We got in on a little rodeo Tuesday, or maybe I should call it mutton-busting. On the way to Mancos from Snowflake, we stopped in at Hubbell Trading Post NHS in Ganado, AZ, where I was superintendent for three years in the mid-1970s. As we drove in, we could see activity in the new sheep pen out near the entrance, where they are raising a demonstration flock of churro sheep, so important to the history of Navajo weaving.

The top picture is of one of the guys roping the hind legs of a sheep to bring it out of the pen and to the place where they were doing the shearing. Catching the critters in the pen, where they milled about with the watch-llama, was the rodeo part!

During the shearing, the fleece was laid back over the head of the animal as the shearer worked toward the front ... you can see the muzzle peeking out on one that has decided to quit kicking and just wait it out.

By mid-day, after we had gone on a very good tour of the house and visited the trading post, the crew was working on the last few critters. The shearer in the tan cap and bright blue shirt in the bottom pic, with the trading post visible in the background, is the superintendent. tv

FLDS update ... a new one

KOB-TV did run the story on the Mancos FLDS last night ... you can read and/or play it at KOB.com/article/stories/S428170.shtml?cat=500.

Interesting aerial views of the property. tv

Last leg

Well, it's been a couple of busy days! And the logic of blogger escapes me ... the pictures above were supposed to be the last in the series, but I had to upload them in a separate batch, so they appear first. Oh, well.

Anyway, we've had a bunch of picture-taking fun. The reddish blooms and buds to the left  are on a cholla in Bill and Sherrie's yard ... the fleshy, almost translucent petals gleam in the morning light.

One of the exhibitors at the home art show made this lion of ... you name it ... phone cards, credit cards, old 3.5-inch discs, an amazing variety of odds and ends. Seems more complicated to me to assemble all that "stuff" and figure out how to put it together than to do straight drawing, potting, etc.

And Mexican folk art, in the form of strangely and brightly painted wooden figures, always brings a smile to my face. 

On the way toward Globe, there was this old Aermotor windmill, turning slowly in the breeze, still pumping water for cattle.

The globe mallow stalk was lying along the ground, instead of waving in the air as they usually are ... easier for the photographer to catch. ;-}

Skipping back to the top, the bright yellow fruits on another kind of cholla stood on the way down into the Salt River Canyon. (I think it's a cholla; I've realized that, if I'm gonna take cactus pics, I'd better find a copy of "What Kinda Cactus Izzat?")

And then there's the canyon itself ... a mini-Grand Canyon, smaller but still awesome. This is a section with serious whitewater, above the bridge, seen from the north rim of the canyon. By that time, we were happy to be climbing higher, approaching the forests of the White Mountain Apache Reservation and the cooler temperatures. Got into Snowflake in good time, able to enjoy the pool and a leisurely (and good) Mexican supper at La Cocina De Eva, in Snowflake and then download our pictures and relax.

Homeward bound

Well, after a couple of days in warm (sneezy) Tucson, we're about to head back. I have to be in a conference call at 9 a.m., so we won't get very far before that. We're headed up through Globe to Snowflake today, planning to really enjoy the views in the Salt River Canyon. I've been through the canyon lots of times, but never really stopped and looked from the various overlooks. I wish that blasted haze would disappear, but it seems to be all over the southwest, sometimes with dust, sometimes without. Anybody know what's going on? And will this pass, or have we passed the tipping point and will never see clean air and clear skies again?

Anyway, we visited a farmer's market yesterday to get some FRESH tomatoes and other produce, found some hanging baskets for the shade arbor in back of the house, helped with and enjoyed Sherrie's home art show (17 artists, all with their own spaces ... a wild, eclectic, visual display) and got to visit with Bill and Sherrie and cousin Karen a bit. 

We'll try to post pics tonight to keep you updated. 

And further south!

Gee, it's an interesting change from 25 degrees at dawn yesterday morning in Mancos to about 95 degrees as we were coming through Phoenix this afternoon!

We stopped by Montezuma Castle National Monument this morning; see first pic above. Later, we got off the Interstate and drove down a dirt road to the town of Bumble Bee , AZ. We stopped in several places on the way in and out .... we could just stand there and see more and more photo opportunities. Sometimes it wasn't a fully-open bloom that caught our eye; it was buds of seed pods or.... tv

Goin' south

Walked the dog in 25-degree Mancos air this morning, froze taking pictures of Shiprock in mid-morning and ended up enjoying balmy spring weather with temperature in the 70s in Oak Creek Canyon, Sedona and Cottonwood, where we holed up for the night.

