Random Acts of Photo

This past week has been all about the picture takin'. Why? Cause we got a new camera. I thought I would share a post of random images just because I love ya. And because we are like crack junkies with this new camera. We lay in bed at night and take pictures of our feet and the ceiling. We take pictures of the dark once the lights have been turned out. We take pictures in our mind while we are sleeping. Don't send help... or try for a televised intervention or something else drastic like that. We will calm down in a few years. Remember you can click through on each pic to see a larger version.

Rudy looking very handsome and very much like a Wookie at the Plaza Park.

You had no idea I was such and athlete right? Well, I am. I can run and jump. I am all good up to that point. It's the landing that proves to be a problem for me. Seconds after this image above was shot I was rolling around in the dirt having crash landed on my face. My knees were apparently not awake at the moment of hitting the ground and therefore did not participate in the event. I went down like a pro. Old school. I skinned my knees and had gravel in the palms of my hands. Oh yeah.

Out on a walk with Chelle on the banks of the raging Santa Fe River. See it there? Raging! It's a powerhouse that Santa Fe River. It stirs your very soul to see it.

Sometimes at night Billy and I become transparent if we have not had enough dinner.

Sunset from Fort Marcy Park

Blackbird on creepy dead tree. Moments later he tried to peck our eyes out. But we hit him over the head with our camera and ran away.

OK. It's Sunday. Today I am making French Onion Soup because Billy has been talking about it for three days straight. So on the first 80 degree day of the year we will be eating hot soup. I hope you all have a better plan of attack for your day.

It's Thursday

What significance does Thursday have? None. I just could not think of a better title for the post. At least it is a good, honest title.... because no one can deny the fact that it is indeed Thursday. Now that we have established that we can move on.

What goes on around here lately? Well, we are making decisions about what to do at the end of the Summer and getting ready for our upcoming trip in the Airstream to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. We leave in two weeks for that trip and if those two weeks could just hurry up and get it over with I would be very appreciative. I can't wait to be standing on the edge of the canyon feeling like an insignificant speck of dust lost in the enormity of the universe. Because that is how the Grand Canyon always makes me feel. It also makes me feel like I want to eat hearty "victuals" instead of boring old "dinner."

My only worry about the upcoming trip is Rudy. He has become a real puss about riding in the truck. He cries and shivers and pukes and carries on like a sick baby. This is going to make for a long drive to Flagstaff on the first day out. We may have to gag and bind him and tie him in a sack on the roof of the truck. Is that against the law? It probably is... so don't tell anyone our plan. He has also become "scared" at night lately. This new development is bizarre and unexplainable. It started one night last week when we let him out front for his final pee of the evening (he does this every single night around 11 so there is nothing new about it) and he freaked out barking at something in the dark. We could not see or hear anything out there (our front yard is the size of half a postage stamp and completely fenced in) and had to physically drag him back inside. That ended up to be a looong night. He never gave over to calming down. He was fully committed to the idea that we were all in serious peril and if he did not keep a diligent watch we would all be dead by morning. He patrolled the house growling and whining. He watched the door and the windows with wild, wide eyes. The hair was standing up on his back. I can only assume he came in to direct contact with the actual boogie man of myth and legend in the front yard. We tried to put him to bed in his crate but he was not havin' it. So we ended up dealing with Mr. Scaredy pants for most of the night. Try sleeping with a growling dog standing on your chest.

This behavior has remained in that now if he hears the slightest noise outside after dark he barks and patrols and grumbles and carries on for ten to fifteen minutes no matter what you do to try to shut him up. This is not gonna fly once we are back camping in the AS. It's not lookin' good for the rest of the summer in this casita either. We live next door to a small dirt parking lot (the only thing dividing us from it is a half assed coyote fence) for a bed and breakfast and people are in and out slamming car doors all hours of the day and night now that it's tourist season. Once we hit hot weather that requires open windows it's gonna be a constant battle against the barking. Ohhhhhh, the high pitched, sharp barking. Do I love my dog? Yes. Do I sometimes want to skin him alive? Double yes with a cherry on top. Do they make doggie ear plugs? If they do we need some. Send me some if they are out there. Or a sound proof booth! With a built in treadmill! That would be the best all around answer. Run Rudy on a treadmill encased in a sound proof booth for about 4 hours a night. Then everyone could get a good night's sleep. I am sure the people at Sharper Image can come up with something... this kind of crap is right up their alley.

So. Dogs. This has turned in to a really doggie blog over the past year has it not? Well, I am rollin' with it. Like it or not, you come here... you will be met by dogs and all of their vile behaviors.



