What are you up to?

[brianvds]

Awww. Cuties. I like how their feathers have lighter edges…they look polka-dotted. Nice shots as usual and I wonder if you ever want to paint any of your creatures. (I can imagine a Brian-styled painting emerging…)

I once painted some birds and then family and their friends and friends of friends started commissioning paintings.

Some of these worked out okay, but many now make me wince a bit. Well, all part of the process of improving, I suppose...

In the good old days of painters' guilds and things, you would simply not get to paint anything under your own name until such time as you could paint, so you were spared the embarrassment of early horrors. When you self-train, you can earn as you learn, but once those infernal pictures are out there, you can't do a thing about them and they may come back to haunt you.

As for Brian-style, I'm not sure there really is such a thing yet, but maybe with a few decades more of practice and development, who knows? I take my inspiration from Cezanne, a late bloomer like me, who took half a lifetime to learn to paint authentic-looking Cezannes, and even then half of his work sucked.

 

[Artyczar]

As for Brian-style, I'm not sure there really is such a thing yet, but maybe with a few decades more of practice and development, who knows? I take my inspiration from Cezanne, a late bloomer like me, who took half a lifetime to learn to paint authentic-looking Cezannes, and even then half of his work sucked.

I know the feeling!

 

[OliveOyl]

Hello...more jaunting around pictures.

So on Friday we headed an hour south (has a more agricultural vibe) to check out the 299,000 acre Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. Despite being advertised as home to bears, mountain lions, wolves, pronghorn elk, owls, snakes, prairie dogs, boar and coyotes, we saw nothing. Not even a bird. The only living creatures, besides us and the occasional trail walker, was this “herd” of ants moving a giant nut. Ha! I’m sure this was a task of utmost importance and, what a feast for the clan.

However, like idiots we said, “Yes, let’s walk the 3.8 mile trail to the top of the mesa.” As mentioned, 2 miles is my walking limit but the day was sunny and breezy and it was quiet and desolate and they looked soooo tempting. What would we see once we got up there??
the mesa approach...

getting a bit higher, arroyo in canyon...

The mesas were about 11 stories high and the well-marked trail was meandering and not TOO steep. Luckily, there were strategically placed benches and we sat on every one and sipped water (only one shared bottle so a very valuable resource.) The view at the top of the mesa was just awesome and I learned later that the huge sweeping expanse of grassland I was seeing marked the beginning of the Chihuahuan Desert which extends into Mexico. The 7000 feet high mountain range off in the distance that surrounded the whole scene were called the Los Pinos. And apparently, this refuge is home to 4 biomes - the Pinon Juniper Woodlands, Colorado Plateau Shrub Steppe, Chihuahuan Desert, and Great Plains Grasslands. Hooray for all those things!
pictures never do justice to how it feels being there...

I have to say though, that the way DOWN the mesa was a total nightmare and if I knew that at the start, there’s NO WAY I would have attempted this. None. The meandering steps were rocks and timbers but very steep and narrow with nothing to hold onto and one side dropped straight down.
ugh, almost another mile down to the visitor center...

I actually sat on my butt and scooted down like I was in yoga class despite hub groaning, “Oh no. Don’t sit down.” (You fool!) But tough, I wasn’t ready to die yet. When I got up and off the steps there was still more treacherous walking along a ridge only as wide as our feet with drop offs on BOTH sides. I kept my eyes focused on my feet like I was drilling holes in them, all the while whining and cursing until we finally got back onto the wide, flat, and safe trail. Look, I’m no experienced intrepid hiker and adventurer….just a curious old lady who has no place going into some of the places I go into.

Oh well. I conquered and saw and didn’t die.
And I survived to tell the tale.

Lucky youse…

 

[Terri]

Good for you, Olive! That looks like a demanding hike, and you did indeed conquer it. The photos are glorious. I love them! What a view.

(PS: I'd have scooted down on my butt, too!)

 

[Artyczar]

What a beautiful hike n' scoot! These pictures are fucking incredible. Thank you for providing them. And it's a great learning experience to learn about these deserts I didn't know about. Do you know much about people trying to cross them from Mexico? How deadly it must be to attempt. The terrain must only get harder and harder the further out you go.

 

[OliveOyl]

I don’t know too much about the Chihuahuan Desert except that the most northernmost part begins around this refuge, which is about 2.5 hours from the Mexican border. If you head further south for another hour, you’ll come to White Sands National Monument, which is considered “the world’s largest gypsum dune field,” and is ALSO part of the Chihuahuan Desert. At that point, it’s another hour to the Mexican border.

This is the range the desert covers:

By the way, White Sands (145,000 acres, 275 square miles) has got to be one of most spectacular places in NM. It’s a weird feeling of being on a big beach/desert/moonscape, surrounded by black pixelated-looking mountains, called the Sacramentos. Kids slide down the dunes in saucer sleds, it’s tough walking in sand that deep, and you can easily get lost meandering around dune after dune. Plus, it’s all a little disorienting to be blinded by all the white. Here’s the kid and I walking under a (thankfully) protective cloud cover. But even then, you still need your sunglasses, hat and sunblock…for sure.

