Wind & Sand

It is so dry here. We are in a heck of a drought as are several of the other southwestern states. The wind blows and the sand creeps into the house through each and every little crack. You might think you have the best windows made but find out there is not any window that seals well enought to keep this dust out. There are brush fires everywhere. New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arizona that I am sure of. Tornados are just as bad like in Iowa and Wisconsin.

These photos don't show the wind and dirt that well, but they are kind of blurry due to the blowing sand. The first one is after a windy day when the sand is blown like little waves.

No Blossoms

I am upset that most of my fruit trees and orinament trees arn't blooming or not as muchh as usual. Don't know what they are missing in the way of fertilizer. I have researched some on internet but didn't find any advise that Im not already doing. I use lots of horse manure and prune in Feburary. Maybe they just don't like living in the desert. My redbuds did fair as are my apples and cherry trees. but peach trees didn't have any blossoms at all. One pear did great and the other didn't have any blossoms. I treat all of them the same.

Wind Storm

We are having another windstorm today. It is covering the whole state of New Mexico, and is a little scarey. We had a bad one a few weeks ago and this is just as bad. It makes me wonder if we are going into another 'dust bowl' like my parents and grandparents talked about happened in the 1920's and 1930's. As I sit here I can hear the winding howling like a monster trying to consume the land and everything on it. I hear the metal roof on the ponies shelter bouncing, the trash cans have been knocked over by the wind, as have my yard cart, and a bench I sit on when outside. I hear the squeal of the metal gates as the wind pushes on them first one way and then the other way. We have the 10 foot long front gate wrapped with a heavy chain and locked to keep the wind from pushing it open. That gate seems to get the wind the worse as it has come open a few times. I just hope the gates to the horse pens don't come open. I have only small latches on them instead of heavy chains and locks. The horses don't want to stay in their shelters because, apparently, it is more scarey to them in the shelters than out. They stand with their eyes closed and their butts to the wind trying to wait it out. I feel so sorry for them. Most of the time their 3-sided shelters are enough. I can't see the Sandia Mountians that usually make such a nice view for us from the back porch. In fact it is difficult to see my neighbors home. The power pole between my house and theirs keeps trimbling in the wind. It has a crack in it from the top to the bottom. We have called the electric company but they say it is safe. I guess when it falls and hits a house, or truck, or even worse one of our propane tanks (the pole is between our propane tank and theirs) then the electric company might say that there was a problem. I see the wind whipping the electric lines back and forth between the power poles. I hope they don't come down. When I first moved to Albuquerque in 1973 we never had wind storms like this. You could count on a rain shower almost every afternoon for a few minutes from late spring until late summer. When we moved to Rio Rancho in 1983 there was usually more snow in Feb. and March than any other month. I remember a snow storm in May on Mothers Day in about 1984. By the next day the snow had melted off the roses and they were fine. But then we had moisture frequently. Up until about 1995 we planned to spent most weekends from Jan. to April in the mountains snowmobiling. Now I have two snowmobiles sitting in the yard that haven't been started for several years. In fact one of the reasons we moved to where we are now is that we had been able to bring the snowmobiles out here frequently to ride them on 10 to 18 inch snows several times each winter. We had antipated riding out the front gate and across a snow covered mesa on our snowmobiles. Now we just watch the wind whip sand up onto everything with no hint of moisture in the air.

Peppermint Candy!

After all that brushing and play all the horses got peppermint candy which they dearly love. (most horses love peppermint, along with carrots, and horse cookies) followed by an afternoon snack of hay. (Of course their not spoiled!)

Ziva's Help

Hairy Beastie

Time to brush the horses. First I did the bay mare, Nita, then on to the old paint, Sunny. But Nita really likes to be brushed and tells me she wants more by shoving her nose in against Sunny. But Sunny is the worst of my Hairy Beasties so he gets the most. The hair comes off in swirls that almost look like big hairy worms. then it is all in a pile at his feet. Hate to say it but I know I will have to do it all over in a day or so.

Shadow Horse

Oh, Dear. I think I brushed Sunny until he was only a shadow of himself. (Sorry about the manure. It's where the hair went to on the wind.)

Pony Play

Both ponies playing together and talking to one of the other horses, Star.

Traveler

H

These are of Traveler playing and then standing to be brushed. Wish the background had been better on the one photo instead of having the trashcan in front of the garage in it. Tuffee is helping keep Trave under control in the one photo.

Rolling

Traveler is the only one of our horses that insists in rolling in the manure pile. I don't know why.

Stormy

On Saturday it was nice for around here so I took the ponies over to the big pen and let them play followed by a good brushing. Here is Stormy playing and standing to be brushed.

Hoya Vine

And here, finely, is a half way decent photo of one of my hoya vines flowering. I have been trying each time it blooms to get a good photo and this is the best yet but still not as good as some I have seen online. There are hundreds of these kind of vines but all have simular flowers even though the leaves might be different. This leaf is long with white spots. And some have flowers that are very from a pale white to this dark pink. This one has a lot of sweet sent to it. In fact I find the sent so powerful that I don't like it, and frequently have to cut the flowers off and throw them out. This one hasn't been as bad this time. As they dry they shed their flowers all over the floor under them which can be a problem, too. But I love the hoya vine as it is so easy to grow and care for. I treat mine very simular to a cactus as they take only a little more water than a cactus but do like good light.

