Christmas...Bah, Bug!

No Hum about it, we had the bug and for the second year in a row, missed out on Orphan’s Christmas dinner at Skee and family’s. Last year, Nick had the flu; a pretty bad case as I recall. This year, it started with me – not the flu, fortunately, just a cold. Then Nick adopted the bug so that, by Christmas eve, we recognized that we would be bah-humbug-ed out of Skee’s house if we went for dinner carrying pumpkin pie and a bag of cough drops. What a disappointment. We stayed home with our little pear of a piñon pine. At least I felt well enough on Thursday to slip out to Albertson’s and buy what we would otherwise be missing: a turkey and supporting cast.

On Wednesday, Nick was walking Nutmeg around the block and encountered one of our neighbors. He mentioned that I was home sick and he was on the verge. On Christmas eve, these neighbors showed up with a comforting gift of bread and cheese. Carlene is one of our celebrated artists. She even turns her bread into art. She told me that she celebrates the Solstice by creating bread as animals. This year, it is Raven. Wonderful to look at. Better to eat. Following instructions, I warmed part of it on Christmas Day for lunch and served it with home-made curry squash soup, made out of the butternut squash I would have used to make pie for Orphans’ Christmas dinner.

For all our East-Coast snow-shoveling friends, I want you to know that we get the white stuff also! Several days before Christmas, we woke up to a snow-softened world. Several inches had fallen overnight, leaving us with the weight of snow-laden pine branches and the insular silence that is unique to falling flakes. The sky began to clear by mid-morning and by noon, the roads were black and drying. Although we did not bring a snow shovel with us, Nick did get to do a little shoveling down the driveway and up the walk with an old flat blade shovel we have. There was enough snow left on the north side of the hills and in the lee of rocks and shade of trees at Christmas that we didn’t have to “dream” of a white Christmas, we just had to look in the right places!

I have been watching the Sun-News with cautious optimism since our local hero, Zulu, darted off after saving her person. I’ve wondered how long those committed to her rescue would be able to continue their search. The good news is, it would appear that she is still alive, despite the heavy snow that fell at elevation and the weeks she’s spent in the wild. The story in the paper this morning shows images and recounts sightings that suggest that she is still in the area; the speculation is that she is traveling a loop that traces the route she and her person took from the start of their hike at Emery Pass down into the valley where Sumrall was found with Zulu lying on him, keeping him warm. I have renewed hope that perhaps she can be eventually lured in to food and captured.

I hope this season of light is keeping you warm and dry, and with those whom you cherish. Love, Sonnie

"The Elderly" Rock -- Black Tie at the Buff

Our friends have an adult daughter who was also attending the Black Tie at the Buff. In discussing where to pick a table, she told her mom that “the elderly” like to sit on the main floor… So, ok, here’s “the elderly”’s night at the Buffalo Dance Hall, transformed for the Gilded Masquerade Ball.

Being “elderly” in Silver City is proving to be a lot of fun. Take a look at the rest of the evening: Black Tie at the Buff – A Gilded Masquerade

And being adopted into the hearts of new friends here is proving to be, more than fun, embracing! We dropped by some friends yesterday to deliver Goodness Gracies – our small token of Christmas wishes. We anticipated chatting over coffee for a little while. What we didn’t anticipate was the reaction when I mentioned we hadn’t gotten a Christmas tree. Seems there aren’t Christmas tree vendors on every corner in town like back East. We’d stopped at Walmart to see what they had, and they had sold their last tree two nights ago. I don’t think I would have wanted to be stuck with the last Walmart Christmas tree; probably Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree was better looking. We could have purchased a $5 permit from the Forest Service and gone looking up in the Gila for a tree. But our town-mouse of a Volvo isn’t quite built to drive in on Forest Service (non-paved) roads the requisite distance in order to search for and cut our own tree. On hearing that we were thus far tree-less, our friends took us on a search in their neck of the woods—literally. We ended up cutting a very nice little piñon pine, about 5 feet tall and just as round. Brought it home and set it in the tree stand – PERFECT! We’ll decorate it on Wednesday, probably, since Nick has gone up to Albuquerque today-tomorrow to visit his brother.

