SW thumbs, day 8

As mentioned in one of the earlier posts, our visit coincided with one of the busiest two weekends of the year, Indian Market. Since Matt and I were both familiar with the blankets-on-sidewalk weekend sort of market, we decided to check out this giant fest of green chili cheese bread (sorry, ate it without pictures), fashion shows (too crowded to see), and absolutely mind-boggling pottery and sculpture and jewelery and paintings. Admittedly, there was one fellow who was selected for his feather work and a photographer posed the fellow where Matt and I had been sitting.



To backtrack for a moment, since we got there really early and walked a few of the side streets before delving into the crowds, I snapped a few quiet pictures: looking up towards a courtyard, and a set of adobe-clad french doors that still managed to produce a strong reflection. I do admire adobe construction because it tends to favor glass surfaces that are not as risky for birds.



I didn't photograph the crowd (we heard French, Spanish, some British accents, etc), nor the art - I hope the 2009 video will make up for at least the art portion.



On our way back from the market, we passed another fine example of local art. The Mona Lisa on the corner of the Paseo and Bishop's Lodge:



Knowing that our last day was all too rapidly drawing to an end, Matt suggested one final visit to Randall Davey Audubon Center. This time I managed to get a less blurry photo of the tricolored bumble bee (noted by its bright orange stripe) and the crazy white bees that seem to be Xeromelecta sp (methinks). One of our familiar Waco moths - the corn earworm moth - was there as well.



tricolored bumble bee (Bombus ternarius, Xeromelecta sp(?), corn earworm moth (Helicoverpa zea)

Finally, we also cornered a non-snake herp for the trip - a shy, but photogenic Five-lined Skink. Skinks are pretty much glossy lizards, extremely fast and often only detectable by the rustling of leaf litter. This fellow was basking at RDA's amphitheater, much to our pleasant surprise.



Five-lined Skink (Eumeces fasciatus)

As promised, this post does contain more exciting creatures than humans, insects and a skink. Hardly human, but the bestest SUPERhuman: Grandma! When we got back from RDA, it was time for dinner and we got to hang out with our cousinlet's favorite superhuman in the whole wide world. Hopefully she'll forgive me for intruding on her Grandma time...



Grandma time was followed by bouncy chair time, which was full of colorful objects that spun and could not be dropped or thrown. Happy noises ensued. The rest of us were even able to eat because she was so distracted.



The evening was also full of love. And waggles. And playing catch. And so ended our NM trip...



Matt's fan club: Blue (peeler of the tennis ball) and Bobby (Grandma's puppy).