Ghost Ranch

It's a few miles north of Abiqui. Georgia O'keefe's house is there and a substantial amount of acreage that folks can wander without worrying about trespassing or encountering trespassers.

The month-long residency includes a casita; one side is a bedroom with a mini kitchen and the other is a studio.

Since she's not exclusively devoted to painting, doesn't affect the nuances of the plein aire folks, and even though she writes she hasn't had anything published and since she works in clay and patching compound (gypsum), and is known to be living an "examined" life, she's something of an iconoclast.

Pedernal

She was pretty nervous, but as she walked up to her casita, tears of happiness welled; she'd made it home...again.

Von Karajan & Ghost Ranch

She had two nights at The Inn at the Delta in Espaňola waiting for Ghost Ranch to open at 1:00 pm today.

Anniversary Bouquet on Table

I unearthed the bio of Karajan in the pile Steve pulled from Phoebe. Between listening to all the pieces mentioned (through the Jabra headphones from Brett) & exploring all the places on google maps, I'll be busy for years.

Victor Vescovo

 

https://colossal.com/team/victor-vescovo/

Why would anyone would want to bring back paleo animals when our eco-system can't sustain the current wildlife? Because they can.

Ah, well. 

Off To Ghost Ranch

We're loaning her the 2008 Honda FIT for while she's at Ghost Ranch. 

We had a few hours and went to pickup a delivery from Sol Ranch. Then stopped at Trader Joe's for a few items and some flowers for our anniversary. We celebrated 9 years on the 3rd.

Then up to the ice skating rink. It was the first place we were together. Afterward, in 2016, she sat on the hood of her Volvo and said, "I want you."

Today she was happy to say it's still true.

After she left I shot a few arrows. The first three were amazing. Practically shot themselves. The 4th went right a couple of inches & the fifth was just wild.

Give Me A White

They went to the Jemez Springs book-barn and found a bunch. In the 1986 volume on how to write were several poems from this book. It's the kind of thing we share...spotting interesting bits, sometimes even large chunks, of literature, places on the map to go check out, rocks. 

We've recognized our inability to live together. Three to six weeks at a time was perfect. One day, the other day,  reminded me of how much we share. That was Friday and I'm still not fully recovered. It was the trip to the library while she napped that did me in.

A Visit

I awoke at 3:30 a.m. The ambien had given 4.5 hours. She arrived around 10 a.m. 

We had tea.

She had some yogurt & banana. (The peaches were bad.)

Aimee's video

She took a nap while I went to the library and the shoe store. (One of the guys at the nearby grocery had some incredible shoes with flames on them. He said he'd gotten 'em from just up the way; they were sold out.)

We looked at photos of her show then lay down together. It was nearly time for her to go.

I was so exhausted when I awoke this morning, turning from my side onto my back induced nausea.

Printed on metal

Crescent City Barmaid

It was nearing our time of parting...in July of '23.

Earlier in the day, I'd met a fisherman unloadiing the offal from his catch. He said the fillets, rock fish, went to the restaurant across the sward (Seaquake Brewing).

The wait time was 40 minutes...maybe longer. Invited to sit at the bar, we settled in.

It's true, I'm easily distracted. I avoid busy places, bars, restaurants, public toilets. (There's nothing quite as embarrassing as standing at a urinal and being tapped on the shoulder and someone saying "Hey, buddy" and turning and spraying pee all over....esp when it gets on the guy next door or the tapper.)

She was an auburn redhead, und sehr zaftig.

I watched, fascinated, as she moved, twice as fast as her co-workers, weaving among them like a dancer, mixing drinks, pulling beers, taking our order. (She said we could eat at the bar and wouldn't have to wait.)

Finally, I had to ask, "Who are you?!?!" She was a master one-wheeler 

working on a degree in psychology and had come from bar-tending in Lake Tahoe...a much loftier tier. I entreated for an interview but she demurred.

A few days later I was sitting outside a masseuse's shop, waiting. It wasn't until she went "floating" by -- down the middle of the street -- that I realized it was she!

I'm still puzzling over why this came back this morning.

What I'd RATHER

Next month it'll be two years since I returned to Albuquerque. Though my increasing deafness helps, I'm not adapting to the cheek-by-jowl urban lifestyle

I spent the first year in the Smirket Room. At the time, the east-side tenants (it's a rental) came and went at 1:30 & 5:30 a.m. Often, particularly on Friday & Saturdays, they'd linger over a song on the truck stereo before going inside. They liked it loud; the rest of the neighborhood could enjoy it too.

The guys spent a lot of time carrying small packages to and from cars that came and went, while two young women met a different vehicle out front every hour or so. There were always a lot of people coming & going with their belongings in plastic bags (Just in from the desert, are yuh?). But, you know, for the most part they were quiet and didn't ask to borrow money.

One of the main projects was installing the security cameras. 

West Side

East Side

For awhile Phoebe was picking up an unusual number of nails in her tires. It was a lesson in what happens when you complain about peoples' dogs barking all day & night. Consideration never crossed their mind; it was revenge.