Blooming Indoors

I have a geranium and an African Violet blooming in the house now.

Trying to Bloom

It looks like we are starting to have a bit of spring. The willow trees are greening up. The ornimental pear is blooming although the flowers are windblown, and my cottonwood trees are blooming their strange little, 2 inch long yellow blossoms.

Full Moon

Here are four of the photos I took the night there was the Super Full Moon about a week ago. I took a couple of shots looking through one of my cherry trees, a couple looking toward the city of Albuquerque which is about 30 miles away from me, and one that is of the moon it's self.

Looking for Spring

A few geranium blossoms are blooming but that is all so far. All the trees are thinking about blooming and leafing out but nothing yet. Lilacs have a few green spots that I think are the beginnings of leaves. And I found a couple of tumbleweeds that had sprouted where they weren't wanted. Of course tumbleweeds are never wanted.

I have fixed three pots with tomato seeds and four pots with a few flower seeds but nothing has come up yet.

We are getting warmer, almost to warm. No more freezing at night. And thinking about getting my shorts out for wearing in the afternoons when working outside. It hasn't reached 70 degrees here yet but that is to warm for me. Oh, how I dread those 90 to 100 degree days that I know are coming this summer.

Trying to get a lot of yard cleaning done before those hot days get here. It always amazes me how much clutter there is after a long winter.

Sun Rise and Time Change

Took these photos of the sun rise the morning after the time change for spring. Spring Forward and loose an hour. Do wish the goverment would set the time to one or the other times and leave it alone instead of this spring forward and fall back an hour ever six months.

Cow Skull & Ojo de Dios

This cow skull was my moms and now hangs on my back porch. The Ojo de Dios, or Eye of God, was my grandmothers, and my parents got it when she was gone. The Ojo de Dios are wonderful craft projects made out of 4 sticks or dowl rods with yarn wrapped around the sticks to make designs. This is one of the best I have ever seen and was made by a man grandma knew in Arizona, I think. But the colors were never what I liked. I am not a fan of the color orange. So it, too, hangs on the porch where it looks nice.

Finally, Dogs Gone

Nita looks like she is ready to relax since that dog, Tuffee, has left.

All Done!

Herding job over, Tuffee is given the "All Done" command and she leaves the pen with the horses.

Finally, He's Moving

Sunny decides to walk across the pen and Tuffee walks after him thinking she is herding.

Horse Won't Herd

Tuffee was trying to herd Nita. Now she looks at me as if to ask "What do I do now? She won't herd."

Border Collie

Tuffee thinks she is herding Sunny. Sunny says he is way to old to pay attention to a little dog.

Trave & Storm

Our two ponies Traveler and Stormy

Now What Are Those Dogs Up TO?

Ponies watching the dogs.

Who's Got the Pony Watch?

Ziva and Tuffee watching the ponies.

Resting

Ziva resting on the couch

Eagle Cams

At this time of year there are seveal places that have web cameras on bird nests. I was watching one of an eagle in Iowa just minutes ago. Some of the eagles are starting to lay eggs but it may be a couple of weeks before there are any chicks. Most eagles will come back to the same nest year after year so it is easy for watchers to set up the web cams so that thousands of people can watch the birds at the same time. This is one really good use of all this electrion technology that is available now.
You can visit the one I watched at http://www.raptorresource.org/falcon_cams/ This site also has links to some of the other raptor bird cams but not all were working when I tried them.
It is so cool to watch these wonderful wild birds as they raise their chicks.

Is It Spring Yet?

Some days it sort of feels like spring but then it still gets so cool at night. I have been watching the birds and they are starting to pick mates and think about building nests. I have heard an owl a couple of times in the middle of the night when I go out with the dogs. I like to go out with the dogs for a few minutes. It is so different at night than it is in the daytime. No noisy traffic. No yelling neighbors with their loud music that they seem to think everyone wants to listen to when we don't. Not near as many barking dogs. And last night there was not even any roosters crowing from down the street. I have never figured out why there is the saying that the rooster crows at dawn when they crow all night here. I've never had chickens. I have considered it. But I don't think I want to be any closer to crowing roosters than I am already.
Back to the birds - I have seen several hawks flying over looking in the vacent areas for rats, chipmonks, prairie dogs, mice, and birds. That means they are migrating. There are very few red tail hawks and cooper's hawks that stay year round here. Wish they would to help keep the rodents down.
My fruit trees and flowering trees are thinking about blooming. The buds are swelling but no sign of color in them yet. We dug water wells around all the trees and gave them a good drink. Each winter the winds fill in all the water wells as well as covering up all my rocks and my few preninal plants. And it is blowing again as I type this.
OH for some rain.