Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Hiking at Ojito de San Antonio...and More Wildflowers :)


Ojito de San Antonio is a Bernalillo County Open Space located on NM 14 just north of I-40 (take exit 175 at Tijeras).  There is an old apple orchard there that has been there since the 1920's and the bears eat the apples in the fall so the open space gets closed.  An excellent time to visit is the spring time when the apple trees are blooming.



My friend, Melissa, and I hiked the 1 mile loop in May.  It was a nice easy hike and we saw lots of wildflowers.

It was a bit cool and threatening to rain the morning of our hike

View from the loop trail of the ojito and orchard

James Penstemon Penstemon jamesii
The loop trail climbs a couple of hundred feet

Butter and Eggs/YellowToadflax Linaria vulgaris

White Ragweed Hymenopappas filifolius

Yellow Sweet Clover Melilotus officinalis

Wood's Rose Rosa woodsii

Hartweg's Sundrops Calylophus hartwegii spp. fendleri

Bastard Toadflax Comandra umbellata ssp. pallida

Beautiful rock formations at top of the trail

This one had a lot of erosion and lichens.

Monday, August 29, 2016

So today, this happened....

Post for July 8, 2016

I am on vacation.  I am in beautiful Breckenridge, Colorado for a week.  It is heaven. I am with my husband and a couple of friends from Maine.







I got up early this morning to walk.  One of our guests is watching the TV.   A peaceful march held in downtown Dallas the evening before, protesting the deaths of two black men by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Minnesota, was the scene of five police officers killed by a sniper.  It is crushing news and it makes me very sad to see the violence and hate consuming our society.

I make the coffee as the "breaking news alert-themed" broadcast on Fox News brings on commentator after commentator to offer snap conclusions about the killings....a conservative judge who regularly appears, an ex-police chief from NYC, and one conservative politician after another -- they all blame the Black Lives Matter movement, President Obama, Muslim extremists...blah, blah...blah...like pouring gasoline on a fire, these commentators do absolutely nothing to heal our Nation.   I want none of this.  I am tired of the name calling, the finger-pointing, the fear and loathing, the hate that continues to tear our country apart.

I am on vacation and I want to enjoy the peace and quiet of this Rocky Mountain town.  Now, the wife of my guest is up, watching the upsetting news. My husband gets up and joins them as they consume the unfolding horror and acrimonious commentary.  I ask if we can go out for breakfast (to get away from this nonstop blaming and fear campaign) which we thankfully do.  I tell them after breakfast I will walk home and do a little shopping.  I take my time, I schedule a massage.  I just want to escape.

Peaceful mountains of Breckenridge


Quiet streets of Breckenridge


The sky in Breckenridge


The chalk art left on the street in Breckenridge after the 4th of July celebration

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.







Sunday, August 28, 2016

July 4th in the Colorado Mining Town of Breckenridge

We spent July 2-9th at our Condo in Breckenridge, Colorado.  There was a street art festival including chalk drawings and grafitti artists.









This was the first time we got to enjoy the Main Street Parade on July 4th celebrating Independence Day.

Ron and our friends Sharon and Bob





I will add another post about the rest of the week we spent in the Rocky Mountains in July.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Pretty as Peaches

My daughter, Amanda, and I headed up to Grand Junction, Colorado to pay a visit to my youngest daughter, Mary, and her husband, Matt.  They recently brought into their home two little girls under a Foster-to-adopt program.  We met the beautiful sisters and immediately fell in love with them.  They were pretty as peaches!

We went to one of the Grand Junction city pools to cool off on Saturday. 




Talking about peaches, on Sunday we went to the Farmer's Market and Peach Festival in Palisade, Colorado (just a few miles from Grand Junction).



Peaches with Serrano Jamon
 We stopped at the Palisade Cafe 11.0 for lunch where they had a special Peach Festival inspired menu.

Heirloom Tomatoes with Serrano Jamon and Pesto

Fish Taco

 This is a farm-to-table restaurant in the charming little town of Palisade amid miles and miles of fruit trees, vineyards, and vegetable fields. This little town on the the Colorado Western Slope gets a lot of revenue from agri-tourism.
















My daughter, Amanda

 Going home we encountered a monsoon driven thunderstorm in New Mexico as we drove back to Albuquerque.  A lovely long weekend.  We'll be back soon!