Spring in our Manzano Mountains

It started out beautifully…

It was an idyllic start to the day… My son David communed with sweet Lena the horse in our pasture, Diana and I headed down the road with our husky-mix Minnie on a leash. Birds were singing, the sun was shining…

But spring in our Manzano mountains, is full of surprises. Not suspecting the turn of events to come soon, Diana and I planned a family outing for the afternoon with the kids.  I felt like I was walking in a greenhouse, the New Mexico Sun beating down mercilessly while we strolled down the bone-dry but still rutted road from a recent snow storm. Diana and I took off our sweaters and dangled them on pinon trees to pick up on the way back. (Try that in a city!)

And under that cloudless blue sky, we both thought it was time to at least plan our spring gardens. So we discussed horse manure, composting and how many cherry tomato plants we should supply ourselves with this year. And talked over starting that pile of “good dirt” the next day in the back of the house, near where we’d be putting in the veggie beds.

But Then…

A half hour later and back home, my iphone “went off” warning of an upcoming dust storm and how we should all stay home and off the highways where we might run into zero visibility. Off to the west we saw an ominous brown cloud approaching.

Within an hour the balmy spring day turned frigid, wind gusts approaching 70 mph. Clothes I’d just hung on the line were straining at the clothespins, twisting, catching on stray nails and being generally difficult to remove. I fought those forces of nature and got my laundry safely inside.

And then it started to snow. Big fast flakes coming down from the mountains at a furious angle of force. The ground was covered in an hour. David had a fire going in the big part of the house (where the rest of my family live) and I was happily cozied up in my apartment in the back reading a Louie L’Amour book about the Old West and sipping a cup of hot tea.

Personality of the Wind

In my neck of the woods, the wind has a volatile personality and voice. This particular day it sounded mad, furious even. I ignored it like a tantrum-prone child, knowing it would settle down at least by morning.

Crazy New Mexico weather. It’s been said we have 12 seasons here, 2 per month. Here are a few of them: Spring, false spring, “the pollening”, summer, blast furnace, false autumn, actual autumn…you get the idea. The good part is that none of them last too long, just long enough to be interesting. 

My husband adored this state, cantankerous weather and all. As I live through years with Ed no longer by my side, I feel comforted by the sunrises and sunsets that drew him outside no matter the temperature. I live for now on a piece of earth that we shared and marveled at together, calling each other to the window to spy on deer or dramatic clouds above the mountains.

May your spring be balmy, chilly, beautiful and finally, green.

Love from Your Animal Loving Artist,

Merry