We did get a few close-ups of tiny little flowers ... white, yellow and blue ... that were poking up in the high desert, with pentstemons and globe mallows blooming down in Oak Creek Canyon.

Sedona is, of course, touristy, even more than I remember from 17-18 years ago. Still, it's in a lovely, if cramped, setting. Today the colors of the Red Rock area were muted by the same haze that's been bedeviling the Four Corners area for days. We found a nice restaurant with an outdoor dining area, off the main drag enough to be quiet and peaceful, and had a delightful first-month anniversary supper. tv

Chaco

As readers of this blog may already know, it's always a pleasure for me to return to Chaco Canyon. Yesterday I took a long day-trip there with a couple of neighbors. It was my first time there with the new camera and, even though the light is washed out during the day, I was pleased with the results. Both pictures posted here were taken during our tour of Pueblo Bonito.

The tour was given by G.B. Cornucopia, whom I've known since he came to Chaco 21 years ago as a campground host while I was superintendent. I think it was the best tour I've ever heard GB give, incorporating latest research as well as quotes and his observations from original documents of excavation. What a pleasure!

And it was a joy to briefly see my friend of long standing and former co-worker, Park Archeologist Dabney Ford. What a resource she is for that park, as well as being a wonderful person.

And, still further, we got to hear a talk by Ron Sutcliffe, a surveyor from Pagosa Springs, on the movements of the moon and sun as they may be recorded in the architecture of Casa Rinconada. I'm still a skeptic on some of this stuff, but he's done some good work. That was followed by a group visit to Casa Rinconada, which I still think was wrongly and illegally closed to public entry. Yeah, I know ... grumpy old men! Still, it was a great day, as all days at Chaco are! tv

Two for two!

Gotta take a moment to brag about some great kids! SW Open School has had an El Pomar Youth in Community Service chapter for two years. Last night, for the second year straight, the SWOS chapter of EPYCS won the award for Outstanding School in the Four Corners Region during an awards ceremony at Fort Lewis College!

El Pomar is one of the leading philanthropies in Colorado. Beginning in 1991, they set up EPYCS as a way to get young people involved in giving back to their communities. If a high school chapter develops a mission statement and raises $500, El Pomar will "match" that with $7500 for them to give away to nonprofit causes. The students solicit, receive and approve grant applications, with the aid of a teacher and El Pomar-sponsored training workshops. There are six schools in the Four Corners Region: Archuleta County Education Center, Bayfield High School, Dolores High School, Durango High School, Silverton High School and SWOS.

The posted pics are of the SWOS EPYCS chapter members who were at the awards ceremony, the list of who they gave grants to (as displayed on a screen; click on the pic to get an enlarged, more readable view), the way they earned the money (and the award) and one of the SWOS students making a special presentation about her special interest, Habitat for Humanity.

Our students have often had their share of personal turmoil and travail; maybe that's what makes them so able to reach out with a helping hand. In any case, they received a standing ovation and we were bursting with pride for them! tv

Nature's Paintbrush

The colors that are popping up around us right now are so amazing, it is like watching a fine artist at work!   Mother Nature is having quite an exhibit , although in early spring you may have to look very closely to find her first masterpieces!  This is quite a contrast to summer when there will be whole fields a beautiful wild flowers.   The blue in this tiny offering took my breath away!   Spring is a great time of year to carefully look around you for such treasures!  sf

Long day!

We got to Bauer Lake fairly early Tuesday morning ... stalked the eagles at their nest after cleaning the screen at the dam. The day before, we had seen a pair of ospreys flying around Little Bauer Lake, but didn't see the nest. It will be fun to keep watch on the eagle's nest (from a distance) through the summer.

Onward to KSJD, where we worked the telephones for two hours during their spring fund drive. "Worked" may not be the right word ... two calls from the manager and one wrong number!

The station manager invited Sandy to come out Wednesday morning and chat with him online about community radio in "da UP." 

