From Friends

Some times I have an email friend that seens me something that is just to good to keep to my self. Recently that has happened quite a bit. Here is one I got today. I had a good laugh when I read it, hope you do to.

Women & Men

Cash, check or charge?" I asked, after folding items the woman wished to purchase.
As she fumbled for her wallet I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse."So, do you always carry your TV remote?" I asked. "No," she replied, " but my husband refused to come shopping with me,
and I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him legally."UNDERSTANDING WOMEN
(A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE) I know I'm not going to understand women. I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax,
pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the root,
and still be afraid of a spider.
MARRIAGE SEMINAR While attending a Marriage Seminar dealing with communication,
Tom and his wife Grace listened to the instructor,
"It is essential that husbands and wives know each other's likes and dislikes." He addressed the man,"Can you name your wife's favorite flower?"Tom leaned over, touched his wife's arm gently and whispered, "It's Pillsbury, isn't it? CIGARETTES AND TAMPONS A man walks into a pharmacy and wanders up and down the aisles.
The sales girl notices him and asks him if she can help him.
He answers that he is looking for a box of tampons for his wife.
She directs him down the correct aisle.
A few minutes later, he deposits a huge bag of cotton balls and a ball of string on the counter. She says, confused, "Sir, I thought you were looking for some tampons for your wife? He answers, " You see, it's like this,
yesterday, I sent my wife to the store to get me a carton of cigarettes, and she came back with a tin of tobacco and some rolling papers; cause it's sooo-ooo--oo-ooo much cheaper. So, I figure if I have to roll my own .......... so does she. ( I figure this guy is the one on the milk carton! )
WIFE VS. HUSBAND A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word.
An earlier discussion had led to an argument and
neither of them wanted to concede their position.
As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs,
the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?" "Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."

W O R D S
A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day...
30,000 to a man's 15,000.The wife replied, "The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men... The husband then turned to his wife and asked, "What?"

CREATION A man said to his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be
so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time. " The wife responded, "Allow me to explain.
God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!
WHO DOES WHATA man and his wife were having an argument about whoshould brew the coffee each morning.The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up first,
and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee." The husband said, " You are in charge of cooking around here and
you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee."Wife replies, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible
that the man should do the coffee."Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me."So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament
and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says.........."HEBREWS"

The Silent TreatmentA man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving eachother the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day,he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight.
Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5:00 AM." He left it where he knew she would find it.The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AMand he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go andsee why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper bythe bed. The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM. Wake up."Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.

God may have created man before woman,
but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece.SEND THIS TO SMART WOMEN WHO NEED A LAUGH AND TO MEN YOU THINK CAN HANDLE IT !

Cats

Cats know exactly how we feel.
They don't give a damn,
But they know.

Ain't that the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Visitors to the Crossing

I was surprised to see a goldfinch eating sunflower seeds this morning while I was watering my tomatos and trees. Can it be migatory season already? We never see these tiny golden finchs except for their breif appearence as they dart through on their migatory route either north or south. They are such a pleasure to watch. You can get within a few feet and as they are feeding on sunflower seeds, cosmas seeds, or wild grass seeds. I don't think I saw any going north this spring and this one seemed to be a bit early for southern trip.

I have seen several large jack rabbits that have taken up residence in the two acreas behind my place. There is nothing there except sage, tumbleweeds, and wild sunflowers. A perfect jack rabbit home.

Kacie, my gray and white cat was watching the rabbits from atop one of the corner fence posts. I told her not to try to take on one of those big rabbits, that they were bigger than she is. When they stand up on their long legs, these jack rabbits look to be as tall as my Border Collie, Tuffee. Tuffee, Cody, my German Shepherd, and Niki, my lab cross, always chase the rabbits that come in the yard, but the rabbits are faster than they are.

DisneyLand Birthday

Happy Birthday To You! DisneyLand!
Yes, Disneyland is having a big birtday party this month. That most wonderfull of all theme parks is 50 years old. I wanted so much to be part of the celabration. But it was not to be. But my sister and my neice that I brag on so much and my nephew were able to be there. They said it was fantastic.
Horrors! With all that the news media has to report on there was almost no mention of this wonderful event. Or not that I say.
Again I want to say Happy Birthday to Disneyland, and Mickey Mouse. They have helped us to keep young at heart.

Supreme Court Judge

Recently Sanda Day O'Conner retired as a Supreme Court Judge. It is our right to have a person who will represent us propertly as her replacement. Make sure you let your senators and others in political offices know who you want to fill this important possition. Remember it is a possition that is appointed and that person may be a Supreme Court Judge for many years. We need a person who will support our country and our ways. Not someone out to support himself or herself.

