New Mexico postcard #7

I can be excused for  going ga-ga over snow, since this is the first winter I've experienced since I was twelve years old (unless you want to count my freshman year in college, when I chose a college just for the snow, and wouldn't you know, that was the one year it didn't snow!). We've already had two significant snowstorms in Taos and it's not even the middle of November.

This is a view of the field across the street from my home.

Here is my home, my sweet casita, in the snow.

This is the tiny road I live on. It looks rural, but in fact it is right in the middle of town. That's Taos for you.

New Mexico postcard#6

Random photos from a day in Santa Fe. It was a typical late fall day, sunny an sparkly, so I pulled out my camera. Here is a typical scene -- an adobe revival building, blue sky, and aspen in the foreground.

Here from a colorful storefront in the historic section of town.

Here is a statue of Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Indian to be made a saint in the Catholic faith.

This is San Miguel Church, the self-proclaimed oldest church structure in the United States.Parts of the building date from 1610, 166 years before the Declaration of Independence was signed!!

A colorful display in a Santa Fe shop.

New Mexico postcard #5

SNOW in Taos! It started this morning with a really stormy sky. Then the wind came up, then rain, then hail, then sleet.  And then snow -- BIG showy flakes. Here are some photos taken from my balcony:

 This is the neighboring casita, but looks just like mine.

This is a view of the casitas north of mine (and coincidentally, the unit on the left is the very first place I stayed in Taos, in 2004).






The snow storm was short-lived, though it stayed cold and windy all day. I went out in the afternoon to attend a "Taos Reads" event at the public library. The library was packed!! Now I know where people hang out in Taos on cold days. (Would that it be the case in Oakland (:_(). 


Now it is evening and the snow is mostly melted. It will be cold tonight, this night when we all turn our clocks back to standard and start to get used to it getting dark at 5 p.m. The wind blew the leaves from the trees, those brilliant yellow leaves on the cottonwoods, elms, and aspens.

I believe autumn is over, and winter has begun.

New Mexico postcard #4

Today my love went back to the Bay Area, and its time to buckle down to work. We left for the airport early in the morning, with a storm threatening, but it never materialized. The three hour drive made me realize how lucky I am to be only 20 minutes away from the airport at home.

I drove back to Taos on Hwy 14, marked on the map as a scenic route (as if there are road in New Mexico that are not scenic!). I came upon Madrid, New Mexico, a hamlet in the mountains that was originally a mining town, then a ghost town, and now an artists' community.

Here are a few photos:

Here I stopped at the only cafe for a coffee and reading break in the sunshine.

As I sit here, comfortable in this isolated corner of the world, my hometown is making national news with the General Strike. I have mixed feelings about being far away, and what if anything, I would do if I were home. Though I'm a strong MainStreeter vs WallStreeter, I'm not quite sure where the Occupy Oakland Movement is going.