Tag Archives: balloon image

What Are They? Answers

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Harpo Marx’s sperm?

Yesterday I published photos of three objects and asked readers to guess what they were. There were some great answers. Go HERE to see the photos and funny (and sometimes correct) answers.

What they really were was 1. a cluster of thousands of Daddy Long Legs, banded together for protection and warmth. The blob was at least 14 inches long and 8 inches across and stuck out about 6 inches from the wall. When disturbed, they would all scatter, then cluster together again. Those hairy parts sticking out are actually their legs sticking out.  2. The second photo was a clear helium balloon with small LED lights wound around it on tiny wires. 3. The third were actual seeds from a Birds of Paradise flower. Surreal.  To see the answers folks gave to “What is it?” click on the link above. Thanks for all of you who played along by guessing.

If you want to see a video of the Daddy Long Legs from another year, go HERE. They are not, by the way, spiders.

Valentine’s Day Mexico, 2020

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Valentine’s Day Mexico, 2020

I broke a standing rule not to make any appointments until 2 p.m.* and met friends for coffee and croissants at the French Bakery at 9:45 this morning. We had such a good time that three and a half hours later we were hungry again and decided to go for lunch!  When we arrived at Scallions, our second restaurant of the day, Glenda got into the Valentine spirit and bought balloons for her honey and for us from a balloon vendor who passed by. We all indulged in incredible Cobb salads and one of us indulged in a gin and tonic as well.  After another couple of hours, we left the restaurant, passing a landmark that should be familiar to you. Remember the photo of the front of the beauty shop that was undergoing a redecorating process two months ago? Its before and after photos are below.  Then Glenda and I went on to a man selling wonderful topiary trees for an additional gift for Mario, Glenda’s partner. I resisted  an amazing carved tiger (pictured below) which was larger than life-sized. I figured one dog on the roof was perhaps enough large animal imagery for my house. We then went to the bakery where I got chocolate Valentine’s cakes for Yolanda and Pasiano’s families, including a sugar-free cake for Pablo, Yolanda’s husband. After delivering Glenda to her home and the cakes to Yolanda and Pasiano, I finally got back home about  7 1/2 hours after I left in the morning, having celebrated Valentine’s Day sufficiently for this year.  For once, I forgot to take photos of most of the activity, but here are the photos I did capture below. If you click on them, they should enlarge.

*because I took a vow six years ago to write every day until 2 p.m.

Solution to the Mystery

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What I photographed a few days ago was this clear balloon lit up with L.E.D. lights.  I think it was a leftover from the Rave they held across the bay which had just closed down. Afterwards, they brought them over to La Manzanilla to sell to the rodeo crowd!  A man approached me in the street in front of my house and offered it at 180 pesos, then 150.  Finally, at 100 pesos, I put him out of his misery.  A friend said she bought one for 280 pesos! I really wasn’t bargaining.  Just didn’t think it necessary until it was so cheap that I couldn’t resist.

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Here it is two days later.  The balloon is deflating and the LED strands aren’t.  When it is almost totally deflated, I’ll try to figure out a way to blow it up again. It has replaceable batteries, so if I can keep the air in it, it should last for a long time.

HERE is my initial post entitled “Cosmic Self-Portrait” in which I asked you to identify what it was. It was taken on my terrace at night and you could look through it into the inside of my rental house but also see me reflected in it as I took the photo–plus surrounding lights.