Additonally remember this possition may have to be filled twice this year. We need the right people as our highest Judges. I make no suggestions. I leave that up to you. But do let your senators and President Bush know how you feel.

Socks

Did you ever notice that if you buy a pair of socks and really like them that sure as shottin' one, and I say again, just one (1) of them is bound to disappear. And believe me you will never find it again. It doesn't matter how hard you look for it. I have come to think that there must be little, bitty, tiny gremlins, or elves, or space aliens that live in my house and they have a great fondness for just one brand, new sock. I have yet to figure out what they find so great about one sock or where they take it to.
And if that isn't bad enough; if you have a pair of sock you don't really care for they will hang around for a life time. Oh, those awfully socks may straight all out of shape, fade into really weird colors, and srink to a smaller size, but you'll always be able to find them when you can't find any other socks in your sock drawer. And you will be forced to wear them.

Lightning Fires

Just so that no one worries I thought I should let you know that the report on Good Morning America was wrong. Don't know if the same report was put out on any other news shows or not. They said that there were fires in Albuquerque and homes had to be evacuated. Not so. We did have a fire on Kirtland Air Force Base and one in the Bosque near Bernallio (town) but no one had to leave homes. Golf course at Kirtland was all that was evacuated. Some people in Bernallio were ready to but never had to. Stupid news reporters never get anything right. We did have a heck of a sandstorm that day here in Albuquerqe and lots of lightning. Lightning causes those two fires plus one in a house in Albuq. and some small fires in National Forests. None of them were major. One at Kirtland was about 500 acrea in the flat land area on part of base that is never seen by non military and from the pictures on the news we saw there was nothing on it but tumbleweeds The one in Bernillio was in a Bosque area (wild native area) near river and about 200 acreas. The smoke from both was bad. We could smell it real heavy in the call center where I work as it came through air conditioning unit.We did get a lot of lighning again yesterday but no fires (unless there were some in forests that weren't mentioned) and we got some rain. Supposed to do it again today. I sure hope so as we really need the rain. Humity is high today but at least there isn't that big puff of dust with every step I take in the yard. Horses look a bit cleaner, too. Just wish the dogs didn't insist on rolling in either the dust or the mud. Everyone take care where ever you are.

Animal Abuse

Go to www.ahdf.org This is the site for the American Horse Defence Fund. It tells of the horrible things done to horses at slaughter and of the Sweeny/Sprat Act to stop it. But it is not enough. We can't stop now. This is the start. No animal- horse, dog, cat, whale, or human deseres to be killed simply to fill the need of people who want to eat a so-called delicasy. Neither do any of these animals ever need to be abused in any way. Slaughtering horses is the worst. What will it be next? Slaughtering dogs and cats for the people in countries that eat them? Keep sending those letters to your senators. And don't forget about the need to stop the abuse of racehorses, showhorses (especially the paso finas, saddlebreds, and any others that are made to do gaits that are unnatural) grayhounds, dog fighting, and abuse of children. If a person will do one they will do the rest. And get the cattle off of our public lands. That will not only save the wild horses, but deer, elk, songbirds, fish, eagles, hawks, buffalo, all wildlife, and our natural grasses, wildflowers, and soil.

I have 4 horses. They looked so terrible when I got them. They came from different places. One is a wild horse, two are QH's, and one is Morgan. Now they are good riding horses. I have three dogs that where thrown out as puppys. Now they are good pets in all ways. I have 5 cats -same thing. They were thrown out as kittens. They are great company for me. We all need to educate the public on the love and uses of pets.

Don't let America become a nation of intentional cruelty to animals and people.

New Job

I have a new job. Can't say much for it. It is a call center. And what can I say about call centers, except that ---- well I guess they don't want me putting that kind of language in my blog. But it is a job. And I will keep plugging along at it. Just that I hate to be treated like a 6-year-old. Or else they treat you like you get treated in the military. And yeah, I know about that too. And I got out as soon as I could, a long time ago. So if you call in to a call center you might just get me. The one I work at services several different products.

Where is Clatskanie?

One reader wants to know 'where is Clatskanie?' It's in Oregon. Yes, I understand that everyone might not know where such a small town with such a strange name might be. It is my understanding that the name comes from an Oregon tribe the Tlatskanai. It is just to the west of the big city of Portland which means it is in the northwest part of the state.

