The “Manhattan” of Silver City

On the road to the Cliff Dwellings

  Since I moved here in April, I’ve had a lovely gang of visitors. Lucky me! My most recent visitor was my brother. I drove the 200 miles to Tucson, (the most convenient big airport) and we drove back, arriving in SC as night settled. Meaning that it was pitch black the last 50 miles of the nowhere land between Lordsburg and Silver City. We unloaded the car, and walked across the street for a late dinner, then walked Seamus around the block as I explained the layout of the city. I live in the heart of the arts/historic/lively downtown. My brother turned to me at one point and said, “So you’re telling me you live in the Manhattan of Silver City.” Ha ha-only he could have nailed it down so succinctly.

The great thing about visitors, especially ones that you really like, is that you go places you haven’t been, or you go back to places and get a chance to see them anew. And that’s just what my brother and I did. Here are some pics: 

Cliff Dwellings

 The City of Rocks about 30 miles outside of Silver City is a really neat place to scramble around too. And just a note about the following picture: My brother was not trying to re-enact the Boy Scout Leaders' destruction of a 165 million year old rock formation in Utah's Goblin Valley State Park. He was just having some fun. And no, the rock didn't budge an inch.....

Stone Lioness and Cub - City of Rocks

 And of course, what would a visit be like without a little turtle search and rescue too? 

Hello Again

Well, after a brief hiatus with a few adventures, I'm back to writing again. At least, I'm back to posting pics - writing to follow.....
I took Seamus hiking on the Dragonfly Trail this weekend. I don't know if it can get any more beautiful.

Loving the world

“Anyone can slay a dragon he told me, but try waking up every morning and loving the world all over again…” Brian Andreas

Do you love your world? In all it’s imperfection and puzzles and frustrations? In your body that’s too fat or too thin or too old or too beat up? Do you take time to love your world? Some days it’s a lot easier than others. And I have to admit I lead an incredibly blessed and charmed life. At the moment I don’t have to work. I don’t have to grind through my days with boring meetings, or hard physical labor. Or deal with people I just don’t like.  And in spite of this, I still find things to grouse about. But not too much.

I haven’t had the desire to write the past couple of weeks. Of course, during that time I had a bad bad stomach virus that laid me flat for over a week. It’s called losing five pounds the hard way. Thank goodness for my tribe, my gang, my people, my friends here in Silver. They tended to me with great loving care.

Then my former father in law dropped into town for a quick visit. He tells me I’m his favorite former daughter in law, but there’s not much competition. He’s a complicated man, but I think he adores me in spite of myself.

I’m loading up a bunch of photos that I’ve taken the past several weeks. Because they remind me to love my world over and over again. And my wish for you, my readers, is to be happily surprised every day with something that makes you love again. 

Pears from neighbor Paula's tree

Pheenie trying to blend in...

Another example of bad camouflage....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Camouflage

Chris's Petrograf

Chris's Petrograf 2

How it looks when it rains

And remember - before the rains...

Sunset after a rainstorm

On the Anniversary of My Father’s Death

A tribute to my dad from his basketball days at Fordham University (poster design by A. Aggari)

My dad died a year ago, August 2^nd at age 85. He carried a copy of this saying in his wallet for decades and, later in life, framed and hung it in his room as a reminder about what was really important. He did his best to live by these words, and I am grateful to him for so many, many things.

Success

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people

and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics

and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;

To leave the world a bit better, whether by healthy child,

a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

Another Day in Paradise

There are a hundred things that happen every day that remind me what a rich life I lead. I took these pics in the past 24 hours. They serve as little touchstones. I don’t have pics of the phone calls to friends and family, the lovely Thai dinner my friend cooked for me, the other friends that brought popcorn and sat on the porch and then the side street as my neighbor began her Saturday night ‘ghost mural’ show – slides of art and life projected onto the big white stucco wall across from her art studio. I promised another friend (Henry the Fourth, that’s you!), I would put up two posts this weekend. I am getting in just under the wire….

Still working on the friendship dynamics...

Puppy Palooza with Daisy and Seamus

Dark clouds on Bullard

More dramatic clouds and light

Double rainbow at dusk from my street corner

Sunday morning hiking buddies on the Dragonfly Trail

Trail Blossom

Another Trail Blossom

Dragonfly Petroglyph

At the crest near the dragonfly petroglyph

Nature's Sculpture

End of the hike

Mountain View Road at noon looking northward

Water Changes Everything

Dragonfly Trail

 At 2 a.m. on the first evening of July, Carmon called me. She didn’t wake me up because I was lounging in bed with the cat and the dog listening to a terrific thunderstorm. Thunder, lightning, and rain, rain, rain. She laughed and said, “Welcome to monsoon season!”

What a blessing. It has rained nearly every day since. It has transformed this parched country. I have been distracted completely by the storm clouds brewing on the horizons and pouring over the ridges. I see them building most afternoons and say to myself – Welcome to the Thunder Bowl. Most mornings are calm; the air is sweet. If you need to get anything done outside, mornings are the time. I have been hiking several days a week with friends. The San Vicente trail, the Dragonfly trail, Boston Hill.

July is the rainiest month of the year for Silver City and the surrounding area, and August is the second rainiest. The average monthly rainfall for July is 3.82 inches. As of today, we’ve gotten 7.19 inches. No one is complaining. Let it rain.

My Portland friends would laugh. This is what I left behind. My friends in Silver City joke they are moving back to Seattle – too much rain here!!

I’ve loaded up a bunch of pics for your viewing pleasure. And for those who have chided me on not writing for such a long dry spell, I promise - I will do better. 

Bone Dry in April - Just a Reminder

Storm Brewing

Thunder Bowl!!

Another Storm Building on the Ridge

The Creek on San Vicente Trail

Creek on the Dragonfly Trail

Nature's Sculpture - Dragonfly Trail

Dragonfly Trail

On the Trail at Dragonfly

Exquisite Thistle

Lisa's Beautiful Water Bowl

Gila River by Bill Evan's Lake

Bill Evan's Lake

The Green Hills by Bill Evan's Lake

More Hills by Bill Evans Lake

Big Ditch Park, Silver City - Friday Night Storm

Friday Sunset After the Storm - Silver City

Big Ditch Park, Silver City - Saturday Morning after the Storm