Standing in the middle of nowhere unprotected....

Yesterday morning I posted about a wonderful weekend in the company of Mary and Jennifer.  Shortly after, they awoke, ate breakfast, packed up, and headed off.  It was sad to see them go, and though Thomas could have made a day of yard work, neither of us knew how much of the wind we could take.  Thomas suggested we take off for Santa Fe to pick up a few things, including a new camera. 

 

After three or four hugs apiece, I waved off the girls, hopeful to hear from them in four hours or so that they made it home in one piece.  Jennifer's car had overheated on the way down, but Thomas had gotten the fan working in hopes of remedying this problem.  Away they went.  We turned our attention to shutting up the house and grabbing what we needed.  Soon we were headed down the road, too.

 

On the highway, halfway between Miami and Springer, we saw a small herd of bull elk standing very close together.  It was maybe 10:45 am, and they were standing in the middle of a treeless pasture.  It was quite peculiar to see them out on the plains exposed.  There must have been about 7 or 8, a cluster of racks emerging from a dark mass.  It is not hunting season, but all the same, in the heat we have been having, they are more likely to come down that low between dusk and dawn and take shelter from the heat higher up the mesa in the shade of the brush and trees.  Peculiar to see them in the middle of nowhere looking so vulnerable.  What an omen!

 

Thomas and I were pulling in to Las Vegas, NM when my phone buzzed.  Thomas opened the text message to read that the girls had almost made it to Raton before the car died.  TERRIBLE NEWS!!!  We were now two hours away in the opposite direction.  We stopped and waited for news updates, but they told us not to turn around.  They caught a tow to Trinidad and were looking into bus options.  I was terribly conflicted about what to do.  If they caught a bus, then we could turn around and not find them in Trinidad by the time we could get there.  I offered to grab the Honda on our way up, and let them take that up, but they refused.  So we waited.  We had lunch in Vegas before getting word that we should push on, and they would call if they needed us.  It really felt confusing.  I am sure they didn't want to trouble us, but I wasn't sure if there really was something we could do.  So much could happen in the time it would take us to get there.  So we continued south reluctantly.

 

Hindsight is always tricky.  Jennifer's parents ended up driving down to pick them up in Trinidad, but they didn't leave Denver until 3 pm, which meant they were in Trinidad from 1ish to 7ish.  If we had turned around, we could have picked them up at 2 pm and met the Davises halfway or just brought the girls home for a few more hours or, or, or....  So it goes!

 

In the end Thomas and I did not find a camera, but he got some new jeans for work, some work shirts, and freon for the Honda.  We picked up some groceries, as well as dinner out.  We struck out on the camera - not in stock, a copy of the Hyundai key, and a tank of propane - Home Depot didn't have a problem charging Thomas and making him wait for a service clerk, only to find out they didn't even have any propane.  We made it back to Miami only slightly before the girls made it home to Denver. 

 

So maybe those elk were an omen of two pretty ladies standing on the highway next to a cute little blue bug...

Memorial Day

It's been a great weekend so far.  Everyone is still asleep, so I thought I would post a note.  Mary and Jennifer arrived on Saturday afternoon.  Thomas and I were eager to start our weekend and were lucky enough to enjoy some porch time at Daniel and Julie's.  We were picking up the grill in preparation of the first meal we hosted for the family at our house.  This invitation was, of course, contingent on everyone being able to sit outside and hang out.  Otherwise, we would have had to have shifts. 

Saturday morning, Thomas and I were fighting for counter-top space as we prepared various parts of the meal.  He cubed a couple rump roasts for shishkabobs.  I cubed potatoes for shishkabobs and then made pasta salad, bread, and peach cobbler.  The kitchen got a quick makeover once we finished making messes.  Then the waiting.

We were psyched when the little blue bug rolled in and parked.  Poor thing had overheated on the drive down (nothing Thomas couldn't fix once it cooled down), but the girls and their things, a tube of cinnamint fluoride-free toothpaste, two handfuls of beer, and two bags of produce poured out of that bug, and the party was on!  We enjoyed showing off all the work that has been done in the last 10 1/2 months since they were last here.  And we did put them to work - picking up a picnic table and chairs from Mom and Pop's. 

Our first hosting of fun and food was fab!  We ate. We drank.  And then we watched the stars.  I think everyone saw at least a few shooting stars.  We got out the constellation map, but the map really lacks our perspective.  The map almost suggests that there aren't a million other brilliantly visible stars between constellations, so we played a little of our connect-the-dots.  Fantastic!  Only thing missing was the Salas family. who spent the weekend in Pueblo for a graduation.

