad I was able to spend time with her.

Teddy and I took some much-needed vacations during this time.  I introduced Teddy to my favorite place in Mexico in November with a short break to Merida in the Yucatan staying at a historic boutique hotel.  Teddy was entranced which made me so happy.  Oscar, a wonderful driver, who took us to the pyramid complex at Uxmal and a remote cenote.  We indulged in delicious Maya cuisine in local restaurants and walked for hours.

Above is a beautifully rounded pyramid at Uxmal and below is some detail from one of the temple buildings

Oscar, our driver, took us to an indigenous Maya village named Muna. There was no tourism and we just browsed the fascinating local market. I could not identify all of the unique produce.

It was such a fun break even though I wasn’t fully fit.  The heat bothered me and I was anxious at times.  This trip inspired us to go on another break to Mexico City in March.  That was unexpectedly wonderful.  Our glamorous hotel had a rooftop terrace, nouvelle Mexican cuisine, and a view of the Aztec plaza where Montezuma’s palace was.  Now we were immersed in the history of the Aztecs.

Teddy and I on the rooftop of our hotel with the backdrop of the Metropolitan Cathedral at sunset. This complex was Aztec at the time of the Spanish invasion and the cathedral was built with the existing stone. Behind the cathedral is the remains of Montezuma’s Palace with a fabulous stone serpent below.

We visited a zoo in Mexico City and it was a revelation. The enclosures were large and the animals seemed happy. I fell in love with a new animal to me – the maned wolf. It’s not really a wolf but a rare and endangered canid – look at those supermodel legs!

Finally, we prepared for a much-anticipated trip to Ireland to visit my aunt who is 94.  It had been five years since I saw my family from the old country.   A few days before our flight she fell and ended up in hospital.  Nothing was broken but she remained in this remote hospital for the week of our stay.  It was a strange trip.  We decided to stay in Dublin but travelled to the hospital each day, a round trip of 226 km.  Thankfully, she has made a marvelous recovery and is now at home.  In retrospect, it was serendipitous that the trip to Ireland happened at a time of crisis.

During my sabbatical, I did work on my website and deleted many old posts.  I am not sure if I want to continue posting or having a website but time will tell.  My isolation suited my mood but now I want to reconnect.

On the one day when the sun came out, we made a short stop at the town of Kells in Ireland. This old Celtic Cross caught my eye. The town was quite charming and we were glad to have a moment as tourists.

Pausing…

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I am taking a break from posting and following on WordPress. My website and I need to be refreshed.

Best wishes to all my readers and friends for the upcoming holiday season.

Kerry

The Wendish Heritage Museum

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In my second last post, Netflix and other stories, I touched on a German series that I watched – Close to home: Murder in the Coalfield.  The series was set in Lusatia in Eastern Germany.  In Lusatia there is an indigenous population, the Sorbs (aka Wends), a Slavic minority community, who speak a unique language.  The Upper Sorbian language is more closely related to Polish and Lower Sorbian to Czech.  On a whim, I researched where Sorbian people migrated to in the USA.  To my surprise, a large group settled in the Texas countryside, west of where we live, and named the place, Serbin.  Then I spotted the Wendish Museum online and immediately booked a little trip.  My curiosity was piqued!

The group who founded the community of Serbin were seeking religious freedom.  In 1854, Pastor Kilian led the group of nearly 600 Lutheran settlers from 65 villages in Prussia and Saxony to their new home.  The journey was fraught with danger.  They departed Europe on a ship, the Ben Nevis, from Liverpool in England, where there was an outbreak of Cholera.  The ship had to be quarantined and sadly 55 settlers died.  When they arrived in Galveston, Texas, there was an outbreak of Yellow Fever.  By the time they left Galveston, 78 of the group had died including the 55 who perished from cholera.  When they arrived in Texas they purchased over 4000 acres in central Texas and had a long journey to the settlement that would be named Serbin – a 164-mile trip.  The community built a church, one of Texas’ beautiful painted churches, and a school.  The settlement was divided into equitable lots where each family had access to water.

The museum was gifted the most extraordinary book pictured below. The book, a third volume of Martin Luther’s writings (Wittenburg edition), was printed in 1550. This must be so precious to the Lutheran community of Serbin. I was astounded to see an original volume of Martin Luther’s writings in a tiny little place in the middle of Texas.

The Wends (an old English word) refers to various groups of Slavic tribes in the area of east Germany and surrounds.  Other texts refer to Sorbs, so I was a little confused during my research.  Sorb and Wend are now interchangeable terms.

One of the docents from the museum had visited their homeland in Germany and was surprised at how similar the communities were.  They transplanted their lifestyle, culture and religion to central Texas and lived their dream.  Most of the land in the area is still owned by Wendish people who never threw anything out.  The museum is a treasure trove of information, photos, dolls, books and costumes.

My eye was drawn to the books of folklore and the ‘little ones’.  It is believed that some German folk tales originated in the Wendish tales.

