~~By NMGRL
Feeling chilly? This will make you feel even colder. Check this out at the BBC, courtesy NASA’s photo of Great Britain on ice!
UK on Ice 1/07/2010
December 30, 2009
Subtle Sunset Hallucinations (Pictures of a Trip of the Imagination)
~~By NM-GRL
Yesterday we had ANOTHER snow storm…a heavy wet snow that resulted in a couple of inches and some shoveling for old times sake for me. Of course, by today, you would never known it had ever happened!
But it’s cold and a wind moved off most of the leftover clouds. Tonight, I was out just as the sun was setting and just had to run to get the camera. The sky over the Organ Mountains was especially sublime…the pictures really don’t do it justice, but here goes:
Sometimes we get clouds that look like flying saucers. This one over the peaks certainly is not the most perfect of examples, but the location and the colors….it will have to do! For a moment I thought I was watching the craft from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” descending to pick me up…
A close encounter?
Then, I noticed to the left, a sight over the St. Augustin Pass that made me wonder if I were seeing a wormhole of sorts. Time rippled around the edges of this massive gateway:
A wormhole?
Then, a closer look revealed what looked like a distant, imaginary mountain range covered in snow as I looked through the pass:
A far away mountain range? Shangri-La?
The colors of the mountain changed into a copper glow….was I on a red planet, like Mars, near an icecap?
Copper Mountains
As the light ran out, I returned to the house and back to planet Earth to cook dinner…But it had been a lovely dream!
December 1, 2009
An Early Season Snowstorm with a Magnificent Reward…(Pics, including an adorable dog, too)
~~By NM-GRL (IA)
Okay, last time I posted it was green chile time…but hectic months stopped me from getting up a couple of ideas…but they will go up!
Today I awoke to our first snow of the season….several weeks early, by my reckoning…and quite a bit more dramatic than usual. It started yesterday afternoon with a nasty, cold rain and overnight it shifted over to snow.
The big deal here is not just getting snow on the ground (although it was already gone from the streets and sidwalks by the time I woke up!). For me, it is watching the stormy weather clear and getting a clear view of the Organ Mountains and the snow on them!
So, here’s how it unfolded over the last 24 hours:
As you can see, Slick wasn’t particularly interested in getting up this morning! In fact, all the dogs were not going out yesterday and it was a cliffhanger for a couple of them in terms of how long their bladders would hold out. Even Slick rebelled at the cold rain late in the afternoon, although I got him out for about 2 seconds to pee pee. Toro went out into the backyard, but Tico stayed put in the back of his crate all day until I threw him outside after things cleared today! He is deathly afraid of storms…we adopted him from the animal shelter in February 2002. He had spent a month with people who had found him in a ditch. He was about 6 months old when we got him, so I figure he was out in some pretty cold, rotten weather as a baby. So, I can understand his penchant for hiding under the bed, in his crate, and generally refusing to go out at all.
Slick Lingers in (My) Bed
I don’t blame him, because this was going on outside:
It was still snowing in fits and starts...
Fence Peaks
Not Even the Birds Were Out for Their Morning Meal...
Pretty icky for these parts, but sissy weather for back in New Jersey! But, it’s so fleeting here, that this sort of raw, cold, dreary sort of weather is a shock!
Ah, but then it began to clear…the clouds started rolling away and sun came…and finally, I went out to the back…and…
The Organs Show Off Their Winter Coat...
…At least here there’s a magnificent payoff at the end of the nasty weather!
September 3, 2009
Oh, The Heck With It All…It’s GREEN CHILE TIME!
By NM-GRL (IA)
Things have been so incredibly busy here that my blogging at both of the sites has been slowed in the last week or so. Also, I’m in one of those moods where I just can’t stand politics anymore! But, the one bright spot? CHILE!! To be specific, Hatch ORGANIC green chile peppers, roasted, rushed home, and stashed for the next year!
If you’ve never seen how it’s done, here are a few pics of what happened on Tuesday (9/1/2009) in my kitchen…
First, I went down to the co-op, Mountain View Market, with my receipt for my pre-paid chile and waited for a few moments as the attendant fired up the chile roaster. Within about 5 minutes, wonderful aromas wafted through the air as my 25-lbs. of peppers were tossed over the flame. When the roaster stopped, the peppers came down the chute into their box, now lined with a plastic bag.