In the afternoon, we made it to the world religions class the local Methodist minister is hosting for a dozen or so people. A woman who is sister to one of our librarians and who is married to an Iranian Muslim was the speaker. She and her kids have lived in Iran and her recounting of those experiences, and of her families' experiences in the US before and after 9/11, were fascinating. 

Thence to the Kennebec Café, to celebrate Sandy's birthday with dinner as the sun's last rays seemed to gild forever the southern slopes of the La Plata Mountains, visible through the dining room windows to the north, up La Plata Canyon. It made us shiver to recall how arctic it had felt when last we ventured up that canyon! But we also, as we indulged in beautifully presented plates of good food not quite on our diet menu (especially the chocolate sundaes for dessert!), both felt the hankering for those upland roads to open, so we can get out and explore the spring flowers, the rushing streams and waterfalls, the wildlife. We've been traveling the road at the east side of Bauer Lake almost daily, doing screen duty, and each day we see something new ... and this is just one of hundreds of roads waiting for our exploration! 'Tis an unending joy to explore the world with this ever-youthful loving partner!

Can't wait to get started toward the southland Friday morning. In the meantime, though, there's lots to do. Sandy's on the radio this morining. A KOB-TV reporter, Tom Joles, is flying up this morning to cover the Mancos FLDS properties and wants to interview me at 11. Tomorrow I'm doing a day-trip to Chaco and back with friends while Sandy gets us ready for Tucson. Gotta get all this roaming around done before I have knee replacement surgery on July 1, which will still my traveling for a while. 

Enough. Almost dawn. Got other things to do in this wonderful life. tv

A morning wander

Finally got the duct tape gown picture righted; just had to share it with you!

We went up to Bauer Lake about 7 a.m. ... lots water coming down the creek! Sandy spotted the eagle's nest and, after we had been up the road and walked around the north side of Little Bauer Lake, she spotted the eagle as we were coming back down. Even with the new, longer-lensed camera, I couldn't get a very sharp picture without using the tripod. 

Someday we'll go up there with a comfortable seat, a picnic lunch and just wait for some really good shots. 

Not on a day when it's 30 degrees and ice is forming on twigs dangling in the ditch! tv

The Cute and the Beautiful!

Today's photo venture led us several different directions and as usual , the opportunities were not always where we expected.  The sky was clear but with a distant haze that left the mountains not as photogenic as we had hoped.  While scouting the Cortez Recreational Complex for "kodak moments"  we found the first flowering tree on the grounds.  How beautiful the first flowers of spring are!  In downtown Dolores,I even found myself oohing over a patch of brilliant dandelions!  That's bad.    After a few hours of photo safari we stopped by the home show on our way home from Cortez.   This adorable pup hammed it up to have his picture taken.  What a cutie!   Great day, just browsing the area and enjoying  the promise of spring. sf

9Health Fair day

We went in at 5 yesterday afternoon to help the Lions Club set up for the annual 9Health Fair. Sandy has helped with other health fairs, and I covered this one in years past, but this was our first time as two of the 70+ volunteers it takes to put this one on.

This morning we were up at 5:30 (that late because I overslept) and at the school, where it was held, by just after 6 a.m. We got our screening done and then helped direct people through the well-organized maze of screening tests and information tables. Sandy said she heard there were more than 500 participants this year! 

It was a long time standing, but also a pleasant, positive way in which to serve the community, seeing neighbors I hadn't seen in a long time as well as the few I see regularly. I haven't exactly been a hermit since leaving the paper almost two years ago (though that's my natural tendency), but I don't see as many people as often as when I was covering so many meetings and events. 

And it was a pretty nice morning weather-wise, too, not warm but not with the biting wind we've had a few mornings recently.

I think tomorrow we're going to skip meeting and go photo-safari-ing. tv

Gallery Night at SWOS

Well, a courtroom packed with 350 lawyers arguing over 416 kids is going to take precedence over a walk in the woods anytime, so I doubt that we'll see CNN air the Mancos segment.

Anyway, we went to the SWOS Gallery Night, which is a show-and-tell of student work every semester. Sandy was able to get to the last one, but it's the first one I've been able to attend. 

I don't seem to be able to load vertical pictures without them being presented sideways ... lying down. I'll try to get some up later. The one above is a SWOS student singing a song from Les Miserable, with a sign language interpreter at work behind her. 