Tales of Little People seem to be universal.

The Easter Eggs reminded me of the intricate painting on Russian and Ukrainian folk art and dolls.

The Texas Wendish Heritage Museum is one of the most unique museums I have been to in Texas and would thoroughly recommend a visit. We stayed in a hotel in La Grange but it could be a day trip from Houston, Dallas or Austin.

The Wendish Museum, Serbin, Texas – click on link to see more about the museum, the Wends and Serbin.

ref: Wikipedia, texaswendish.org

Brahmin Beau

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Isn’t he handsome? I love Brahmin cattle with their floppy ears and unusual shape. This lovely fellow was scraping his hump on the low hanging tree bough. His family group looked liked Hereford cattle. It was very hot and they were sheltering under a tree. Everyone does that in Texas. I will predate a car park for a tree with shade.

This photo was taken in La Grange, a small county town in central Texas. Yes, that’s right, we finally left the house after an endlessly scorching summer. It has been 100 F plus since June but the weather finally broke with a fantastic thunderstorm that soaked the ground and forest. The weather has hovered in the low 90’s so we took our chance with a road trip to La Grange and Brenham.

The weather was perfect, the food good and the scenery bucolic. More posts to come.

The White Cemetery

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We arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica on a dark and dreary afternoon but this white cemetery glowed like a beacon. On our last day we finally walked to it. The Cementerio General de San Jose – built in 1845.

Although there were some large and impressive family crypts, I was touched by these simple stacked crypts. Some of the markers were handwritten.

In memory of our dear: ‘Percy’. Those who forget die, but you will always live in our hearts. We love you. Your family.

The words touched me deeply, as did his smiling face. May he rest in peace.

The vivid Tai plants drew me to this large family grave.

The cemetery was an oasis of peace just a short distance from bustling city streets. It is a beautiful location to visit and be interred. Blue skies, green grass and mountains.

The groundskeepers were a friendly group, happily greeting us while they had their lunch. They should have been very proud of how well the Cementerio General was maintained.

It’s hot out there…

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Suddenly there was a flash of feathers and some sweet little chirrups. We looked out the window and a little flock of house sparrows had arrived. There must have been 20 birds – males, females and babies. We don’t see sparrows very often and their numbers have dropped globally.

Our usual guests seemed a tad overwhelmed. Fat Mama squirrel kept digging holes to lie in. The Carolina wren snapped at one of the sparrows who ate her peanut. It was 104 F/ 40 C outside so all the little sparrows were thirsty. Not all our garden guests like the bird bath but they loved it. Our baby blue jay feels unsteady on it and prefers to bathe in one of the ground bowls.

I keep wondering how people and animals are surviving in these constant high temperatures but they are managing with a little help. Teddy is volunteering at the wolf sanctuary covered from head to toe, like a Bedouin. The wolves have a misting system to help cool them.

Today (still 104 F), I decided to change the blown light bulbs in the garage. Lord knows what the temperature was in there. My hands were dripping with sweat so I dropped a screw for the lampshade, from the top of the ladders. I had to reverse my car out and sweep the double garage for the lost screw. I found it, the bulbs are replaced and the garage has less cobwebs. I must be slimmer!

The forecast is for another two weeks of dry hot weather around 104 F but a hurricane might break that streak. The Farmers’ Almanac has forecast a colder than average winter for us. Then I will complain about the water bowls icing up!

Birthday Twins

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Birthday twins are people that share the same month and day but not necessarily the year.  I met one of my birthday twins, at work, when I was almost 40.  It was the first time I had met someone with exactly the same birthdate, if not the same age.  I was very excited; certain that this person was going to be a lifelong soul friend.

Our friendship started off very well and it seemed that we had much in common.  We liked the same books, movies and had a similar sense of humor. We even liked the same scents.  I am not a particularly religious or spiritual person but am totally hooked on astrology.  In my head, I know it’s nonsense but it is much more tantalizing than conventional beliefs.  My husband is a Taurus and I am Cancer, so astrologically it was good match. Perhaps, however, we are just compatible – about the same age and brought up in similar homes.

In retrospect, I wonder why I thought it would be a good idea to be friends with someone who was like me. I don’t like me very much! My Mum, Nana and I all had Cancer birthdays. Furthermore we all lived in the same house. Sometimes it was fun, especially when we were laughing together. Other times we could really irritate each other. It’s not easy for three women to live under the same roof.

Now it is 20 years since I first met my birthday twin and we are no longer in touch with each other.  Were we really compatible or so alike that it’s unpalatable?  I am not an easy person with many negative and positive traits.  It is probably not a good idea to be friends at work but that’s another topic…

It was my birthday in July and I received some genealogical hints from Ancestry.  To my surprise, I discovered that my most famous ancestor, Capt. Jose Francisco Ortega, was born on the same day as me in 1732.  If I hadn’t met my previous birthday twin, I might have been more excited.  Now I was apprehensive.  Captain Ortega led a scout troop from San Diego to the north and ‘discovered’ San Francisco. 

