Here are some pictures of my grackles. I put oatmeal out for them on the pillar a couple times a day and if I am late, they stand there and yell until I come out. What amuses me is that the males have to stick their noses up in the air whenever another male lands. They both stand like that and posture for a bit while the females (the lighter brown ones) get in there and eat. Classic!


Once the nose business is done, everyone eats.

We went into Cancun today looking for lights. Got to one place too late and it was closed but we didn't see what we wanted looking in the windows. So we went to Soriana which is my favorite grocery/everything store in Mexico. They are building one in Playa now and I'm thrilled.

It's a really nice grocery store, the most beautiful produce including really ripe tomatoes that aren't Roma type. In most of Mexico all you can find are Roma tomatoes and not very ripe ones either. Soriana had huge bins of really red, really ripe Beefsteak tomatoes, Roma and even Cherry tomatoes. They also have a candy maker and had the most sumptous display case of hand made truffles and chocolate strawberries the size of a baseball. I did not buy any of the candy! It wasn't just restraint but it's hot and it is 65 miles back to the house and I just knew they wouldn't make it. I also knew I'd probably just eat them on the way home anyway.

By the time we got out of Soriana it was dark and we went through downtown so got to see all the xmas lights. The Guadalupanos were out on the highway running in the dark, I worried they would get hit. Groups of kids, usually teenagers, from different churches vow to run from one town to another during this week celebrating the Virgin of Guadalupe. They have support vehicles that follow them, decorated to the nines, with their flashers on. There are usually several of the kids running with a torch and the rest, along with the adult chaperones, are in the bus or truck following. They spend nights at churches along their route and also stop for a big meal in the afternoon at another church. It can take them days to run if they've picked a town far away. It's a great adventure for them and I'm sure it is a lot of fun. We passed 5 or 6 groups on the highway today, Monday is the feast day for the Virgin of Guadalupe. She is the patron saint of Mexico and highly venerated throughout the country.