High Country Aspens

I took a trip to Taos yesterday along Hwy 518 which crosses the Sangre de Christos. The color up in the high valleys and peaks is beautiful this time of year. Last night was the first really cold night this fall, so this will aid the changing of the leaves.

There should be another few weeks of full color. It's obvious that some of the trees, like some cottonwoods are just starting to change. Also from great distances, you can see the peaks covered in yellow swatches. Until you get closer, it's hard to tell they are groves of aspens.

I have jsut a few more here: http://www.rten.org/taos1007.htm

Up the Hill & Over the Pass

Yesterday was beautiful day here in the northern New Mexico mountains. From Mora, we took a drive to US Hill up on the High Road to Taos. We're about a week away from all the fall colors up here. U.S. Hill is about 9,000 ft n elevation.

Up there are wild chamisa plants used in preparing yellow dye for wool. A friend of mine makes her own dyes from all natural plants [http://www.threebagsfull.biz] as well as raise all her own sheep for the wool. She is a weaver. Anyway, we drove up to get some chamisa plants so she could make some yellow dye for the wool she is taking to the upcoming wool festival in Taos.

What a gorgeous route over the mountains it is. Hwy 518 is the main road through Mora and it continues on to the west up into the mountains and ends up in Taos. Taos is on the west side of the Sangre de Christos, and Mora where I am is on the east side. The drive through and over the range is beautiful. Especially this time of year.

There were too many pictures for the blog so I put them here.

Speaking of gardens...

Today I took some more shots of the 25X50 foot garden I put in this summer. [there are more pictures here]

Until the summer monsoons hit, I've had to water every evening. It's come out well. In this picture, you can see carrotts, onions, peas, lettuce, cucumbers, and the main item, six rows of corn.

A few of the lower rows were over run by bind weed. A New Mexico weed that can lay dormant in the ground for up to 50 years. It's insidious. All the tractoring and roto tilling must have awakened it.

I roto tilled in a huge load of sheep manure that had been well composted [no smell] that I got from a friend who is a weaver [Three Bags Full] and raises her own sheep. So ther is ample supply. Sheep manure is better than cow manure.

I've had no problem with rabbits, but the grubs and grasshoppers are eating up a storm.

Second Summer, 3rd snake

I think there must be a nest around here somewhere. Friends up the valley haven't seen any for quite a few years. This was a 3 or 4 year old snake [ going by the number of rattles - 2 or 3per year ]. I shot this one with snakeshot in my Ruger Bearcat .22 - this was July 17th, this year. Shortly after that the monsoon rains started, so we've had afternoon thundershowers most days since then. Great for the gardens.

All three snakes have been by the water dishes by the back yard pump. The two German Shepherds alert me when there is one in the yard. They instinctively do not like snakes.

Memorial Day 2007

I can't say it any better. Freedom always has a cost. Pray for our young soldiers who are still in harms way and remember what price your freedoms cost. bd.

May 28, 2007

We Dare Not Forget
—Albert Mohler

It all started soon after the end of the Civil War, when the families of the fallen went to decorate the graves of their loved ones who had died in the service of their country. Now, Memorial Day is the national holiday that announces the beginning of summer.

We dare not forget the original vision for this observance. Now, over a century after those first American memorials, we enjoy freedoms purchased and protected with the lives of so many who have worn the American uniform--soldiers, sailors and airmen who gave their lives for their country.

This is a day that should bring gratitude to every American heart. This nation has been defended by those who loved liberty more than life, and freedom more than safety. We honor their memory today as an annual reminder of a debt we can never repay. Keep this in mind as you observe this holiday with your family. Freedom is never free.


Albert Mohler is the host of The Albert Mohler Program.

Read Albert Mohler's blog on AlbertMohler.com.

And check out Townhall.

Traffic Jam in Mora

Occasionally we do get traffic jams here. This one was on Hwy 434 right as I got to town.That's the bridge over the Mora river.

Our little community is spread out and small and there are no traffic lights anywhere in town. Most of the stores and the post office are right on the main drag [Hwy 518] though town. Being the county seat, we do have a courthouse. Well, it is now a set of trailers since the old, historical courthouse is condemned. We have a new library in town now. The old one was refurbished and a community college joined in the reconstruction efforts so it's quite nice for the high school students and the community.

Looking over the Year

The last day of the year. I have many things to be thankful for up here. Good friends in the community and good friends still in the old community back in San Diego. We are constantly in touch via chat.

I'm am closer to God up here. There is nothing quite like the mountains to humble one and make me realize how small and insignificant I am compared to the glorious universe I see every clear night. I live at elevation 7,500 feet, so the skies are clear, no smog, no atmosphere interference of any kind except the occasional snow storm. The last storm was a good one and left us with about a foot of snow. This is great for the coming dry seasons. The more snow, the better the ground water and the pines love it. The snow was heavy and wet so has mostly dropped off the trees. I have to be careful where I walk, since it's still falling off the heavy laden branches.

More pictures on www.rten.org


Looking forward into the new year, I hope everyone's New Year is prosperous, safe and happy.

Merry Christmas from the NM mountains!

Well, another year has gone by and the Christmas season is upon us again. I hope you all have safe and happy holidays! Best wishes for a healthy and prosperous New Year!

1st Day of Winter

Today at 17:20 MST we traverse the winter solstice to officially be in the winter season. With all the recent snows, we figured we got winter a bit early. :)
Today the first storm has passed to the east and the sun is out and everything glistens with the fresh snows. We only have about 8-10 inches here but more is on the way.

