Winter signs

The bucks have shreds of velvet hanging from their antlers and the juncos have started appearing at the bird feeder ... the seasons must be changing.

The nights are cooler for sleeping and the days are pleasant for walking in the sunshine. Last week we had breakfast at Vicki's, our favorite breakfast place, and then took about a six-block walk up Market, west a couple of blocks and then back up Texas to the car. SO much to see when you go slowly!

Like Gallery 400 and the FeVa Fotos partners reflected in a door next to Vicki's Eatery. Like the art filling a window space in the Daily Press building, with just about every facet of local culture incorporated into the tile borders of a lovely painting. Like the whimsical tile feathered serpent, done in tile on a stucco wall, next to a tile space-guy, next to a snake crawling over a drain. Like the corn maiden in the middle of a checkerboard design on the outside of a closed gallery. And the colorful view down Texas Street in the heart of the art district. Or the blue blooms in Molly Romolla's window box. The imprints of the past ... and of the present ... in the sidewalks. All this in a few blocks!

Later, we drove up to La Capilla, a community chapel from long ago that's been restored on a high knoll in the city. The spot offers a great panoramic view of Silver City to the north.

Saturday offered a chance to visit the next-to-last Silver City farmers market of the year. As we were approaching, we immediately recognized the delightfully lively sounds of Bayou Seco, our favorite silver-haired young musicians in the area. Jeannie and Ken just make such happy music! We didn't buy anything at the market, but it's always an enjoyable set of sights and sounds.

I'll miss the last market; I'm leaving Saturday morning on a driving trek to Washington, D.C., for the annual meeting of Friends Committee on National Legislation. By driving, I get to have Halloween with Noi and her family in Swannanoa, NC, as well as to visit the Deep Creek, VA, area where my great-great-great-grandfather, Drayton Mills Curtis, settled and raised a family. The driving days will be long and the meeting days in D.C. will also be long, so Sandy's going to enjoy the peace and quiet of the animals and Silver City without me. Maybe next year we can do it together.

I want to get as much FeVa Fotos mileage out of the trip as possible, so I'm hoping for several photo opportunities, weather permitting. I especially want to get pictures of the new Martin Luther King, Jr., memorial on the Mall, along with shots of other Mall features (the Lincoln Memorial and the "Wall" especially, plus others), so I'm especially hoping for good weather on the 3rd, when I hope to walk the length of the Mall on my way to and from appointments on Capitol Hill. It would be great to get morning sun on the Lincoln Memorial and the Wall, and I think the MLK and WWII memorials face west.

A project along the way, which you may see reflected here, will be "A Slice of America." I'm aware of (and often comment on) the fact that various groups claiming to know what's best for America (the Tea Party, Quakers and others) don't "look like America." So, as I travel 2,000+ miles to D.C. via I-40 and 2,000+ miles back on I-20 and I-10, I'm going to take snapshots in public places (in D.C., too) showing crowds. I suspect the series will have a "Golden Arches" subtheme, because I will probably be stopping frequently at McDonald's for fluid exchange ("one black senior coffee to go, please, in my cup") and use their WiFi access. Let's see what America does look like, or at least those two slices of it!

The other photo project will be on the evening of Nov. 1 and morning of Nov. 2, as I explore the land where my ancestors lived and walked. DMC and his family lived on the east edge of the Great Dismal Swamp ... not a very inviting name, eh? I've never seen that area and so I've contacted folks at the historical society there and hope to do a quick tour of the relevant places, trying to capture photographically some of the essence of their land. I'll probably blog that, too.

Well, 'nuff fer now. Sun's about to come up. Got lots of preparing for the trip still to do ... got the car serviced, but need to clean it up; hope to pick up new spectacles in Las Cruces before I go; still got some planning for the meeting to do; plus things to wrap up here.

Today is our 43rd (month) anniversary and we're going to try Shevek's for supper tonight, one of the many eateries in Silver City that we haven't been to yet. I regret that I've let myself get distracted and forget a few of these anniversaries ... I'm grateful for each one with Sandy. Just as I love the morning ritual in a few minutes of getting her the first cup of coffee when she arises. Life is such a wonderful thing; we just have to remember to savor each moment of it! tv