Gran Quivira ruins..............

Gran Quivira

It is difficult to wrap one's head around the fact that this area, where I now reside, was near the major trading route from Mexico City to Santa Fe, el Camino Real, in the 17th Century......

I remain..........

a respectful student....

In awe of this beauty and opportunity.....to 

experience this amazing place.....

On the road to Gran Quivira..........

........"oooooooooooooo".........

"Shall we stop?" he asked.....

"yes" she sqeaked.........

and so we did................

explore.......

this........

little schoolhouse.....

The way home from Santa Fe............

It's all about the sky...........

Where walls meet the floor..........

Last Saturday I had a day of enrichment..........

It began with a conversation with my dear friend Wendy, which after many hours of recalling it.......I can only say it was 'nourishing'.........have you ever had a nourishing conversation?  This was the first time for me........that I noticed it.......that it filled me up..........

And then I went to my local coffee shop and met and had good conversation with our local Constable.......and then met my neighbor Deb and her friends.......and had nourishing conversation there too.........and heard myself laugh.......

What's up?  I'm wondering if it's me.....or them.......or this place I'm in.........

And also from my conversation with Wendy.........as I was lamenting ONCE AGAIN........that I am cleaning my house from top to bottom, inside and out........I have moved enough to know this is my pattern.....I must know every corner of my dwelling intimately.......I must have this relationship with my place.........And please know I am not a 'clean freak'........I just need to do this once.......make sure my dwelling has my attention..........and now I am OK with it.   That I have this ritual I must perform........to know where the walls meet the floor and ceiling.........in every room.........where ever I live......I must know this........then I can move on........

Lucky for me this time it's a small house..........

and then.......an old friend came in for a visit.......and we talked and walked........and laughed......and after that I went to dinner with new friends.......and drove one home (a few short blocks)........and sat and talked to her.......for a long time and it too was ......

nourishing........

and I wonder what is the difference.....?

Between here and there.........

and I think the difference is...

it is slow and small and quiet here.....

and it is hurried, big and noisy.....

where I came from......

Things of note........

A list of things I'm noticing.........here in this small town almost in the exact center of New Mexico.....

A hawk......landing squarely in my side yard with a mourning dove in it's claws......stopping me and it......looking at each other.......who will move first?   I did.....in respect......I thought to myself...."I will not judge you".......and went inside to look for my glasses.......gosh I wish I had a better look.......at that magnificent bird........

A hole......freshly dug under the center of my front porch step........who thinks she'll live there now?  As I recall the smell of skunk the past few nights........

A hummingbird.........sucking the sap from the saddest smallest lavender plant I've ever seen....but she persisted and seemed so happy to find it.......perching several times on the wire nearby.....in the heat...and shade.......

Swallows..........swooping every evening.........

A large yellow butterfly circling my abode............

Mourning doves everywhere all the time............

A robin or two.......and a blue egg cracked open...........

Rabbits on the road side.........as I drove home from Albuquerque....in the dark.....lit by the almost full moon.......

Watering, watering......garden dry..........

The sound and sights of trains..........you can see them trail at a distance in the desert.......and at the end of my street........and in the distance droning after midnight........windows always open to catch the cool......

The cowboy siren at noon...........what the heck is THAT about?........Imagine a tornado siren...for two seconds at noon.....every week day.........right at the end of my street.....almost knocks your head off.

The best food at the friendliest coffee shop (and more) I've ever been in........Alpine Alley.......

A small town.......with a bank, a post office, a laundrymat, a small grocery, a small pharmacy with an authentic 'old time' soda fountain,  a hardware store, an auto parts store, an auto repair.......a used auto dealer.........an art gallery co-op.......a new art center........and Uncle Walter's discount store....where everything is now 1/2 off.........the town is NOT happy with a 'dollar store' being built down the street......yes......oh, and a historic hotel with a restaurant........all very reasonably priced........and lots of empty buildings for sale........

The nearest Home Depot...........1 hour and a quarter away.........Imagine.....

Imagine......the open desert.....and big sky between me and it.......Home Depot I mean........

