Why I Don't Want to Move to Las Cruces

In the previous post, there was some mention of reasons to move, and not move, to Las Cruces.  Today would be a perfect example of why one might not move here.   It's sunny, about 80 degrees F, no sign of moisture in the area.  A cold front will be coming in, lowering those temps to (don't all gasp at once now) the low to mid-60s.  Hey, it's March.  Gotta expect some of that cold weather to get the flowers ready to bloom in spring, right???

But , back to today......It counts as one of the 350 days of sunshine because it's clear skies, as in not overcast with clouds.  But that doesn't mean you can see the sky.  Preceding the cold snap is a wind event. Wind speeds should average around 28mph today into this evening.  Gusts should tip the old anemometer at around 60mph.  That's high gale wind speed.

This is an agricultural area.  It's after harvest but not yet time to fully plant the fields.  Ground lies somewhat plowed, dry from the lack of rain (this is the desert still)---perfect conditions for dust storms.  And that's what we are in the midst of.  The sky looks like the sky over a Los Angeles freeway in the middle of the evening rush hour----a sickening shade of brown.  None of the mountains are visible, all obscured by blowing dirt.  Air quality is rated "Extreme Unhealthy."  As we drove to our lecture series this morning we saw people "walking" their dogs---as in, the humans walked with the chihuahua in their arms so the little beast wouldn't blow away...........

So repeat again, "I'm NOT moving to Las Cruces....[repeat 3X or until it sinks in]" and enjoy your winter weather, even though most areas haven't had that season yet.  We'll think of you next time we watch the Weather Channel and you are getting hammered while we are in shirtsleeves and in the middle of a cold snap at 60 degrees............

Lessons of Retirement

So it's been about a year and a half since I pulled the plug, or should that be cut the umbilical cord, with participating as a productive member of society to bask in the glow of retirement.  So.......

I imagine there are some lessons I've gleaned from my past 18 months.

The primary emotion I experience is joy coupled with  amusement.  Every time I read on Facebook about my daughter catching a train or plane at around 5:00AM, great peals of laughter resound about my study.  Sorry, but that emotion pretty much extends to my attitude aboout all the worker bees.

It's well worth the extra dollars for a Sam's Club Advantage Plus membership just to be able to go there before the general public.  The lines are shorter and the atmosphere is generally less hectic.

Tasks that are required don't need to be performed immediately.  Manana doesn't mean "tomorrow"; it means "not today."  And any chore or choice of activity can expand to take up more time.  When time is no longer wasted being "productive", the choices we make in spending time become more deliberate and fulfilling.

Common wisdom suggests that as one ages it is necessary to continue to challenge one's mental faculties in order to avoid mental deterioration and its accompanying dementia.  For some people, this means becoming Sudoku or cryptogram addicts.  My choice is re-learning the electric bass and guitar played during my frivolous wasted youth.

And, believe it or not, attending lectures.  A major perk to living in Las Cruces is New Mexico State University and its Dona Ana Community College.  The DACC operates the Academy for Learning in Retirement which offers lectures in the auditorium of an assisted living community in the city.  Normally the lectures are an hour and a half each and run in a series of four lectures on a topic.  Past lectures have included mathematics, history of New Mexico, and the recently concluded series on jazz music.  Upcoming series titles are "Economic Policies and a Tour of the Heavens," "Narco Violence in Mexico," and "Torture and Intelligence in the US War on Terrorism."  These lectures are usually presented by professors expert in the field.  For example, the jazz series lectures were given by a performing musician who is well reviewed.  Check out the ALR website for more information.

But whatever you do, don't retire to Las Cruces.  Too much traffic, too windy, dust storms block views of the mountains, the students jam up all the clubs and restaurants by the university;  you do not want to be here.  Keep repeating that to yourself..........while those of us already here continue to enjoy the 350+ sunny days and the spectacular Organ Mountains.

10 Reasons Not to Move to Las Cruces

Las Cruces is a growing city and usually well rated in various rankings of retirement communities.  But there are severe drawbacks to living here.

1.  Cucarachas in your crocs.
2.  The extra expense of sunscreen with 350 days of sun per year.
3.   50 degrees F feels cold in February.
4.  There's only TWO seasons: Summer and NOT-Summer
5.  The mountains east of the city prevent you from viewing the missile tests.
6.  The lack of humidity means the temp you see is the temp you get.
7.  Coyotes may eat your chihuahua.
8.  "Manana" does not necessarily mean "tomorrow", just "not today."
9.  Centipedes might crawl over your toes.
10. Golf can be played year-around.
11.  Traffic jams usually consist of 5 cars or less.

I'm sure there are many more reasons not to move here.  Please add them as comments as they occur to you.  And please don't move here-----we love Las Cruces just the size it is............

Picnic

It was sunny and warm at the Mud Shack.  Temperature around 60.  A rare rain shower had passed through.  A peaceful afternoon.  Working on editing some video for future posts.

Then the phone rang..................

TfabP and MrsfabP, friends newly emigrated from Massachusetts, called to remark on the beauty of the weather and suggest a picnic.  We were game for that.  They rejected the suggestion of going to La Llorona Park since we had been there a couple of times recently.  So we decided to go to Dripping Springs which is a Bureau of Land Management public access area.  There are numerous covered shelters in the picnic area and wonderful views of both the Mesilla Valley and the Organ Mountains.

