She's wild

The were actually having fun. Newman is a big goofy puppy.

T or C Burns

I love Truth or Consequences. Hot springs and fires on main street.
And I have some friends there that I run into somewhat randomly. I
like it that way.

Chocolate Bean

This dog looked a lot like Bean, all but the color. They played the
same and had the same energy. Three or four people commented how
similar they were. The owner said it was an Argentinian racing
spaniel. Which she made up, but I like the idea. Bean could be a
Blotched New Mexico Fox Spaniel. A rare breed indeed.

Dogpark Shenanigins

Back to the routine. Walks, very little work and playing at the
dogpark. I noticed the dogpark in Little Rock had a different "vibe"
than Cruces. Here it is much more mellow, with only the occasional
dispute. Bean has old friends and makes new ones every time we go.
This Saturday is a cookout Birthday party for dogs born in December. A
little over the top for me, but can see it's value as a social event
for dog parents. Not such a great picture but check the snow on the
Organ Mts. Beautiful.

El Capitan and the Guadalupe Mountains

On my way home from Oklahom recently, me and Bean stopped at The
Guadalupe Mts. We didn't have time to stay for a hike but did take a
short walk behind the visitors center. Guadalupe peak is the highest
point in Texas, can't remember off the top of my head but around 9000
ft. The hike is worth doing but the constant up, then down is tedious.
No doubt good exercise. I would like to spend some more time walking
the drainages here.

My little elf

On our way back to Oklahoma me and Bean slept out on a field south of
Pampa Tx. We saw some deer and a great display of stars. I took this
picture of Bean while on our morning walk in Elk City. They had a
disturbing Christmas display in their city park. Cuttouta of Elves
freak me out.

KimChi

Last week I was inspired to try many new things, among them was making KimChi. Some friends from Santa Fe brought some that they had made to a get together in TorC. It was yummy. So I made my own tonight. I love the simplicity, cut some stuff up, mix it together and put it in a jar to ferment. But I will have to figure out how to get the cost down as it cost about $6 in ingredients. Here is the Recipe I used.

Fresh Figs are Fine

I've got 3 fig trees growing in front of the trailer where I live. I
don't know exactly when to pick them but I'm going by the color. The
taste great except for the skin. I thin if I let them ripen a bit more
I could eat the whole thing. It's just hard to wait that long.

Mrs.Bean

I adopted Bean on Tuesday. She is a mix of Brittany Spaniel, Ausie
Shepherd and Red Heeler, so I'm guessing. She's really shy and well
behaved. Can't wait till she starts getting more energetic.

Crazy Moonlight

I've been camping for the last week, and man, the moonlight is intense. Almost a full moon, probably will be tomorrow. I had to snap some night photos. The fire light looks pretty cool too.

Yucca Needle

So it was a Yucca. But I'm guessing you could do the same thing with
an Agave.

El Paso Archaeology Museum

I finally made a visit to the Archaeology Museum this afternoon. I
tend to dislike diaramas but I did like this place. The information
was general, mostly about local sites. I saw a display on uses for
native plants that showed artifactsade using them. The coolest was a
needle and thread made using the sharp tip of the Agave leaf and the
attached fibers. Pretty smart.

Kilbourne Hole

I finally got the oilpan back in my Land Cruiser and decided to take
it on a backroad spin. We got a nice storm last night so some sections
of the road were standing water. Sometimes 2 feet deep and 100 yards
long. Needless to say the drive took twice as long a I expected.
Kilbourne hole is an old volcanic crater rimmed mostly with basalt and
some ash. You can find a rare mineral there called olivine. It's only
found at 5 other places on the planet. It's nice to have this place so
close. I'll be heading back soon. I'll post pictures when I get them
off my camera.

Waterfall

Despite this watefall having decent flow, the stream dissapears
underground a few feet from the base. It doent emerge downstream like
some desert streams. I'm guessing this is due to the relatively large
rock making up the stream creating a streambed with lots of voids to
fill. When this stream does flow look out.