I got to go there once about four years ago. I have to say it is the exact opposite of the desert country here. It is GREEN. All year round it is GREEN. Except when it snows, which isn't that offten. It is a very small town about 1800 population. Most of the homes seem to be on large, country type lots. Everywhere you look are trees. Great big beautiful trees. All kinds of trees. It does rain quite a bit there, and many days you can't see the sun for the clouds. But I think that would be OK. At least they don't have as much wind as we do and not near the blowing sand. Some day I hope to visit there again.

Check out www.clatskanie.com and www.clatskanie.com/chamber/

The Boys

And not to leave out the other three I will brag on them for a bit. You can read about my son, Dustin in my story about my trip to Cloudcroft. Dustin is in college at New Mexico State learning all about horses. (One of my favorite subjects, too). He is an inturn at the ranch where he is working.

And Cyndi's older brother Eric just returned from six months in France as an exchange student. He was able to visit many other countries while he was there. Eric is studying film and acting at a college in Orange, CA.

Cyndi's oldest brother, James, graduated from New Mexcio Tech last year and is now helping to make design vehicile saftey air bags in Moses Lake, WA. He is married to a wonderful woman and they have two adorable little boys.

My sister, her husband, and my husband and I are very proud of our four children.

Still Bragging

Well, to top off everthing else she has done, my neice Cyndi now has her picture and an article on the front and last page of her home town newspaper the Clatskanie Chief. Her grade point average of 4.0 and her work on the school newspaper, as well as the Clatskanie Chief, and other things has earned her a Presidential Scholarship from Southern Oregon University where she will start this fall. Way to go, Cyndi!

Cloudcroft - Continued

That evening Dustin and I spent some time visiting with Eve. She owns the property where Dustin keeps Emme and CW. Eve is a wonderful person to talk to. She is in her 80’s and was recovering from recent hip surgery. She talked to us about a lot of things in the Cloudcroft area. She had moved there in the 50’s, saying that as soon as she saw it she knew that was where she wanted to live from then on. I hope I will be doing as well as she is when I am her age.

The next day I went with Dustin to visit more of Cloudcroft and the surrounding area.
In the late 1800’s lumberjacks were logging the area around what is now Cloudcroft, and a railroad was built to take the logs down the mountain. Soon the hotels, gift shops, and restraints were built to accommodate the tourists that were finding Cloudcroft a great place to visit.

We played tourist and went to many of the little gift shops along the main street of town. You can walk on the boardwalk there and sometimes watch artists hard at work. Then we had lunch at a café, and then on to the gift shops in the huge lodge near the golf course. The Lodge has a spa, as well as fine dining, and a live in ghost, named Rebecca. I didn’t see her but some people say they do. It was there that I bought a postcard to mail to my sister in Oregon and a necklace as a high school graduation gift for my niece. I didn’t get much on my shopping trip but it was fun. Most of my souvenirs are always the ton of photos I take everywhere I go.


It is a wonderful place to visit, but you need to remember that it is at about the 9000-foot elevation, which can cause some people problems. If nothing else you may find climbing in elevation can cause you shortness of breath and to want to sleep quite a bit until you become used to the change. But the climb to Cloudcroft is well worth it. The area is covered in tall, stately spruce and ponderosa pine trees as well as aspen and oak. Even in mid-May it was still cool enough that we needed our jackets and the oak hadn’t leafed out yet. The grass was green and a few wildflowers where just starting to peak out. I knew that within a few weeks there would be wildflowers everywhere you wanted to look. Since we were driving the Jeep, Dustin and I took one side trip down a dirt road meant only for 4-wheel-drive vehicles. It was rough but gave us a great look at the true wild life of the Sacramento Mountains. Not only did we see the trees and plant life but we saw several elk. It would be a great place to go hiking. We saw some patches of snow left in shady spots and remembered that Cloudcroft is a great winter playground for skiers, and snowmobiling.

While we were out we saw the turnoff to Sunspot, NM. It sits on Sacramento Peck, a high moutain, a few miles from Cloudcroft. I had never heard of it. After doing some checking I sure wished we had gone there. Sunspot is an astronomy center. It is well regarded as having one of the most air pollutant free places in the United States. There is a big visitors center and you can look through some of the impressive telescopes and see the stars. I will certainly go there the next time I visit Cloudcroft.

That evening we went to feed Emme and CW and there were three deer in the field with them. I had seen six deer along the road near the ski resort when I had first got to Cloudcroft. Dustin told me of several big, bull elk that had hung around the ranch all winter. There is much more wild life there including raccoons, skunk, bobcat, bears, squirrels, and rabbits. I saw a red-tailed hawk floating over the ranch one afternoon as he tried to spot a mouse or mole in a field.

