tree years

overlooking home

We took a walk today. Hace muy ventoso en nuestro paseo pero... well, we needed a walk. Though it was windy, and bit cold, we are almost always hot about halfway into this walk. We jumped off the trail and headed up over rocks and through craggy trees. As we walked the clouds were spitting out snow. Just little bits in little spurts. Everything melted instantly. 

Plains Prickly Pear

a peaceful looking burrow

We spend much of our time on these walks, looking at our feet. We find rocks that someone long ago was working into an arrowhead or cutting tool. So of course we are fascinated. Sometimes, as we walk along the rocky dirt, I get worried I'm just stepping on artifacts. Crunching them underfoot.

The Rocky Mountain Juniper tree, one type found up here, can live up to 2,000 years old. I have no idea yet how to tell one kind of juniper from another. But of course I wonder just how many of these scraggly trees have been watching over this valley for a millenia or two. 

The walk was good for us. The rest of the day has been making some bread, working on a cover letter, and investigating truck stuff. We got bad news on the truck. We basically will need to invest in a new one, or invest in the old one. D., the owner of the truck is taking it all quite well. 

large old bones

Today we returned with a large animal bone, a crazy looking cholla root-ball and a few more rocks. We nicely arrange everything on our front porch.

I'm fully into the find-a-job frustration. Am I doing enough, am I doing the right things, what do I do next, when will something come along, should I have turned down the part-time, temp job, why didn't I get a degree full of practical uses, like medical or accounting or something. These questions buzz around in my head. And then I take a deep breath. My hope and point in finding a new job was to work in town, meet people, be a part of something in the community. But I'm getting the sneaking suspicion that I'll need to re-focus soon, and find another stare-at-the-computer work-from-home job again. Oh well. I know there are many people out there in much more desperate need, so my complaints and frustrations can ring quite hollow. Fingers-crossed, deep breathing, it will happen.

And actually, right now with D. needing to borrow my car to get into town for work, it kinda works out well that I don't also need the car. There's me, finding the positive!