july 3

Our fortune of not having a heating bill is not free. But we mostly enjoy the tiring work involved in cutting wood for burning...and I've seen some of the prettiest spots thanks to our wood "hunts". We recently drove up past little Tres Piedras, turned onto a mountain road, and kept driving up. We were acting on a tip from a friend, knowing a crew had been up there cutting trees for fire prevention. 

In less than two hours we were loaded up with Aspen and Fir. All wood that will sit in our shed and cure until it is ready, this load we will likely burn next Spring. 

The forest we were in was just tall graceful white Aspens and the orange/brown Ponderosas. High into the sky, a roof of leaves. Sasha ran around and discovered all kinds of things. And other than the occasional sound of another person's chainsaw miles away, so quietly away from people and things.

Since we were up in the area, we took the highway over to the Brazos. Cliffs and high meadows, everything green from this bounty of Spring rain. Eventually we turned onto the last dirt road before the "leaving Carson National Forest" sign, and bounced our way up until we found a good picnic view. A picnic in a mountain meadow on a warm, Saturday afternoon is a very peaceful way to be.

Estan floreando las chollas. The chollas are blooming. The hot pink seeming especially bright this year. Our usual "backyard" walk is quite colorful right now. Sasha is good about avoiding the cactus thorns, having only occasional issues. 

Our garden is growing slowly and very green. Slow gardening and small plants will just be the way it is here. I think I've resigned myself to it. And I'm quite fine too. My salads are still full of freshly picked lettuce, spinach, basil, thyme & dill. They just don't have freshly picked tomatoes & cucumbers in them yet. Overall, having a garden, even a challenged NM one, makes me feel happy & lucky. 

when we get outside to see the river & the rock

One afternoon we drove a little south and walked the Vista Verde trail. We were looking to walk someplace not-snowy. Not far from a popular local's fishing spot, the canyon trail runs fairly flat, with wide vista views. Eventually the trail ends at an overlook to the Rio Grande. We ran into a few groups of bighorn sheep, who nimbly run along the rocky cliffs. They took a few looks at us, even crossed our path a few times with horns held high, but mostly were more concerned with eating. 

Evidence that this trail is centuries old is the petroglyphs along the trail, in varying stages of age. The darker the marking, the more it could be 1,000 years old. We found one rock just covered in different variations of circle symbols. When the Spanish arrived and began to also walk these trails, they felt compelled to leave a cross as their symbol...symbolically altering the messages they didn't understand with one which they did.

A weekend or two ago, we drove west to Tres Piedras, an old mining/ranching community which gets its name from the jutted outcroppings of smooth granite formations. The formations sit surrounded by a forest of Ponderosas.  After beginning our walk, I was right away finding too many rocks to put in my pockets. The granite is banded by pink quartz. I kept finding the clearest, pinkest, glittering pieces of it. I also found many pieces of black obisdian, which would have been used by toolmakers back in the ancient days. I now have a bowl of shining black & pink on our coffee table.

We climbed/walked all over the massive rocks. Stopping for a lunch with a view to the East, of the Taos Plateau, and the peaks & the foothills which we live within.

With Spring has come fewer fires to build, sort of because it is warmer, but mostly because we've both tired of the constant ritual. The acequia is running full force, the snow pack this year being so good. Though almost all year we can hear the river rushing by, it is hundreds of yards away. Now with the sound just outside our window too, we are constantly reminded of the force of water in our lives, and in this valley. 

I've transplanted some onions & garlic. And started seeds in the greenhouse. In just a week or two we will be bringing home a puppy, which we are doing our best to prepare for. If only I could prepare Libby, but she lives in cat-ignorance. 

Spring gets us a little restless. D. thinks he should be outside for as long as the sun is up, and I think about how much there is to do and how little free time I have to do much at all.  This morning we realized we'd been sharing a coffee cup for the past few mornings, without realizing it. I kept wondering how my coffee was always so freshly hot, and he must have wondered why he kept needing to fill it. 

petunia called picasso

today I put some shade cloth over a few plants. I think the sun is draining them. I recall being worried about this last year, but I don't recall it seeming quite so bad. they just seem sapped of a happy green. some shade should help. and the garden looks like it has ghosts in it now.

I always want to buy lots of marigolds and I never do simply because it gets expensive. but this year I started them from seed, and they were the easiest thing to grow. and now I might have too many. 

I bought this petunia for two reasons, one it has flowers hot pink rimmed in green and two, it is called a "Picasso petunia". and we may officially have too many plants now. 

flowering sweetpeas are the most darling things. I'm growing some but they aren't flowering yet,  these I picked from the greenhouse. my neighbor J. offered them, and he referred to them as the "wedding peas".

I drive into work each day trying to keep a positive attitude, I drive home exhausted from trying to stay positive. the place has too much chaos, mess and lack of processes for me to deal with, either emotionally or professionally. it gets in the way of me feeling like I'm doing a good job. but I have no input on changing it. I know lots of people work jobs they aren't happy in, I know I even work with some of them. I'm going to do my best to find a better one.

for months now I've been hearing about a job from a friend, and she said it might get posted this summer. and it was just a few days ago. so I've been working on my application this weekend. This is the kind of job that would actually use my capabilities & my degrees. I'll probably be more stressed out by this job, but I'll also be happier. so fingers crossed on this one.