See? NM isn’t nicknamed “the land of enchantment’ for nothing! It obviously hooked me, but I know it’s not everybody’s thing. It’s a large state and mostly poor and you see lots of “not nice” things as well. I’m sure there are many Mexican immigrants coming here. Probably have ALWAYS been many Mexican immigrants coming here. But you know…New Mexico is just an extension of Mexico, and in ancient times all this land (meaning US and Mexico and down into Central America) was ruled by the Olmecs and was all just called...Mesoamerica. I think. I’m no history expert so don’t hold me to THAT. But in any case, there’s certainly a strong connection here to Mexican people and their culture. Add into that the Spanish (colonialism) influences, and the Native American pueblos and their spirit which dominates almost every bit of land. And cowboys!

It feels like I’m in another country with new history and cultures to learn, and where the landscape is strange and amazing. I suppose I’m the one who’s the immigrant now…not really OF here but slowly losing connection to where I came from. If that makes any sense….

 

[JStarr]

Welp, I'm taking a break until Arizona cools t.. f... off because that blazing sun and 87 degrees is more than I am willing to work outside in. Holy carp it's hot out there! I roasted a chicken on Saturday, thinking yesterday I'd do chicken and dumplings or make noodles for chicken and noodles but EIGHTY FOUR DEGREES is NOT chicken and dumplings weather. Turned out, it was banana splits for supper weather.

However, until early next week when it is supposed to be much cooler, the outside of the house is about ready to paint, which only leaves kitchen cupboards refresh left to do. Unless DH comes up with something else.

Oh, I mighta fibbed a bit- still have one side on the hedge to trim, and we still need to get down Christmas stuff and make sure what we have works and is worth putting up- DH is BIG on Christmas decor.

It's also clean sheet day, which happens about every ten days, but is hardest when it also falls on vacuuming day- like today. That's a lot of fine balance stuff- hurts. Ah well, a clean house with clean sheets tonight is *SO* worth it.

By the way, White Sands (145,000 acres, 275 square miles) has got to be one of most spectacular places in NM. It’s a weird feeling of being on a big beach/desert/moonscape, surrounded by black pixelated-looking mountains, called the Sacramentos. Kids slide down the dunes in saucer sleds, it’s tough walking in sand that deep, and you can easily get lost meandering around dune after dune. Plus, it’s all a little disorienting to be blinded by all the white. Here’s the kid and I walking under a (thankfully) protective cloud cover. But even then, you still need your sunglasses, hat and sunblock…for sure.

My folks lived in Alamogordo for the last couple decades of their lives, and when we'd all descend with grandkids in tow, we'd go to White Sands with cookie sheets and pizza pans- even flat cardboard works! They'd also go to the Space Museum and the Three Rivers Petroglyphs Park.

There was also a Go Kart track just down road in town back in the... nineties? Yes- and man! When twenty of us showed up to race, it was AhMazIng fun- we had a blast!

 

[Artyczar]

It's been hitting 80 here the last few days. It was so nice the week before, in the 70s. Wha happened???

That white sand kinda reminded me of the Salton Sea, of course, not for the same mysterious reasons though.

 

[brianvds]

On today's nature walk: a weaver bird weaving:

 

[Terri]

Great shots, Brian, especially this last one capturing the movement of the wings. This is a beautiful bird doing beautiful work.

Arty, I just love that shot. Beautiful and desolate.

Jae, I hope it starts to cool down soon out there! Not that there's anything wrong with banana splits for dinner....but I feel you!

Olive, if I ever really had to move West, I think New Mexico would be where I landed. Your photos and back stories are all amazing - keep 'em coming! I can't believe I've never been there to even do tourist-y stuff!

 

[Triduana]

I took what I thought was a decent picture of a seal until someone pointed out that it looks like something out of a horror film.

It's the reflection of a very red boat...

 

[Terri]

I took what I thought was a decent picture of a seal until someone pointed out that it looks like something out of a horror film.

View attachment 35576

It's the reflection of a very red boat...

Crazy shot - it does look like he's swimming in blood. Eww!

 

[brianvds]

Summer temperatures coming this week. For those not in the civilized, metric world, 32 C = 90 F.

 

[ZenDruid]

For those not in the civilized, metric world, 32 C = 90 F.

Metrics are for civilized cave people who still count on their ten fingers and ten toes.

 

[Terri]

Ooo, things are heating up there! At least you know what to expect.

Opposite here - leaves are swirling down everywhere and we had our first frost over the weekend. Expecting balmy weather all week, though. Still have some flowers in pots and a few tomatoes on the vines.

 

[Artyczar]

It's finally been chilly here. We've been sleeping with the window open and it's bitingly cold! Just the way I like it.

 

[brianvds]

It's finally been chilly here. We've been sleeping with the window open and it's bitingly cold! Just the way I like it.

I have to sleep with the fan blowing across me all night long, or I don't sleep. Added bonus: it helps to keep mosquitoes away.

 

[brianvds]

After a week of muggy heat, the weather bureau foresees a week of cool, rainy weather. It's about time - I was close to the point of suing them.

 

[JStarr]

We get cooler the next few days, highs in the low sixties. Bean soup and homemade bread days!

Some of the valleys to our east have frost advisories the next few nights- seems early even though I am tired of heat.

 

[Mississippi Hippie]

Hi first post to this thread..
I’m stuck in a hotel moving states. Going to rent a car and either change hotels on Tuesday or go to MI and visit a farm my friend owns. My house is supposed to sell soon so I can get out of this situation.
I’m waiting to watch Guilded Age season 2 premiere and am training my new puppy (11 weeks?) to bite toys and not me.