Sidetracked Charley

I have often joked that I moved back to New Mexico to practice patience. I certainly was not born with any as my mother, if she was still with us, would gladly tell you. Thirty some years into this graduate degree on the subject I am not sure I have made much progress. At least not until I am confronted with one or more of our peak season tourist packs. Yes, they are not patient.  They make me look like the Delhi Lama on a mountain peak. And maybe it is not patience I have gained but manana has rubbed off on me. BTW manana does not mean tomorrow but some time in the future. And that can be determined by the second day Amazon prime delivery schedule. We know, because we are off the beaten path that not everything is immediately available. Delivery day is Thursday for the hardware store. I don't plan to drive to Taos until next week. And then only if the pass is open. It is coming via UPS. Or Gracie is picking it up when she goes through Santa Fe. Or how really important is i...

Studio Window I live in a rural area in northern New Mexico at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. We are surrounded by beauty and sometimes challenging canyons. We have no local television or radio or newspaper. For better or worse the internet and specifically Facebook has become our way of communicating about road closures, hazardous conditions on highways, school delays,  forest fire locations and evacuation orders, and even cell phone company collapses. And yesterday in the midst of one of our worst spring blizzards Facebook failed us. I quit Twitter because Trump took it over. And Google Plus quit us. Yesterday even cell phone service was iffy at best. Thankfully a friend stuck at the mouth of Coyote Canyon was able to reach me to ask to stay the night if the road crews got her and eight other cars pulled out of the drifts across the highway. It starts to seriously snow and all our snow tourists pack up and leave. And without Facebook there was no way to te...

Officially,  Spring does not start until March 20th  this year, but the air feels different. And the clouds are no longer those of winter. The last couple of nights did not even get to freezing and the days have been in the 40's melting the snow in the meadows. I was trying to divert the sudden spring running through my yard yesterday and the discovered the grass is already beginning to green up at the base. Rain is scheduled for today with snow for the next few. But spring snow. The heavy wet stuff quick to melt. Before the rains begin I am going out with spray paint to mark where the stream exits the culvert and where it goes. The goal is to divert it for the main of the spring melt and when the monsoons come. My inside garden efforts have gone well. I should have nice starts before the first of May. Now to not rush the garden season. Patience has never been my long suit. Hopefully the orchids will keep me entertained until I can plant my sunflower seeds. And dec...