So. I put today’s first post up and made the rounds relatively early this morning… or as early as it gets around here. There were a couple of cups remaining in the pot after the Daily Reads had been read… so I went outside, put the awning down, settled into my camp chair, put my feet up, and enjoyed the last of the coffee while simultaneously finishing off the remnants of a couple of cigar ends (I’m such a frugal cigar smoker). In so doing the wonderfulness of my current abode struck me. Not my immediate physical surroundings… as Beautiful La Hacienda Trailer Park is, in reality, anything but beautiful… Nope. What struck me was…La Luz.
The light. Brilliant crystal-clear light, seemingly emanating from everywhere and nowhere all at once. The sky late this morning was a beautiful shade of robin’s egg blue, with nary a cloud to be seen within my field of vision. If I craned my neck over Miss Zukiko and looked off towards the eastern horizon I could see puffy white cumulus clouds congregating in the distance. But in front of me and to either side… nothing but blue sky. The counterpoint to the light was the relative calm this morning. There was a distinct lack of breeze, and the trees were stock-still as a result… their brilliant verdant arms reaching straight up into the sky and creating a wonderful tableau of mottled dark and light greens against the brilliant… almost achingly brilliant… blue sky. And it was oh-so-quiet at the same time. In other words: about as perfect a morning as it gets around here.
It’s been said that New Mexico draws more than its share of artists, and if you ask those artists why it is they come here, the answer almost always comes down to La Luz. I haven’t had all that many conversations with artists since I’ve been living in New Mexico
Today’s Pic: A re-run, taken on NM 209 just as the road drops off The Cap, about 50 or 60 miles from where I sit. It’s the best illustration I could find in the archives of La Luz… even though there are clouds in the sky… whereas there are none today. But I’m sure you get the picture, Gentle Reader.
January, 2004.
John and I were saying the same thing today ... there was not a single cloud in the whole vast brilliant blue sky this morning.
ReplyDeleteEven better, John was up at 5:00 a.m. letting the dogs outside, and he said the stars were INCREDIBLE. He said he felt like he could see millions of stars. I know it is partly because of the total darkness out here where we live, but I think maybe it has something to do with the altitude and the thinness of the air allowing us to see more stars than in other places. Not a scientist so I don't know what affects the view of the stars.
I must say I am just glad he didn't wake me up at 5:00 a.m. to see it. LOL
One thing I'll always remember is how beautiful the West Texas skies were.
ReplyDeleteOh Buck, you slay me with pictures like this one. I so miss New Mexico.
ReplyDeleteThe wide open spaces are really something I miss. Here in PA we have a very close horizon. These little hills and tress every where. Every now and then you crest a hill and can see a mile or so. And you add the humidity and it is no picnic here.
I love watching the first 40 minutes or so of "No Country for Old Men" which was shot on a ranch in NM. Those great vista's that they capture are incredible.
I am hoping to return home in early October, visit the family and such. Eat some really good food (Bobs Burger several times) and enjoy these great views.
Thanks once again.
BT: Jimmy T Sends.
Your description of your morning just made me ache. So peaceful, perfect. What I wouldn't give for such a morning.
ReplyDeleteThere is just nothing like a NM sky. I think of days while snow skiing and the sky would be so blue and perfect, or days we would be riding the high country on horseback, but the best sky was at night when we would lay out under the stars and Toby would say, "...like diamonds on black velvet."
ReplyDeleteI hitchhiked across your state in 1952 and was selling magazine subscriptions and pots and pans. I don't think I ever saw the sky. I saw a lot of pavement. I used to do things like that. I would ask my dad, "Dad, I would like to go to Tucson, Arizona this summer." He would reply, "OK," then, "How much does a bus ticket cost?"
ReplyDeleteAnd I would tell him $40.00 even though it was only $38.00. I needed something to eat on. Thanks to the gracious behavior of folks who got to know me I always arrived well fed. With no place to go and not knowing a soul, I would stay after getting a job and then it would be time to leave.
I never saved enough money for a bus ticket home so I would sign up to sell stuff and stick my thumb out.
That kind of experience and my Army tour made me, more or less, what I am.
Here is a shot I took at Shiogama, Japan 54 years ago when color film first came out Thunder Maker
Nice descriptive writing, Buck. And the photo... It makes me want to drive out west right now. Truly.
ReplyDeleteMy guys had a wonderful road trip through New Mexico this summer. They fell in love with it. Their favorite eating spot was Bobcat Bites.
ReplyDeleteThe owner of a little motel in Mountainair invited them to bring their band to play there. She even gave them brownies.
Beautiful state! Although I'll always love Wyoming best. :)
So that is what the west looks like. Quite beautiful with the photo and the description. I'll have to close up shop soon and just travel there.
ReplyDeleteNew Mexico{the northern half} is one of my favorite places to travel through....day or night. Some parts, much like the panhandle of Texas are so wide open, if staggers the imagination. I look at my photos traveling through often.
ReplyDeleteSharon: I hear ya about the stars. I have to get in the car and drive a couple of miles south to get away from the ambient light around here, but once I do... WOW. Like Lou said in her comment: "like diamonds on black velvet."
ReplyDeleteBecky: They still are.
Jimmy T sez: Here in PA we have a very close horizon. These little hills and tress every where. Every now and then you crest a hill and can see a mile or so.
There are times when I miss those rolling hills and trees. I think your part of the world is similar to western NY... and it's particularly beautiful in the Fall.
Amy sez: Your description of your morning just made me ache. So peaceful, perfect. What I wouldn't give for such a morning.
Yesterday morning was rather extraordinary, Amy, which is why I was moved to write about it. Everything just seemed to fall into place simultaneously.
I've been sending peaceful thoughts your way... I hope it's helping.
Lou sez: There is just nothing like a NM sky. I think of days while snow skiing and the sky would be so blue and perfect, or days we would be riding the high country on horseback, but the best sky was at night when we would lay out under the stars and Toby would say, "...like diamonds on black velvet."
Agreed on all counts... except I've never done the horseback thing. As I told Sharon... I have to take a five minute drive south to see the night sky in all its glory, but it's worth it!
Abe sez: That kind of experience and my Army tour made me, more or less, what I am.
It was a different world back then, wasn't it? I did a lot of hitchhiking in my younger days too, Abe. I don't think I'd want to do that now, though, even if I were 40 years younger.
Jim sez: Nice descriptive writing, Buck. And the photo... It makes me want to drive out west right now. Truly.
Thanks, Jim. Maybe an inspiration for a vacation to The Land of Enchantment?
Bec sez: My guys had a wonderful road trip through New Mexico this summer. They fell in love with it.
Easy to do, especially in the better-known areas. The High Plains are more of an "acquired taste." And yeah, that phrase is fraught with meaning... not all of it good. ;-)
I hear ya about Wyoming... I was most impressed with my brief stay there.
Michelle sez: So that is what the west looks like. Quite beautiful with the photo and the description. I'll have to close up shop soon and just travel there.
It IS beautiful, Michelle... but it's a whole nuther sort of beauty. There are more than a few USAF folks (stationed at Cannon AFB) who absolutely HATE it here and can't wait to leave... proof that NM isn't everyone's cuppa.
Pat: I much prefer the northern half of NM, too. Although the southern half has its charms.
ReplyDeleteI've been sending peaceful thoughts your way... I hope it's helping.
ReplyDeleteMore than you know, Buck. Thanks.