I took many photos of all the beautiful horses at the ranch. All together I think there were about twenty-five horses there. The babies were so cute and precious, the yearlings adorable, and the stallions were stunning. Dustin took the time to groom Arte, and then worked with him in the round pen for a bit, letting him run, buck, and play.

To my great disappointment no other foals were born while I was there. On the last day I watched as Dustin and the ranch manager brought in first one Saddlebred stallion and then the other to collect semen from them that was to be shipped next-day-delivery to mares in states far away for artificial insemination. After that the local veterinarian came by to do an ultrasound on one of the mares that had recently foaled to see if she was ready to breed again. She was, so some of the semen that had just been collected from a stallion was used to inseminate her so she would have a baby about 11 months from then. That is how long it takes horses to have their babies. Many horse breeders are using the artificial insemination process with their horses because it is so much safer for both the mare and the stallion.

I didn’t want to leave the mountain hideout that I had found but knew I must so early one morning I left for the low country. I followed the same route back to Albuquerque and wasn’t disappointed in the sights even though I now felt familiar with them as I went from high mountain country to low desert. It was all beautiful. I plan on going there again soon.

If you are interested in learning more about Cloudcroft and the other towns I have mentioned you can visit these websites.
www.cloudcroft.com
www.golbalhemp.com/News/2000/December/discoveries_in_cave_speak.html
www.alamogordo.com
www.townofcarrizozo.org
www.socorro-nm.com
www.albchamber.com
www.belennm.com
www.chacaro.com
www.newmexico.org
http://nsosp.nso.edu/

Trip to Cloudcroft

Trip to Cloudcroft

In mid May I packed a few things into my Jeep Wrangler. Things like a small ice chest full of water and sodas, small mechanical tools for working on the Jeep in case it broke down (thankfully I didn’t have to use them), a bag with a few snacks in case I got hungry, a jacket for the cool weather still in the higher elevations, and a small suitcase with enough clothes for a week. Oh, and did I mention the two, fifty pound bags of horse cookies requested by my son. He can’t buy the kind he wants where he is living near Cloudcroft, NM. So he had asked me to bring him some. And did I mention that two bags of horse cookies doesn’t leave much room for anything else in a Jeep Wrangler. It was a good thing I didn’t plan on being there very long.

I left Albuquerque, New Mexico about 9:00 am. It took me about an hour to go through what is called the Westside part of the city, then out South Coors past Isleta Pueblo to catch highway I-25 south to Los Lunas, Tome, Belen, Bernardo, and Lemitar. Then came Socorro, population 18,000 and where last year at this time I was attending the graduation of my nephew, James, from New Mexico Tech. From Socorro I went a few more miles south to the exit for San Antonio, New Mexico home of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge where thousands of sandhill cranes can be viewed each winter along with lots of ducks, geese, turkey, deer, coyotes, hawks, eagles, quail and once in a while a rare whooping crane. I have visited the refuge often and really enjoy going there, but it is not my goal today. At San Antonio I turned east on New Mexico State Road 380.

I love all the names of the town in New Mexico. I have heard these names all my life but hate to admit that I don’t know the meaning behind most of them. I decide I will look them up on the Internet when I get a chance. Some of them are cute, or quaint, or catchy. Most come from words that are of an Indian (Native American) or Spanish background. Many have been corrupted from the original pronunciation, and are really different from the orgional meaning. But what I really like about a lot of them is how they simply roll of your tongue when you say them.

Heading east I was on a simple two-lane road instead of the four-lane interstate. I couldn’t go as fast but it was a much more pleasant drive. It was desert country and the desert was in bloom on this fine spring morning. Coming around one turn I caught my breath at the sight of a golden yellow field of wild flowers with a rocky ridge pushing up behind it. Right along the edge of the road was several clumps of light pink penstimmons that were about three feet tall in full bloom surrounded by bees and other flying insects. When I stopped to take a photo a blue-tail lizard darted away.

