Here is another smoke-tinged sunset, seen from Placitas, New Mexico, on Sunday, July 11, 2021. Massive plumes of wildfire smoke across western states are common these days — one of the consequences of climate change, I am convinced. This smoke in New Mexico tonight apparently is from fires in northern California, Oregon, Idaho and Nevada. …
June is the cruelest month in New Mexico. It’s supposed to hit 100 degrees today at 6,500 feet in the Sandia foothills. Humidity is soaring at 7 percent. Wildfires are burning in the Gila, the Pecos and father north, near El Rito, obscuring my visions of cool, clear streams running fast in the mountains. Arizona …
Soon after I got carried away tweeting about water this morning, a fellow tweeter in Santa Fe spotted smoke rising from the Pecos Wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo mountains. I was still savoring coffee in Placitas, watching birds and enjoying the first morning in nearly a week free of wildfire smoke from southern Arizona …
This morning’s wildfire smoke started me thinking about our last big snow. It was December 2006 and it was a big one for the upper Middle Rio Grande valley. A record-setting 11.3 inches landed on the airport in Albuquerque. We got close to a couple of feet up here in Placitas. That is my late …
Fire season is obviously here when you can’t see Cabezon in the morning. It is 60 miles west of me, across the Rio Grande. Usually it is a clear landmark, the most visible among the Rio Puerco volcanic necks. I am staying inside instead of taking my usual early walk with Cowboy. There’s even a …
We were taking in the views Tuesday morning, glad for moisture in the midst of drought. The first bird I saw was a Townsend solitaire perched on a fence post. Cabezon was clear to the west. Maybe unwisely, I decided to check my email. The first message was a little more odd than the regular …
It’s become part of the morning routine: Checking the smoke map. As I clear my head and loosen old joints, the daily drill is this: Fill the birds’ water dish, make coffee, feed Cowboy and check the smoke reports. I’ve already seen from bed that the smoke has blown in again. I can’t see the …
Saturday. Last of the yellow aspen leaves on North Peak and way up Del Agua. Just whisps of clouds with no forecast for rain. Most I’ve seen of Cabezon in a couple of weeks, with wildfire smoke from other states clearing slightly. Drought, smoke and pandemic make some critters grumpy. Others stay busy, looking for …
I had hope for a clearer day when I saw a streak of golden light from bed but was reminded how dry the ground was as I rose. I absorbed various facts as I put water out for the birds, made coffee, fed Cowboy, read the news. It’s still smoky to the west, over the …
dream ranch 