Summer Rains

July 31, 2022

Howdy folks,

Well, the heavens have just opened up this week and it has been raining, raining, raining. All but one day this week saw afternoon thunderstorms and downpours. And that one dry day had storms on all sides of us. The week started in the uppers 80s and ended up in the mid-70s. The arroyos are flowing daily, the vegetation is really greening up again and it is starting to approach an East Coast kind of height. We've been trying to keep up with weeding and trimming, but 'til I get done working construction every day, it's three in the afternoon and it's getting to be just about peak storm time and, before you know it, you're dashing for cover. Plus, inevitably after another week with such rain, the mosquitos will soon be feasting on us again! I spent most of the week out on the ranch during the day, cleaning windows, waterproofing problem areas where we're still awaiting a final piece to install or a custom window to finally be delivered. The overflow pond right behind the new house that we're working on has been super full, even making the foreman suggest that he should make it even bigger, and I even saw a bullfrog had already moved in and set up shop. Our pond down by the boss's current house and our casita is overflowing with bullfrogs and other aquatic life, but it certainly didn't take long to make it up the hill about a thousand feet. This has become one of the dogs favorite new spots, as they get to take a dip, check to see if the horses are there and see what's laying around the construction site. Our summer walks are much shorter because of the heat some days and the ever-present possibility of running into rattlesnakes. So, usually we just do a loop or two around the new house and call it day. Quite often, especially on the scorching days when the UV rating is double digits, the dogs' tongues are already nearly hanging to the ground at this point and we meander back down the hill, past the garden and chaise lounge that I like to sit at. Also, now that we've been fencing off some of the horse pasture to let the grass grow, I use those opportunities to let the dogs run out on that side of the pasture and they always head straight towards all the ponds that the boss dug to catch runoff for the horses. Rui doesn't always want to go very far...maybe a loop around the house and back. But, if he has any idea that we're heading out into the pasture, neither of the girls can keep up with him! These dogs are so damn happy out here that it's just about infectious at times and always helps get through some of the longer days.

As for Erin, she's been cooking up a storm, like always. She keeps gathering apricots whenever she's in Santa Fe and has been making jellies, ice cream and clafoutis out of them. She's been making dashes out to the garden to quickly harvest things before getting eaten alive and making it back inside to the safety of the house. The last week hasn't been horrible, but more mosquitos are definitely on the way. She's been adding leaf vegetables and turnips to just about every dish that we eat and has been eyeing up the freshly arriving boxes of Hatch green chiles at the grocery store. She keeps hoping to find a box of mediums, but almost all of them are either hot or very hot, with just a few boxes of mild thrown in for good measure. Every grocery store around here then has roasters right out front where they'll roast your box of chiles for you before you head home. While this makes them delicious, it also shortens their shelf life and viability, so we'll probably just grab a box and take them home raw for her to play with. We saw some hilarious scenes last summer when the chiles arrived in the stores, with little old ladies chewing their husbands out for not picking the box of 'hot' ones and people trying to fit half a dozen boxes or more into their shopping carts...we're talking about big 25# boxes. Everyone around here, and I mean everyone, can't wait for the local New Mexico chiles to be harvested. All throughout the year they are available in the stores and people get what they need, but when the big boxes finally arrive, whole pallets of them disappear in a matter of hours! I'm excited to see what all Erin turns them into myself...I'm pretty spoiled in the food & drink department, con suerte(lucky), as my friend, Valentin, would say. Speaking of him, we've been planning another hike to the top of the mesa here in San Jose, but have had to cancel for two weeks running. On the first weekend, Valentin couldn't get himself out of bed for very long over the whole weekend(he works with stone for a living!), so we pushed it back a week. This week, he had about two inches of water covering his whole property and was preoccupied with taking care of his huge flock of chickens...there's always next week!

Now, here are some more pictures from life on the ranch. First, a vibrant sunset whose colors I played around with a little bit. Then, a picture of Willow & Ela swimming in the new overflow pond. Next, three shots of Erin in the kitchen: first, her apricot jam; then two shots of her preparing some pasta salad. Then, a shot of my soaked pile of clothes after feeding the horses Friday night...it came and I was instantly drenched, so I just took my time and finished feeding them. Next, one of my patch jobs up on the roof of the new house where we're waiting on a skylight. Then, two shots of the arroyo behind our house, which will fill up during and shortly after a storm and then just as quickly go dry again. Next up, three shots of my absolute favorite Western flower, the Indian Paintbrush. Then, three different landscape shots from around the ranch: first, looking north towards a stormy Barillas; then, the sky lit up by yet another magnificent sunset; and, then, heading up the hill from the house to the barns with an amazing stormy, rainbow sky. Finally, a shot from the hay barn as I waited to go back down the hill after the heavens just opened up and the floor gave out!

See you soon.