Life is Amazing

Look at this sunflower slowly unfurling. Even when it's hard, life is amazing.

Our Threatened Habitat

Tommy, Bob, Liz, Juan, and I got word on Tuesday that the compound where we all live is officially for sale. For those of you who don't live in crazy boomtowns, what this means is, most likely, someone will buy these four continuous lots in a good neighborhood, level everything, and build condos. (Pictured above is our humble abode, but there are two other houses on the property. You can just barely see the entrance to unit B behind our place.) Sigh. Bummer. We really like it here, and we've enjoyed being little guardians of the earth what with tending all the apple trees and growing sunflowers and herbs. No wonder the landlord was so amenable to our suggestion of putting in new laminate flooring. . .

I'm just beginning to get over the emotional turmoil of it all. Moving. Again. In our future. Dammit. Tuesday night, Tommy and I agreed that it didn't really bother us, that we'd be okay of course--and then neither of us could sleep a wink.

Worst case scenario is that we'll sign a new lease very soon. That way, even the new owner has to honor it for a year, which buys us time to find new digs. Also, I've resolved that it's time for me to confront my fears, look at my credit rating, and take a homebuying class. It's time. Even though the thought of buying a home petrifies me, it's the only thing that makes sense. I keep telling myself that the worst that could happen is that I'd find out that my finances are so bad, I couldn't buy a place for 10 years or more, but still I'd know what I needed to do.

I confess, I'm intimidated. The median housing cost in this city is $439,000. That's a lot for little 'ol me. But it ain't over 'til it's over.

Maybe We Should Name Him John

Ah, another fabulous weekend in Santa Fe. This Saturday, our neighbors Juan and Liz, who live at 1022 B Don Diego Avenue, came home from an errand to find a cougar in their front yard (read: our back yard) devouring a small animal. When the mountain lion saw them, it hissed, jumped over a six-foot high wall, and disappeared. Needless to say, we've been a bit antsy around the compound lately. That same evening, Bob (our other neighbor) swears he heard a thump on his roof "heavy enough to be a man" and actually went outside to check it out because he thought some teens might be goofing around or something. Meantime, this story ran in the Albuquerque Journal North today

Cougar Ate My Cat, Owner Says

By John Arnold
Journal Staff Writer
Suzanne Getz does a lot of hiking, but she had never seen a mountain lion until Saturday morning.
And the lion wasn't on a mountain trail.
Getz was sitting in front of her Lomita Street home in Santa Fe's South Capitol neighborhood when she noticed what she believes was a mountain lion lying down at the edge of her yard.
"I know when I was looking at him, he was looking at me too," Getz said. "I was thinking, 'Wow, his head is really big.' ''
More surprising than the cat's size, however, was the prey in its paws— a neighbor's much smaller cat named Charlie that had been sunbathing in a nearby yard.
After seeing Getz, the mountain lion "got up, picked up the cat and took off," Getz said. "I don't think I had time to really be afraid."
Getz ran across the street and alerted Charlie's owner, Nicole Martel, that her pet had been killed. Martel said she left her house and joined some other neighbors gathered at the end of the street, where the mountain lion was hiding in some bushes.
"And all of a sudden his face peeked out with my little guy in his mouth," Martel said. The mountain lion climbed a 6-foot wall "like it was nothing" and fled.

Yep, that sounds like our John. And Lomita Street is only a couple blocks away. I called New Mexico Game and Fish, but didn't get a response.

Oh, and P.S. the photo isn't of the real John. Personally, I never saw him. This is just a random shot I lifted from somebody else's blog! You know, the stunt-double John.

Goldilocks? Red Riding Hood? Hansel? Gretel? Anyone?

Not long ago, I took this photo on a hike in the Santa Fe National Forest a few miles from our home. We've had heavy rains here, and the the forest is so green and lush, it was like the beginning of every fairy tale I ever loved. However, I didn't run into any bears or big, bad wolves. Just a couple deer. And a chipmunk.

Ah, August.

As amateur gardeners, we're thrilled with all the sunflowers we have in our garden right now. More to come!

A Day's Work

Tommy and Jay Hester pose by the almost-finished portrait after a day of painting and posing at Mountain Trails Gallery. (In Santa Fe's old days, Jay used to paint portraits at the Bull Ring while patrons looked on.) On this night, Tommy and I were certainly ready to head to The Cowgirl for an O'Doul's (his) and a frozen marg (mine) with our buffalo burgers.

Tommy's Music Becomes Art at Indian Market

We had fun on Indian Market Weekend two weekends ago. Tommy wore traditional dress and played his flute at Mountain Trails Gallery while Western artist Jay Hester painted his portrait. Tommy's CD, Council of the Crow, is available there. He and Jay agreed that the finished portrait just might be the cover of his next CD. Meantime, I had fun snapping pictures and drinking margaritas with Jay's wife, Judy. It was a very energetic opening. We got home around 9 pm, but it felt more like 3 am!