Some of the historical accounts suggest that he was ‘Castizo’ – three quarters European and one quarter indigenous Mexican.  His indigenous ancestry helped him communicate with Californian Native people and track effectively. He sounded like an intrepid adventurer – I can be, too.  Capt. Jose was made of stern stuff. On a separate mission to find Monterey, he and his party had to eat their mules to stave off starvation.  I could do that, if pushed. In Egypt I ate camel and it was tough going.  Why do you think we keep our squirrels fattened??  He and his wife, Maria Carrillo, had endless children and one of his sons, Juan de Capistrano etc., is my ancestor.  Unlike my fertile ancestors, I am the last Ortega in my particular genetic thread.

On a blackly humorous note, he got fat in old age and wasn’t good with money.  He died at age 65 after falling off a horse and walloping his head!  Maybe syncope runs in our family?

Captain Jose Francisco Maria Ortega 1732 – 1798

Juan de Capistrano Antonia Maria Ortega 1776 – 1818

Emigdio Miguel Ortega 1813 – 1873

Juan de Jesus Ortega 1843 – 1929

Charles Bartomeo Ortega 1870 – 1920

Juanita Matilda Ortega 1904 – 1967

Earl Houston Dellinger 1929 – 1989

ME aka Kerry Dellinger de Ortega 1960 – ???

I am Captain Ortega’s 5th great grand-daughter and perhaps I inherited his sense of humor. Hopefully, he is laughing while rolling around in his grave. As you can see, I have a Masters in Art… Below is an illustration of him (what a handsome dude!) with his grave marker beneath.

Woven Webs

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This is a golden garden spider, Argiope aurantia, native to the Americas. It was over an inch long so probably a female. Their webs are so distinctive with the zig zag pattern – it is a natural work of art. The zig zag may act as a stabilizer or an attractant for prey. I spotted her in the holly bush when I was watering the garden. She was taken by surprise and wildly oscillated the zig zag section to persuade me to move. As a spider lover, I ran inside to get my camera and she had calmed down by then.

In the front yard, I have my last remaining Japanese Yew. The other two Yews died of a disease but this one is healthy with glorious blueish white berries at the moment. Again, I was using the hose when I noticed the web sparkling with the water spray. I didn’t see this web’s occupant but I guess it was very small.

Just like the European Yew, the Japanese Yew is toxic and I assume the berries are too. Nature is very good at showing you what not to eat… I prefer indigenous bushes but this is ornamental. She is 20 years old now so she is part of the family now.

It is hotter than hell here. Endless days of 100 F/38 C heat with no rain. The only exercise I take outside is watering the garden. Every day I fill up all the water bowls for the garden visitors who rush for a fresh drink. Keep cool!

The Mysterious Miaow

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We have lived in our house for two decades. In the first few years we noticed a stray Himalayan cat. Then there was a really scrappy grey tomcat with a harem. One of our kindest neighbors took in two of his kitties (a mother and a daughter) and looked after the Himalayan cat, Mr. Fluffs, in his senior years. We looked after a Tuxedo stray that we called Katniss.

Katniss disappeared one day along with all the other stray cats. Since then I have only seen cats that obviously have a home – fat and glossy. But every so often, over the past few years, I hear a kitten mewling. Never could find one…

Finally, I discovered we have a Catbird in our garden gang. No, I hadn’t heard of a Catbird, either. It belongs to the same family as mockingbirds and thrushes, is indigenous to the Americas and is a skilled mimic. Ours are grey and black; in Guatemala they are all black. Catriona visits us on her own sometimes but is usually accompanied by the Blue Jays, Cardinals, Wrens and Squirrels.

This is one of our juvenile male Cardinals. His feathers will be bright crimson by winter. Our pair have one or two fledglings every year.

Mother Carolina Wren with her baby who asks for food incessantly. They have a fantastic hiss for such a wee bird. They are about 3 inches long.

Meet Dolores, our Mourning Dove, indigenous to the Americas. Her song sounds like a mournful coo (very loud in the morning). She is a graceful bird with gorgeous blue eyeliner and bright pink feet.

Dottie, above, is her daughter. Doves stay in the nest until almost full grown.

These are our new Downy Woodpecker twins. They are juveniles.

I have often wondered why our garden gang all visit together, at various times of the day. The Coopers Hawk above explains why. Isn’t he magnificent? He is not much bigger the Mourning Dove but does predate the smaller birds, insects and reptiles. The garden went silent as he arrived – even the Cicadas. Our Blue Jays act as guardians for the little birds.

On a footnote, one of Teddy’s colleagues told us that when she was a child she thought that the sound of the Cicadas singing was the ‘sound of summer’. If summer had a sound in Texas, it would be Cicadas singing. I feel a country song coming on…