This is the first day I've used my new Olympus SP570 camera, which arrived last night. It has 20x optical magnification capability, 10 megapixels and lots of bells and whistles, some of which I'll probably never use. The magnification is what I'll really use ... twice that of my old main camera.

FLDS update

Latest word is that the segment with Gary Tuchman will air tomorrow evening, not tonight, on Anderson Cooper 360.

We went out this morning with the CNN crew and Mancos Times editor Jeanne Richardson. After going to the front gates of both properties (at the lower, occupied one Tuchman hollered into the compound, inviting people to come out and tell their side of the story. No response.), we walked around the south end of the field (USFS land) and around the east side to below the big 6-bedroom, 6-bath log house hidden in the canyon (we were on State Forest property at that point).

The pics are of Sandy walking along with Tuchman at the upper FLDS property, the camera crew on the public land side of the fence below the FLDS house in the canyon and a cropped shot of the guy who was monitoring our walk from the time we appeared at the fence line, skedaddling. He had come out to the edge of the forest on his four-wheeler, sized us up and gone back to what appears to be a guard house that's been constructed in the last year above the big house, just in the edge of the woods. Small structure, but it has power and windows and, I suspect, some form of communication in it. When we got below the house, he headed north along an internal road, then came back south on their patrol route along the inside of the fence we were standing next to. He must have known we were there, but when Tuchman hailed him, he acted startled and took off up the hill cross-country on his ATV, almost high-centering on a log in his haste.

Good walk in the woods, fresh air, though a bit nippy and, later, dust-filled ... more San Juaner. tv

What a day!

It's been a long and frustrating day!

It started out okay, with a trip to the Bauer Lake inlet, where I caught these two swallows (martins?) perched on their duplex birdhouse.

And the trip to the knee surgeon wasn't bad, either. The bone-on-bone contact and arthritis is evident in my right knee; time to do a replacement. We'll postpone till after the Yellowstone trip and Yearly Meeting at Ghost Ranch in early June so's to have a better recovery period. I have a great nurse who will see to it that we're both out biking as soon as possible.

Delivering our first order of cards to the Open Shutter Gallery in Durango was good, too.

Then the San Juaner came in, filling the valley with windblown dust. I stayed in for a good part of the afternoon, reading over applications for the Friends Bulletin editor position. Unfortunately, the reason I'm still up at 11:30 is that my e-mail went down, leaving me without some of the communication our committee of three needs on this. It's been a frustrating couple of hours, trying to deal with that.

Before that, however, I got to be on the panel for three SWOS senior portfolios, always rewarding. After the portfolio review, there was a ceremony in which all the seniors lit a candle and stood in a circle of solidarity. Candles don't give much light, but you could still see their eyes shining!

Mixed in with all this was a series of phone calls from someone from CNN, who was traveling from the FLDS home community of "Short Creek," the twin cities of Colorado City, AZ, and Hildale, UT, to Cortez to film the Mancos Valley FLDS properties tomorrow. I met with them in Cortez tonight after getting done at SWOS and talked generally about the relatively low impact the FLDS group (however many they are; I've never seen more than two men at a time and no women or children) has had in the community. Whatever they use of the interview is supposed to air on CNN tomorrow - Wednesday - night. 

I haven't been by the FLDS parcels since sometime last fall, so I did a quick run by again on the way to SWOS and did drive-by shooting with the camera. Doesn't look like much has changed, except the fences are painted around the raised gardens they were putting in spring before last, a new shed has been built and the picture from the road through the trees and across an unused field shows building material and a couple of big underground tanks in readiness. 

The last picture is of the buildings, etc., on the second 60-acre tract David Allred bought, probably as an agent for his father-in-law, Warren Jeffs. A comparison with pictures I took while I was still Mancos Times editor in early 2006 shows no change in the structures.

The CNN crew is going up there Wednesday morning; we'll tag along after our stop at Bauer Lake. And now it's off to bed, while it's still Tuesday (barely). tv

Spring at last!

Today was the first day we felt a warm sun, with no wind and the fresh scent of spring and said, "It's really spring!" Of course, we'll have some snow storms yet, but it really felt like spring today!

We were up at Bauer Lake about 9-ish this morning and the lake was really calm. Just a few ducks and geese swimming, great blue herons fishing around the edges. Ute Mountain and Mesa Verde's Point Lookout were clear across the lake.