As I have said before... Dogs keep it real. I like that about them. They may be dirty. They may eat garbage off the ground on the street. But unlike most people I meet they are genuine and enthusiastic about life for the most basic of reasons. They don't require fancy trimmings. Dogs just want everything to be more fun than boring and for everyone to feel OK. Truly.



There is one exception to the above rule in the world of dogs and that is our friend Larry. He wants everything to be more boring than fun. I kind of like it about him though. He is as mellow as mild cheddar and he just wants everyone to relax, relax, relax. Why the hurry? Why do we even need to go out today? At a certain point in any walk with Larry he decides that enough is enough and he becomes one with the ground he stands on. You cannot make him budge an inch unless you concede and walk back in the direction of home or the car. Once he is sure that he is on his way home he perks right up and marches ahead of the group to lead the way. Billy shot this portrait of Larry yesterday at the dog park in his moment of deciding that he would go no further.



You can also contemplate the calm demeanor of Larry in the humpy fight photo above where all the other dogs are engaged in either fighting or humping but Larry is steady as a rock and somehow just caught in the middle (unfazed.) Way to be Larry, way to be.

33 Years of Smooth Movin' Billy McLane

Today was Billy's birthday... number 33. We kept it pretty low key. What else is new though? Like we ever do any thing high key. Or even medium key. Our keys are all hangin' low baby. By the way... we did not plan or color coordinate our outfits. It just happened like that. It also just happened that I have my apron tied so high on my waist that my boob looks like it is made from a balloon filled with lead. Go ahead... look at it. Yeah. These are the visual dangers of photo ops with aprons.

We went out for breakfast to Pasqual's. Billy had smoked trout hash. Because that is what you should always eat for breakfast on your birthday. Fishy hash. It's delicious. (Gross.) I had eggs with tomatillo salsa and hash browns. And an english muffin with orange marmalade. Mine was a much more festive entree by far.

After breakfast we finished up our Mother's Day shopping... so look out you Mothers, stuff is comin' your way. I shipped out presents today!

The birthday fairy came to us on our way home in the form of a huge beautiful hummingbird moth... it congratulated Billy on being 33 and then flew off to avoid being eaten by Rudy.




The rest of the afternoon was spent piddling around the house and prepping food for dinner. We had home made green chile corn bread, grilled baby artichokes, grilled carrots and vidalia onions and marinated grilled tempeh. It was mighty good grub. If anyone is interested in how to cook the BEST grilled tempeh drop me a note and I will post the recipe. It's crazy good and easy to make. Here's a ridiculously close up shot of the artichokes.....




For dessert we had stuff from Cafe Paris... a fruit and almond tart and some sort of crunchy, sugary chocolate meringue torte. The sugar content was off the charts. I am now nursing a cup of peppermint tea to counteract the effects of mucho shugah. Billy is of course fine. He can eat sugar like it's meant to be his one and only sustinence. But then again, he is only 33. You can get away with stuff like that when you are 33.

In closing I will share with you a shot of Rudy which I find most disturbing. Sometimes he really gives me the creeps.


What a slimy pervert. Can you stand it?

LOST

As far as I am concerned Rudy is always rushing head long into possible disaster. Moments after the photo above was snapped he stepped on the window control and rolled the window up so that his head was stuck and he was dangling and choking for a moment (until I freed him) from the window shut on his neck. That was his first brush with death today. We drove out to Pecos today and hiked about 6 miles in the Pecos Wilderness at Holy Ghost. It is one of my most favorite places on the planet.



Spring is just on the brink of exploding out there... the aspens don't even have visible buds yet but most of the other trees are well on their way to being green. The aspen trees are so beautiful with or without leaves. There is no other tree like them.

So when you make back to Holy Ghost you park in the group campground and start the hike back into the Pecos Wilderness. And when I say wilderness... people I mean it. There is nuthin' out there. I think you could hike all the way up in to Colorado without seeing a house or a road once you get underway out there. Here is a shot of what the entry into the trail head area looks like...



Be sure to blow that one up to see the detail... it's a beauty. So we headed out with Rudy and we wanted to go farther than we ever have in the past... you get up pretty high into the mountains on this trail and we were in search of a point where you get an amazing view looking back at the Santa Fe Baldy and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It's a great place for Rudy because he can be off leash. He has a blast. The trail pretty much follows the Holy Ghost Creek so he is in and out of the water and running like a fool though the woods. I am sure that area is over run with smells of deer, elk, bear... you name it, it's up there. It's dog heaven.