And my surprise in turning off the interstate into a  'dream mall' (OK after driving from my home over 1-1/2 hours through amazing landscape).....the open street kind, with a small town feel........and seeing the Apple Store, Anthropologie, Lucky Brand Jeans (honestly my first time there), and Trader Joe's (with ample parking!).......any excuse to drive a friend to the airport will result in a reunion with those modern luxuries........that I never felt were important.......boy, I still have a lot to learn.........about myself.

And Vietnamese food..........May Cafe in Albuquerque..........amazing.....

and an area called Nob Hill there too.....charming shops.....

And friends I have not seen or spoken to in years........seeming like they have been with me all along......

Smokey Sunset........

and

moon rise.......

First Impressions........

I arrived to this.........

and several days later was treated to 

this......

I later learned that this rain is very 'hit or miss' depending on the 

wind..........

so after a week of serious cleaning.....in my little cute casita.......Spanish for 'little house'..

I realized what I really cherish is...

This.

Sense of Calm.

My reward after many many days of cleaning......that continues.  I do not mean to complain, as I chose this journey. And I won't.......but this has not been a glamourous pursuit. I didn't expect to arrive so so much work.

"Moving is never easy" someone once told me.  

Luckily I always forget that.

Before and After......

This is what my keychain looked like last week..........

and this is what it looks like.......

today.........












I decided to take two extra days to recover from my packing and moving and saying goodbye frenzie.........that left me totally exhausted............

Thank you to my Son and his Wife who offered their home as Sanctuary........surrounded by Fireflies...

I'm leaving today for parts West.........

I have decided to take the more direct southern route from Michigan to New Mexico.......to avoid the spreading wildfires...........

I received this email a few times during the week and it seems right to share it again......please help in prayer for protection and rain.........for these fires, now in New Mexico, are fierce and no rain seems to be coming, although it is due......

Wallow Fire - Special Request from our Native Brothers and Sisters in the SW Please forward this email to everyone. Hello everybody - as you can see on the news the Wallow fire in Northern Arizona is still uncontrollable and spreading. The fire has destroyed everything in its path, over 1/2 million acres so far, the largest fire in Arizona history. Please join us in a tribal prayer to help the firefighters and all involved. Pray so the winds stop and the rains start (without lightning please) We want to pray for the safety of all. Ask for heavenly walls to protect our land and animals from fire. All the choppers, manpower, planes, and bulldozers are not enough, they need our help. We are one Nation as Natives and our traditional prayers to the Creator as Natives can be pretty powerful; not only are our tribal lands at stake (White Mountain & San CarlosApaches, possibly Zuni, and some Navajo areas), but our non-native friends also need our help. Please let us all connect our minds, hearts and our prayers across the miles and pray. Wherever you are and whatever you have plan please stop for a few minutes and raise your hands to the Creator to ask for help. If all of you can forward this message across the Nations, we can reach many thru phone and internet. Please start forwarding ASAP to reach as many as we can. Please if your spiritual preference is not traditional - pray with us in however way you talk to the Creator. Thank you, Dorothea Stevens, San Carlos Apache Nation

Ritual.......

In moving.......one of the things I had to address was my 'sand tray'..........I had been thinking.......what to do with the sand (and stones)  I'd collected from the beach at the Jolli Lodge (check out Greg Jolliffe's amazing photos of this area here).....in northern Michigan........last summer.......almost a year ago........where this part of my journey seemed to start.......

So I had this SAND.......beautiful pure Lake Michigan sand.........and it didn't seem right to cart it off to New Mexico....

so I brought it down to the little lake......really a pond.......near my place.............

And poured it onto an outcropping of 'man placed' rocks..........in the early morning....a day or so ago...

And put my bare feet into the sand..........and took a beautiful breath.....in............pulling the energy from that sand into my feet and body.............there is nothing like bare feet in sand..........especially when it is cool and warm at the same time........

And I stepped out of the sand..........and smoothed it out.............and drew a spiral with my finger........and went to my bag of stones.........

like these........














And accepted....

and let go of......

the relationships and situations that have not seemed to serve my best interest...........now and in the past.....

It goes something like this............holding the rock in my left receiving hand ......"I accept you - fill in the blank...........(then placing the rock in my right hand).......and I release you in Love".........as I tossed the rock into the small lake.......again and again.........not so many times......

And with the rest of the stones........I placed them.........

like this.........







wondering if they are still there..........