We went on up the road toward Little Bauer Lake, a Forest Service road that's still closed just below Little Bauer. On the way back, we saw this squatter squirrel, taking an early morning sunbath on the porch of a birdhouse it had commandeered. The squirrel was so still for so long, Sandy wondered if it was a stuffed one, put there for a prank. It ducked inside the birdhouse when she approached, so she concluded the squirrel was playing, "If I don't move, you can't see me." tv

Another late night

We went out for a late afternoon photo run up the Dolores River Valley, partly to catch some Dolores and Cortez area shots for a prospective client who wants views of that side of the county. As to the run up the valley, it was probably mostly good for seeing views we'd like to catch at sunrise and/or when there's more greenery.

But, when we were coming in to Cortez, several opportunities presented themselves. Cortez has a wonderful central park system, including soccer fields and the Recreation Center we visit so often. It would have been nice if the lawns were greener, but then there'd be less snow on the La Platas in the distance to the east, so I thought this sunset shot did the facility justice, showing beautiful grounds and building ... a peaceful evening setting. 

Then I turned around and saw the shot that really made me say "Yes!" ... the fountain with the sun's last rays shining through and ducks in the foreground. We just read Jay Goodrich's article about scenic photography in the latest issue of Outdoor Photographer, in which he suggests going to the spot where people are lined up to take a picture of a well-known scenic site ... and then turn around and point your camera in the opposite direction. Well, that's what happened last night! It was thrilling to see how the camera was catching each drop in its journey, with the ducks calmly sailing by in front.

Which made us a little late (but joyfully so!) for the party we were heading for, the Tipsy Gypsy party to benefit KSJD, our local public radio station. It was well-attended ... must have been 150-200 people there by the time we left. Belly dancers and a gypsy band, and lots of KSJD supporters, many of whom we know. Little different sound level than the night before at the prom! (More opportunities for interesting conversation, too!) tv

The prom

No, these aren't Ghost Dancers; just an impressionistic shot of dancers at the SWOS prom last night. The gal you seem to be able to see through does have substance!

As can be expected at SWOS events, it was colorful and diverse and fun. There were boys in T-shirts and jeans, frequently being grabbed by the arm and hauled out onto the dance floor by gowned girls. Some were understated, some were flamboyantly overstated. One girl made her own prom dress ... out of duct tape! (She said it was a little stiff, but it was certainly impressive.)

I removed my hearing aids early in the evening, but we both had a lot of fun. Still, 9-ish gets old for us old wallflowers and we left shortly after the Grand March. As always, we appreciated the turnout by the staff in support of the kids and their event, and the kids were nothing but polite, courteous and friendly with us.

It's finally warming up today, starting at 18 degrees at dawn and getting up to just over 50 degrees now, with a cold wind. We're off to the Dolores area to look for some photo opportunities, after preparing an order of cards this morning, and then to a party for supporters of KSJD, our local public radio station. The music will be a bit different (supposed to be gypsy) than the prom music, and I suspect we'll find more to talk with other attendees about. 

Yesterday we did a big cleaning and reorganizing (which I can feel today!) that helped get our office and FeVa Fotos work area more functional, as well as having a good effect on the rest of the other rooms. Tomorrow we're planning to detour through Farmington on the way back from meeting, to do a Sam's Club run and look for some other stuff that requires some of the big box shops we can find there. tv

A SWOSian week

No pictures yet today; it's been too busy (and too cold and snowy) a week to do much picture-taking, but it was one in which I was very conscious of how much I'd rather be out taking pictures with Sandy! 

It seems like the week was totally occupied with SWOS ... Southwest Open School, the publicly chartered alternative high school I'm on the board of. I think the frustrating part of the role is the way it reminded me of what I gladly left behind when I retired from the guvmint at the end of 1995 ... bureaucracy. It seems like every nonprofit board I'm on faces the same tasks ... bylaws, contracts, position descriptions, performance standards, evaluation procedures, etc., not to mention budgets. And frequently, when you get into it far enough, you find that the mechanisms essential to these processes have not been put in place and need to be reinvented (sometimes overnight) in order to move on. I'd rather be out taking pictures with Sandy!

There's the other side, too ... the side that keeps me in the game. Sandy and I sat in on three sophomore portfolio presentations Wednesday, presentations given by sophomore ("lower house" students) who are applying for admission to "upper house." They present their portfolios to a panel of staff of their choice and two upper house students of their choice. I was so proud, both of the sophomores and of the way the upper house students carried out their duties!