Once we got up high in to the deeper woods we stopped for a rest. We are totally acclimated to the elevation out here now... but I think we were up there high enough that the air was getting thin. I was feeling like I was breathing through a wad of wool in my throat. Billy is of course cool as a cucumber at all times in his gangster hat.





And Rudy was still peeling out left and right chasing imaginary creatures through the woods. We made it to a point where there started to be an abundance of snow... the trail was not well maintained and it was hard to see it with the drifts of snow crossing over it. It was a bummer but we decided to head back. This was where things got stupid. Remember... we are at this moment about a two hour hike from the truck. Rudy starts running mad. He is shooting off in to the woods running up and down. Then... he disappears. Completely. Gone. The woods are dead silent and he is totally freakin' gone. Nice. So we start yelling and clapping and whistling for him. Nothing. Not a sound can be heard other than a faint wind in the trees. This went on for about ten minutes until I starting saying things like... "Well... he is gone." Just like that. My dog is gone into the Pecos Wilderness. I was pissed. I mean... what the Hell Rudy? How the Hell do I explain this one to people? I was saying "Something got him Billy... something got him." And I have to admit I was mildly worried that whatever got him may decide to come after me next. We kept yelling. I was yelling REALLY LOUD. It was kind of weird how loud I was yelling... and to know that no one else could hear me. Then.... in the distance I heard a rustling. And finally TAH DAH! Here comes the little jack ass running full steam down the trail. He was soaking wet from head to tail. Where the Hell had he been? We have decided that perhaps he was frolicking with a mythical beast such as a unicorn.... just out of our visual range. Why else would he have ignored my yelling? It must have been a magical creature who had him under a spell of sorts or he never would have done it. So yeah... we got him. He came back. But for a really bizarre few minutes up there I thought we had ended our career as the parents of Rudy. He was totally busted man... we even put him on the leash for about half of the walk back down. Is this not the face of someone who is totally busted?



Yeah... totally. We made it back to the truck and home without incident. We have one heck of a pooped out terrier in our bed right now. He is wrecked. I love it. And my evening is much more relaxed and enjoyable than it would have been had I been forced to hike back out without my dog and come home and lay in bed wondering what was eating him or if he was freezing to death or whatever. We will never know where he went or what he seemed to think he was doing.

There you have it. I am hittin' the hay. Happy trails people...

Dude. It's the Dog Park.

So.... I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you our recent discovery of the Santa Fe dog park. We had heard tell of it for months... but it was always spoken of with a tinge of fear. Danger. It sounded like it may be really far away and that once we got there we all may be killed. Then we started meeting people who said it was the best dog park ever. That we HAD TO go. We finally went with Michaela and Larry a week or two ago and found it quite agreeable. So we have been going over there (it's close by) once a week or so to let Rudy peel out. The place is freakin' enormous. There is a mild element of danger for Rudy there in that most of the other dogs around are 4 times his size... and he pushes his luck with big dogs on a regular basis.

Here is a view from one vantage point in the park looking back toward town and the Sangres.



Holy crap, right? You would think that Joe Bob Millionaire would have snatched this piece of land up for himself by now eh? But no... it's for dogs. Although... I am fairly positive that the dogs could give a poop about the nice view. You can go on some serious adventures in the park, down big steep dusty hills... (please note the tiny speck at the bottom is Rudy. Also note how carefully I am descending the steep hill. See my careful, squatty posture? This is the proper way to handle this sort of situation people... take note and learn from a pro.)



Rudy made the best of pals with a lovely three legged dog (no idea what her name was) this last time. You are going to have to trust me on the three legs part, as this is the only photographic evidence of their seven legged frolicking.



I count four dog legs in that photo. There are three missing out of camera range. I will tell you what... that three legged dog could haul ass with the best of 'em. No problemo. It was quite an inspiring little episode to watch actually.

So there you have it. The dog park.

What else? Well... let's see. Today I slaved over the stove for hours making a red chile, pinto bean, potato laden dinner and then when we set out to enjoy it the potatoes tasted distinctly of mold. That was neat. Nothing like moldy tubers in your supper dish. So yeah, that was the end of that. We healed ourselves by bee lining straight to the plaza diner for a huge slab of chocolate cake with ice cream. Problem solved.

Cherry Bombs, Wolf Hounds, Job Quitting and Sprinkler Systems

If you experience all of these things in the same day then you should consider yourself a real pro. A pro at what? I dunno. A pro at wandering around aimlessly shooting photos of random dumb stuff and generally being a delinquent I suppose. That is what I am currently a pro at. And you can be too if you follow in my footsteps.

