Sitting here on Mark's deck in my pink fleece at 9:30 in the morning. The hummingbirds buzz around and fight for their territory around the feeders. "Flap" the resident deer eats clover, wandering across the meadow inside the fence.
Last night as I spread out my journals and books on the bed trying to decide what I wanted to do, a cool breeze blew through the open windows and the sound of the aspen leaves blowing was very magical. I could hear rolling thunder in the distance and it began to rain. My decision was made. I packed up my writings, turned off the lights and sat on the bed mesmerized by the sounds and smell of the rain until I fell asleep.
This morning some very loud birds and cows were my alarm clock. I was tired and wanted to sleep awhile longer, but it was kind of like my house in Texas in the winter -- with my windows wide open and the roosters down the hill continuously crowing. It's better to just get up than shut the windows to silence them.
Oh my gosh, it is just so green here. I am obsessed with the Texas drought and have been longing for someplace cool and wet and I am finally here. Anna and I were laughing at the fact that there seemed to be a stark line from when we crossed from the dry New Mexico high desert and bad roads to the smooth new roads and bright green vegetation of Colorado. I can't wrap my brain around how that is possible and I wonder if my mind was just playing tricks on me because I have such fond and loving memories of Colorado.
A bluebird lights on the deck rail. It is almost an unnatural shade of blue. If I was an artist and could mix the colors and capture this on canvass, you would look at it and think I was embellishing the tint. Bluebird sitting on the redwood deck, hummingbirds buzzing all around, greyish green sage, neon green grasses, sunflowers, white barked aspens with a backdrop of maroon mountains, snow capped and blanketed with gray storm clouds. As much as I want to capture this place in words, it's simply impossible. This is a place you have to see, hear and smell, all of which leave you breathless and with your heart skipping beats. I guess it is possible to be in love with a place.
Wednesday
Mysterious New Mexico
You know how people view Texas? Well some people have absolutely no clue about New Mexico. I had someone ask me what other city was in New Mexico besides Santa Fe...'cuz she couldn't think of a single one. I was asked what kind of work I would do and the kind of home I would be living in "out there"...So I wrote a little story...
Santa Fe or Bust!!!
Yes, actually I've been doing the Craigslist thing, a bit casually since the move is a little way out still. Albuquerque is the next town over...45 minutes or so from Santa Fe. Yes, there is running water in parts of the state. The yurt that I'll be sharing with my sister and Charles has a rainwater collection system. Problem is, it doesn't rain in Santa Fe very often, it being a high dessert and all, so they've been shoveling snow into the tank and waiting for it to thaw to in order to brush teeth and stuff. They say though that the walk down to the river to rinse off is a nice way to get some exercise before work in the morning. The Fed Ex guy had a a hard time trying to find their place the other day when I shipped a couple of things out there. The yurts outside Santa Fe tend to look alike and they aren't well marked...my sister's is marked with a rather large flying pig on a pole near the door.
The good news is that my nephew Chase is moving out of the yurt in early May, so I'll have his side of the dome. He's promised to finish the labyrinth before he moves. They've warned me that we might not always have bread, because its the windy season and it's hard to keep the fire going at this time of year. They say they have a neighbor a little ways away that's Anasazi and is good at keeping his fire going...so they can go over there sometimes and bake the bread if they are desperate. Worse comes to worse, we'll make fry bread on the pit from time to time. Their friend also has a couple of goats, so sometimes we'll get milk and cabrito from him. And, of course, my sister has her friends that she's learned the "raw food" method of preparation and is really quite good at it. Being off the grid lends itself quite well to the raw life. I should send you pictures of the birthday cake she made Charles out of bulgar wheat and nopales. It was spectacular! It also lowered his cholesterol by 20 points in matter of days. Nopales are the miracle vegetable and are abundant at different times of the year up there. You know my sis has lost like 30 pounds since she's lived there for the past year and a half. She says it's because of the HCG and acro-yoga she does...but I think it's the food. She does make a mean kale smoothie that she serves with gin in martini glasses around the pit when her friends hike in to see her.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)