Views by Valerie: December 2019

Here it is! The final quarter and because it's the most recent you would think it wouldn't take that long....we'll see!!!! I have over 80 pics pulled, so I may just have a lot of pictures for you to view at the end!

By October the hummingbirds had dwindled down to the occasional traveler heading south or west or wherever they go. The winter birds kept me entertained at the birdbaths, woodpeckers, juncos, towhees and the mountain and western bluebirds. We have a couple of owls that we hear hooting at dusk and during the night. We've spotted one on a snag and the pole out front a couple of times, great horned owls.

Our front porch, faces south and westish

moonrise

After the month of rainbows in September, October was the month of stunning, flaming sunsets. AND as the days had gotten shorter I was catching some beautiful sun rises too. The grasses started turning brown at the end of the month when the freezing temps arrived.

I love the low autumn sunlight!

Since the end of August we have heard the elk calling to each other off in the distance. They sound so funny sometimes. Weak little calls for such big animals. As the rut season waned and the days got shorter we saw them less and less, though there are lots of tracks all over the place. We've even had the pronghorn through.

Gracie found the hotspot!

Larry found this on one of his walks offroad

These last months of the year I've been reining myself into getting more organized so I can get my intuitive/coaching/cheerleading business more public. I've also been painting more and writing more. It's time for me to put my wonderful skills together and help others with them. I LOVE helping people see themselves differently, validate what they've suspected and help them bring clarity to what's been floating about in their own intuition. With the colder weather I've been getting in knitting and crocheting too.

The hardest part for me living here, is the distractions that the weather and nature throw at me. The BIG winds are fascinating and scary, the skies and clouds pull me outside to gawk and take pictures and the rain and snow have their own song and dance that pull me away to the windows!!! Then the birds, I can't seem to let an unusual one just pass on through...I have to run for the binoculars, camera and bird book to try and identify what species it is! Fun!!!

My beautiful new winter comforter.

Larry figured out what truck he wanted and the first part of November we headed up to Albuquerque to shop at Ford. We finally came home with a new truck! He had been looking for a few months and he kept changing what it was he wanted. We LOVE our truck. Because we now have a truck, we've taken some of the back roads and started exploring. There's a lot of old ranches out here and an old cemetery that's still in use.

yucca

Flicker bathing and bluebird low flyby

Ford F150

our house from west side of property

As we headed into December we've walked less. We had so much nasty mud for a couple weeks and or the wind was so brutal that we wouldn't go. Larry also had gotten REAL busy with the all volunteer fire department. Besides helping get the communications improved, he and the assistant chief were working more and more together to assess the departments needs. The Chief stepped down, the members voted and the assistant became Chief and Larry became his assistant chief. They've got a LOT of work ahead of them and Larry is down there three or four days a week for three or more hours and many more hours each day home on his computer and the phone. They have the support and participation of their members so with a lot of work it has already turned a corner and should keep improving. No one here knew much and between Larry's experience, his gift for research and self education and the new Chiefs organizational skills and computer skills and drive to succeed this may turn out to be a stellar organization.

Greens Gap Cemetery

I was able to get some awesome full moon setting pictures on the 12th of December! I got out in the below freezing weather with my camera and tripod and snapped away. There's not much time when they're rising or setting!!!!

A junco I rescued from a window hit

Bluebirds

We had quiet, peaceful holidays. I had gotten a new little tree and decorated. I can't cut any, they take so very long to grow! We're really sinking into our new home and lifestyle here. It really suits us and we're excited to see what this next year brings!!!!

I had fun with this one from imagination

Deciding what this would be

One of my goals is to keep up on the blog this year....until I don't because my other commitments take off. My word for the year is MAGIC. I'm working on still breaking more old habits, more goal setting, and more connection with what brings me joy. I hope you keep following and check in once in awhile and let me know what you think. Feel free to share the blog with anyone you think may be interested. One of my projects may be to expand it.

The blue became this, imagination, less than an hour!

Oh, and my kids lives and stories are theirs to share, hence you don't hear much about them here....but I will say they are all doing the best they can with whatever directions they're taking! Our oldest grandson just turned 17, lettered in cross country in this his junior year of high school and is still active in ROTC. The middle grandson is 15 a sophmore. The youngest grandson turned 10 and loves math and science. All three have diverse interests so it will be fun to see where they go in their lives! The wonders of today's technologies keeps us close though it isn't the same as a hug!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!