Sunday, after a big breakfast of eggs and potatoes, a tradition of mine on Sundays at the Columbine House, we loaded up the car with water bottles, hats, wind breakers, and sunscreen for the drive to Red River.  Any guy out there who has been can already feel sorry for Thomas to be driving to Red River on Memorial Day instead of riding.  Yes riding is more appropriate as there is a huge Memorial Day rally all weekend that culminates with a procession of motorcycles out to the Vietnam Memorial in Eagle Nest.  Thomas and his buddies have been many a year, but this year it was a little awkward for him to come in on four wheels instead of two.  He toured the three of us girls around and pointed out the wussy bikes.  He stopped and waited as we checked out classy paint jobs and all the custom details guys were showing off.  It was a lot of bikes, to be sure!

The afternoon was more laziness, as the heat sapped us.  We had a bite at the St. James and wandered the halls of Western heroes and outlaws.  We came home and watched a movie.  We braved the wind and walked around Miami Lake, until we thought we couldn't keep our feet on the ground anymore.  After dinner we got into Trouble.  Yes, Trouble with a capital T.  You know the pop it game.  Jennifer schooled us all twice, and Thomas came in quickly behind her twice, and Mary after him, and I just got myself another drink.  "/

Well, I have watered this morning and had my cereal.  The girls are still asleep.  They will be headed off to Denver soon, and the weekend will end as it always has to.  Bummer!  It has been so much fun.  Thomas took apart the camera to try to fix it, but to no avail.  Maybe Mary will be kind enough to send a few? 

 

Are we going to make it?

I am not referring to the supposed rapture that was miscalculated by five months.  No, I am thinking about toothpaste.  A peculiar situation to be sure.

 

I am often asked where we get our food.  People find it most fascinating that we don't have a grocery store within 15 miles, unless you count the Mom & Pop Pantry about 3/4 of a mile down the road.  While we do most of our grocery shopping about every 5 weeks in the big cities with large grocery store chains - often stopping at no less than three stores to buy food and beverages, Thomas can stop at the Supersave in Raton after work or the Springer Market after he and his carpooling co-worker part ways.  I can stop at the Russell's in Cimarron, too.  These places get us by in a pinch, like when we ran out of tortillas yesterday.  They are pricier on non-perishables, and the produce is not usually prime, but when you need something, it is great.

 

Toothpaste is another matter all together.  One of us does not want fluoride in the toothpaste.  Incidentally, this is not the easiest variety of toothpaste to find.  One of us does not care for mint, which in and of itself is not a big deal with all the flavors of toothpaste one cane find: strawberry, mango, bubblegum, cinnamon, fennel, and ginger are just a few alternatives.  From that list of flavors, cinnamon is the only one that is mutually enjoyed.  Now go into a store with both of these specifications, and really only one toothpaste jumps off the shelf and into our basket: Tom's of Maine Cinnamint with propolys and myrrh, no fluoride.  This one toothpaste is generally only available at Natural Grocer or Whole Foods.  Safeway is now carrying some Tom's products, but nothing that matches our requirements.  We decided not to stop for it in Denver two and a half weeks ago because it seemed we would never run out.  Besides, it was the only thing we would have picked up at the store, and we didn't have time for frivolous stops.  We anticipated being in Santa Fe two weeks after Denver, which would have been just as fine a time to stop.  Then I stopped at a Whole Foods for the salad bar a week ago, but still I didn't pick it up because I thought we would be back over the weekend.  How foolish I was!  (We obviously didn't go over the weekend, or this post would be nonsense!)

 

Despite having purchased additional tubes in the past and keeping them in the bathroom closet, it seemed we really couldn't go through the toothpaste fast enough.  Until now!  We are rationing out the last bit on our toothbrush each night, and on one of ours in the morning.  We have already reached the awkward squeeze where it takes muscle to bend the metal of the tube just right.  We have been watching our supply go down the drain with every spit and hope we can make it to Saturday.  Yes, our oasis in the desert of toothpaste is only a couple days away.  Jennifer and Mary are coming down from Denver to visit, and Jennifer is bringing us toothpaste!  Just two more days....

 

 

Early to rise

This morning I hopped out of bed about 6:30 am and took a shower before starting my day.  As I was stepping out of the shower, I wondered what happened.  Since when do I pop out of bed?  I am notorious for snoozing my alarms (yes, plural, which started in college because I am known to unplug or turn off alarms in my sleep rather than just snooze them) and known for waiting until the last minute and then being dressed and ready in 5 minutes.  Now I am usually out the door by five after seven.  This actually takes me back about twenty years when I started high school and left the house that early with my dad to get to school.  It was a struggle then, but this morning it wasn't.

