I didn’t believe it was possible…Snow in May? We woke up last Friday to big, fat flakes covering our high green grass and dusting our blooming iris.

The hummingbirds seemed enchanted with it. They were darting through the snow, chasing each other merrily.

The mountains, which had begun to green in all the bare spots with live oak, are still snow dusted today, several days later. But the oak is a sturdy shrub. I doubt a leaf was frozen, and most likely all the snow will melt in a day or so.

My 8 year old grandson visited during the height of the storm and told me his harrowing tale of being “lost in the wilderness.” (His words) He said everything looked the same in the snow, but that “the alligator juniper looked elegant” He told me “it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.”

I gave him a little pot of peppermint tea and a bowl of roasted almonds to warm him up.

I’m one of the luckiest grammies in the world, with grand kids a hop skip and a jump from my house.

Seeing our land from the little kids’ perspective awakens my early years of exploration in Ohio. All the way down to fossil hunting! We have a ravine on our property, great for sledding in the winter and fossil collecting in the spring, summer and fall.

And birds! Besides hummingbirds, we have orange grosbeaks, ravens, wrens and at least 20 or more varieties I haven’t identified. A real birder would have quite a time here.

But I just watch them and listen to their song. We have some real warblers nesting at our property at 7,000 feet. They awaken us sometimes in the very early morning, a mixed blessing.

Coming from lush Florida, I wasn’t sure I could learn to love the sometimes stark environment of New Mexico. But now the juxtaposition of a delicately petaled flower and cracked dry land gives me a little jolt of poetic appreciation.

And when the early afternoon sun shines through the stained glass windows in our adobe, I feel a little shudder of admiration and joy. New Mexico has a tentative beauty, one that kind of sinks in after absorbing it for a while.

Like an unexpected snow fall in mid-May.

What is it you love best about where you live?

I would love to hear from you here!