Chasing Water Lines

May 15, 2022

Hello again,

It's been another warm and windy week out here with most days in the mid to upper 80s and every day bringing really gusty conditions, with the wind shifting its direction throughout the day. The fire continues to grow in size and is now New Mexico's largest wildfire ever. It has crossed at Barillas Peak towards our side of the divide and has been looming very ominously just to our north. After a few days of it appearing to be running down the ridge, right towards us, that part of the fire has quieted down and it's now the area just to the northwest of Barillas that appears to be getting worse. Due west of this particular area is the town of Pecos, one of the greatest settings in the state, with lots and lots of people living there and commuting to Santa Fe, and many others having cabins in the surrounding mountains. We've been seeing a few snakes here and there and tons of little lizards everywhere! The kittens really enjoy chasing them in the garden and seem to relish catching them, as they chomp them up right on the spot. Speaking of kittens, our outdoor cat Bootsie had her litter of kittens on our front stoop at the beginning of April and kept everyone situated there for the first month. We suddenly noticed that she wasn't there and that the dogs weren't going nuts sniffing around our cat complex(Cat 5) and then found that she had moved them up to the garden shed. Well, a couple of weeks ago we noticed that they had been moved again and noticed a huge hole that had been chewed/dug into the bottom of the garden shed. This was probably the work of dogs, whose you never can tell out here, and we then noticed that Bootsie had them all up in the hay barn, wedged into the gap in the back between the hay and the back wall, still small enough to fit underneath all of the pallets that the hay is on. We haven't spotted them all at the same time, but believe that we have two all black and three black/gray tigers on our hands. The kittens remaining from the first trio that we got, Zia & Chelly, are still running at large and are totally enjoying things out here and are surely bound to get pregnant soon. So, before we know it, we'll go from nine cats to ninety! Even with the fire getting closer and closer to us, the air quality has gotten much better and hasn't been as aggravating as it has been. This has been a relief to all the animals that are always outside, especially the horses as they have no little holes to hide in like the cats do. Still no rain to speak of, although one afternoon of a particularly cloudy day for the desert a few dozen drops did manage to fall to the earth, but other than making polka dots out of the dust, they unfortunately didn't do much good.

Erin's finally back in the garden again, having had her rhythm disrupted by the last few weeks of fire danger, in general, and smoke, in particular. All the beds are in place, with drip irrigation lines running to each one, just needing to be attached to the wood. A few minor things and it's time to get some seeds in the ground. She has a whole bunch growing on the window sill inside, but the average last frost out here is mid-May, so there's no need to be in a hurry. While temperatures have trended upwards across the board in the Southwest recently, the high altitude still allows for some huge overnight drops that can make for some really chilly mornings. I've had another big shift at work, this time from working on the flagstone patios to getting ready for our flooring to be installed. We ran out of flagstone and are awaiting more, which, like everything else these days, is taking an eternity to get to us. In the meantime, I've been laying plywood(OSB) on all of the concrete floors in the house where wooden flooring is going in, first one layer at a 90 degree angle to the final flooring, then a second layer at 45 degrees to the final flooring. Using the OSB, which is multi-directional when it expands, is better than just using plywood and then doing two layers at different angles underneath the flooring helps to keep it from sagging over time. We also used concrete leveler to prep the floor before we even started this project. I've been getting better and better with my cuts, especially after the first couple of days, and am now actually enjoying the challenge of making sure that my measurements are precise so that I only have to cut the plywood sheet once. The second layer at 45 degrees can really make your brain melt some days as you're trying to not only make sure that your length and width our correct, but all of your cuts have to be done at the precise angle, too. I'm learning to appreciate the jigsaw that the foreman has been letting me use to make life easier for me!

Now, here's another batch of pictures from out here on the ranch. First up, a shot of Erin out in the garden, chasing drip lines and dead ends with lots of assistance! Then, three shots from the dogs out in the pond: the first two with Ela & Willow froggin'; then, Willow cutting through the pond from one side to the other. Next, a shot of one of the flareups that we've been seeing as the fire got onto our side of Barillas Peak. Then, three shots of that same spot at night...literally what I see when I take the dogs out at midnight. The last of the three has been altered. Next, one of the banner days that we've had since the smoke from the fire has lessened...with clouds towering over the land. Then, two different shots of the sky just before sunset, when it was filled with extraordinary colors. Next, the first cactus flower that we've seen so far this year! And, finally, four shots of the flooring work that I've been doing: first, the first layer in the bedroom with 1/16" spacers; then, a shot of the second layer starting in the kitchen at 45 degrees; next, a complicated cut that I had to do after a first pass(I still had to straighten out the bottom); and, finally, my little work station outside where I'm always in the crook of the house, on one side or the other, trying to stay in the shade!

Be good.