New Mexico postcard #9

I thought that by now I'd be taking winter in my stride and tell you it is no big deal. But, in fact, winter is a very big deal here at 7000 feet.Winter affects my daily routine, it makes driving and walking more dangerous, it determines what time of day I go out (and don't go out), it even affects the kinds of produce available in the markets. In a nutshell, winter is awesome and humbling and the experience of a lifetime.

This is a photo of a field near my house,with Taos mountain in the background. A typical day.

 This snow pictures is one of my favorites. This is a field about a block from my home.It evokes the somber nature of winter that I'm so attracted to.

I love this photo of a cemetery on Taos Pueblo land, very close to my home. Cemeteries all over northern New Mexico  look like this.

Here's the bonus photo. It really doesn't cost very much to live in New Mexico as evidenced by gas prices on 12/16/2011.

The images I unfortunately can't share are the Christmas lights and luminarias in Taos such as this one I found on the Internet:

New Mexico Postcard #8

A snowy day, and time to catch up. Here's snow photo to begin with, from an early morning walk in the fresh fallen snow.

But let me backtrack to last week and before, when I drove 1700 miles to Austin and back for the Thanksgiving holidays. That's two full days each way! I've made this trip twice in the past but never in the winter when the days are short and the fields are ever so bare.


As you'll see. Went through several ghost towns in eastern New Mexico. These photos are from Cuervo, just of I-40. This town has seen better days.

Then on to west Texas -- miles upon miles upon miles of west Texas. The major photo op is this grain elevator in the long shadows and the end of a winter day.

... and some hay bales covered for winter

Trip to Austin was four full days of fun and food with my beautiful family, and back to beloved New Mexico. This photo is or the Mora Valley, between Taos and Las Vegas (NM).