Sidetracked Charley

Elk Dawn at Black Lake I am a writer of journals and blogs, a maker of goals and affirmations, a believer that the future is a gift we have the opportunity to shape. So with the last day of 2011 before me I pulled out my journal and looked back to the same time last year. And then the year before. I had begun 2010 with a lofty and extensive list of goals. I accomplished less than half. I was grateful I did that much but it did effect my list for 2011. That list is only 6 items: 1) Move beyond the events of 2010, 2) Be more positive in my outlook, 3) Set my own directions, 4) Set more adventurous directions in my art, 5) Look at doing poetry/art book, 6) Keep website more current. I have failed miserably at number 6 which now adorns my todo list for 2012. And I will admit that it took me almost all of 2011 to get number 2 and 3 accomplished. And I can still be overwhelmed by grief from time to time. I am busy working on poems to fit various pieces of my works and have tracked dow...

Laughing Marilyn Monroe by Bert Stern Pearls Laugh lines Laughter Non-airbrushed flaws. Blonde by Clairol Body by Mother Nature. No plastic no Botox no implants The real thing. Except maybe the laughter J. Binford-Bell December 2011

Christmas Morning Elk Every photographer knows what a gift it is to have a close friend, or in my case a sister, to go a photographing with. People that have not looked at the world through a view finder don't understand when we yell, "Stop. Pull over. No, back there." And other assorted exclamations of excitement. Nor do they see the necessity in going out at the crack of dawn in sub zero weather (-12 F on Christmas Day) to seek the elusive elk. This year's Calf Studying the Dawn Or to catch that early morning light on the surrounding mountains and hills. Most people miss this entirely. Dawn on Cat Scratch Mountain Dawn on Wheeler Peak My sister and I returned after the morning expedition to a Christmas Morning breakfast of eggs Benedict on homemade English Muffin bread. And then it was out for the afternoon off-road tradition begun last year. So Nikon and Cannon in hand and fur kids in back we set off to find unexplored territory and went throug...

I live in the mountains of northern New Mexico not Siberia.  Yes, we get snow. But the last totally paralyzing storm was 2006. We got 6 feet in three days. Things came to a stand still for about four days. And that was basically because all the snow clearing equipment in our area was pulled out for the plains. They got it worse just like they did on this storm. A friend just posted a story about a couple heading to Angel Fire to ski who got buried in snow outside Springer. Springer, NM is in the plains where snow is compounded with blizzard force winds and total whiteouts. They obviously were under the misconception that their SUV would get them through the closed roads. They were wrong. I blame the commercials. Pay enough for your vehicle and/or tires and you are suppose to be able to make it through Noah's flood. Wrong. Most of us that live in this rarefied atmosphere know when to stay home and hunker down and when we can make it through. I have lived in ...

I find it hard to believe the year is almost over. Been a relative good year. Especially in relationship to 2010. I suppose I should be thinking about a year in review blog but my focus at the moment is on the gathering storm. Storm reports are fodder for us locals. We all have our opinions. The tourist center and the ski resort are currently picking up on the weather report with the greatest snow depth forecast - 12 inches. But then this storm was suppose to actively begin at midnight and when I looked out the window at 5 a.m. there was not a flake. As I write this (9 a.m.) there is only two to three inches. I think I am being really generous with the three. But the ravens are celebrating over the trees. They generally go into this party dance when they know they might have to roost for a while. We all have our little signs we look for to bolster our opinion. I think maybe only about 6 to 8 inches at my house. It is wise to remember I live in the mountains. And weather and snow d...

Creative Journey: Talk of cold

That time of year again. How quickly it seems to come around these days. I love decorating trees. Love the smell of them (the fresh ones). It looked like I might not get my tree this year. For the longest time only one place in Angel Fire had trees for sale and they looked dyed and plastic, definitely were not freshly cut, and had no place to place decorations the branches were so jammed together. I considered a fake tree. Even went internet shopping for one. Disenchanted with that possibility I thought of any variety of ways to make a tree substitute. I had done one in college which was stacked tumbleweeds sprayed white and adorned with Christmas lights which my room mate and I swore blinked to Tchaikowsky's 5th symphony. I have used potted Norfolk pines also. And for several years when space was limited due to mask making for Mardi Gras just hung ornaments from the ceiling. I was dreaming up a mobile tree to hang from the studio rafters when I returned to my search for...

December snow by J. Binford-Bell Winter arrived this week. All my bargaining did not work. Still with a forecast by NOAA of three massive storms we only got the second. And currently the third has been downgraded from 16" to as little as 8" additional. But it looks as if we are not going to escape the bitter cold. It is 6 F this morning as I write this and destined to only get to 10 F today. Plunging to -13 tonight. The good news is there is currently not a breath of wind. But it seemed like a good time to start a morning fire in the wood stove. The first blast of winter weather always seems so rude. Yes, it is bound to come. And yes, we need the moisture. But I really would rather do it without gale force winds and sub zero temps. But I can deal with both easier than summers in the triple digits. I can always put on more clothing but there is just so much I am willing to take off in public. And New Mexico, is by in large, just pretend winter. It comes and goes. I found...