I rushed home and began getting them ready for the freezer. In past years, I’ve spent a long time peeling the skins off the peppers, but this year, on the advice of regular visitor “ea” I just popped them into bags. Funny, for the first time I also ran into someone while we were watching the roasting who also said that it was easier not to peel them until use. So, here’s how things unfolded:
First, here’s the box they came in…direct from Hatch, NM, our local “chile capital”:
Here’s a picture of what the chiles looked like as I opened the bag/box when I got home:
Here are a couple of roasted chiles, close-up:
Of course, highly specialized tools are needed to process these beauties!! I get 10 bags at a time opened and ready, then use a gloved hand to pick up about 6 oz. of chiles. That portion size yielded 55 bags of chile for the freezer, to allow for 52 weeks of chile plus a few spare bags to make sure we have enough until the next roasting day next year. I still have a few bags of last year’s peppers that we have to finish off before we start on the new batch.
You’ll notice a straw…since I don’t have a vacuum sealer and won’t get one (way too expensive!), I simply close the bag around the straw, suck in hard, then pull the straw out quickly and seal up the last small section of the bag. Voila! A pretty good vacuum seal!
- Tools of the chile trade…
Finally, here’s a shot of some of the bagged chile ready to go into the freezer!
- Packages of joy…
Just before I closed up the box to throw it out, I fished around the line and lo and behold! a few errant chiles hiding in the corners! I popped them into a bag and that was it!
Another year of good eating lies ahead–always something to look forward to! I usually open up a bag on Sunday morning, then have another day of chile later in the week.
I have to say, as a transplant from New Jersey, I had no idea that I could become so hooked on green chile. But, am I glad I picked up on this New Mexico tradition. It’s just plain delicious!!
***
Related site:
Last year’s report:
Exhausted….from GREEN CHILE!
July 31, 2009
A Trip to Albuquerqe: Along the Road, a Wind Turbine Blade and a “Watermelon”
By NM-GRL (IA)
It’s been such a long time since I’ve posted here! But things might be easing up, finally.
My brother visited and we’ve just completed a long two weeks enclosing our back porch. Tonight, we sealed the grout, so all I have to do is wash the floor, lay the new indoor/outdoor rug I bought yesterday, and start setting the room up, including moving some plants out of the house to the new room.
Before that happens and I get some pictures together on the final project, I’m catching up with my overnight trip to ABQ a few weeks ago. My brother flew into the Sunport for the first time (instead of El Paso) and it gave me a chance to get out of town. I drove up that morning and that Saturday night we went to an Isotopes baseball game which was a blast. The next morning we took the Sandia Tram, which I’ve always wanted to do. It was fantastic and I will be posting about that shortly.
But for now, here are a few pics from the drive up. Along the way, I came upon a big “wing.” I had seen one being transported back home and figured it was a blade of a wind turbine. This one I saw close up. I passed it, but the blade and I wound up at the same rest stop a few minutes later! If you’ve never seen one of these babies, they are colossal and look like a whale!
First, the sign from the rest stop. History and modern technology were together that day…
And here is the turbine blade…
Look at how this thing is attached to the tower…
If I recall correctly, this blade was on its way to Utah.
Seeing this thing up close was a pretty great start to my trip!
Just before hitting ABQ I stopped at the Isleta Indian Reservation for gas. It’s a popular place along the road to take another quick rest stop and top off the tank.
I drove directly to the airport and hanging in the main lobby is an old biplane, with an engine that “pushed” rather than “pulled” the plane, sort of like how a VW Beetle had an engine in the back! There was a fascinating display which told the story of aviation in New Mexico.
I got a peek of the Sandia Mountains from the waiting room. From Wikipedia:
Sandía means watermelon in Spanish,[2] and is popularly believed to be a reference to the reddish color of the mountains at sunset.[3] Also, when viewed from the west, the profile of the mountains is a long ridge, with a thin zone of green conifers near the top, suggesting the “rind” of the watermelon. However, as Robert Julyan notes,[4] “the most likely explanation is the one believed by the Sandia Indians: the Spaniards, when they encountered the Pueblo in 1540, called it Sandia, because they thought the squash growing there were watermelons, and the name Sandia soon was transferred to the mountains east of the pueblo.” He also notes that the Sandia Pueblo Indians call the mountain Bien Mur, “big mountain.”
My brother’s plane came in on time. Eureka! Last year, flying via Dallas, he had a huge delay and it took him 12 hours to get back to New Jersey. So, we decided to try Southwest into ABQ and it worked like a charm.