But that’s the way people are here. We’ve been welcomed and adopted and embraced by almost everyone we’ve met. I don’t know if the character of Silver City attracts friendly, warm people or friendly, warm people have contributed to the character of Silver City. But we are grateful to be the recipients.

We hope your Christmas is friendly, warm and full of the magic of the season. And your Hanukkah full of lights. And your Winter Soltice brings you the peace and security of knowing that the world is not ending, and the days will get longer and brighter from here on to Spring. ss

12 Days, but no Lords A'Leaping

Last year, I shared with you the venerable Pancho Claus. This year’s seasonal musical treat is a uniquely southwestern rendition of the 12 days of Christmas. Follow the bouncing ball…

12 New Mexico Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
A quail in a piñon tree.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
2 prickly pears and a quail in a piñon tree.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
3 black bears, 2 prickly pears and a quail in a piñon tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
4 javelina, 3 black bears, 2 prickly pears and a quail in a piñon tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
5 turquoise rings…
4 javelina, 3 black bears, 2 prickly pears and a quail in a piñon tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
6 road runners
5 turquoise rings…
4 javelina, 3 black bears, 2 prickly pears and a quail in a piñon tree

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
7 candles gleaming, 6 road runners
5 turquoise rings…
4 javelina, 3 black bears, 2 prickly pears and a quail in a piñon tree

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
8 chilis roasting, 7 candles gleaming, 6 road runners
5 turquoise rings…
4 javelina, 3 black bears, 2 prickly pears and a quail in a piñon tree

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
9 ristras swaying, 8 chilis roasting, 7 candles gleaming, 6 road runners
5 turquoise rings…
4 javelina, 3 black bears, 2 prickly pears and a quail in a piñon tree

On the 10th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
10 mariachis, 9 ristras swaying, 8 chilis roasting, 7 candles gleaming, 6 road runners
5 turquoise rings…
4 javelina, 3 black bears, 2 prickly pears and a quail in a piñon tree

On the 11th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
11 yuccas blooming, 10 mariachis, 9 ristras swaying, 8 chilis roasting, 7 candles gleaming, 6 road runners
5 turquoise rings…
4 javelina, 3 black bears, 2 prickly pears and a quail in a piñon tree

On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me
12 coyotes yipping, 11 yuccas blooming, 10 mariachis, 9 ristras swaying, 8 chilis roasting, 7 candles gleaming, 6 road runners
5 turquoise rings…
4 javelina, 3 black bears, 2 prickly pears
AND A QUAIL IN A PIÑON TREE!

Natual Phenomena and Unnatural Acts

Natural Phenoms
We were over at our new property yesterday – boy, is it wonderful to write that – just for the exercise of walking and exploring. We had Nutmeg, of course, and let her off-leash to chase her nose. The weather was wet last weekend so the ground was holding tracks. And there were a lot of them. Found many tracks made by several animals ranging from this year’s juveniles to adults. Mule deer? Javelina? Didn’t have my tracks book so couldn’t be sure. After talking with an experienced hunter last night at a dinner party and also looking in my tracks book this morning, I’m fairly sure they were deer. But I’m still wondering. There are javelina that range the area in general, and the ground where I found a large party of tracks was just where pigs, more than deer, would likely hang out. I guess if 4 leggeds can be said to “hang out” like a bunch of teenagers at the mall.