Anyway, first things first....



I will couple the cherry bomb with the fact that I quit my new part time job. After just 5 days. All I will say is this... time went by like molasses running uphill in a freezer while I was in that place. I could not do it. So here I am again... a free agent. Ring me up if you need anything done. I am available.

Next in line is a thought on especially gigantic dogs. While intoxicating to see on the streets of town I would not be able to contend with one in my home. Especially not this one....



Good gravy people. That is a mythical devil horse... not a family pet. I mean... don't get me wrong, he was very friendly and all.... but how can you sleep knowing that creature is laying at the foot of your bed? Rudy was hypnotized by it's size, shape, color and the fact that it was clearly shooting invisible messages through the air into his wee terrier brain. We are all lucky to be alive.

What else... ? Oh. We fought with a few sprinklers on the one patch of green grass that exists in Santa Fe. Well... Rudy fought and we watched and sort of weakly cheered him on. That grass is breakin' all the rules here in this town. It's days are numbered.



So there you have it. This is what I have for you today. I am still giddy with my regained freedom after quitting my two day a week job. You can't expect me to be too serious just yet.

Quick Recap of the Week

A week ago I was sitting at Cafe Paris consuming the above beverage which they happen to call a "Panache." It's beer and lemonade. It's good. and as you may perceive from the photo... it's huge. It's especially huge when I am drinking it since I don't normally partake of such things. I don't know what else to say about that day except that Michelle and I laughed our asses off the whole time we were in the cafe. People were putting on a great show and since we are such nasty bitches we just laughed and laughed... right at them. It was good fun.

What else happened this past week? I took Rudy to the dog park with his new friend Larry. Larry is actually an old friend of ours (Billy and I) but he is new for Rudy. Here I will share with you a visual of Luxurious Larry.



Larry belongs to a friend, Michaela and she is who escorted us to the dog park. Needless to say... Rudy loved it.



I loved it too because here we have the end result of time spent at the dog park...



This was also the week I started my new part time job. I trained for three days and now I will go to a regular schedule of Sundays and Mondays. Just two days a week. Perfect. Any more than that and I would sink like the Titanic. I have too much other made up stuff to be doing to be able to devote more time to an actual reliable pay check.

Today was Friday (in case you went along all day not realizing it) and we went out tonight to walk Canyon Road and check out the gallery openings. We followed this guy around for awhile... I took several pictures of him but I will only show this one... in case he is an International Man of Intrigue and Danger I certainly don't want to be the person to give away his where-abouts...



Just know that he has a giant red beard. And a wedgy weird hair cut. And a Frenchy striped shirt. And perhaps he smells like Juniper berries and old salty leather. I made that part up... but I bet he does.

There are not too many gallery openings yet... it's too early in the season. But it was still a worth while walk. Here are a few images from one of my favorite galleries.





So tomorrow is Saturday and that means it's time for another Panache at Cafe Paris. Oh... and the most exciting news I have to report is that I bought Michelle and I tickets to go see Joan Jett at the Camel Rock Casino in May. If you don't live here that won't mean much... but going to see Joan Jett at Camel Rock is straight up dirty, dumb fun. I can't wait. It's guaranteed to produce a stupid story or three or four.

Sorry for such a scattered weird post. My head is still not screwed on quite right after all the goofy stuff we have had going on in the past few weeks. I gave you a random assortment of pictures to look at though... so at least you can't accuse me of totally sucking.

Happy weekending people...

Visting

We just finished up this afternoon with a two day visit with my (favorite) cousin Chelsea. She and her boyfriend Paul are on their way from having spent the winter working down in Big Bend, TX back on their way up to Yosemite to work for the Summer. Chelsea is the best. She has worked for years now within the national park system and I totally envy her for her absolute rock solid guts. She hikes and camps alone in seriously back country wilderness (we are talkin' bears and mountain lions here people) without batting an eyelash. She loves it. I love that she loves it. She kicks ass.

She and Paul met this last Summer at Yosemite. He has worked there and in Big Bend for about 5 years running I think. He is a gourmet chef and does all the cooking for the crew that Chelsea works with. They do trail head work and other stuff to maintain the park's integrity. So the next time you are admiring the stability and quality of a hiking trail in a national park out West you may have my cousin to thank for it.



The last time we met up was in Grand Tetons National Park up in Wyoming. It was absolutely amazing. I highly recommend visiting Jackson Hole and the Tetons. You can also hit Yellowstone while there. The whole area will blow your brains out. We went hiking with Chelsea up there and hung out in Jackson Hole for awhile. I can't wait to get back up there.... maybe this Summer we will peel off a trip up in the trailer. I hope. Here's a shot from the day we spent hiking...