The roads got plowed this am early - sort of, that is. See the picture from inside the SUV as I drove into town this morning. The main street of Mora was well plowed and salted but the secondary roads get a lick and a promise most of the time. The dirt roads depend on the people that live on them to plow or drive enough to have tracks. Not many of those are plowed. I watched the truck with the plow on front go by early this morning but he forgot to put the scooper to the ground. ;)

More pictures on http://www.rten.org

Winter Wonderland

The forecast is for snow through tomorrow (Wednesday, the 20th). We have about 3 inches now and it's coming down very lightly now, but earlier when I was out there, it was much heavier. Our earlier footprints are almost filled up.

This shot is of the upper areas at 10 am and you can see it's still not sunny and it's still snowing lightly.

I've posted the rest of this morning's photos up on this site: http://www.rten.org/ The top link is today's shots.

Beauty and the Beast

During the summer months I was constantly assailed by the beauty of the wild flowers that all seem to come up at different times. We have a continuing run of eye candy during the summer months in the high mountains. Every week there was somenew kind of wildflower just in my yard area.

But there are also things around that are not so nice. I shot this snake late one night with a .22 pistol. He was at the dogs water dish and I had just broken my toe a couple days before so was hobbling out there at 11pm in my sock feet to see what the dogs were so excited about. They instinctively don't like snakes. Well, they didn't like this rattle snake at all. He was a relatively young one, with 6 rattles so he was only about 3 years old. They get a lot bigger up here though. So he was all coiled up with that little rattle going a mile a minute. It was loud enough to hear over the dogs barks. I hobbled back in and got my Ruger Mark III Hunter that was handy to the door and got back out there and shot him.

Let's do Fall again

Around the Mora Valley area, we have fall colors in all their glory. The summers are full of wild flowers in the fields but fall is full of changing trees. The aspens and the cottonwoods are usually resplendent in bright golds. It makes driving to town even more of a treat.

On the road down the mountain to the town of Mora, I have some wonderful views of the valley and the mountains to the west.

The Morning After

Today is the day the Lord has made. A beautiful day! It was a glorious morning after the first snow. Clear skies and bright sun greet the day. We all enjoyed getting out in the sun. The night was very cold, down to 0 degrees.

Here is a link to all the pictures taken this morning: http://www.rten.org/snowfun.htm

Even when it's snowing

The two young dogs still eat outside, even when it's snowing. They each get tied up just for dinner time since otherwise, they would spend more time trying to eat each others food.

They are really good about this routine and know it's feeding time when I call the two older dogs into the house in the midafternoons.

They all have thick coats by now so they all seem to like being in the snow. They lay right down in it and it doesn't seem to bother them. The young ones play in it and eat it for moisture.

Snow is still falling now at 3pm so we are getting a good snowfall. I'm sure the ski areas 25 miles north of me are happy about this storm.

My upper lot forest is starting to look really nice with the snow there.

First real snow this winter

Well, today it finally snowed. We've had dustings before but it melted as soon as it hit.

Today, it's been snowing since early this morning. The first picture was taken about 11am and it's now about 1pm and the snow is still coming down but not as heavily as earlier. But that changes instantly. So the storm is still with us. I haven't heard how long it's supposed to hang around.

I'm happy to see it since our forests can use the moisture. The ground has been getting quite dry lately. This will help.

Local Election Ads.

Well, the local elections are finally over and, thankfully, most of the many signs and ads have been taken down already.

I thought this was the best ad. It is certainly unique but not really unusual around here. Many local residents keep horses, so it's not uncommon to see them on the local byways. Within a short walking distance of downtown Mora, there are fields of horses, cattle, sheep and alpacas.

The grass is always greener...

Down the road apiece at the alpaca ranch, they move the herds around the various fields to rotate the hay and grass and give the grasses time to regenerate.

I caught this one herd llama stretching for that really tender new green growth the other day. It does help to have a long neck!

Memorial Day 2006

Memorial Day is a special day of remembrance for those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and our nation.

Let us pray and give thanks that we live in a country that produces such brave young men and women.



This is the coin of the Joint Psychological Operations Task Force commemorating the loss of five of its members.

The inscription reads: "We stand in the capitals of those who would do our citizens harm because of your selfless acts."

A Hike to Waterfall above Walker Flats

In Cleveland, NM just west of Mora is a canyon called Rio la Casa [sometimes it's called Rio de la Casa depending on the map being read]. I have friends up this canyon building a unique house on the banks of the river, Rio la Casa. Further up the canyon is a place called Walker Flats. It's a high mountain meadow. Beyond that, further up into the Sange de Cristos is a beautiful waterfall which feeds the Rio la Casa river.

Last Saturday we drove up to within a couple miles of the waterfall then hiked into it. What a day and the views were just breathtaking. That river and waterfall are snow melt from the higher elevations. The water is really, really cold. On the close up shot of the waterfall rocks is snow still not melted yet. The water doesn't warm up as it gets into the warmer parts of the canyon a few miles below and lower down in elevation. It's still quite cold.

Amola Ridge under fire

Last week was a week of watching the ridges for smoke and flames. This northern New Mexico fire is now about 80% contained but late last week the smoke could be see as far away as Santa Fe. Chuck, who was thinning my trees, is off fighting that fire. So far 16,000 acres consumed.

The upper part of the valley just north of my place was on voluntary evacuation alert for more than two days. The winds were the fire's friend. It was so bad Saturday, the aerial tankers were grounded. Sunday it calmed down.

From the Santa Fe New Mexican this am - MORA: Crews battling a wildfire burning in Northern New Mexico took advantage of good weather Sunday.

The fire was headed toward Ocate [see previous post] and highway 442 was closed for days. It's now open again.