And Nutmeg made the more interesting find. She dragged out from under a large juniper along the dry creek bed an old skull. It had no lower jaw; the spine/backbone was still attached down to about the 4th vertebra and was curved so that it was parallel to the upper jaw. Once again, my curiosity outran my knowledge. I thought it might be a javelina skull, but now after googling skulls for javelina and for mule deer, I am flummoxed. You wouldn’t think such different critters would fool so easily. Well, s’what happens to a city girl with wild-country pretentions! Had I brought the skull home with me, I wouldn’t have to rely on my memory impressions. But Nutmeg was pretty insistent this was HER bone, not mine, and I had to play Hamlet to the skull in order to keep Nutmeg from snagging it out of my hands. We finally got her distracted and I put the skull back in its resting place under the juniper. Wonder if it will still be there when I go back, having researched and better prepared to make an identification. You might wonder why I should care. MmmMMhmm (translation: verbal shrug). Just want to know who my neighbors, past and present, are.

I’ve watched a full cycle of seasons now, and with that, a full migration cycle. The sparrows so busily stripping the grasses of their seed heads back in October are gone now, replaced by juncos working over the same grasses. The spotted towhees I watched picking through the leaf litter under the scrub oaks last winter migrated to the tips of the oaks to sing their mating drive in the spring and are now moved back to the bases of the oaks, quietly to bide their time through another winter. And the canyon towhee juvenile siblings that chased through the bushes in the late summer have settled down to the serious winter business of feeding and staying warm. The phainopepla, which looks like a black cardinal to an Eastener, is back with its dripping-water call. The books say it is here all year, and breeds here, but I have not seen these in our neighborhood since the weather warmed. The brightly colored summer birds are now replaced by the flocks of western bluebirds that cheered me out my office window through last winter. Today, with the wind blowing, there were 6 or 7 bluebirds sitting in the top of a small tree, all facing into the wind. Better than a weather vane!

Unnatural Acts
I’ve noticed the distinct lack of fragrance in the air, especially early in the mornings. That particular Pepe LaPew fragrance. The striped purveyors of that distinctly acrid fragrance seem to have abandoned their normal haunts. No lingering scent of skunk when I let Nutmeg out in the morning, or pass the culverts they have called home for the last several months. We were talking with our neighbors down the corner and come to find out, someone on the next block has been poisoning the skunks. Unfortunately, this is causing collateral damage. Not only are they “saving” the neighborhood from its striped offenders, they are “saving” the neighborhood from cottontails and jackrabbits, outdoor cats and other small furry foragers. They will even “save” the neighborhood from the tree-climbing gray fox that have just been making a comeback from a rabies-caused die-off. Apparently, other neighbors have spoken with them in defense of the critters – all of them, including the striped target of the first neighbor’s ire. I gather, to no avail.

And then, our neighbor further discouraged me by tale-ing that another rabid human in the neighborhood, also with a distorted sense of self-importance, has been shooting flickers. Flickers! Those of the beautiful red-shafted wing and tail feathers. Apparently the flickers – imagine the impertinence – have been pecking on the human’s roof! Speechless – I am utterly speechless. Probably a good thing. If I were speechful at this moment, it would not be pleasant speech.

Not all humans are rabid.
The Gila will eat hikers, if hikers are not savvy and careful. We have been holding our collective breath while the NM Search and Rescue teams searched for the second missing hiker in as many weeks. This hiker was 67, not inexperienced in the terrain but prepared for only a day hike and accompanied by his black lab, Zulu. When he was reported missing after 24 hours, the SAR swung into action. They will hike the mountains through the night, they search by ATV and horseback, and they can call on air spotting support – and they are all volunteers. They searched for several days, on and off, as the almost-blizzard conditions in the Black Range permitted. Finally, after 6 days, a ranch couple riding out to check on some cattle found the man down and semi-conscious. Zulu was hugged up next to him and was probably the reason he was still alive. When the couple rode up and she dismounted to attend the man, Zulu took off. SAR came in to provide first aid and stabilize the man, who was airlifted to El Paso to the hospital and his waiting family. SAR and the local community breathed a sigh of relief and went back to their daily lives. NOT. Zulu is still out there and so volunteers and community members continue their search for the hero lab that helped save her person. Here’s the story in the Sun-News. I don’t know how long they can sustain their effort, but the effort itself speaks to what I think it means to be truly human.