Fox and Cinnamon at the Voodoo Museum

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Ojo Caliente, New Mexico: August 5, 2015

Posi pottery shards, and an arrowhead between P. Tom's finger shadows

P. Tom at the top of the mesa. High desert for miles and miles.

A vein of red granite streaks the hillside.

Can you find the arrowhead among the pottery shards?

Ojo Caliente, New Mexico: August 4-5, 2015

P. Tom soaks in one of about seven different pools, all above 100 degrees. Sodium, iron, and lithium are in the water.

Mud from the springs is touted to be good for the skin.

Time to slather on the mud mask and wait for it to dry.

The mud pool showers run water through buckets with holes drilled in the bottom.

Walking the spiral path while meditating is a way of bonding with Creation.

P. Tom sunning below the mesa where we explored the Posi ruins.

Ojo Caliente, New Mexico: August 5, 2015

Cairns mark the trail from the springs to the Posi ruins up on the mesa. No way to get lost, really. No trees to block the view and it's easy to spot the hotel rooftop below the mesa if you go "off trail." (As we did, chasing a rabbit.)

We added a couple of rocks to the top.

Dubbed this cairn "Snow Lady."

Lots of red rock in the area.

The bunny rabbit cairn.

Ojo Caliente, New Mexico: August 4, 2015

This plant is so fragrant. I think it's mountain sage, but I'm not sure. At any rate, the fragrance always makes me think of the high desert in New Mexico.

On the mesa above the springs

Not sure what this is called. P. Tom and I called it a "draw." A dry stream bed ran to it. We're guessing that water washes through here when the snow melts.

Blue corn muffins (and a cup of lemon slices for our water) at the Artesian Restaurant, connected to the more than 100-year-old hotel at Ojo Caliente.

Working the crossword puzzle on the porch after dinner

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Cornerstone: July 25, 2015

Our neighbor's longhorn greeted us as we drove past the stock pond. Most of the cattle were gathered under this lone shade tree on the hot July day.

I can't remember what these webs in the tree are called. Any answers or guesses?

At the fire ring. But not a good day for a campfire! Maybe in the winter or early spring, after a lot more rainfall.

Lost bicycle. Trying to remember if Ryder or Skyler left a bicycle here when we moved to town in 1987.

Okay, there are the Holy Trinity Catholic Church steeples, poking above the treetops. Look directly above the old air conditioner unit box . . . .

People come from miles around for authentic German food at the Walburg Mercantile, about 4 miles from Cornerstone. Believe it or not, reservations are required most weekends.

Wolf spiders were everywhere at Cornerstone! We must have seen a couple of dozen of them. Didn't see any rattlesnakes or scorpions, but I know they're there. Walked very noisily through the tall grass.

Saturday, July 25, 2015: Corn Hill, Texas (just outside Walburg, Texas)

We drove out to Cornerstone on Saturday. Decided to drop by the Holy Trinity Catholic Church on our way. The back sides of the church steeples are visible from Cornerstone; the tops of the steeples are visible from I-35, located to the west.

Next to the church is the Moravian Hall, more than 100 years old. Unbeknownst to us until we arrived, the annual barbecue cook-off was being held. Lots of pickup trucks, campers, and barbecue pits on wheels. Not to mention the enticing aroma of sizzling steaks and ribs!

The area was largely settled by Czechoslovakians. Hence, the "Czexican" barbecue team logo. I just hope they weren't barbecuing armadillo!

I'm not sure what we're not supposed to do, according to the sign (in Czech?) on the bulletin board inside the Moravian Hall. Whatever it is, there appears to be a steep fine for it and possibly 10 years in jail?

A few of what appeared to be about 100 competing cookers scattered on the hillside.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

After school Thursday, we went to PetSmart to get the pet mouse Jade's been wanting. Do you see Fuzzy on the wheel?

Jade went back to the office with me that evening because I'd forgotten to bring home the power cord for the laptop. She did a self-portrait while we were there.

Central Market playground with Jade: Monday, July 20, 2015

We picked Jade up from school and headed straight to Central Market to eat dinner and play on the shady playground. Jade was like Alauna and Otis at the indoor playground: the last one to leave, as it was getting dark around 9 p.m. She loves playing games on the KindleFire but soon abandoned it to climb up the slide.

Papa caught the honeybee that was buzzing around our table. Honeybees are very gentle and rarely sting.

Papa carried Jade back to the table after she took off her red cowgirl boots

Portland: July 17-19, 2015

Drove to Portland after the IDEA conference. Picked Otis up from his summer camp. He showed me the "ocean" the kids had made during splash time.

Had dinner with Lawanda and Otis at a tamale shop near her house. Excellent tamales! Especially excellent because there's a gelato shop next door where we had dessert.

Spent Saturday at Skyler and Destiny's house in Vancouver, across the Columbia from Portland. Otis and I fed bread to geese at the neighborhood park. One of them hissed at us when we got too close!

Took Alauna and Otis to an indoor playground. We arrived around 4:30 p.m. and they were the last ones to leave when they turned out the lights at 8 p.m. As you can see, Otis and Alauna insisted I join them at the top of the slide.