Beautiful acreage along the edge of the Gila Wilderness. Many, many agave, along with Meyer oaks, alligator juniper, ponderosa pine, and several varieties of cactus.—all on steep, winding trails amongst giant boulders.
Agave seed
Coming back to the hoise
After a beautiful drive through the mountains of the Gila Wilderness.
Breakfast in Los Lunas
Dust storm heading south.
Elephant Butte
Hillsboro
Our rental above Pinos Altos
…in Albuquerque.
Great hotel in a fascinating town.
Dining al fresco. Not too bad a drive.
And some road photos by Sue.
Illinois River
Mississippi
Missouri hills
…the plane might not get off the ground. We are 92% packed, and everything onboard is (quite possibly) necessary (lots of climates are on the itinerary).
Meanwhile, I finished the squirrel-proof grow box.
And put the hickory nuts collected last fall into peat pots.
On the right side are nuts that sank when dumped into a sink full of water. On the left (far) side are the nuts that floated. So now we have a squirrel-proof experiment. Supposedly, the nuts that sink are viable, while the nuts that float lack vitality. At this point I’m just hoping some of them sprout.
I had planned on backfilling dirt all around the box, but discovered that any soil nearby was still resolutely frozen—so that task will have to wait.
Beautiful sunny and warm day, up until about 4 p.m., when the wind switched to the NE and the temp dropped 20 degrees. I attribute that to lake effect.
…patio. Warm enough at last, and bright enough, too, even at 6:30. Nice for us, but the cardinals were miffed that we had disturbed their routine.
Main project was trying to finish the grow box / cold frame before our trip departure. This baby is going to be squirrel-proof.
Above is one half of the lid (which will be covered with hardware cloth).
The aim is the successful sprouting of hickory nuts, acorns, and other tree seeds—along with the seed starting of tomatoes, basil, and other tasty annuals. The box is going to be placed along the garage stone wall (which faces directly south), behind the existing Alpine currant bushes (which have been seriously pruned back). Except for early spring, it should be almost invisible.
Otherwise, we watched basketball and printed off our brackets. Tonight we fill them in—and then place our bets.
Much too cold all day. Maybe okay for 12 January, but not for 12 March. Birds still requiring lots of fuel. And the cardinals seem to congregate near the feeder as dusk descends.
A little “travel essentials” grocery shopping, some basketball, and then work on a squirrel-proof growing frame—for hickory nuts and acorns, along with tomatoes and basil. Actually, a cold frame of sorts.
In spite of my best efforts last year, the squirrels swallowed every last hickory nut, including those that had sprouted.
The dinner was way better than the basketball.
Very windy, and still unpleasantly cold.
Great time, lively conversation, and lots of taste treats, including fried Halloumi.
Wombat has returned to her place of summer hibernation—having come out from there, having been cleaned, prepped, and parked (in Vi’s side-yard), but never having actually sailed on actual ice. She is sad, but optimistic about next year, when there will be wonderful, smooth ice week after week after week.
And here at Roger’s barn—silence, except for the cranes, the geese, and the wind.
…around the house in Cedarburg. Brief bike ride with Will. Forgot to take photos.
Pleasantly cool, with just enough heat, combined with a good bit of sun, to melt most of the snow. (but not to worry, more will be coming along soon.)
…including in this cappuccino at SweetSpot.
Had to shovel this morning, but, once the walks were scraped, they melted down to bare concrete.
Yesterday, robins seen and heard. Last night, a vigorous thunderstorm. Today, chilly and gray. Tonight, winter weather advisory.
Low budget sign, but the selection of trees to be sold is exciting—all native, and not your usual big box offering.
Today Bri was going through a few bins he has in storage, and he came across this letter.
And, it’s typed, without a single apparent mistake.
…this time Bruckner…
…after a Mozart concerto.
Bruckner is not the sort of thing you walk away from humming a tune, but it does demonstrate the power of an orchestra, especially one well well equipped with brass, including four Wagner tubas.
Most moving to me was the unscheduled Ukraninian folk song played as an opening piece, followed my a period of silence. Conductor Ken-David Masur, who grew up behind the iron curtain, and last conducted the Bruckner Symphony No. 7 in Moscow, explained how colleagues in Russia have been calling him to apologize for their country.
Ben and James are truck and heavy equipment experts. They are proud of their encyclopedic knowledge, but very willing to share, so if you ever want to know about big rigs, skid steerers, float trailers, or the advantages and disadvantages of treads vs wheels, you know who to ask.
The boys would have been up in the cabs here as the Cravath Lake dredging crew rush to get everything, including the corduroy road, off the mud before warmer temps thaw it and make escape impossible.
…in and around O’wock. Lunch at Roots.
In other news, sandhill cranes are back; quite a few heard on my first-of-the-year, get-back-in-shape bike-ride.
More melting, so, in theory, March came in like a lamb. (Of course, there already is a lamb around here—the one being nurtured at the Nies household, so March is late to the date.)
Formerly magnificent cottonwood at a park in town.
Little of note to report on, except that we got a trailer hitch installed on the Rav, which gives us the benefit of a solid bike rack and the ability to tow the Whitehall pulling boat when we need to (and schlep all the toys up north).
Meanwhile, I’m continuing my study of native American cultures, and that brought me back to Keith Basso’s great book, Wisdom Sits In Places, which features the Apache way of viewing things. Here is an excerpt:
“Stated in general terms, the Apache theory holds that 'wisdom' is a heightened mental capacity that facilitates the avoidance of harmful events by detecting threatening circumstances when none are apparent. This capacity for prescient thinking is produced and sustained by three mental conditions, described in Apache as smoothness of mind, resilience of mind, and steadiness of mind. Because none of these conditions is given at birth, each must be cultivated in a conscientious manner by acquiring relevant bodies of knowledge and applying them critically to the workings of one's mind.
Like cleared plots of land, smooth minds are unobstructed—uncluttered and unfettered—a quality which permits them to observe and reason with penetrating clarity. Skeptical of outward appearances, smooth minds are able to look through them and beyond them to detect obscured realities and hidden possibilities. Unencumbered by obstacles to insightful thinking, smooth minds “see danger before it happens” and “trouble before it comes.” Thus does wisdom flourish.
Mental smoothness is believed by Apaches to be the product of two subsidiary conditions—mental resilience and mental steadiness.
Resilient minds do not give in to panic or fall prey to spasms of anxiety or succumb to spells of crippling worry. Largely immune to emotional turbulence, they do not become agitated or disoriented.
While resilience of mind contributes to mental smoothness by blunting the effects of external distractions, ‘steadiness of mind’ accomplishes this objective by removing the sources of internal ones.
Steady human minds maintain themselves in a manner that ensures their own stability and reliability. This is achieved by relinquishing all thoughts of personal superiority and by eliminating aggressive feelings toward fellow human beings. As a result, steady minds are unhampered by feelings of arrogance or pride, anger of vindictiveness, jealousy or lust—all of which present serious hindrances to calm and measured thinking. Steady minds “forget about themselves” and conduct their social affairs in harmony and peace.”
Almost feels like it.
And here’s a photo sent to me by the secretary of the International Nite Class Association (Bri) from a webcam in Fontana. Could be racing on Geneva this weekend.
…and almost up to 40. Some chipping and a little chopping, and progress is being made on de-icing.
Conditions improved enough to take the dogs on a longish walk on the east-side trail.
And, last night (and tonight as well) Couscous with Tomatoes, Olives, Spinach, Basil, and crumbly cheese, from the Complete Mediterranean Cookbook, as suggested by Abby. Hard to beat. Very tasty. And good.