It’s the weekend of the local writers conference, not that I’m going, but am I still a writer if I don’t ever write? So, lots of things have been happening and here is a bit from the recent past. Of course the start of the astrological New Year is long past, but due to a tragedy at the local college it had been postponed. So, here is an overdue tribute to the Year of the Dragon, my favorite Astrological sign.

They had already done the traditional dance with a bunch of people carrying this beast about. But I really like him (I am assuming this dragon is male, it’s a yang symbol after all) even when parked against the background of the mountain (also yang).

The thing above the dragon could be a proto dragon, or worm, but, surprise it’s art (yes I know it started as a baffle from the garden center, but now it’s art.)

Someone was demonstrating a tea ceremony with the most adorable dragon tea set. I had my cup of tea from a tea bag, hardly anyone has time to do all the steps, and you can’t get this from Starbuck’s. (My neighbor does teach tea ceremony if one needs to know.)

I’m including this guy and his dragon just because the dragon is so adorable (I know that you would take this cute dragon home).

Anyone can be a dragon with this mask, assuming that one is a little kid. It was from a booth run by a local Chinese school (it’s the sort of place that one’s parents makes one go). There were a bunch of booths from different organizations with various other traditional Chinese trinkets for sale and I supported them by buying little bits (all are for future un-named art projects, really). It wasn’t as big as previous celebrations, but it was a lovely way to pass an afternoon.

Well the big holiday season is just about wrapped up, but I thought that I would share how I celebrate these occasions. Some people celebrate with elaborate feasts and special foods (okay, I do some of this). But I also do a little photo shoot with my favorite kaiju.

So I was busy getting ready to go on a trip, and I needed to do a quick set-up. Halloween, like many holidays has an origin in religion. It’s a spooky time of year when the separation of the living and spirit worlds is supposed to thin. And we confuse the spirits by giving out candy to costumed children, because. Here’s an eerie look at my favorite with a necklace of lighted bats.

Christmas has become a time for wearing outlandish sweaters (why? I don’t know). It is now a custom, and I myself wear a sweater with his picture to celebrate. This picture is my idea of the holiday spirit.

A mere week later it’s time for the new year celebration (technically, the solstice has already occurred, but why let that stop an excuse for a party).

More holidays are in store this month. There is Martin Luther King Day and President’s Day a week later. These holidays don’t really have any special foods or symbols associated with them, just that the mail isn’t delivered and things are on sale.

Then comes Valentine’s Day, which celebrates love and romance. Red roses are associated with love, as is chocolate and diamonds. And what exactly is his big romance? Well it appears to be destroying Tokyo (other places are strictly optional, but known to occur). And who hasn’t considered destroying a city when one’s nap is interrupted. In lieu of destruction, my love is taking photographs of kaiju and I consider this a great way to mark the passage of these holidays.

We all have an Arcadia in our minds, the perfect place of abundance. As a city person it is easy to imagine the joys of a bucolic existence. Delicious things growing effortlessly, that only require picking. The reality of this lifestyle is somewhat different. This area features a short growing season, and this was complicated by a late spring and plenty of hailstorms. So the harvest is only just happening now. We were going south, and so we joined the others in looking what the hard work of these local farmers had produced.

I love the taste of vine ripened tomatoes and my favorite way to eat them is to pick and immediately devour. Supermarket tomatoes look like the real thing, and are often quite beautiful and uniform. These beauties are the sort that can only be purchased at a farm, their essence is too fragile to be available at a supermarket.

This farm does grow many sorts of vegetables, but it is famous for various kinds of chilis. I’m not sure of the actual name, I just called them “pequenos” and they are small, but mighty.

These sacks hold about 2 bushels of green chili each, just waiting to be roasted. The smell of roasting chilis is a sign that autumn is coming, but these chilis will keep a body warm throughout the winter months.

The bounty of summer continues with dried peppers. This is the old way of preserving the harvest, and it is still delicious.

I love that these families are preserving the traditions of farming and are also looking for ways to bring year-round income from their harvest. These are jars of chili flavored olive oil. I bought some delicious garlic and chili flavored dill pickles that they had made. Farming seems idyllic, if one’s fantasy is working like a dog for the growing season. But we city people only see the blessings of farm life, not the hardships. And I thank them for it.

The clock is ticking down on summer, yet it is still summertime, except in our friendly local shops.

The pre-season has already started (who cares?), but it isn’t actually football season until next week. But in case one can’t wait, there are things to purchase that declares one’s allegiance to local-ish teams.

Halloween is just around the corner, if by corner, one means two months from now. The candy already on display is being guarded by this dragon, protecting it from summertime camping gear.