Eventually we renovated "the office." With sound-deadening foam in the windows, my increasing deafness and the oxygen concentrator as a source of white noise, we've almost drowned out the sound of the crotch-rockets and hot rods.

The Office

 When we first arrived in '76, Albuquerque's population was 250,000; the 2023 estimate is 955,000. Albuquerque has more Walmarts per-capita than any other U.S. city. I suggest there's a corollary between the loud vehicles; it's an aesthetic, donchyuhknow?

The bucket-list phase is a thing of the past. The Seychelles, etc., are no longer on the table. Now, a trip to the library (on a good day) requires a day of recovery. 

I'm reading Horizon by Barry Lopez. Barry visited 82 countries and wrote a bunch of books about his travels. Horizon was his last; a combination memoir-autobiography in which he -- more than usual -- shares  his opinions and wee-hours-of-the-night ruminations. He died of cancer in 2020 at age 72; the same age as me.

Besides enjoying his writing and the armchair travel, I read his and other peoples' books like Horizon for clues about what I might be doing instead of reading. 

Here's a bit of supportive evidence. You'll note it doesn't mention sleeping.

Earth Observation (EO)

Copernicus Satellites & Cloudferro

Agan River & Wetlands (central Russia)

Once a year Mom's brother would visit. An attorney, he'd nag me about going to college. He allowed as how it wouldn't make me any smarter, but it'd open doors.

When, at the tender age of 33, I got bored with my thoughts, I decided to go see.

I didn't have a job in mind so took courses of interest: geology, economics, statistics, anthropology, journalism. When it came time to declare a major, they fit under the umbrella of Geography.

I specialized in Remote Sensing. In those days there were only a few satellites and what few jobs there were went to better students.

I ended up where I needed to be but now, decades on, when I chanced upon mention of the Copernicus programme, a European-funded satellite-based effort at monitoring changes on the planet whose images are open to the public, I went to see what I might've done instead.

My interest in art over-rode my technical curiosity so when I saw the contest for best image (Agan River & Wetlands - at top), I pivoted.

About the contest...

https://cloudferro.com/contest2024/

From Cloudferro website link above

This year we were looking for the most outstanding imagery showing places worth preserving and saving from the effects of environmental changes. The images were generated on such EO platforms as Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, CREODIAS, WEkEO, CODE-DE or EO-Lab. The winners were selected by internet users, who voted for the best 13 images, and then a Jury, who chose the top three entries that took the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

The Jury was composed of Simonetta Cheli, ESA, Stefano La Terra Bella, European Commission - DG DEFIS, Katrin Molch, German Aerospace Agency DLR, Danaele Puechmaille, EUMETSAT, prof. Grzegorz Wrochna, Polish Space Agency POLSA, Betty Charalampopoulou, EARSC, prof. Katarzyna Dąbrowska-Zielińska, Polish Institute of Geodesy and Cartography IGiK.

Here's the Copernicus article about the winning image...

https://dataspace.copernicus.eu/gallery/2024-5-21-agan-river-wetlands-wins-seize-beauty-our-planet

Praying Mantis

I was lying in bed reading when I felt something on my arm. They're such personable bugs.

Michelle plucked it from the top of the lamp and took it outside. She said she and her brother, when they were children, used to try and extend their lives by bringing them inside in the fall.

Cantaloupe

There's a section of bare ground between the sidewalk and the plants where, for years, Michelle has tried to get California poppies to grow. Every now and then some do. They usually bloom early and are done by April.

I put in cantaloupes. They've done better than expected and are delicious! Sweet and juicy with not a hint of bitterness. 

We shelter behind the foliage. It's home to a family of thrashers and several roadrunners.

Kitchen Tableau

 

By way of comparison: Georg Flegel (German)

(1566 – 23 March 1638, Frankfurt-am-Main)

In Bluff & Durango

They bought a new Volvo and are on their way to Durango to pick up a new trailer. They swung through Butler Wash yesterday 

to see how the Volvo handled on the road; it did fine.

View from Desert Rose Resort & Cabins

They stayed at the motel but after today they'll have the coolest trailer. We used to meet in Bluff. It was, depending on the circumstance, our jumping-off and/or parting place.

.

Safaricondo Alto with retractable roof - Durango

Death With Dignity

One of the major rationales of the Medical Aid In Dying (MAID) movement was the concept of a dignified death. The idea was that having to have someone wipe your bottom for you or the loss of other faculties compromised a person's dignity to such an extent that they would rather be dead.

While my guess is each person's definition varies, I'm finding it somewhat challenging to wear these diapers. 

Though I appreciate their usefulness, I could hold my head up much better in camo.

Anise Cookies

 

Mary Oliver - The Gift

 

The Way It Is

My hearing continues to fade. But with help from my ear trumpet I could juuuusssttt make out the cicadas last night. They like the warm nights.

The Mkt is down and took me with it this time. I'll have to wait it out.

I bought at 91.57. I'm currently down $72.96. Fortunately, I limit my betting involvement to $1,500.00. I was making $1,000.00 a week there for the last few months. Despite Trump.