May 16, 2009
Saturday Sanity: The Antidote to the Madness (May 16, 2009) Cactus in Bloom! Gorgeous!rtw
~~By NM-GRL (IA)
Temperatures are heating up…we went into the 90’s then it cooled and today I caught a sign saying 95. So…summer is on its way!
Which means the desert plants are starting to come into full flower. Before I moved here I didn’t realize how wonderful cactus plants could be when they bloomed!
But before I get to some pictures from my house, I have to report on the squirrels. One is particularly bold, heading onto our back porch a mere couple of feet from my back door! The same guy, I think, was caught on my little “couch” (actually a storage unit) picking up corn that had spilled from the containers I use to fill the feeders. Today, I caught one at the side of the yard and I’m betting he’ll be at the pomegranate, which is not starting to form flower buds. (Last year, a squirrel nibbled on those.) The squirrel contingent has devoured petunias and I bought a few more hanging containers for portulacas and cardinal creeper vines, whose red flowers are also a tasty treat. Meanwhile, in the veggie garden, a squirrel has nipped at the sweet potato plants!!! And, I found a big, unripe peach half eaten!
This is getting nasty! I’m seriously thinking of getting an electrified fence around the vegetables at this point!
This weekend I should start bagging the grapes, which are now the size of peas…the work never ends!!
At least the cactus flowers aren’t being eaten!!!! So enjoy! These pics were taken over the the course of a few days, so they are in chronological order…
First, we have a few from 5/8:
Here is a cholla. I picked up a small section and planted this myself a few years ago and now it’s HUGE!
Cholla budding...
A bee wallows in the yellow flower on this cactus:
Bee in pollen...
Another version of a yellow flower, but with a splash of red!
Red and yellow flowers in full glory...
A couple of days later I took this picture with the cholla bursting into bloom:
Cholla blooming...
Cactus Flowers
The next day on 5/11:
A cactus pad full of flowers...
Finally, a shot of the ocotillo now leafed out and the cholla:
Except for the ocotillo which we had planted by a nursery, all the cactus have grown from a single pad that I stuck in the ground. Needless to say, I’m extremely please with the results!!
P.S.–that long “stick” on the left is the base that hold up my longwire antenna that brings in my shortwave radio signals!
May 9, 2009
Saturday Sanity: The Antidote to the Madness (May 9, 2009) ROADRUNNER in the Yard!
~~By NM-GRL (aka InsightAnalytical-GRL)
This week I planned to post some pictures of all the cactus blooms, but an unexpected visitor changed my plans! For the first time in the 10 years I’ve lived here, a roadrunner strolled onto my patio and hung out for a long time in my backyard! I’ve seen them on the wall and sometimes they’ve hopped down into the yard, but they’ve always stayed away from the house. This time was totally different…and I got to see this visitor attempting to find a meal, too!
I ran to grab my camera as soon as I saw this fellow on the patio. He (she?) then hopped up on a flower pot:
Perched on the petunias...
Here’s a closeup:
For a moment I thought this wild thing would take a drink from the fountain…but, it didn’t happen.
No drinking today...
Getting bored on the patio, our friend decided to head on over to the side of the yard, toward a couple of the bird feeders I have there (I have others on the wall facing the arroyo toward the back, too):
Heading toward the feeders...
Once at the feeders, the visitor eyed the situation and decided to stay awhile. I watched him/her lie in wait for small birds and try to fly up and catch them. He/she literally hunkered down and then “launched” in pursuit. Didn’t catch anything this time around…
Planning an ambush strategy...
Finally, I decided to try out the video function on the camera. Toro came out of the house to bark and the bird didn’t care at all. A short time later, Toro figured out that there was a big bird and he went over to bark at it directly. Without any panic at all, the roadrunner decided to take leave of the yard. Unforunately, I couldn’t figure out how to get the video over into WordPress…
May 2, 2009
Saturday Sanity: The Antidote to the Madness (May 2, 2009) Orioles!
~~By NM-GRL (aka InsightAnaltyical-GRL)
I’m trying out something new…posting directly to Open Range Ramblings with a link over at IA for visitors to that blog. Hopefully, folks will find their way here!
Well, this week I bought a product at Home Depot called “Critter Ridder” which is supposed to “deter” pests lik squirrels. After my local little devils munched on petunias and newly planted lettuce in pots on the patio, I got frustrated. So I bought this stuff (organic) and sprinkled it on the other side of the wall, hoping to keep my squirrel invaders at bay.
