Looking out my backdoor

Oh oh somebody forgot to cover the truck last night. Snow scraping season is here again. Sigh.

Desert rose

Really liking the new stucco colour. 

Not sure if this lil' red flowered yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) will bloom in captivity. Might have to liberate. 

Oos West tuis bes

Cow's tongue cactus (Opuntia engelmannii var. linguiformis) guardians of the western portal

Above, November, below April 7 months previous. The New Mexican elderberry on the far left can breathe and expand now. I also notice that handyman was a little eager with trimming that tree on the right. He claimed it scratched him when he was building the new porch.

A ringside seat on sunset and the antics of the old cemetery across the road. Because every house needs a kayak or two and pink fairy lights to attend the wind horses. 

East entrance renovations in progress.  Rainwater catchment and landscaping still need work , but the major construction is done.

Creating this porch has made a beautiful warm morning sun spot in the colder months. I am thinking that the sun's higher summer arc will make for shade and protection from sun and rain.

Compare it to this taken in April. Looking at the mesquite on the right, I suspect the handyman's saw got at that too. I don't think he will get future contracts. 

Black Friday meanderings with the ghosts of Sierra County

And she's buying a stairway to heaven...

Stairway to Heaven

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold

And she's buying a stairway to heaven.

When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed

With a word she can get what she came for.

Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven.

There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure

'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.

In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings,

Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.

Ooh, it makes me wonder,

Ooh, it makes me wonder.

There's a feeling I get when I look to the west,

And my spirit is crying for leaving.

In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,

And the voices of those who stand looking.

Ooh, it makes me wonder,

Ooh, it really makes me wonder.

And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune,

Then the piper will lead us to reason.

And a new day will dawn for those who stand long,

And the forests will echo with laughter.

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now,

It's just a spring clean for the May queen.

Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run

There's still time to change the road you're on.

And it makes me wonder.

Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know,

The piper's calling you to join him,

Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know

Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?

And as we wind on down the road

Our shadows taller than our soul.

There walks a lady we all know

Who shines white light and wants to show

How everything still turns to gold.

And if you listen very hard

The tune will come to you at last.

When all are one and one is all

To be a rock and not to roll.

And she's buying a stairway to heaven.

Led Zeppelin

Hello pretty pumpkin

Breakfast. First catch your pumpkin.

Star of wonder

Solar path lights

Illumination

Sondzela**

Why do you always end up down at Nick's Cafe?

**Sondzela is a word in the Nguni languages group spoken in southern Africa.  The word is often translated as "welcome".  Long ago and far away in that child-of-a-Zulu-language-linguist incarnation,  I was accustomed to "sondzela" being used to mean something more like: "come closer".

Vanishing point

Somewhere down the crazy river 

Seasonal drama

Saucy secret: kitchen alchemy

Thanks to the advent of freezing temperatures and the generosity of a local gardener, I now have a huge bowl of green tomatoes in my kitchen 

First attempt at making spicy green tomato chutney.

The gateway of San Antonio, New Mexico

Blessed Saint Anthony has animals, the poor and the sick covered. Thank you!

As an aside: I had no idea that the Hilton Hotel family had roots in this tiny, yet hugely enchanted, gateway to the Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Preserve where a million migratory birds overwinter. I do so appreciate the NM State Historic Markers.

The sky is the limit, this early morning.

With moon, of course.

The sky really is that big on the Interstate 25

Gooooood Morning, New Mexico

Around about San Antonio, New Mexico, the sky stepped up its game. Dawn on the road.

A little walk in the desert

I have been meaning to walk this desert botanical garden trail for a while. I had a perfect, cloudless, windless, 80 degree day for it. Winter? What's that?

Ephedra, opuntia and mesquite: a beautiful combination of subtle colours and textures.

I think this might be my friend from western novels, creosote bush - Larrea tridentata. I might need to come back in spring to see the yellow flowers and test for the crosote smell.

Ocotillo Fouquieria splendens everywhere in this beautiful desert garden.

At the top, looking down on Elephant Butte Lake. Water level is really low from a long summer of irrigation in Texas, Mexico and New Mexico.

Narrow leaved yucca:  Yucca angustissima

Ringside seat on a desert supermoonset

Cowtongue cactus salute to the dawn moon, from the front door. Now that the tree has been removed.

Birds on a wire sing chorus. It's a Leonard Cohen anthem kind of day.

This darling is dominating my morning sky

To the moon and back said the dawn birds

Like a bird on a wire/like a drunk in a midnight choir/I have tried in my way to be free

Reaching for the sky just to surrender

Reaching for the sky just to surrender

Supermoon desert style

Moonrise somewhere between Magdalena and Socorro. 

Later in the evening, from the backyard of the casita, she becomes even more bewitching.

New skin

Let the healing begin. Mid November, started patching exterior walls preparatory to a fresh stucco colour coating

The new exterior stucco colour coating is called Desert Rose in the supplier's catalogue. Waiting for it to dry enough to see the colour is an exercise in patience. 

Applying the stucco requires a significant strength in upper body and arms. Wet cement is heavy. Stucco work is not for wimps.

New skin for the old ceremony.

Perspective

Guest quarters have arrived!

How to make a little casita on a tiny plot, look even smaller: park a 9 ft vintage caravan outside the kitchen door. Not quite in place yet - construction crews various are still underfoot. 

Don't look now, but there's a house following you

The little swallow - La Golondrina- begins a 400 mile journey to her new parking place in the desert! Wheee!  I began this trip, having never towed more than around the block before. 

A newly acquired $2 thrift store Thermos of coffee and a basket of apples and bananas on the seat next to me. We are ready to leave town. 

First rest stop is Bisti de na zin aka Bisti Badlands. What a landscape of vision and solace.

It is quite a challenge to find a petrol station where I can pull through. My backing up skills are still terrible.

La Ventana (the window) - one of the biggest natural arches in NM. El Malpais national monument and conservation area.

Chose this rest stop for the toilets (not shown) and the ability to park without having to back up to get out, even though that wasn't the plan of those who created this parking lot. We are parked across three or four angle parking bays. Not everyone is an experienced driver, okay.