And still these puny seasons pale before the juggernaut that is the Christmas season. These expensive holiday decorations are harbingers of the season to come. Fortunately the creeping plague of Christmas music has not yet started (but it will be here sooner than one likes).

This is the true symbol of summer, the backyard barbeque. Pictured here is my brother’s attempt to turn hamburgers into charcoal. But there is no easy way to merchandise this symbol, so I have provided an image.

Enjoy the last bits of summer!

As it has been 365 days since the planet travelled around the sun, it was once again time for the big show in the city to the north. The week before I had a virus and was not really sure if I wanted to go, but the tidal pull of tradition won out and there I was.

I drove up to the event along a different path and I almost missed it. Gone were the warehouses, workingmen’s bars and cafes and in it’s place were shiny new millennial cages (apartments), coffee bars and paths for one’s bicycle and dogs. It’s progress of a sort, I suppose.

Inside was mostly the usual sort of things, but I was struck by this eagle’s foot sticking up from someone’s suitcase. I assume the owner displayed it for a dance and now it was just resting there until the need arose again.

There are always vendors of various necessities, such as star quilts. Are they a necessity? Why yes, I myself have made at least 8 of these (maybe more, I forget).

And going to this event is always an excuse to buy some new clothing. Some of the items are handmade, but apparently the Chinese have learned to make appealing things as well.

To be included in the Grand Entry and judging one has to wear a full dance outfit, but for the inter-tribal dances anyone can join in.

The newest styles this year involved a lot of sparkle, like a dance shawl or dress made with sequined fabric. But there are also the traditionalists like this man. And although the styling is traditional, there are more details in the outfit than would have been available 100 years ago.

Now I am just waiting for the planet to travel around the sun one more time, and I will be ready to do it all again (and next time I will bring a dance shawl).

After a two year delay because of Covid, it was on again, the 112th Annual Festival. It was smaller than the past, but I was frankly just glad that it was happening again. Some things never change in this tiny corner of the state, except to get worse. Unlike in the fashionable parts of the state, there are lots of adobe houses here that are melting back into the earth.

And the decay is not limited to houses. Years ago, at a bend in the road, an old, rusted Model T sat half buried in the dust, returning to the elements. And at some point, some years ago, it finally disappeared altogether. But this one continues to uphold the tradition of abandoned cars, really it’s a lot of work to tow them away, and to where? (Also, I love to photograph this scene and hope it never changes).

At my Uncle’s place this water wagon has been sitting there for a long time. And it will probably be unmoved for a considerable time more.

And you may have wondered, where do I derive my surprising knowledge of tractors? Why this is because of my uncle. He just about always has a story or two about tractor engineering to amaze me with. This tractor is something he bought as a toy, and it had often been in the parade for the festival. It’s currently working at becoming part of the landscape.

And what is a festival without the venerable tradition of a parade? This year I drove my uncle in his 1979 Lincoln Town car, which is another one of his toys. I had previously ridden in the parade as stoker on his steam thresher when I was a young woman (and I was pretty quick study on the job of stoker, so it didn’t blow up.)

So I don’t have any pictures of this year’s parade, but we were sitting here waiting for the start time, with the other folks.

Anyone who wants to can be in the parade. There is no charge to participate unless one is a politician. They used to charge $100 per car, but now they have upped it to $150 for them. The same political party has been in charge of the county since 1930, but a couple of people showed up to try and sway the voters to change. Perhaps. Every politician threw out candy for the kids, and then there was the annual free feast in the park to close the festival. This may have been the last time I shall go, but as long as there are a few people left in the village, the celebration will continue. I hope.

A big river flows through the city to the south, so it is possible to grow things there (unlike here where people only grow lawns). Visiting the farm stands is the other destination when going to the fair. And as it is harvest time, it’s the perfect time to visit.

And there is the best part of this time of year, sacks and sacks of freshly picked green chili. One can take home a sack of these to be roasted at home, or, one can enjoy the delicious aroma as they are roasted on the spot (as a lazy person, I think it is better for them to do the work).

I’m sure that this vehicle was somehow involved in the fair even though it does not look like a tractor (and I am fairly positive about this).

Besides purchasing freshly picked produce, they also sell jams, jellies and items like this. I was bitterly disappointed that this jar does not actually contain homegrown spicy dinosaur teeth. 🙁

This particular farm stand is decorated with a lot of chili related memorabilia which shows the devotion people have for this delicious veggie.

I grew up in the Midwest and really did not know anything about green chili, but once I got accustomed to it, I fell in love. And I guess that now I too am a collector of chili related items. 😉