Photo Essay: A Stroll Among Santa Fe Flowers

Most of the time, I know what this bloom is. But my brain said, “Not today, bobo”.

Amaranth, or as I prefer to call it, Love-Lies-Bleeding. I used to grow this from seed in the Circle Bed in the Cozy House gardens.

Some form of …Daisy?

Crème de la Roses.

You can try, but you can’t tame a wild rose.

The bushiest Lantana that I’ve ever seen.

MKL is amazed that I know the names of so many plants. Fair enough, since I’m impressed that he knows the names and functions of every BMW part, no matter how tiny or insignificant-looking.

Daily gratitudes:

• MKL
• The Jackalope Lady
• The gentleman with the cowboy hat and gold lame fanny pack
• How pretty I felt last night
• Nick, my GPS navigator

Photo Essay: The Old Church

On Hwy. 12, somewhere between Weston and Segundo.

Empty but welcoming.

The world through windows.

Nests in the eaves.

Angles.

Did she say yes?

No longer needed.

Today’s gratitudes:

• Lemon ginger tea

Photo Essay: Colorado Hwy 12 – Cuchara to Segundo

Took a detour down a little Forest Service road, hoping to reach a random lake, but was stopped by too-deep snow. There were, however, lovely tree roots.

Atop Cuchara Pass.

Choices.

North Lake.

Abandoned Church.

The former Weston General Store.

The former Weston Elementary School.

Bird on a limb.

Looking back with love.

Today’s gratitudes:

• That K does not have COVID-19
• Sleep
• Lemon ginger tea
• A repaired stair

Photo Essay: CR 560 to Home

Via a rather circuitous route that included Hwy 69, Hwy 96, and Hwy 165.

The Sangre de Cristo range.

Abandoned.

But still watchful.

The Three Trees.

Contrasts.

My Best Friend.

Grazing.

Aspens on the verge of Spring.

Higher and higher.

I found some bison!

Along the road home.

Today’s gratitudes:

• Trying to figure out the cat
• The first tree in bloom
• That K is back safely from her trip

Photo Essay: Ghost Town, Highway 560

I suppose it’s more of a ghost community than a ghost town.

It was right on the side of the road, up a small hill, with a great view.

Window frames seem to stand the test of time.

This table didn’t fare quite as well.

This looks like the sort of door I might have made.

Remarkably, the only graffiti in the town.

Leftover.

The sunroom.

As I stood before this doorway, I heard a sound. It sounded like a long, low, gentle bray, like a distant donkey. There was no wind. I surveyed the landscape and saw no beasties. I’ve decided it was a ghost donkey, just letting me know it was there. Otherwise, I got no vibes of the past from the little community.

In the shade.

But with a view.

I loved exploring this place. Admittedly, It was a little dicey, as many of the places I walked were clearly above rooms dug into the hillside. I knew there was a risk of falling through. But what’s life without a little risk? The only thing missing from this part of the adventure was K. She’d have loved it.

Today’s gratitudes:

• What aspen leaves look like when they start to bud
• Fuzzy socks
• Robins

Photo Essay: Old Crestone Cemetery

Sunday was a day for adventures.

I discovered Red Wing Cemetery (the Old Crestone Cemetery) along a county road taken on impulse.

I was hard pressed to find any markers later than 1930.

Many only had rough, but lovely, carvings. I kept thinking of the people who so diligently inscribed these stones and how they were feeling at the time.

Amazing to me that the large marble embedded in this one has been left untouched for over 90 years.

Many graves had no names, just rough wooden crosses, or nothing at all. But I could still see mounds and stones that indicated those otherwise unmarked.

This was the fanciest marker in the cemetery.

A little patriotism thrown in for good measure.

At the foot of the sandstone cliffs with a view of the mountains is not a bad spot to rest until your next go-round.

Very early in my cemetery browsing days, I learned not to step directly on graves. In this one, it was nearly impossible to tell, so I found myself continually and spontaneously apologizing, just in case.

Daily gratitudes:

• That the wind has calmed (for now)
• That the power is back on (again, for now)
• The long cat sleeping on my legs
• Books

Photo of the Day – December 30, 2011

Photo title: Drink … Or Else.

Santa Fe, New Mexico.  (Clearly, a dangerous town for dogs.)

Quote of the day: “Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.”  —  Benjamin Disraeli

Daily gratitudes:
The slow, short train with the caboose
The moon on its back
Erin in the Fortune Cookie Restaurant
Catching the bus with one second to spare this morning
That Pam was born today
Wonderful company

Photo of the Day – December 29, 2011

Photo title:  Doorway To Somewhere

Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Quote of the day: “To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong.” – Joseph Chilton Pearce

Daily gratitudes:
Getting work done
The chemistry between William Powell and Myrna Loy
An upcoming long weekend
Flying dreams
That the painting I bought on Anegada finally got here

Photo of the Day – December 22, 2011

Photo title: Guardian of the Drainpipe.

Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Quote of the day: “There are some things one can only achieve by a deliberate leap in the opposite direction.” ~ Franz Kafka

Daily gratitudes:
That our 15-inches of snow was fluffy for shoveling
Cats when they are stropping
Pork-fried rice and orange juice
Pretty chopsticks
My little old Santa cow
Our sparkly Christmas tree

Photo of the Day – December 20, 2011

Photo title: Storming the Beach

Hidden Treasure, Cow Wreck Beach, Anegada.

Quote of the day: “Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can.” ~ Martha Graham

Daily gratitudes:
Boxes in the mail
The Santa Hat
Soup
Old Christmas movies
Hugs