Twinkle, twinkle little star and other topics

The park WiFi system has been even more useless for the past 30 days.  I haven't been able to update or post photos so some of the items below are several weeks old.

Went for a ride in the desert last night to see the sun go down and the stars come out.  It was beautiful.  However, given that the desert is PITCH BLACK after sundown if there is no moon (and there wasn't), the ride back to the ranch was somewhat a white-knuckle experience.  My guide has lived here for years and had no problem finding the turnoffs to get us back safely.

IT'S FINISHED!!!!

My new screened porch is complete as of today (15 April).  The dogs love being able to run  free in and out of the Hitchhiker.  The HH stays a lot cooler, as the big windows are now shaded by the roof.  The dogs love being able to run out the front door, make a hard right and charge down the dog run to the porch at the back.  They can play and wrestle and nap without fear of encountering one of our local rattlesnakes.

Under construction is my "playhouse" tool shed (so called because it's much smaller than any other in the park.  Should be finished this week and I can finally clear out all the stuff crammed in the "basement" of the Hitchhiker.

Speaking of snakes, I saw what appeared to be a sizable rattlesnake snuggled into a shrub close to the front ramp of the porch.  Hiked over to the next court to a guy who has lived here nine years and catches snakes all the time.  He came over and determined it's a  bullsnake  .  Want those around as they sometimes EAT rattlesnakes and eat mice, rats and other vermin.  

Snake is disappearing down the hole in the dead tree trunk.

We had a pizza party last night, the three desert-riding crazies and me.  They pooled resources and bought this tasteful accessory for my new deck.  My place is becoming party central because of the screening.  No flies or mosquitoes!

l to r:  Steve Taylor, Gilbert Minzenmayer, Mike Neuner

The desert flowers, including cacti, are still blooming.  See photos below.  New stuff seems to appear every day.

Homestead and Petroglyphs

We went over to an old homestead a couple of days ago and then to Pony Hills to see the petroglyphs.

Gilbert studies the petroglyphs.

I have put up hummingbird feeders and finch feeders.  So far, the birds are keeping me broke.  I have seen: lesser goldfinch, American goldfinch, purple finch (which are red),  hooded oriole  and probably some others I didn't identify from my handy dandy bird book.  The hummers are slowly coming back so I haven't seen too many yet.

There will be another delay in the next post.  I leave Thursday next week for Albuquerque for my granddaughter Madison's high school commencement exercises and will then head east and north.  Eventual destination:  Maine and then a run south down the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.

New Year, New Blog

I finally figured out how to create a new blog to reflect the new year.  Going forward, I will post to this one.

And now a few updates:

Here's why you don't go four-wheeling in the desert by yourself:

O dear...

This is essentially a game of follow-the-leader.  In this case, the leader forgot to mention that there's a big hole to the left of the lip of the wash.  From the bottom of the trail, you can't see where the leader has gone after he has cleared the top.  Sooooo, I got to the top, drifted left, and dropped into the hole.  Fortunately, after everyone stopped laughing, the guys got me out and we continued.

Weather has gotten beautiful again.  Day before yesterday (3/9 Monday) I went out with a different group.  My passenger was a neighbor, 88-year-old Marge.  Usually she rides her ATV but she said her hands were bothering her and she was concerned she would have trouble with shifting.  She's a hoot.  I look forward to having her for a passenger again in the near future.

I hiked up to the top of a ridge to see more petroglyphs and caves but I forgot to bring my camera.  O well, I will undoubtedly get another opportunity.  As we were coming back from the petroglyphs, a huge storm front was moving over the mountains to the north of the park.  Fortunately we got back before the storm broke.  Like Kansas, weather here can change in a heartbeat and you'd better be watching the sky.  The last place you want to be in a storm with lightning is on the desert floor.

On an unrelated topic, I signed up another park resident to build a screened porch onto the Hitchhiker.  Last summer/fall I was consumed by flies and mosquitoes every time I stepped outside.  I loved the screened porch on the Leawood house so I decided to have another one.  He will probably start it this week.  Photos to follow.

More Flowers

The cacti in and out of the park are beginning to bloom.  See below:

Banana yucca

Spanish Dagger

Have no idea what this tree is but it is gorgeous.  It's in my neighbor's yard.  

There are whole stretches of the desert that are different colors now.  Here are two of the plants that have large sections.

These were blooming all over the park in Silver City.

Tired!

Monday

Wow, am I tired!  I set up the RPOD in the park two days ago to shake out how everything works.  Today I hitched up and hit the road to Silver City, only 50 miles away, where I knew there was a nice park with easy access.  So far, so good.  I will stay another night here and then head back to HVR to fix/add whatever I find I need.  So far, only the TV/DVD/Radio doesn't work and I think I am missing a cable for it.  Gotta ask one of the guys at HVR to take a look and tell me what I need.  

I called DirecTV the other day to see if I could suspend my service for a few months since I don't want to take on getting the satellite dome working.  (Mike used to manage all the electronics because he loved it.  I, on the other hand...)  I can suspend service for 6 months so I should be able to wander around the country and return to New Mexico in the fall without having to pay for a service I can't use.  

Got the taxes filed on time (thanks, John).  The Feds owe me money which came as a nice surprise.  I can use it to pay for my new deck.  It should be finished this week.  More photos to follow.

Tuesday

The dogs and I set out for Lake Roberts today.  We took the National Scenic By-way Trail of the Mountain Spirits (Trail of the Mountain Spirits).  It goes north out of Silver City through Pinos Altos and winds through lots of pine trees and pretty scenery until you get to the lake.  

 If you have any doubts left about the severity of the drought in the West, take a look at these photos.

This is or was the boat ramp.

Across the lake you can see what was once a floating walkway.  High and dry now.

Must have been a new dock which was not completed.

On our way back to Silver City, we passed the Santa Rita Copper Mine (Open Pit Copper Mine).  It is enormous.  Photos don't do it justice.

Just south of Silver City is what's left of Fort Bayard, another of the forts on the western frontier to attempt to contain the Native Americans, Navajos and Apaches, from interfering with mining claims.

Fort Bayard History  

Laurel & Hardy Construction Company Continues

Darrell and John continue to work on my screened porch and deck.  This job should have hazardous duty pay.  John wasn't paying attention to where his feet were and he fell off the open part of the deck.  Fortunately, he was on the low side and he wasn't hurt.  He managed to fall between the joists and just missed hitting his head hard on one.  Yesterday Darrell, who is using screws and a power drill to fasten the pieces together, accidentally got a moving screw caught on his work gloves and removed most of the skin from a section of his finger.  That was after he climbed up on a ladder, not recognizing where the roof joists were, and slammed into one of them.

Most of the difficult, time-consuming stuff is done now and it should go quickly.  Many residents here at the park have drifted by to inspect and comment.  Since Darrell is hoping to pick up more jobs, it's probably good advertising for him.  John and Joyce will leave for the summer, as will Darrell and Darlene, but will return in the fall.

I am headed to Albuquerque this weekend for Michelle's grandmother's 93rd birthday party.  With better shopping there, I can try to find a ceiling fan for the deck as well as a pair of crosstrainers to replace mine which are falling apart.  Deming is not exactly a retail center.