sunny walk on thanksgiving day.
along a trail supposedly on ancestral pueblo ruins.
we decided it might be a government farce.
but the firs, juniper & pinon trees were beautiful.
and I found a few pine cones.

when a kid, around this time of year, my mom would suggest my brother & I find holiday decorations by taking walk around the farm. that may be why I'm still looking for pinecones.

my thanks are for a family that have given me a lifetime of always knowing I am loved. for the friends that smile when they see me. for the joy of a niece & nephew. for the luck of having two places with wide open spaces, one framed by mountains, that both feel like home. and for a kansas-born new mexican who loves to take these walks with me.

pieces

a morning mile hike took us to Posi-Ouinge, once a large Pueblo settlement. It was lived in & left behind before the 16th century. on a desert cliff, overlooking a creek. with soothing hot springs waters nearby.

now we walk on large mounds of soft, sifted dirt, which were once 3-story homes housing thousands of people.

and the pottery remains are just damn everywhere.

fortunately the two of us share an ability to spend amazing amounts of time looking & finding. the possibilities of history filling our minds.

and like so many of us before, we left all of the found treasures behind. since they are not ours to take.  and they are left in groups. sorted, displayed & treasured.

I now prefer to travel by sleeper car. if only it were as cheap as coach.

remnant of a home with solitude. before roads.

and a sunny walk before lunch. on desert walked on by others for a thousand years.

six now

though sometimes I miss that chubby little baby to hold in my arms.
most of the time, I'm amazed at how he grows, runs, laughs,
explores & uses the words he's learning to read.