 

Don't get me wrong - I am sure tomorrow I will drag my feet and try to stay under the covers a little longer.  I do think, however, that this is a seasonal thing.  The sun is shining brightly by 6 am.  It is hard to stay in bed sometimes when the sun is waking me up.  Next December when the sun is up much later, I am sure I will be going through this whole routine again of struggling to get up in the morning.  Anyway, now that I am up, I am feeling tired.

Twilight

Last night I got in late.  It has been a long time since I had a work day like yesterday.  I left at 8 am and got home at 8 pm.  Phew!  The beauty of that kind of day this time of year is that the sun was actually still up when I first left the office.  It had fallen behind the mountain before I was even halfway home, but it was still that wonderful evening light that draws out all the animals.  I saw a herd of 40-50 elk cow on the western edge of a neighbor's property.  At first it looked like horses in the road.  They are just a big animal!

 

As I slowed and counted heads, I also gave them stink eye.  After having planted the raspberry and fenced them up, something came through and ate the top off.  Said beast also got around the fence of the apple tree and nibbled.  Thomas thinks maybe it was a deer.  I am not ruling out any cloven hoofed jerk that doesn't have the brains to realize the fence around it means KEEP OUT!  Daniel said the elk have been through his yard, so I just don't know who to suspect.

I don't think the elk on the road really noticed the stink eye I gave them, though they did scatter as I approached. 

 

So we have wire fences around the fruits, we have an electric fence around the garden, and we have solar-powered sonic devices to scare away moles/gophers.  It is a little bit different than gardening in the city, definitely different than the community gardens.  But come twilight when the animals reveal themselves, I realize gardening is more of a combat sport than a casual hobby down here!  Today - I will be home at regular time to water and tend to all my little babies growing in the garden....and keep a watchful eye on who might be stalking our little sprouts.

Why did the snake cross the road?

It was chasing the chicken!!  Okay, there was no chicken, but I did see my first live snake crossing the road.  I have seen dead snakes in the road, but I haven't seen a live snake since I was startled to find one under a board behind the tin shed about 11 months ago.  That is a long time to go without seeing a live snake, especially since Thomas told me that I would probably be uncomfortable to know how many snakes actually live on our property.  I guess they are good at hiding when I am out and about.

 

Yesterday I was driving home, and before approaching the S-curves, I saw something ahead in the road.  I slowed, and it moved.  IT WAS ALIVE!!!  It was a bull snake about 3.5 feet long, and it was itself a picture of the S-curves as it slithered across the road.  I swerved a little into the other lane in an attempt to miss it.  In my rear-view mirror, I could see it in the road, but it wasn't moving.  I figured it was probably just startled and laying low to make sure "harm's way" had passed.  If it had been hit, I think it would have wriggled and fought back.  (At least that is what I remember of a snake's death.)  I verified with Daniel, who was headed home shortly after me, that he saw no snake in the road, and he confirmed my hopes that he did not see any snake, dead or alive, in the road. 

 

So there you have it!  I am hoping that is good snake karma for me.  I am not exactly sure what snake karma is, but if it exists, I want the good kind!

Feeling hot - hot - hot!

Not so much all of me is feeling hot, but the back of my head is feeling scorched! 

 

I spent a good portion of the day Saturday and Sunday working outside.  Thus, the first thing I did in the morning, aside from brushing my teeth and putting in my contacts, was to slather my arms and face with sunscreen - SPF 45.  I wore long pants and a t-shirt, donned my sunglasses and my dirty looking UVM baseball hat.  The hat was a gift from my sister years and years ago - go catamounts!

 

Sun protection is totally necessary out here (don't ask Thomas about it, though).  Miami is about 6300' above sea level - 1000' feet higher than Denver.  The sun shines hotter and burns faster and dries everything out.  I have both family and friends who love the "burn and let it fade" method or coloring their skin, but out here one rarely finds a burn before it has progressed to the fried stage.  Re-hydrating becomes harder, and then usually no amount of pills will soothe the headache.  Not to mention how alcohol consumption intensifies the headache and dehydration.  I feel like Debbie Downer, but the truth is we generally never learn this lesson from someone else's mistakes.  I have certainly had my share of red skin and seen it even worse on other people.  And I can't count on two hands all the people I know who have had melanoma removed.  Okay - enough scare for one Monday....I need to give it a rest.  So anyway....

 

Yesterday I did take my hat off when the wind kicked up because I couldn't keep it from blowing away.  However, this is not the culprit so much as the gaping hole in the back of the hat that totally let the sun get me.  I wonder now if I didn't sleep well last night because I kept rolling around trying not to rest my head on that tender spot.  This morning as I tried to rub aloe into my hair without matting it, I realized why cowboy hats make so much more sense.  Yes, indeed, I will be putting the baseball cap to rest unless I wear a handkerchief over the back of my head.