Click on the pictures for a larger version of them.
Today I picked up Doña Gloria and Kaeko in Xico and Gero right here in Col Ursulo Galvàn for a visit to Paul's Garden. (If you remember, Doña Gloria is the lady who brings vegetables from her garden to sell in my neighborhood and Kaeko is the Japanese agricultural volunteer who is staying with her. Gero is our housekeeper and Paul is (yes) the English Gardener who lives just outside the Colonia.)
This is not the greatest picture of Paul, Jero and Doña Gloria, but it will give you an idea. They are standing under an arbor over which is growing a plant called Flying Potatoes. Really.
When we got to Paul's, a local veterinarian was just finishing up spaying Paul's dog. The operation was taking place on a wooden table covered with brown wrapping paper. The vet, who more commonly doctors to large animals, had his tools in a giant toolbox. He looked like someone who spent a lot of time out in the open. As he skillfully sewed up the incision, we talked about attitudes towards animals here and in the U.S. He says, and my experience confirms, that Mexicans are fond of their pets but don't have the money to do what we take for granted in the U.S. unless they are rich, in which case they pamper them just as ridiculously. He didn't, however, believe me when I told him there were dog hotels in the US with TVs and dog "suites" and the like. He said if they want to take care of animals, they should take care of the needy ones before they put their dogs up in hotels.
THis is a picture of Doña Gloria and el veterinario whose name is Gonzalo Camacho Campos. He is "especialista en producciòn animal (bovinos) and most of the time he does small animal stuff when he is visiting a ranch to do big animal stuff. If you look in the greenery, you can, by the way, see some papayas hanging.from a papaya tree. The vet was going to leave, but when he realized Paul was giving a tour of the vegetable part of the garden, he stuck around.
Jero and Doña Gloria were particularly interested in the plants not common around here. These included bell peppers, some kinds of onions, parsnips and of all wonderful things, patchouli. Some of you I suspect will definitely remember the scent of patchouli.
In this next picture you can see Doña Gloria, Kaeko and Jero looking at the achiote tree. 
In Texas, we bought achiote as a cube of hard paste, brownish-reddish, which, when mixed with a bit of vinegar, was a common seasoning in San Antonio dishes and in Jimsauce. Here in my neighborhood, it seems it isn't used.
More about Paul's garden, gardening, our neighbors and friends, etc. etc. shortly.
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