Gayle Brennan Spencer – sending random thoughts to and from South Austin
Above: A mock wedding is always part of the pre-Lenten Carnaval in San Martin Tilcajete, Mexico
Is everyone on a diet? I think this is the first time that there is not one food post represented in the top 12 posts that you have frequented during the past year.
The following list represents the biannual results of the most-read postcards, with the numbers in parentheses indicating rankings from six months ago when applicable.
Continue reading “Biannual Roundup: What posts you’ve traveled most”
Above: Santa Lucia holy card superimposed over silver milagros displayed in Cattedrale della Nativita di Maria Santissima
She stands guard on the windowsill by my desk as I write. As the patron of eyesight and authors, Saint Lucy (283-384) has long been a favorite of mine. Both near-sighted and far-sighted, I’ve worn glasses since the second grade. And certainly my writing needs all the help it can get.
Having lost sight in my right eye a year ago, it seemed serendipitous that one of the spots the Mister planned on staying, Siracusa, turned out to be her hometown. A church dedicated to the saint, Chiesa di Santa Lucia alla Badia, was a block away from our rental – a proximity presenting an opportunity to soak up some of Santa Lucia’s goodwill to protect the left.
Continue reading “Postcard from Siracusa, Sicily: Protector of eyes and the quill”
Above: Ficus macrophylla, or Moreton Bay fig tree
Sensuous buttresses snake out from these massive trees growing close to 100 feet tall in numerous parks in Sicily. Creepily, the species is nicknamed a strangler fig because in some cases, according to the Oregon State Department of Horticulture:
…seed germination occurs in the canopy of a host tree and the resulting seedling lives as an epiphyte until its roots establish contact with the ground. These then thicken into supplementary trunks, which may strangle the host, and ultimately the tree can become freestanding.
They are impressive, and seem a good place to start to introduce you to scenes from the island of Ortigia, known as the Citta Vecchia of Siracusa.
Continue reading “Postcard from Siracusa, Sicily: Perambulations expose roots”
Postcards from Barton Springs 