Mission accomplished

Either a pale cultivar or pale from lack of light. My memory is of fiery, red-orange spears

See also here

Desert style

When you promise her the sun, moon and stars and build the hacienda to prove it. Las Palomas, New Mexico

Defining boundaries and access.

Lake Caballo

Lake Caballo in midwinter defines reflection.

Shoreline hiking.

The boat launch is beautifully deserted.

Fire in the belly

First fire in the little Mexican chimenea. 

A frosty, chill morning means play with fire, right? Except I had just hung the laundry on the wash line. Fortunately the wind blew smoke away from the clothes. They might still be perfumed with aromatic mesquite wood and pine cone smoke. Oh well.

Potatoes roasting in the coals. Breakfast might be a while.

Designing a path with a heart.

Feasting for the birds

Tangled up in blue

Feasting on Campsis radicans seeds. 

All summer long and late into autumn, hummingbirds loved the flowers, while the vigorous creeper made much appreciated shade in the heat of the day. 

Now in winter the vine continues to be generous.

Kitchen improv

December 25 culinary exploration: tempeh chunks stewed with apple, tomato and ginger. 

Should I, could I, add garlic? 

One step closer to that vegan food truck

No slide rule can measure

At the end of the day, how far can you see?

Last light on the Caballo Mountains. Rio Grande and Caballo lake glinting just below the shadow line

It's a dogs life

Canine tailgate party spotted outside the Javelina coffee shop, Silver City, NM

Meeting the monster

Gila National Forest, on a backcountry byway drive. 

There's silver in them thar hills

Midwinter hiking can happen with no snow in NM 

On top of it all at Emory Pass, Gila Wilderness,  looking towards silver mining ghost towns of Kingston and Hillsboro. Lake Caballo and Truth or Consequences must be in there somewhere too. Caballo mountains define the skyline.

HWY 491 - into the mystic

Tsé Bitʼaʼí ("rock with wings" aka Shiprock) under a snowstormy sky. One of the four mountain peaks sacred to the Dine (Navajo) nation, a lot of stories surround this taboo laden monadnock.

Somewhere north of Shiprock on HWY 491

Red Pony rides again.

We were borne before the wind 

Also younger than the sun 

Ere the bonnie boat was won 

As we sailed into the mystic

Van Morrison

Umkhonto we Sizwe: revisiting Rapunzel

December 5th. Continuing to try for a flower, the aloe ferox, now on kitchen counter, harvests as much light as it can

December 18th. Holding out for a solstice spear of fire.

See also here

Mahina magic

Akua : sail on Silver Girl, guide us home.

Sail on silver girl

Sail on by

Your time has come to shine

All your dreams are on their way

See how they shine

Oh, if you need a friend

I'm sailing right behind

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will ease your mind

Like a bridge over troubled water

I will ease your mind

Paul Simon

Mutable earth

Midwinter palette in the high desert

Light up the night

Christmas lights contest time of year again at the Feed Store. Yup that's a chicken in a Santa hat on left.

My favourite, the Feed Store, only came in third this year. Not sure who the judges were or what their criterion. In my opinion, no one matches the Feed Store for creativity, using what they have and being what they are about. There's always a story about the season in the Feed Store display.

Cowboy snowman in a giant snowglobe made from a feed trough.

The barn scene.

Piglet in a Santa hate.

Peace on earth from an angel at the attorney's office. This display came in second, I believe. Not a bad sentiment to reward, but this office puts up the same display every year. The Feed store changes things, tells a slightly different story, sets a different scene each year.

Parhelion

Sundog sunset!

Back Forty winter edition: holding space for the Snow Queen

Back Forty winter edition aka little bird haven

The Snow Queen has given all the sunflower seed heads pretty white bonnets

Holding space.

The earthly garden continues to delight. I am so glad that I didn't till everything in at the end of summer season. Little birds really love this place in the snow.