South of this area of New Mexico is a place called Jornada Del Muerto on the map. It means Journey of Death. If you have ever read any New Mexico history you will remember that this was a section of the country that all travelers learned to avoid if it was at all possible. It covers several hundred square miles, and there is nothing out there. And I mean nothing (or at least that is what I have read, as I have never ventured out into it). Oh, there is cactus, sagebrush and a few other desert plants but nothing else and this includes water. Especially water. Even in this day and age it would be suicidal for anyone to try to cross the Jornada Del Muerto with out plenty of water and food, plus extra gasoline for their vehicle, if you can even find a road through it. I have to add that a lot of it is government land and only the military are allowed on it. Since this is the 'place of death' it kind of seems like that might be one reason that the government decided that was where they should set off the first atomic bomb on July 16, 1945. I saw the gate to go to the Trinity Site near a wide spot in the road called Bingham. I decided that maybe, just maybe, I should take one of the tours that are offered at the Site twice a year, the next time one is available.

Just before the next town I saw an area called The Malpais, meaning The Badlands. This is a common name for very old, long-cooled rivers of lava flows. There were large collections of the state flower of New Mexico, the yucca, over much of the lava. I was disappointed that the yucca weren’t in bloom yet. The tall flowers of the yucca were referred to by the conquistadors as the candles of the lord and were thought to light the way at night. The white, waxy flowers do stand out even in the dark. I pulled into the tiny little community of Carrizozo, population near 1000, about noon No I didn’t misspell that name. It refers to a type of native grass in the region. I stopped at a gas station to use the restroom and grab a snack. There was Mexican music playing inside, and the people were friendly, and the smell of burritos got to me. I bought one and went on my way savoring the rich, spicy chili, cheese, and meat inside the flour tortilla.

From Carrizozo I went south on New Mexico State Road 54. There wasn’t much to see on this stretch of road, except very flat desert, a few cars and pickups and numerous big rigs. I did get a faint glimpse of the white sands in the White Sands National Monument. Or it may have been part of the White Sands Missile Range, which is not open to the public. I made Tularosa about 1:00 pm. Tularosa means reeds or cattails, and the population is about 2,800. I didn’t stop, as I wanted to get on to Alamogordo. I was unable to find out the meaning of the name, Alamogordo, but the population is about 35,000. Near by is Holloman Air Force Base, which is the home of the Stealth Fighter planes. Again I didn’t stop but took the east turn on New Mexico State Road 82. I did stop for a moment when I reached the tunnel that is about midway between Alamogordo and Cloudcroft. I took pictures of the tunnel, a bit longer than a football field and the canyon beside it that has a sign saying it is part of the Lincoln National Forest. It had another sign saying that the canyon was home to the Fresnel Shelter Site which is two caves that archaeologists first found fifty some years ago. The caves had many things in them like arrowheads, hemp sandals, baskets, brooms, bedding, and a 3000-year-old corncob thought to be from a native culture of gatherers before the time of the Anasazi. Lincoln National Forest is, also, famous for being the home of Smokey the Bear. Smokey was found as a tiny cub after a bad forest fire. He went on to become the symbol of the Forest Service for fighting fires. He was fond of saying, “Only you can prevent forest fires,” which is still very true.

It was about 2:00 pm when I reached the town of Cloudcroft, meaning a croft or meadow in the clouds, population about 800, with an elevation at 8663 feet. Another words its way up there in the clouds. It is a beautiful little town with several motels, restaurants, and lots of gift shops. I stopped long enough to call Dustin, my son, so he would be out at the corner of the road I was to turn on to get to the small horse ranch where he works, which was my final destination.

Six more miles down the road east of Cloudcroft I saw Dustin standing beside his truck and waving at me. He jumped in it and led the way to Chacaro Oh-So-Black Arabian and Pinto Ranch. The ranch is a small one as ranches go so don’t go thinking in terms of cowboys, as there isn’t a cow on the place. It is a horse-breeding ranch. The raise Arabians and Saddlebred horses.

The first thing we did was put my suitcase and stuff in Dustin’s small apartment in one end of the main barn. The next thing we did was go to see Darkan’s Mystic Art or as he is better known as Arte. It is pronounced Art-ee. Arte is the yearling colt that Dustin’s mare Emme had last spring. I had seen him once before at about five months. Now he was a bit over a year old and just gorgeous. He is a handsome, fine-looking colt. But then I might be a bit opinionated. Arte is half Arabian and half Saddlebred or National Show Horse as the half Saddlebred horses are called. He is black with his mama’s long white stocking, and two lightning bolt stripes down over his left side and flank. He really has a pretty Arabian head like his sire Black Lord Darkan.

Next it was off to see the two mares that had recently foaled. Both off them were black Arabians that had been bred to the two Saddlebred stallions owned by the ranch. Both babies were adorable little fillies. Both were black with white stockings. One had a white splotch on her withers, and the other had a large white band around her middle. I couldn’t help but want to hold and love them but they wouldn’t stand for that. They were curious and wanted to nibble on everything they could put their mouths on, but have to be taught not to bit on humans.

