I suffer from a lifelong aversion to vegetables that I blame on my parents. My father was a very picky eater, and my mother couldn't, or wouldn't, cook much beyond black beans and rice, staples of the Cuban diet, to accompany a pork dish of some sort. Ever since setting up shop at this ranch, about …
Author: Alfredo Lanier
My husband and I live on an off-the-grid ranch outside San Miguel, along with the challenging but dear company of four off-the-street dogs and three cats. My interests lie in politics, writing, photography and sundry forms of spirituality.
The coronavirus epidemic: Should we lock ourselves in our homes?
Without even stepping outside the ranch, Stew and I have been pelted mercilessly with reports about the spread of the coronavirus, as lack of information and hysteria slowly push aside prudence and even common sense.The local Episcopal church has installed jugs of hand disinfectant by the doors and advised congregants to avoid any touching during …
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Here's hoping for a better honey season this year
Mexican bees wake up promptly as the sun pokes over the horizon, but the Mexican vendor in Aguascalientes, who sells us bees and other supplies for making honey, is not much of an early riser. Felix, in his new beekeeper costume, checking our four hives. The drive from San Miguel to Aguascalientes Tuesday afternoon was tedious, curvy …
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The poor will always be with us, but not here
As soon as you set foot in this sanctuary of privilege, you know this is no public park where the hoi-polloi would gather on a hot Sunday afternoon, to spread old blankets on the grass, drink Coronas and cook ribs on a beat-up Weber grill.At the end of a five- or six-kilometer dirt road, you …
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An old easy rider rides again
Once upon a time, maybe 15 years ago, in a place far away, Chicago, I used to be an avid cyclist. I would ride to work and back, about five or six miles each way, and most astonishingly, I would do so every morning, regardless of the weather, with a tenacity bordering on insanity.There were …
Dr. Zhivago visits Havana and feels at home
A few days ago we watched Dr. Zhivago on Amazon Prime, a three-and-a-half hour whale of a movie that calls for at least two bags of popcorn and multiple trips to the bathroom. Omar Sharif, as Zhivago, was at the height of his hottie-ness when the movie was made 55 years ago. That far back …
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Looking for ol' time religion
A couple of weeks ago we heard that Jon, really an acquaintance more than a close friend, whom we had met at the Unitarian group in town, had died. His death by itself was not that newsworthy; given the geriatric demographics of San Miguel's expat community, we constantly hear of folks who've died or are battling …
This too will end, but not just yet
Our legal battle with someone trying to take a piece of our ranch began in June 2018, and it's been working its way through the innards of the Mexican judicial system since, slowly and methodically, but not definitively. It's a fight not only over ownership of a piece of land but, more crucially, to preserve …
Vacations are for dreaming
Going on vacation while you're retired may sound like an oxymoron to those still driven by the nine-to-five workaday life. Not so much, though, I've found: Even in retirement one quickly gets entangled in schedules, routines, things that need attention, that eat away at the time every day that should be reserved for imagining and even …
My denial runs thin about crime in San Miguel
In this morning's Civil List, the internet bulletin board shared by expats in San Miguel, there was a post about the escalating security problem. In addition to alarm, I felt curiosity about what tune the usual chorus of civic boosters, particularly the municipal authorities, would intone this time, to downplay bad news about a town …
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El Rancho Santa Clara 