Unique to New Mexico

The pilgrimage to Chimayo takes place every year here in New Mexico. I am impressed by the faith of these pilgrims. 

They make the long trek with thankfulness rather than "asking" or "praying for" something they want. A striking contrast to many in our society who think they have the ear of God and can influence what will be in the physical, personal, political world, solely by their prayers. 

The world is so lacking in the virtues of thanksgiving and gratitude.

 

Another Day at the Office With the Hubby

Leon and I both had doctor appointments this morning so Leon, who had some comp time coming, took the day off. Rather unexpectedly, both our appointments got cancelled. 

So we got to spend a leisurely morning and went for lunch at the San Felipe rest stop on our way to Leon's office, namely White Ridge and Ojito Wilderness near San Ysidro. It was a gorgeous day, a bit chilly when the wind was blowing gently across the landscape, but very comfortable in the sunshine. We were going to go for a 2 mile hike to some petroglyphs but my bum knee was not cooperating.

Leon having the job he has is nothing short of fortuitous. I makes me happy to see him in his element, and being excited about what he does. And the people he works with obviously appreciate his initiative and work ethic and teamwork.  

He could not ask for a more suitable position than this: driving around in the New Mexico wilderness, fixing barbed wire fences, putting up signage, schmoozing with hikers and visitors, keeping track of the "counters", maintaining trails, cleaning up the many "shooting areas" that are littered with all kinds of debris from target practice (I mean refrigerators, microwave ovens, bottles, cans, propane cylinders, cardboard boxes, and more that are blown to smithereens), hauling the stuff to the dumpsters. (Aside: these "shooters" are just a plague on the landscape).

I would add that the "shooting areas" were all pretty free of debris today, thanks to my hubby. How he knows his way around the hundreds of thousands of acres he patrols is because he has a GPS Brain. I was lost after the first twenty minutes.

And as office views go, his is pretty spectacular!

It really was a great day spending time with my hubby "at the office".

Here are some photos of a corner of his office that we haven't been to before:

This was unexpected out in the middle of somewhere

And Mary was there too.

This well is dry

Note: there are cattle grazing in the wilderness; I think it rather cruel to make them forage among the cacti and scrub for their meager meals over many acres of high desert. Some are chewing on cholla cactus. If they only knew what a grassy plain was like or the rolling green hills back east! We saw a nearly dry mud hole where the cattle look for water, but saw no standing water. Leon says the ranchers will haul in water occasionally.

 

La Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

La Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

We were privileged to see the local celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe last evening in Peña Blanca, a small village about six miles or so from us. It is a very old village and many of the residents are of New Mexican-Spanish/Mexican descent.

Today, December 12th is the actual Feast Day (Fiesta) and last evening was "Vespers" or the vigil of the feast day. The Catholic Church in Peña Blanca does the feast because the church is dedicated to La Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.

The church, which is actually rather new (I suspect it replaced a much older one) was decked out with luminarias (paper bags with lit candles inside) and the street was lit with ferolitos (stacks of firewood) that get torched so that they burn for the entire duration of the solemn procession of the congregation which takes place while the church bells ring and fireworks fill the sky above.

The church bells are manually rung by men pulling the cords - obviously a strenuous task.

Here are a few photos and videos of "local color" which is probably not to be found in too many places in the United States outside of New Mexico.

The Procession began after the evening Mass.

Fireworks and Church Bells

Luminarias

Lighting the Ferolitos

The Little "Bonfires" Along the Street

The Church Decked Out with Luminarias

Main Altar in the Church

Another Likeness of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The Fireworks were as good as the 4th of July

Moonscape - Leon’s “Office”

 Spent the day with two of our friends out in the desert. Leon was in his element showing us some of the more scenic areas that he patrols for Bureau of Land Management. We took his “new” used Toyota 4Runner for a drive. Had a great time even though we had a flat tire. Great day!

150 Pats on the Back and A Rather Expensive Week - With Autumn Colors

Leon polished my headlights (really) and saved us $150+ which it would have cost to have it done at the auto shop. 

He used Comet cleanser! Worked great. I gave him at least eleven pats on the back. So, at a $1 a pat, I owe him 139 more pats on the back. Good job honey!

Headlights Before and After the Comet

My 2010 Honda Fit has not cost me much in repairs over the years. Regular maintenance, a brake job, tires, but at just over 142,000 miles this past week, the clutch gave out. Thankfully we have AAA because the car had to be towed about 40 miles. 

I had to have a new clutch installed to the tune of $1,400. 

That came right after the MRI of my lumbar region ($300 co-pay) subsequent to a severe case of sciatica that had me hobbling around with debilitating pain in my left leg and calf and numbness in my left foot all over the Central Coast of California while on vacation. 

Followed by ordering my very first pair of hearing aids at Costco ($1,600 - which is almost a thousand dollars less than the co-pay for the ones that my Medicare Advantage Plan is pushing). 

And the month is not over yet. Looming in the near future sometime around November 14, is the Government Shutdown which means hubby will be out of work without a paycheck for who knows how long with no guarantee of receiving back pay. 

(Don't get me started on the ridiculous, petty, selfish republican members of the House of Representatives who are poised to cut spending by eliminating social security, medicare, foreign aid, and any program that actually HELPS people, but will let the budget lapse and it will end up costing more in the long run....vote them all OUT!)

A shutdown will cripple a lot of people financially. Luckily we saw this coming and so have a cushion for this eventuality. (Those republican fools in the house need to grow up and get their act together. Each one is worse than the next.)

I'll leave with a few photos of autumn in New Mexico. It's no secret that I often feel overwhelmed by the stark landscape here, the chalky brown earth, the endless juniper trees, the dead grasses and weeds and prickly things everywhere. 

We are fortunate to live near the Rio Grande and its Bosque (forest/woods). So we have a bit of color in the fall here in the Land of Entrapment.