After meeting all the horses, Dustin and I went to feed his two mares that he was keeping at another place a few miles away. There I got reacquainted with Emme, and CW. Emme is Arte’s mom and is a beautiful black and white pinto. CW (Charging Walk) is a big, bay Thoroughbred mare that is very, very pregnant. I have hopes that she will have it while I am here but she is not due for about another month.

To be Continued---------

Comments

Thanks to any one who has taken the time to read my blog, and thanks again to those of you who have left comments. Maybe someday I will figure out how to add links to your sites, and add photos to my blogs.

Newspaper Article

I'm still bragging on my neice. The Longview, WA newspaper wrote a great article about her. You can see it at http://www.tdn.com/articles/2005/06/09/area_news/news02.txt
But you can't see her picture on the online version. It was in the paper. Maybe she can help me learn how to add pictures to my blog.

Flip Side

Today I watched as a sudden rain storm rumbled and clattered in from the west causing all three dogs to follow me from here to there with fear in their eyes, ears dropping, and try to lay on top of me if I sat down. Thats a lap full of German Shepherd, Border Collie and Lab mutt. Today I thought of the mud that would be tramped into my house that I had just cleaned so well. Today I watched three horses take cover in their shelters and one, BlackJack, stand out in the field as close as he could get to the electric power pole. Today I heard the snap, crackle, and firey pop of a power pole being hit. I expected to find Jack lying dead on the ground but, thankfully it wasn't so. It didn't matter that for two hours we had no electricty, and my computer had lost the paragraph I was writing to post on this blog, since Jack was Okay. The lightning had hit a pole about a quarter of a mile away. I rewrote the blog, then slogged through the mud to feed the horses with the dogs following, as they still expected to hear more thunder. But that was alright since Jack was Okay. As he eats his hay, I stand beside him put my arms around his neck and whisper into his ear. He flicks the ear and shoves his nose under my arm for a moment . Its as if he is telling me that everything is Okay.

Rain

As happens frequently in New Mexico there were thoughts of rain. That usually happens when a cloud covers up the sun for a few moments, and usually it then goes on it's way to where ever clouds go. First of all today there were big, white, fluffy clouds that looked like you could reach up and pull one down to use as a pillow to take a nap on. Then those big, white, fluffy clouds begain piling up one on top of another until they were making thunderheads. Gradually they got bigger and darker, and bigger and darker. Gradually there was a low grumble of thunder off to the west. The west wind picked up, came sailing in and rattled the leaves of the trees and ruffled the new, feathery growth on the native gray sage that grows so well here.

Today big drops of rain splattered down onto the dry, thirsty dirt to bring that wonderful smell that only a person who has lived in the desert and prayed repeatedly for rain can understand. Today the rain came and washed the dust off the trees, sage, and a few roses. Today there was the sound of huge splats on the roof, the concrete patio, and the metal chimney in my fireplace. Today the dust was washed off my red Jeep Wrangler making it red again. Today I savored the sounds, smells, and sharpe splashes of lightning that split the sky. Today I relished the sound of thunder crackling, and rumbling as it passed overhead. Today I watched as the rain storm came at me and mine, drinched the land, and moved to the east to do the same to other thristy parts of New Mexico.

Midnight

I couldn't sleep last night and the dogs wanted out so we went outside to visit the horses. Apparently they couldn't sleep either or else they just thought it was a treat to get petted at midnight. At first it was still and quiet, then I began noticing all the traffic. What is it that has people up and going someplace at midnight on a Sunday night? Or should I say at midnight on a very early Monday morning? I was amazed as I counted all the cars and pickups coming and going at the Tumbleweed Crossing. It wasn't just a few it was dozens of them. Some of them going south on the street to the east of me, others going south and north on my street Tenth, and other east and west on I St. Or should I say on our dirt roads. In a bigger comunity I would have expected this much traffic. Even more. But here we are in our small, rural area with all these comings and goings. Doesn't make since. But then what was I doing up at midnight out walking the dogs and petting the horses? Maybe it was a night of no sleep for everyone.

other Bloggers

I recently found to other blogs that I like. Check them out if you get a chance.
http://holdyerhorses.blogspot.com is about horses, and http://menfreya.tblog.com is Josie's Journal; Josie is a writer.
Also don't for get to try http://wonderinwords.blogspot.com
and http://ponytracks.blogsite.com