2,000 Miles

February 1, 2021

Howdy, there, folks!

Another week has come and gone. I was just sitting down to write last night, as I've been aiming to send this out every Sunday, when we were alerted to the fact that three stray dogs were running around on the property and ended up in Kim's fenced-in area attached to her house. This is a regular problem out here in New Mexico, sometimes you're dealing with a pack of blood-thirsty pit bulls, other times it's the neighbor's friendly dogs, but, you never know! Once Kim texted us about it I ran over with my pistol and Iroquois war club and started humping the hill behind her house to see where they were at. I finally located them and heard a bunch of noises on the other side of a big juniper and started bashing a deadfall to make as much noise as I could...then I fired the pistol in the air a few times and charged through to the other side. What did I find...two German Shepherds(one a pup) and a much smaller dog, all with collars and tags on and looking scared shitless! So, I kept up on them to try to force them out through one of the open gates, but only managed to chase off the smallest one that slipped through a gap in the coyote fencing. After another time or two up and down the hill(this whole affair lasted about three hours!), I finally figured out that the other two were in a big drainage ditch by the driveway, wedged in there where the cats like to hang out. Cautious, but friendly, they looked exhausted and ready to be back home after their big adventure. We lured the pup out with about a bag of dog treats and got her hooked up to a leash. The older one was more cautious and would only come out to eat some dry food and drink some water when we were nowhere near. Eventually, we unleashed the pup, turned the outside lights out and left the gates open...when I checked again in two hours, they were gone. I always charge off without my phone and Erin can only wonder what in the hell I'm up to...especially once gunfire is heard!

So, we've been here forty days now and it's starting to feel like a lifetime. We wanted to move to a foreign country, and we sure did! Everyone's laid-back here, no one's in a hurry, all the placenames are in Spanish, if not a local Indian language, and we're left wondering how to make our next steps. For instance, we need new drivers' licenses and we need to get our VW some New Mexico tags...but all the DMV(MVD out here) centers are closed because of Covid and you need to call the statewide number to make an appointment, only to have it cancelled numerous times, before finally succeeding after a few months! We really wanted to move to Portugal and really feel like we did, in this crazy little corner of the US that was once Spain, Mexico, independent Texas and the Comancheria...some days we just pinch ourselves and have to tell ourselves that, 'Yes, we moved to this crazy and wonderful Land of Enchantment, almost 2000 miles from everything that we've ever known.'

We still never made it to Santa Fe this week, but finally figured out how to deposit checks with Erin's new-fangled phone, thus alleviating our main reason to go to town...my bank and insurance company charged me so far ahead of time that I'm actually getting some refunds now that we changed everything and moved! I still need to go in to get bird seed, and was going to on Saturday, but was foiled by a snow-packed interstate about twenty miles west of here where you go through the pass to Santa Fe. We are missing out by not getting into town more often to shop...way more options, but higher prices. We're having fun making Las Vegas work, but it has it's days...the Big R has what we need but looks like it's in an old Walmart and it always looks like it just went through Black Friday with huge gaps on the shelves and carts everywhere with product on them that needs to be priced and put away. Lowe's is holding it's own for us with the groceries and we're feasting on all the local products, but the true find in town is Semilla Natural Foods: just like our beloved Natural Food & Garden Store back in Lewisburg, PA, it has all the local, organic, free-range and non-GMO products that we could ever need! Also, Erin has found a local food co-op to join that gets truck delivery once per month for bulk foods that she's going to try. She was doing this when I first met her fifteen years ago in Williamsport, PA, and now she's come full circle and is doing it again: you have to show up to help unload the truck and then once everyone has their stuff, you can go home.

I finally saw some mule deer this week...two big bucks. I told Kim that I'd keep her freezers full if she let me hunt here later on this year and she's all game...no pun intended. I keep seeing a coyote every morning after the full moon...two times in a row! I've also seen him sneaking around just ten feet from the buggy when I was feeding the horses. Tons of ravens and a few crows, the pinyon jays, magpies and some smaller birds that I'm still learning. I'm actually eager for when the snakes come out, as I've only ever just bumped into them by surprise...I'm curious to observe them more in their natural state. We're going to fortify our stoop with some hardware cloth behind the coyote fencing to make a snake-free area for the dogs in the summer. We plan on leash-walking at first, as we learn the ebb and flow of the situation, but also know that it can be quite cold at dawn in the summer, so maybe some morning jaunts will be in store for us!

Now, for some pictures. Even though we only made it off the ranch once this week, we still explored a whole bunch and took tons of shots. First up, even though I've imagined a whole ruined empire around here, this clearly looks like an ancient mortar...it was up on the highest piece of land here where you can see forever in all directions. Next, a great shot of Cheyenne, resting after a long hike...right before this we had all been bouldering and ran up a seam that suddenly ended and I had to hoist each dog up over my head to get up on the final ledge. We all took a big break after that! The next six shots are of our crew: first all three sporting their new Carhartt ranch jackets in the snow; then Ela surveying the landscape; next Rui, always on lookout, waiting for me; then Rui looking out over the back 40; next Willow sticking her head out from the fence at our northern corner; followed by her resting on her triple-stacked dog bed, nestled by the stove, under the stairs. The next shot is the full moon rising just a few nights ago. Next is a close-up of a prickly pear cactus. Then, some ravens we chased out who were keeping an eye on us until we got too close. Next, a view from the back of the property to the northwest, towards Santa Fe. The next three shots are of a huge snow squall moving in at dusk: first the overall view; then a shot of our solar panel bank reflecting it; finally, the windmill seen against it. Lastly, I ripped my jeans the other day bringing wood in by dropping a piece that not only snagged my jeans but tore a small hole into my leg. Later on, when I was hiking with the dogs and taking a break, I looked down and glimpsed someone looking back at me...

Take care, Easterners, with the fierce wind and snow blowing!