Catchin' Up!

The was little in the garden this past summer to wonder over. The whole summer was cool days and cold nights. Not a very conducive environment for growing. It would help if I had a greenhouse. About half the corn crop came in, the rest did nothing. Each squash vine could only manage to support 1 or 2 [at the most] squashes. Beets, carrots and kale did ok. Very strange weather for a summer. I do hear the earth is in a cooling trend. Even the global warming enthusiasts can't change God's patterns. So they renamed the issue to climate change. Only fools the people who don't research it.

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Nipper, the wily old Pom mix at 14 years, needed some aspirin for her aching hip bone problem. I put it into her bowl of food but she was smarter than I. Notice the bowl is spotless except for that aspirin. Sure gave me a laugh.

NM Monsoon Season

Every summer around here in the northern mountains comes what the locals call the "monsoons" - daily, afternoon thunder storms. Normally they start in late June or early July. People plant with with these things in mind. This year they are three weeks late but seem to be finally here.

Today I have towering thunderheads right to the east of me and heavy clouds coming over the mountain to the west of me. I feel like I'm in the fishbowl of storms here. Although there are thunderheads to the north and south, the highest are just to the east. NOAA says we're under severe tstorm warnings for 1/2 inch hail and flash floods. From a drought to lots of rain. Well the trees will survive it but the gardens are in delcate stages of growth. So I hope the hail today misses me.

Sometimes it's a bit heavy and last Friday I had a heavy dose of hail with mine. It was a half hour of hail and heavy rains. This did not do the cabbages, lettuce and spinach any good at all.

RAIN! finally!

We finally got some rain last night and more this afternoon. When I got up this am early, I had these beautiful mountain mists around the area while the sun was just coming over the mountain across the valley. The first shot is looking up the valley and the second shot shows the garden area out in the front field. The flower is from a wildflower patch I planted in the middle of the garden between the corn and some cabbage plants. The seeds were for butterfly and hummingbird flowers.

Even with showers now and then there hasn't been enough rain. We've also had a few dry lightening strikes that have started fires up on the mountain behind me. Too close for comfort. This rain will help some. The good news is that El Nino in is back in the Pacific which means we will be getting some moisture this fall and winter.

The gardens are growing slowly this year. The nights are too cool and the ground doesn't stay warm enough to aid in the vegetables growing. There is no 'global warming' up here.

A Dry Winter so Far

Well, it is still very dry here. No snows, no rain, no moisture. The western slopes are getting much more snow than the eastern side. This picture shows how far away the moisture is.

This is not a good sign and will make the fire season a dangerous one. Our trees and forests are way too dry even now. There have been some fires already and it isn't even the season yet.

This morning we had another beautiful sunrise. When I came out to the kitchen the house was glowing with the hues of the skies.




The Lord is good!

Not Enough Snow Yet

Everyone here about has been hoping and praying for moisture of any kind. The fields are dry again, the trees and fields need the water. There is a storm coming through New Mexico tonight and the western slopes will get the brunt of it. Our side is supposed to get some also. The last storm didn't crest the peaks there and spent itself on the far side. It was cold but not enough snow to make a difference in the water table. Melts as soon as it hits.

While the neighbors are away, I'm feeding the horses and cats. They are Quarter horses, mother and daughter. Brandy the mother has never been ridden. Star the filly is 11 months old. Her picture is the top one and you can see the star that led to her name. Brandy is at the bottom. They are both quite gentle and love company.

Another glorious sunrise! Praise God!

What alerts me to the wonders of the sunrise are the colors inside the trailer. Everything is tinted inside red, rose, pink etc.

So I grab my camera to get those first startling colors coming over the mountain to the east. Today the colors were everywhere even way up at the north end of the valley. This picture is looking northeast up the valley.

A New Year dawns

This morning's sunrise was another glorious one.


I've also posted pictures from the Angel Fire trip last Monday on this link:

http://www.rten.org

First menu item. It also was a glorious day up there.