SWOS students have almost always been to one or two other high schools, and to hear their comparisons, and to hear them say they finally started WANTING to go to school at SWOS, is really rewarding. 

The SWOS board meeting last night had lots of meaty issues to cover, several of them ones that we are behind the curve on. I chaired in the absence of the president, and we managed to get through the agenda in less than two hours. What a relief!

Tonight is the SWOS prom, which should be one of the rewarding parts of being on the SWOS board. We're going to go, and it will be fun to see how the kids look at this event. They seem to recreate themselves at every event.

Next Tuesday is senior portfolio presentation ... a BIGGY for the seniors. I was so impressed by this occasion last year and I'm looking forward to it again. Just reading the portfolios thoroughly takes me a couple of hours in advance (I'll be on a panel interviewing three seniors), but they're so rich, so laden with personal insights the students have gained, as well as demonstrations of their capability. Not like my high school experience of 50 years ago!

Beautiful dawn starting to show; this April storm is over. The grass will be bright green and I've heard it may get up into the 60s for several days. Before the next snow storm. tv

April in Colorado! Brrrrr

Today was a snowy and very cold day in our part of Colorado.    The snow was beautiful , or as beautiful as snow can be in April!    We have been  sprinkled with snowflakes off and on throughout the day but the sun is shining now and the weather man promises warm temperatures for the weekend!   Great news, as I am anxious to bring out my sandals and enjoy a little sunshine. So all of you friends in warmer climates. . while we are thawing . . . . enjoy your warm weather !   But remember when you are roasting in the heat this summer . . cool and comfortable Colorado is the place to be!      Love it. . I do!        sf

Sacrificial Flowers!

Living in northern Nevada for many years, the urge to plant flowers and vegetable seedlings always preceded common sense as we knew that late frosts happened and most likely they would have to be replaced. These were called our "sacrificial flowers", worth the losing to see their beauty for however many days they were with us. The flowers I planted a few warm days ago were covered by a snowflakes today, their spectacular color nestled in a bed of white. They have survived so far. They may survive tomorrow. Or maybe not. I cherish their glorious burst of color today. Seize the moment! Even if it is just involves a few struggling pansies. sf

Morning at Bauer Lake

Early mornings are such a delight! Coffee cups and cameras in hand, Tom and I headed out to Bauer Lake at 7 AM this morning. We were surprised at the photo opportunities that presented themselves, in spite of the cloudy skies. Tom was able to capture "keepers"; exceptional mountain/lake views that are good possibility for photo cards . Some of my shots had a mysterious blue cast to them and reflections in the lake, geese floating by, the Sleeping Ute and Point Lookout on the horizon and fields starting to show the green promise of spring made it a morning of fun photography. We left with cold hands and even a few snowflakes on the hood of the Jeep but warm hearts for the seemingly unlimited beauty of the world around us. sf

Picture-taking ... on a full stomach

After the Mush meeting at Kennebec, we saw a beautiful sunset forming in the west (and where else would it be?) and pursued it all the way to a road south of Cortez, where we caught a whole series of pictures of the colors in the sky above and beyond the Sleeping Ute (for nonlocals, the recumbent warrior's toe is visible at the far left of this image) and really enjoyed the transitions taking place before our eyes. tv

Aren't Friends Wonderful??

Not only did we have a great dinner meeting with the Mancos Mush committee at the Kennebec Cafe, but we newlyweds were delightfully surprised with a beautiful cake in celebration of our wedding. While all of the hugs and good wishes that we received from these nice folks were so appreciated, the cake was not only extraordinarily gorgeous( covered with yellow rose petals) but was also out of this world delicious! Sooo. . goood. . both the cake and these friends! Just gave me the warm fuzzies. . not to mention a happy tummy! sf

Spring

One sign of spring around here is the return of the buzzards. Not as pretty as the return of the hummingbirds, but more obvious in the sky. There must have been 30 of them circling south of the Mancos River yesterday evening ... probably enjoying all the carcasses coming out of the melting snow.

On a brighter side, much brighter, there are beautiful little flowers opening up in the bed just east of the house; the renter has been helping them along by lifting the snow pile off them. They're bright and cheery! tv