It will probably be awhile before we get a chance to meet up again. We are hoping to see them at Yosemite but it is so hard to get in to the park's campgrounds without booking like a year in advance. We never book anything a year in advance. How the Hell does anyone? I don't know what I am doing tomorrow let alone next year this time. So we shall see. I am sure we will cross paths somewhere. Until then I know I have a cousin out in the wilderness defending my right to hike trails 30 miles into the back country and sleeping fearlessly with bears.

So I took the part time job at the shop downtown. I start Tuesday. Wish me luck. I have not stood for an 8 hour shift indoors in a retail environment for a seriously long time. I might panic or demand weird things like free cookies and ice cream on the hour. Or at least I should get to wear cowboy outfits with studs and rhinestones while lip syncing to Merle Haggard songs. Do you think they will let me do that? I think the shoppers would like it. I'm good. I can entertain people. They will buy more stuff if they are bedazzled. I will let you know how it all turns out.

We Got-a Lotta Bizzness

The quote above is borrowed from a kitchen worker at Linos Italian restaurant in Rockford, IL. I can't remember what the guy's name was... but he liked to say "I got a lotta bizzness" when he had a lot of pizzas and stuff to make. I feel ya dog... I feel ya. We got a lotta bizzness too.

We got through our weekend painting workshop and everything went great. The gals that participated were super nice, interesting and I think they had a good time and learned some stuff from Mr. Billy.





Rudy went to doggie day camp and then out to the owner's house for over nighters for the weekend. He got to run wild with 5 other dogs for 4 days. I brought him home today. The dude is tired. And I mean TIRED. He looks like Hell and has been swiped out like he just got back from burning man festival where he did not sleep for 5 days and did lots of illegal drugs. I think it is safe to say he had a mighty good time but that he is really groovin' on being the Lone Ranger Dog of this household once again. Oh... and he has never smelled worse. Lawsy Mercy does he stink. Tomorrow morning = BATH TIME. You can run but you can't hide little Boobie.

This week is gonna be a busy one... I am (I *think*) taking a part time J-O-B two days a week at a retail shop about 5 minutes walk from our house. I have to go in and talk with them again tomorrow. It'll be good extra cash and the shop has some groovy stuff like Old Gringo boots and some retro looking western wear for men etc. I can get into that. My cousin Chelsea and her boyfriend Paul are coming to visit for a few days arriving on Wednesday... that'll be a good time. Chelsea is my fave cousin and I barely ever get to see her. They just finished up a winter working in Big Bend down in Texas and are on their way up to get back to work up in Yosemite in California (where they worked last year) but are stopping off a few places along the way. We are gonna go out to eat and show then around town. I am also meeting up with one of the women from our workshop sometime in the next week to discuss marketing some of her artwork. She makes gorgeous handmade jewelry boxes, books, frames etc. out of really special handmade Japanese papers. They are amazing and really expertly made. Hopefully I can help her get into a gallery or two here in Santa Fe.

Other than all that stuff I have a mountain of vintage waiting to be photographed and listed. Today I rescued a black 100% cashmere vintage coat in mint condition that I am considering gaining 25 pounds for so it will fit me and I don't have to sell it. We have to schedule our next painting workshop and get the website updated. And I have to find time to eat toast in the bathroom. Always leave room for your favorite hobby.

So if I disappear for a few days now you will know why. I shall return. Hopefully with dumb photos and silly stories. Or at least with news of a clean, well rested dog who does not smell like skunk crackers.

A Little New Mexican Eye Candy

I grabbed some good photos yesterday up in Ojo Caliente where we went to go hiking and spend the afternoon at the mineral hot springs. It was a beautiful day if not a bit on the windy side. We hiked around and were in awe of the fabulous clouds which populated the sky all day. This first shot is of the Rio Chama River on the drive up to Ojo. How about that view? THIS is why I love New Mexico!!!


These next few shots are the hiking trail out behind the hot springs spa. I love the cloud shadows passing over the land and the fact that the actual clouds almost look fake. They look too cute to be real clouds.





This is a close up shot of some Indian pottery shards. They blanket the ground up there off the hiking trail. They are left behind from the Posi-Ouinge Pueblo Ruins.



This last shot is just a nice view looking up a dry river bed we walked along in for awhile.



OK. I am off to finish dinner. I just wanted to share these images. Have a lovely Tuesday evening people.