WITHIN 10 MINUTES…I was in the house and glanced out the window…and there was the ringleader on the wall and down on the ground taking a drink of water in the bowl I have there.
So much for “Critter Ridder” when it comes to squirrels!!! However, it MAY help with another problem…my two little ones, Toro and especially Tico, have be digging in the garden for some reason. Tico seems to love digging holes and sits in them. I filled in the one in the grassy area near the house and covered it with a flower pot so now he (with assistance from Toro) is digging by the wall under the plants and hanging out there. So, I may have to use the rest of the “Critter Ridder” to discourage Tico…it’s safe for dogs, so I’ll see if I’ve wasted my $15.
The Big Event of the week is the arrival of the orioles on a regular basis to my yard! I’ve been hearing them for a couple of weeks and my neighbor had them in her yard. Now, I’ve got at least two males visiting. One goes to the feeder, the other likes the grape jelly I set out. The females will start visiting soon, I hope. Last year I decided that the two types visiting were the hooded and Bullock’s orioles…
Hitting the bottle:
Hooded Oriole enjoying the sugar water...
Grape jelly!!
Jelly! (Bullock's Oriole)
Out in the plant world, the mesquite trees are finally leafing out…and doing the pollen thing. I’m allergic so the last couple of days have been a bit stuffy…and the high mulberry pollen counts haven’t helped much either. Mulberry trees aren’t being planted anymore but the ones that are still around are pretty potent especially when the wind blows.
Mesquite Tree
Lots of sweet smelling pollen going on here:
Pollen Attack!
We’re also beginnning to see a lot of yellow cactus flowers popping out…
Cactus Flower Duo
There is a lot more yellow in store from cactus plants. The cholla is beginning to get ready to blossom as well. I’ll be posting some pics of other flowering plants soon!
In the vegetable garden, the first banana pepper is about and inch long and I’ve already started picking basil for drying. I finally have cheescloth down over the sprouting squash, okra and chard in a last ditch effort to keep the bugs away!
April 29, 2009
Spring Finally Arrives in New York! Hurray! Photos from Highland Park (Near Rochester)
~~By Grail Guardian
After the longest Winter I can remember in quite a few years, Mother Nature has finally blessed Upstate New York with her bounty once again. Temperatures Saturday soared into the high 80s, and I actually was able to turn off the furnace and sleep with the windows open!
NM-GRL may have the New Mexico weather advantage, but we have the glorious eruption of a never-ending cascade of color and foliage that reminds us why we still live here. Basically, I think most of us will move once Governor Paterson figures out a way to tax the flowers and trees (I’m sure he’s working on it…)
So until then, let’s start with the sea of daffodils!
This photo was taken last week, and many more have since come out. These are some early blooms at Highland Park (my favorite place to enjoy nature until my Dad gets his yard finished – I’ll do another post when his artistry is in bloom).
The first Magnolias starting last week – they are now out in full force and walking through this section of the park sends you on a sensory journey that just has to be experienced! I love to just stand there with my eyes closed and breathe in the sweet fragrance…
More Magnolias, surrounded by an incredible blanket of blue Glory of the Snow…
A splash of Spring colors blankets the old Oak tree…
I think this is a member of the Dogwood family. This park features an abundance of flora from around the world, and many unique species of lilacs created here for the annual Lilac Festival…
These pics were taken just before the 2008 Lilac Festival. I cannot even begin to describe the heavenly aroma that surrounds the park when these babies are in bloom…
Some white Lilacs (photo from 2008)…
Since I’m taking the trip down memory lane, here (again from 2008) are a few of the magnificent Azaleas that are taller than I am!
Back to this year, Spring wouldn’t be complete without the forsythia. Again, this was taken last week, so they’ve filled in quite a bit.
And here’s a preview of the Lilacs! Starting to leaf out…they’ll be glorious in a couple of weeks!
And today the Bradford Pear outside work is in full bloom…
And our birds’ favorite tree – they love to eat the flower buds, but the tree seems to withstand their assault quite nicely. The cardinals keep trying to build a nest in it, but it’s too close to the building so they give up every year. Thanks to the security coating on the windows, we can watch them quite close up. We have to hang feeders off the windows to keep them from flying into the glass, but our male cardinal still tries to fight the “other male” he sees in his reflection at least once a day.
***
Editor’s Note:
Highland Park in Rochester was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead:
Renowned park designer Frederick Law Olmstead was responsible for final development of Highland Park. Among his other accomplishments was the design of New York City’s famous Central Park.