D. is off camping with other boys. he'll be home tomorrow. and though I used to live my life this way, alone each day & night, and I'm quite okay with alone-time,  I'm so happy to know that he will be home tomorrow. when you get used to having someone around to talk to, or just, be near, there is quite a gaping silence when that person is gone.  

june garden starts

I spend the first few weeks of my garden season fairly certain it will all fail. But then the roots begin to take, and new leaves begin to sprout, and I realize that once again, I know how to plant things. And every year something is new and something dies and something thrives.

This year, just outside the living room window, I have a bed of spinach and lettuce growing. Safe from munching bunnies.

And since the neighbor is building a house next to our back yard, our back patio isn't as inviting as it used to be. We're accommodating by making the front porch a pretty place to sit too (lots of plants and some camp chairs).  And though we have a few too many wasps buzzing around the front porch, we still find it more relaxing that sitting within view and earshot of the neighbor and his construction. 

Also outside the living room, we put in a flower bed. Though some leftover tomato and pepper plants have landed there as well. By Summer, I should be able to see blooming flowers while sitting inside on my couch. (Notice the rock wall inspired by Chaco.)

The hollyhock is already up to my chest. And last year's herbs (chives, sage, thyme & oregano) are already bigger than they ever were last year. All the garden is planted. Now we wait. And also now I have to investigate the little black bugs I'm finding on the tomatoes. 

middle of May

at the beginning of the week we received several inches of snow, though it all melted away by the next day. and here at the ending of the week, we spent the day in shorts and t-shirts.

mi madre y mi tia were here for two nights. I got to take them to favorite places, eat good food with them, and show them our backyard hike. it felt nice to be with two women I am so incredibly related to. 

i've been moving little plants out during the day. my basil gets lots of sun, and then comes back in at night. but the flowering sweetpeas and some of the morning glories went in the ground today. oh, how satisfying it feels to plant things. these little green bits that I put in soil to sprout back when the outside seemed so cold and Spring seemed forever away. I moved a lot of my geraniums outside today too, and then filled up my red water pitcher in the acequia, and watered them with the fresh snow water. 

 the hollyhock I planted last year has boldly returned.

this evening the sky turned pink and purple, and D. shot some hoops as it got too dark to see. our night is closing with another viewing of Easy Rider, in honor of the Dennis Hopper-day celebrated in Taos this weekend (Hopper being one of our more infamous once-residents). and because it opens with a scene shot with a view of Taos Mountain.

next weekend we are taking a trip to Chaco Canyon. I'll have pictures.

snow still

I found a job, and just had my first week. It isn't a job I was hoping for, but it is a job. And it was the first full-time job I was offered in these eight months. So it is my job now. It is for a small company, with very nice people, and it pays very little. But I have something to do. And will manage to pay the bills. 

Took two walks yesterday, one on my own in the morning. I just knew I needed some exercise & mind-clearing. I found a bush in bloom, I'm not sure what it is. And another walk later, with D., as he also felt the need for some air. The wind was strong, and it began to get colder as we neared towards home. Snow fell last night.

A slow Sunday afternoon. I baked bread and muffins. Am listening to the wind & the snow blow through the trees and over the chimney. And it might be time for a little nap. 

mixing all the dirt

Another walk out in the Wild Rivers area. It seems so near us, which is why I think we keep going back. This time we took the Cebolla Mesa trail down to the Rio Grande. 

A lot of lovely Ponderosas along this trail. And it was a nice warm walk. Hats were much needed. And our long-sleeve shirts quickly ended up in D's backpack.

The rocks/boulders at the river bank have all turned black & sculpted from the years of water moving over them (thousands, hundreds, a million?) Big, solid remnants of time. 

With such smooth curves. 

We sat on one end of what was once a bridge. We divided up the granola bars (next time we are packing a lunch) and snacked in the river breeze. 

It took us about three hours, down & up. And we talked about what awesome shape we'd be in if we did this hike each week (the coming up involves a few breathers). 

This morning we bought a few things at a rummage sale and then an estate sale too. And then spent a couple hours just digging dirt, making little ditches, adding better dirt to the dirt, and then mixing all the dirt. A garden expansion is in the works (just a few little beds for onions, herbs and more flowers). We know so much more about this land than we did when moving in a year ago (about). So knowing what we can grow, and how much, we've decided to grow a little more. The greenhouse is alive right now, with seedlings from the all of us living here on this farm. 

dia de nieve

Yesterday's snowy morning gave for lovely views, as the sun rose & clouds lifted out of the valley. By afternoon the snow had mostly melted into the land. I spent some time digging up dirt in the garden bed. I was pulling out weeds and planning new beds for more room to grow. Even in the cold, it felt like the right place to be. And I could hear neighbors outside doing the same.

By late afternoon, the sky clouded up and snow fell on me as I shoveled. So I headed inside to start pasta sauce to simmer on the stove awhile. (I'm down to just four jars of sauce from last summer's harvest!) 

All fog this morning. But slowly the sun is rising and it lifts.