grow_more

grow_more, originally uploaded by grynstar.

Graffitti from the Rio Grande

blender_man

blender_man, originally uploaded by grynstar.

Peek-a-boo

Curious_elk.jpg, originally uploaded by craptastica.

Weekends are for walking in the woods. Last week I took a hike in the mountains above the Penas Negras river near Cuba. There's really nothing at all unique or showy about the place, except that I hadn't really seen that area before.

The Penas Negras, near its junction with the Rio de las Vacas, has been primarily used for timber, grazing, and hunting for centuries. Old logging roads, cattle troughs, tree stumps, and pasture fencing shape the landscape like the irreversable affects of time on ones face. Yet it provides for a concentration of wildlife since people don't visit much anymore.

As I hiked throughout the afternoon I kept running into this yearling elk. The first time I saw it I was sucking air after climbing up an old logging road with a lung busting slope, and I kept hearing this weird mewing sound. So I turned around and this elk was walking right toward me. It startled me, which in turn startled the elk, and we went separate ways.

Then I climbed another hill to the east and there it was again, standing watchfully in the dappled shade of pine near the edge of a small clearing. It walked behind a large ponderosa pine and then proceeded to unabashedly stare at me. In the spirit of reciprocation, I took a photo. Then we both went our way again.

So as I said before, weekends are for walking in the woods.

Outpost House

Outpose House, originally uploaded by grynstar.

Take a good look at it, because it's about to be off the market. Sara and I are prepping to buy this little house by the end of the month. Weeds and all.

We first looked at this house months ago, but decided to put our money on a different house not far away in the Jemez Mountains. Unfortunately, the seller couldn't make it happen so eight months later we found ourselves back on the market.

This time we looked all over the northern Bernalillo and Rio Rancho area instead of just the mountains. We were tempted by property near the Railrunner station in Bernalillo, but didn't want to wait for a new house to be built (we'd already gone through 6 months of fearfully watching the interest rate fluctuate) and weren't thrilled with the cookie cutter stylings.

One Wednesday afternoon we found ourselves back at the Outpost House and then I knew we were going to spend a lot of our money here. In a few weeks the owner agreed and an abundance paperwork rituals ensued.

Though it's a small house, we have big plans. I'm all over the landscaping and I know Sara has endless plans for painting, designing rooms, and populating them with furniture.

Just a little while ago I was living in downtown DC; awaken by traffic every morning and weaving my way through a rush hour knot of people on the metro to work everyday. I generally didn't think I'd be buying a house in rural New Mexico, but stranger things have happened.


R.I.P. Apartment livin'

neighhhhhbors.jpg

neighhhhhbors.jpg, originally uploaded by craptastica.

Backyard.jpg

back fence and neighbors yard.jpg, originally uploaded by craptastica.

Bachnallian jamboree

Bachnallian jamboree, originally uploaded by craptastica.

Last weekend Sara and I went to the Bernalillo Wine Festival to kick back and have some fun among fellow drunks. I was actually the des. driver (boohoo no fun, I know), but that's okay because I went last year by myself and got royally toasted. In fact, last year someone spilt red wine all over my white shirt, so I ended up just walking around half naked with a stupid grin on my face. I obvously enjoyed myself as I returned this year and brought a friend!

So did others. This year was twice as crowded as last year, but it turns out there was enough wine for all. As you can see from the photo, Sara was loving it. Sara tried several varieties from the local wineries as I people watched and generally avoided sloshing red wine glasses (despite my lesson last year I failed to learn a thing and again wore a white shirt).

We ran into some friends, bought some wine, and tasted some of the more unique grape experiments like dark chocolate red wine and pistachio wine. I later read in the newspaper that 24,000 people attended; one of which ended up side-swiping Sara's poor car.