I bought the lounge chair and will try it out today. I can sit for a brief spell as respite from standing -- the left hip won't tolerate weight for more than a few minutes at a time. But it's only when lying down that I'm really free of pain. The lounge chair showed up on Craigslist as if on cue.

Wearing my diaper I can ignore the urinary urgency and just pee in my pants. They'll soak up about 4 or 5 pees then gotta change 'em out. It's alot easier than carrying around a pee bottle or trying to make it to the bathroom. If I happen to be standing I pee in the yard.

Yesterday was the day after the trip to the store and those days are always a write-off. I was able to get up to goto the bathroom but went no further. It's as much a lack of energy as the hip having had to go beyond the normal call of duty.

Debbie the hospice nurse came by. She encouraged me to take more lorazapam instead of isosorbide. By doubling the loraz I was able to go 12 hours between doses of isosorbide instead of the usual 4 or 5. Her point was the angina is due more to anxiety than lack of oxygen. Next I'll try increasing the lorazapam and "meditating." That gets the heart going and often needs the isosorbide...or so I've thought.

Today my ears are clogged.. again. I use hydrogen peroxide to clean them out. I now have an alcohol soaking bowl for the ear twigs. 

Basking in alcohol

I unscrew them off the hearing aid & toss 'em in. It seems to reduce the frequency of infections somewhat.

In situ

Ah, and let us not forget the left hip. Good for maybe 20 feet, it then requires 20 minutes of full length flat outness to recover. I've not worked up the chutzpah to assume the position in Trader Joe's or at the glasses buying place, but I'm confident I'll get there. I'm caring less & less about what people think. It's the cat calls that annoy though. A few poundings with the Ekrin Kestrel actually help.

I asked Debbie about when folks decide to take the MAID. She said when they get tired of dealing with it all: Remembering to change the fentanyl patch, remembering to take the murilax to counteract the constipation caused by the fentanyl; remembering to take all the other meds that keep the blood pressure down, the warts off my nose and enable me to pee. 

I still think back to Justin Gorton, John & Julia's son. That guy set the bar for wanting to live. And he enjoyed eating so you know he was in his right mind. No dieting B.S. for him! I have a long way to go to match Justin's determination, but he left a pretty clear trail.

In betweeN I think about restoring Phoebe's interior. We have all the parts. I found a supplier in L.A. who's even affordable. I just need the energy to hobble out to the carport.

Thrasher

A distant cousin of the nightingale, they nest in cholla cactus. For the past few years they've shared it with roadrunners. Michelle puts out meal worms for them and there's a bowl of water. 

If she forgets, one or the other will come up to the large living-room window and peer in. There will be skirmishes and clamorings...to draw attention to the oversight.

The thrashers often sing in the mornings and evenings. Their song is more varied than a mockingbird. The mealworms are $100.00 a bag. We've never begrudged them.

Pyrotechnic Arrows

We read childrens' stories to each other before going to bed each night. Ben illustrated one of them. I went to his Youtube channel to see more of his work but he had a Patreon paywall so I just left. Apparently, he got my email as this showed up today. It's perfect for your inner 10-year-old.

Huslia Potlatch & Raven's Witness

I just finished reading Hank Lentfer's memoir of Richard K. Nelson titled Raven's Witness. 

Richard lived for a while in Huslia, a town in Alaska. And lo & behold, here came a video from Angela Gonzalez about their recent potlatch. How's that for cosmic!

Huslia Potlatch Giveaway

Population 291

Richard Nelson was a Michigan lad who loved being outside. Through a series of happenings facilitated by a college professor, he was able to be outside a lot! 

Hank Lentfer, a close friend of Richard, brings him to life in a way rarely seen on the written page. Richard died in 2019 of cancer at age 78.

The link below is to Raven's Witness on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Ravens-Witness-Alaska-Richard-Nelson/dp/1680513079/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2ZE37IG26KEUH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.b8W0cFvf1kheCoMr8zQMQ4jGr_UbqmVjm6ZrZEPr18hHwMIPEYiIQUwGkifkq4autB6jmO6SvrUY4bmCS4lAuFKMfnGQBGxwF73R9mcXtuGVtzewFoEgNajrUIOgmBFsn6B1eEJqnBLuwI_0mB5Wj_KGBNB18myRkFU4PLJ8P2sv2pLBdrXoywPfrWlCaLl-a78OgTvmmLBIfTx0sg5UMA.f2L9mIKFk9im1KmUM5n6BpLQ2wfHlv6tvaZtYsThg8s&dib_tag=se&keywords=raven%27s+witness&qid=1754959014&sprefix=raven%27s+wit%2Caps%2C244&sr=8-1

Al Christensen Slipped Away

 

Here's the URL for Al's blog

https://rollingsteeltent.blogspot.com/2025/07/i-talk-to-trees-but-they-dont-listen-to.html?m=1

If you goto the bottom and click on VIEW WEB VERSION (under the blue bar that says HOME), you'll see the list of his other entries on the right.

Generations

 The start of it all.