The Dona Ana Mountains seen from Dripping Springs

 Now an understanding of the geography and elevations in the Las Cruces area are necessary to appreciate this tale, so please excuse this digression.  Many people embrace the opinion that New Mexico, consisting mostly of desert, is warm year around.  This is most definitely not the case.  The lowest elevations in the state are well over 2000 ft above sea level.  The Mud Shack is located in what is called the "North Valley" and our elevation is 3900 ft.  The main residential growth area east of the city proper is known as the "East Mesa", rising about 4500 ft above sea level.  The highest peaks of the Organ Mountains, also east of the city, are 9000 ft high.  Dripping Springs, nestled in the foothills of the Organ Mountains and about a 20 minute drive from the Mud Shack, spans an elevation range of 5600 to 6200 ft above sea level.  Any hiker or person with knowledge of the outdoors is aware that with these sharp distinctions in altitude at relatively compact distances, weather conditions can be extremely changeable........

As we approached Dripping Springs, clouds were racing up to the peaks of the mountains.  One minute there were beautiful views enhanced by the changes of light.

The peaks of the Organs

The next the highest peaks were obscured by the clouds.

The clouds roll in

Off in the distance we could see the remains of the last snowfall, about a week ago:

Snow in the Organs

The wind had picked up a bit and there were a few scattered raindrops at the picnic site we had chosen directly across from the trail head.  TfabP and my wife stayed in the shelter.  He had set up his camera on a tripod to attempt to capture the changing lights and scenes in the mountains.  My wife stayed with him, discussing photography and the geology of the region, while MrsfabP and I hiked up the trail to La Cueva.

The trail rises through sandstone foothills to a large cave, the site of an unsolved murder of a hermit in 1869.

Along the trail

Our destination

Entrance to La Cueva

Inside La Cueva

Since we had been briskly walking, we did not feel the temperature falling until we returned to the picnic area and saw TfabP and my wife with shawls and towels bundled about their shoulders against the chilly winds and dropping temps.  We decided to decamp to the Visitor Center about 3/4 of a mile up the road.  MrsfabP and my wife decided to walk, the showers appearing to have abated.  We two men drove to the Center's parking lot.  As we stood admiring the views of the valley, the precipitation descended more vigorously.  The women appeared with hoods or shawls covering their heads.  I swore I saw a snowflake drift by.....

We entered the Visitor Center and chatted with the BLM volunteers manning it, all the while keeping a wary eye on the weather.  The rain had evolved into freezing rain and snow.  Within the twenty minutes or so we had been in the shelter of the Visitor Center the desert landscape outside was acquiring a white sheen.

Snow on a bush

Snow begins to cover the desert

As we left to make our way down to the valley floor, the temperature outside the car was in the low 40s and both the windshield and back windows required the wipers to keep them free of snow.  The defrosters were also going full blast.  In the space of a couple of hours and the change of a couple thousand feet of elevation, the winter warmth one expects of the desert Southwest had taken on all the trappings of the New England states our hardy band of picnickers had recently escaped from........

Intrepid

Here at the Mud Shack we have been known to raise some animals.  There's the usual coterie of canines and felines.  But we also have Peckatina, Big Red, and the Arachnid----collectively the Three Intrepid Chicken Sisters.

How they got their individual names is fodder for another post.  For our present purpose, the issue is why they are intrepid.  The video shows them as they exercise in their new run:

  Just peacefully scratching and doing their chicken thing, not a care in the world, as befits poultry kept by peaceful, retired New Mexicans.

Until the pastoral bliss is threatened by the predatory denizen of the back-yard and pecan orchard:

Just Lookin'

 Gracie Grizelda, the Siamese, has taken an interest in the new run.  "Just Looking'" indeed:

"Cat"-bird Seat???

Note how unperturbed the Sisters appear.  We just hope that cage wire is sufficient to thwart Ms. G.  We have become pretty fond of those eggs.

Of Weather and Foolishness

I give up.  Can't make sense of any of it.

First, politics.  This picture (from The Atlantic Wire) says all that needs saying about how Republicans in Congress feel about helping the middle class:

Speaker Boehner looks about ready to cry after having to give in and extend the tax cut for the 99%.  I agree that a two month extension is a farce but given the dysfunctionality of the Congress, what else was expected??  Maybe we could pay for the tax cut for the middle and poor classes, as well as infrastructure improvements and extended unemployment benefits, by making Congress part-time; say, eight months every two calendar years (that's biennial sessions) and letting them get the same benefits as the middle-class in terms of social security and health insurance (Medicare).  Oh, and pay them by the hour---wonder how much they'd get done if they had to punch a time-clock.......or should their pay be based on piece-work--pay only for accomplishments done on schedule..........

Now, about the weather---------In February 2011, we had snow and all-time record lows in Las Cruces.  So this winter should revert to a normal pattern, right??  WRONG.  In New England the temps are higher than here in the high desert.  Our birds don't like this:

Flamingoes in the Snow

Roadrunners up to their Necks

This is southern New Mexico.  We are at only 4000 feet.  Snow happens in Albuquerque or in 7000 foot Santa Fe, not here!!!

Can you imagine a sadder sight than these poor plants:

Prickly Pear under the Snow

Cholla with Snow

Another Snow-Bound Prickly Pear

The Pecan Orchard as Winter Wonderland

It just ain't right.  These pictures look more like scenes from our house in New Hampshire than from the Mud Shack in the desert Southwest.  Fortunately, when we moved, we kept a few winter survival accoutrements:

Bean Boots by the Back Door

Never thought I'd ever use a picture of L L Bean boots in a blog post from New Mexico.  Of course they have gore-tex..........

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanza. Peaceful Solstice to all, and to all a good night!! 

Halloween Snow

So I guess the eastern US is supposed to get its first major snowstorm this dia de los muertos weekend.  For those non-Native Americans not residing in the Southwest, it's also Halloween.  To alleviate some of the angst such weather events occasion, I thought it appropriate to post some pictures of the first hot air balloon to fly over the mud shack this season:

The balloon over the orchard

It's a little closer.  Love that blue sky.

The chicken coop, garage, pecan trees, and balloon.  Yes, the hens freaked!!!