With the recent torrential rains, I saw it was unfeasible to have hay as flooring material for Claudio’s cage. The amount of water rushing in to the cage would make the hay look like mud – and clog the pipes, as well. So I devised a small platform where I put a fruit basket for the hens to lay eggs in, and Claudio & The Omelettes to keep their feet dry in. It is working pretty well. No more hay here. At least not until rainy season ends.

I think Claudio might have gotten a larynx infection, like most famous singers get every now and then, when they try to increase interest in their upcoming concerts. As soon as the singers get sick, ticket prices skyrocket, because everybody thinks that they are close to hitting it. Claudio thinks so too… So I’m all worried about him crowing, trying to find out a way to lipsync his older (and better) crowings with the sad crowings he makes today, etc.
Today he woke up at 4.30 sharp and woke the whole neighborhood up, like he used to a few months back. He is BACK!

A few months back, I wrote about an animal called a Cacomixtle. This is basically a fox-like/racoon-like/cat-like creature that lives freely around here. It feasts on fowl, and in an extremely ugly way at that. According to most folklore, it rips the head off the fowl and lets them bleed to death before devouring them. I am not sure if this is true, and I am not about to find out either. That’s why I put down such an effort in building a secure cage for Claudio and his Omelettes. Yesterday night, however, as my wife and I were getting ready to go go bed, I heard our dogs going crazy barking and something that sounded like a cat. I also heard some rattling of the cage mesh – which instantly made me freeze. I ran out with a broom (a broom? seriously? was I going to sweep this blood thirsty carnivore away with a broom? what in the hell was I thinking? is that why I never pursued a career in anything that had to do with intelligence or bravery?). Anyway… on the cage roof, tearing away at my precious undercarpeting, was this HUUUUGE cacomixtle. He must have weighed a hefty 8 pounds. OK, that might not sound big, but when you are in your underwear and slippers, and equipped with a plastic broom – anything bigger than a hamster is scary. I managed to scream at him until he left. I am not brave but I sure know how to scream. I waved the broom at the animal and it only hissed angrily. But screaming maybe got it to think twice – “If the human living here is this crazy – what about his animals?”

The name Cacomixtle is Nahuatl (Aztec language) meaning “half cat” and “half mountain lion”… so now you know why I was scared. I definitely saw the lion.

Claudio? He was eating all through this ordeal. I am thinking he might be deaf.

If you have seen Claudio lately – even more if you have heard him lately – you can notice a change in his voice. He seems to be a little bit more hoarse. So here again I go call Eugenia – as the veterinarian is called. Thankfully she has kids that are friends with my kids, so we have a regular friendship as well (I think I’m pushing it a little bit, though). This means I’m not that embarassed to call her about Claudio and the Omelettes. She came over and checked him, and she actually has no idea why he sounds like he does. I have taped him crowing like he did a couple of months back, and now lately. I thought it could have something to do with the humidity in his cage. She says she doesn’t think so, but that I should keep an eye on him. “Take 2 aspirins and call me in the morning”. She got 2 organic eggs for her wisdom this time. If he doesn’t crow, I will have to wake up at 4.30 and crow into the camera.

So yesterday we had a bit of a technical glitch… for everybody not wanting to know, not interested or not technical enough, here is a resume:

1) Rainstorm – lights go out
2) Electricity is out for 4 hours and then comes back
3) Claudio camera link isn’t working, and doesn’t come back on as it should
4) AAAAAARGH, PANIC, AAAAAARGH, PANIC
5) Think, think, think
6) Solution implemented
7) Sigh, sleep

Everybody else interested in what actually happened can read on here:

Yesterday night we had one of our daily ranistorms with some lightning included. Lights went out for about 4 hours. Since the camera and internet setup is connected to a UPS, I didn’t think much of it. After 4 hours, though, probability that the internet connection dives is pretty high. And it did. After 4 hours (3 in the morning), electricity came back and I checked to be sure that the internet link with Claudio was working. It wasn’t. So there you have me… 3 in the morning, scrambling for some kind of rain clothes…. I run out in my underwear and a rain jacket…. check the following:

1) Claudio working. Given the celebrity deaths the latest days, I had to check that Claudio was indeed alive. He was.
2) Camera working. Juice and ethernet connection working. Rebooted the camera, just to be sure.
3) Internet connection working, a steady “internet”-LED shining on the ADSL modem.
4) Network connection. Not working. The switch looked like an Indian intercity bus between Clacutta and Mumbay. Zillions of red, green and yellow LEDs flashing all the time. The only thing missing was the floral insence… I did smell something burnt, though. Rebooting of the switch only resulted in other LEDs lighting up in all kinds of colors. nO GOOD.

What to do? Think, think, think – as Winnie the Pooh would have said. I had no extra switch and a 24/7 computer store doesn’t exist here (the local Wal-Mart is open 24/7, but doesn’t carry network equipment). I suddenly remembered I had a broken Linksys router with 4 ethernet ports. So I proceeded to connect it to the network, boot it up, and disable the router function (which wasn’t working)… suddenly I had a working 4-port switch! The morning was saved.

I have a good French friend. He is as French as can be – collection of corkscrews, knows all about wine, etc. He told me a few weeks back that after being done with Claudio we should do a Coq au Vin. I’m not so sure…

Ever since going over from the usual crushed corn diet to food for fighting roosters, I have seen a major change in Claudio. An unfortunate one. He has turned agressive agains me. Whenever I enter his cage, he pecks at me and seems to have lost all respect for me. After talking to people that know about these issues, they blame it all on the proteine-rich food I’ve been giving him. It gives him some extra energy, and he uses that in an agressive way.
A secondary effect of the food was – though – that the eggs laid by the Omelettes were bigger than usual… Well, I think I’ll have to go back to crushed corn in order to become friends with Claudio again. I am also thinking of starting to eat Gladiator (as the food is called) to become as aggressive as I want in the Mexican traffic.

I just read an article in the latest issue of Popular Science, that – no matter what they eat – fowl don’t pass any gas. That is amazing. given the smell in Claudio’s cage…

Seems fowl have the system to pass gas, but they rarely do so, since their food doesn’t cause them any… I would beg to differ.

As the month of May approaches it’s end, summer heat approaches as well. Mexico is good in a way that you always know how the climate is going to be. Even if the climate stinks, you know how it’s going to be. Now, the climate in Mexico doesn’t suck as it might do in Northern Europe or up North in the US or Canada. We rarely have a temperature below the 60 degrees Fahrenheit. So my saying that climate stinks here is not very fair. But after a while living in the “city of eternal spring” as it is called, you get used to great weather every day with nice temperatures. In any case, rainy season is upon us with all that it brings = nice weather between 5.30 AM and 3.30 PM. Then all the rain that states like Arizona or Nevada get in one season – but we get it in one day. Day in, day out for 90 days. Then no rain whatsoever for 7 months. Weather in Mexico is hard on agriculture, and most other things that need water. And don’t need flooding. Strange to write an entry without mentioning Claudio. But now I’ve done it, so it’s ok.

“… and foremost, I would like to thank Claudio for his unyielding support. Without you, my dear Claudio, I couldn’t have done it…”,

This speech is directed to the people that voted this blog “Blog of the Day” yesterday. I just got notice of the award. The Blog of the Day Award… this award is given every day to the blog that captures people’s minds and makes them nominate it.

I am honored, but the one getting all the credit should be Claudio.