Severe storm

We've been getting some intense rain. Today I was hiking in the Organ
Mts. and was suddenly caught in a dime sized hailstorm. At some points
the hail was pelting me hard enough that I wante to take shelter. I
didn't notice any lightning but whenbi got in the car the National
Weather Service said there was deadly cloud to ground lightning. I
enjoyed the hike despite getting soaked.

Hoppers

Last time I went fishing I did well using grasshopper imitations. I
tied these guys tonight as my first try at tying hoppers. I like the
darker ones best.

Farmers Market

The Farmers Market was hopping today. I bought about six pounds of
Tomatillos so I can can some Salsa Verde this evening. There were even
people in costume on stilts!

Red or Green

It's Chile time again in southern NM. I'm only dissapointed that I
have so much left in the freezer from last year.

Better Bread

My bread baking is getting better. I'm using a no knead recipe a buddy
showed me.

Onion fetish

I was looking for a way to keep onions for long periods when I found
this pantyhose method. Just tie the onions in and hang. Cut them off
as needed one or a few at a time. The idea behind it is that the sry
air surrounding the onions prevents growth of pathogens. We will see
how it works. I'm told New Mexico onions don't keep long...

Brookies

A good day of fishing in the Sacremento Mts. yesterday.

Shish-k'Bobs

We just discovered making shishkabobs last night. They ate easy, cheap
and deliscious. I'm using; chicken breast, pineapple, peppered bacon,
onion red bell pepper, zuchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, mushrooms and
artichoke hearts. Mmmmm. Try em.

Truck

Brookie

Just caught the biggest trout of my life in the smallest stream I've
ever fished.

Cherries

Mmmmmm. I got these before the birds did.

Peach season kicking off

The first peaches of the season are getting ripe. We will be spending
our saturdays picking peaches and selling the at the farmers market in
Las Cruces. Can't wait.

Snake-like worms

I dug up and replanted some blackberries for my mom and found some
huge worms.

Kids

We"re onnour way to get snowcones.

Hot knife in action

Here is a good view of how to cut the caps off the cells to release
the honey.

Honey

Here is Glen with a frame full of honey. He has already removed the
caps from the cells with a hot knife.

Bees!!

I helped Glen harvest honey from one of his hives this evening. It was
amazing to see all of the bees and the inner workings of the hive.

Thinning Peaches

Peaches are getting so dense on the trees that we are having to thin
them. For a big cluster like this we may just leave three peaches.
Ultimately the peaches that remain will be much larger.

Strawberry jam time again

Scooter the baby bunny

He's our new bunny. He eats radish tops and poops plant food.

Pickled Radd's

When the raddishes in your garden are ready you may find yourself
overwhelmed with more of these guys than you know what to do with.
Yesterday I tried a little of the quick pickling method. I did these
guys with garlic and Ginger. They tasted great!!

Soup

Making a vegetable soup to use up raddishes from the garden and
whatever is on the fridge. Also using fresh orageno and sage from the
garden. The first cooked meal of the season with home grown ingredients.

UTEX

I visited the algae collection at UT. The highlight of course was
seeing Dave Czarnecki's diatom collection.

Emily

Emily playin wii.

Bamboo Floors

Putting Dow Bamboo floors in my house in Henryetta OK.

Pecks River

Just east of Roswell. North of bitter lakes.

Sierra Blanca

Sierra blanca a complex ancient volcano rises more than 7300ft above
the tularosa basin to peak at12003 ft.....

White Sands Fence

White Sands

I pulled to the side of the road and climbed a dune to this photo. The
dunes on this side of the monument are somewhat stablised by
vegetatio. But as you can see by the second photo they are still
moving. Notice the fence swolliwed by sand.

San Augustin Pass

I thought since I am driving back to Oklahoma inwould take picturesbof
landmarks and post them. This is the pass between the Organ mts and
the San Andres mts just east of Las Cruces.

Asperagus

I got a good deal last night on some asperagus. I decided to get six
pounds to freeze. Just blanch it first. Three minutes boiling water
then cold water bath. I just run the cold water over it.