Sidetracked Charley

Standing alone against the night I first noticed this behavior here in the mountains of New Mexico so I cannot speak for it occurring elsewhere or not. But here we all seem to go to ground right after Christmas. Almost as if the demands of that season put too many stressors on our social networks and manners. The only communication there is seems to be via social networks, hallow e-mails, and a phone message or two. No lunch dates, no running into each other at the store, or in Santa Fe (oddly enough us mountain folk seem to meet up there a lot), or get together requests. A drive through Angel Fire to the post office reveals no friendly cars or known associates. Nor is the post office its normal meet and greet site. Then suddenly, somewhere around the 25th of January heads pop up not unlike a ground hog checking on the weather. You see old friends at a Taos grocery store restocking on depleted supplies, get an invitation from a friend for a girly night pot luck, call a friend t

Winning Coach a Symbol of Penn State If I were the editor in chief Heads would roll A pedophile and an institution Of higher learning And dare we venture lower moral values linked in bold type. There once as a time When being a sports star Did not excuse amoral behavior We expected so much more of our icons. And we knew better than praise their resumes on national news. We buried their shame Oh, so quietly and rightly In the back page obits below the fold. J. Binford-Bell January 2012 The exercise this week for Jingle Poetry at Gooseberry Gardens was to take a headline from the New York times and write. I did.

Red Sky in the Morning I do want to pretend all will be well when things are going well. I believe that if I prepare for a rainy day that day will come. And my history seems to have proven me right by in large. So what is wrong with preparing for a sunny day? If the pantry is full and there is a prudent reserve in the bank why won't it work just as well for a celebration as a rescue? On some level I always seem to prepare for the worst but am totally surprised when it comes. I seldom, if ever, throw away a document or receipt I think I might need to prove my point. And I am a great person for following every critical conversation up with an e-mail or letter. So why don't I put them nicely in folders as I go along instead of having to scramble to get all my documentation lined up. Why do I want to whistle in the dark? This morning finally totally sure that my tenant was not going gently into that other apartment complex in a far away city (even though her move was her

Rock Baby by J. Binford-Bell The trouble with the new year is we are sold on idea that we get to start over. Things are going to be different once 2011 is over and the brand new year begins. And then the December bills hit. We discover that our new get in shape program seems to be plagued by the same issues we had with the old get in shape program. Taxes are not that far off and we are still broke from those we had to pay in the old year. Warm weather seems forever in the future. So there will be other heating bills like the last 2011 bill that awaits our attention. One year I would like to have the money and time to prepay everything for January in December and launch the new year truly new. At times I feel like the photograph above - an eroding rock being a base for lichen which has taken hundreds of years to get to that point but is new as opposed to the rock - their growth and erosion now totally linked forever together - till death do them part. Trying to get on the stic

Shadow photographer and dogs I was having coffee with a friend recently and chatting about the cruelest months. There are more deaths in February of chronically ill patients. And more suicides. But I blame it on January. We're all tired from the holidays and let down. Taxes loom in the future. Spring is still months away. And there seem to be more monkey wrenches in January. My monkey wrench was the renter giving notice on the 4th. I hate when renters move out. They always think they need all their deposit back. Some even want it the day they give notice. I look at them as if they are smoking something. I got spoiled when I first bought this duplex. First renters handed me money the day I moved in and stayed for almost nine years. Since then I have been through a couple renters from hell. Then there are the todo's that accompany January. Exhibits and association dues, insurance, and those taxes I mentioned before. I always come out of December a bit behind on money. Mor

First Dawn of 2012 Been a while since I walked to the door of my studio with my camera to capture the dawn. Yesterday seemed an appropriate day to do so. First day of 2012 and the first dawn was definitely recordable. And this is the first Monday blog of the year. Yesterday I cooked an elk roast, and butternut squash with curry and craisens. I took those two dishes with my English horseradish sauce to my neighbors. Janet rounded out the feast with baked potatoes and creamed spinach, pumpkin pie and coffee. A cooperative holiday meal has been a tradition between us for quite some time. The week before the year 2011 ended I began another get in shape campaign. When I allow myself to stop and consider what works for me as opposed to all those media hyped plans I usually manage to make these campaigns work. Exercise. And keeping records of exercise. So on the 26th of December I got out a spiral notebook and recorded my first day of exercise. Later in the week I added weight to my