On the Road Again

A week ago I headed south.  It was my third trip to Las Vegas for the week.  The drive down in the morning and back in the afternoon usually puts the driver (me) in a sunny window both ways, so I dressed in sandals and a pair of short pants.  I had a light sweater, but it had been so warm the past couple days...

After the meeting I went to Santa Fe for an appointment and a few errands.  As I headed back home, I called Thomas to let him know where I was and my ETA.  I joked about not making it home because the fierce winds might land me in Kansas instead.  He warned me to be careful, as there was snow on the ground in Miami.  SNOW on the GROUND? 

As I approached the mesas, I could see a storm dropping snow and moving south of the mesas, but it wasn't until I got north that I could see how a pillar of snow just washed over the land as it headed south, leaving a layer of snow on all the north faces of fences, trees, power poles, houses, etc.

It's not a great shot, but as pulled up to the house, a large crane lifts off from the south side of the roof and flies off.  I scrambled for the camera, but wasn't terribly quick. 

At 36 degrees, the weather was a bit nippy for my spring wardrobe and sandals.  Even worse, I wasn't ready to get muddy!  I know - wah - wah - wah!  We need all the moisture we can get, regardless of the mud.

Old pics...

A couple weeks ago I walked up stairs from the basement to see an intruder - a lone deer.  And then I figured out she was not so alone.  They were drinking out of tractor tire / bird bath.

They started moving around to the mud porch.  Not sure if they could smell that bucket of water, but they  helped themselves to the rain barrel bucket.  The cats were a little nosy.

Everyone got their turn...even the little one.  One of the cats tried to follow them off toward the pasture, but came to her senses rather suddenly and ran back to the protection of the cars.

Pinch me!

It's St. Patrick's Day, right?  Or at least in other parts of the world.  I guess there aren't a whole of Irish folk around here or something.  After years of green and a town crazed with any excuse to have a parade and drink all day, I actually left for work this morning in a red shirt and jeans.  I didn't grab my hooded sweatshirt as I walked out the door because it was green (too Christmas-like).  What was I thinking? 

My parade friends would be so disappointed in me...  I even have a ridiculous crocheted hat with green shamrocks on it!  Alas...

checking it off my bucket list...

There are no pictures for this post - you have to see it for yourself.
I don't really have a bucket list, but if I did, this could have been on it.

A number of people have mentioned what a vision it is to see the turkeys fly up into the trees to roost at night.  There are numerous flocks of turkeys around, the largest might be the "Big House" ones at Philmont.  Usually driving to and from work or church or other events in town, you pass through flocks here and there, nibbling on the roadside or giving the chicken a run for its money by crossing back and forth.  I've been told that at dusk they fly up into the trees - 20 - 30 feet up, maybe?  (I'm not great with estimating distances.) 

I've been trying to time my departure to get to the Big House at just the right time to see the turkeys roost.  I'm most often too early, and though a couple times I pulled over to wait, it wasn't my time - or theirs.  Otherwise it's too dark, and the trees are full of dark shadows.  Last night, I was leaving classes a little after seven, and with the time change a couple weeks ago, it turned out to be just the right time.

As I approached their landing and take off strip, I saw a dark shape hovering low to the ground and realized what it was.  I pulled over and watched for a while.  They were doing it!!  It really is something you have to see for yourself: the way they take off and then almost float straight up.  (A very dramatic exponential flight pattern to put it in math terms.)  It was pretty neat.  I have no desire to be up and driving in at the right hour for their descent, but maybe someday I'll see that, too.

three...

three little stories -

It's baby cow season, and I think they're so darn cute!  Driving to work I saw a baby cow in the pasture.  All the other cows and calves had moved on far beyond in the pasture.  The momma was left standing next to her calf looking back over her shoulder at her baby while leaning slightly in the direction of the rest of the herd.  It was just an amusing image, as I projected anthropomorphic thoughts on the pair - the momma impatient for the baby and the baby just in his own little world.  How many times did my momma have to wait on me?!?

I see lots of crows every day - always sitting on fence posts and phone lines and signs.  They often hop in and out of the roadway to pick over "breakfast" as cars pass by.  Yesterday there were three of them hopping around and stirring up a frenzy.  Then I saw that a golden eagle was taking his time, and they were impatiently waiting for their turn at breakfast.  Again with the anthropomorphism - I could hear their choice words as they hovered and hopped around the eagle.  I wondered if we look that ridiculous when we start losing our cool and getting impatient for our turn.

And I saw a live Rainbow!!  "Baby Rainbow" is what my nephew has been calling his baby brother in utero - and now that he's been born, he still is.  My sister and her husband had Isaac on Wednesday, making him three days old!  I was so blessed to video chat with them today - a long little bean at 20.5" and 7lb 2oz.  I can't wait to meet him in a month and help out with his brothers.

Drifting away...

Here are the pics from last weeks storm....

I didn't make it to Colorado on the 20th because of the snow up there, 

but on the 21st it started to move in here.  

The clouds are just starting to roll over the mesa.

Thursday afternoon we had a "white out" - not new snow, 

but the wind was so full of it, you could see the wind.

The pallets were beautifully sculpted from the wind.

In the morning there was 5-6 inches of snow on the car and all around it.

By mid-afternoon the wind had done most of the clearing of snow from the car, 

plus the ground around it.

(A couple hours after this picture, I would end up in the drift created from all that missing snow!)

 The sun was shining in the afternoon - I love all the texture the wind left behind.

Friday afternoon I was enchanted by the smoothness of the drift just beyond the pallets.

The drift at our gate reached about 2 feet, and even Thomas had to gun it to get through it.

Stuck in the Snow

The last week of February landed me at home three days because of snow, snow, and more snow. 

On Thursday I actually got stuck in the snow.  I was overly cautious - staying home because it was snowing in the morning, and then staying home because the wind picked up at noon.  It wasn't just that its speed picked up, but it was picking up snow by the handful.  The accumulation of snow over three days was actually cleared to the dirt in many areas and deposited in drifts.  Pop called to make sure I was home safe, as the highway was being blown over and piled with snow in spots.  Daniel said the drifts he negotiated through on the way home would have been to high for my little car. 

I did need to get out of the house for a meeting in the late afternoon, and while I could have walked, the wind would have made it challenging.  I warmed up my car, backed away from the house, and found myself in one of those darn drifts.  Really - I made it twenty feet before I got stuck.  Gratefully, Pop came and collected me from the highway after I trudged out to it.  And even more gratefully, Tom was able to get the car out later in the night.

The drift at the gate where we turn off from the road ended up getting to be about two feet high.  And now...most of that snow is mud!  Driving in it feels like an old rickety roller coaster that jerks from side to side, pulling me all over the place!  It might be a while before we can "fix" all the dirt.