Sunday, February 20, 2011

This New Mexican Life




I’ve settled into a bit of a rhythm. My jobless daily routine is this:
7:30ish wake up, practice
9ish eat breakfast, prepare myself for the public
10-3ish …
3-5:30 go on a hike and read
6ish make dinner, eat dinner, shower
8ish practice; read; sleep. Sometimes we watch an episode of 30 Rock on Netflix before bed

There is absolutely no telling what goes on between 10 am and 3 pm. Sometimes I find funny shows on Hulu (Legend of Zelda), other times I read blogs or other internet material; often I’ll spend a portion of that time running around acquiring things for our shabby place. All I know is that every day when it is hike time, I have to seriously consider whether or not I can go because I have so much more to do… obviously I don’t, but during that part of the day I’ve let myself believe that I’m busy. Meanwhile, Joe is either writing or eagle hunting. When he’s out looking for eagles at a reasonable hour I try to go with him—when I can squeeze it in—but lately he’s been leaving earlier than humans are meant to be awake. Our agreement is that when he goes out on his own he either comes back 100% or not at all—no injuries allowed.  The same is said for when he goes running at night; if he gets hit by a car, no sympathies here.
To my left is the ideal reading surface

Without question my favorite part of the day is from 3-5:30 pm when I get cozy with nature. A few weeks ago we stumbled upon a box canyon with a nice little cut-out perfect for sitting. During the wet season there is a waterfall as well, but right now it’s just dry and nicely shaded. What I have begun doing is hiking out there with a bottle of water and a book, scrambling up to the erosion where the rock is just asking to be sat in, and I read. It’s lovely. Aside from a feeling of being watched by a mountain lion (you know the feeling), it is complete isolation out there.  A little over a week ago it became clear that if I didn’t do something about my depressed state of mind I would drag both of us down into the eternal gulf of misery and woe. So, for Valentine’s Day my gift to Joe was promising not to be such a grump; he got me earrings.

Brown Recluse?
That being said, it feels good to have a schedule, and something to look forward to everyday. Something that doesn’t feel good? Getting bit by a brown recluse, I would imagine. We found this little bugger on a pair of my dirty jeans a few weeks ago. According to all the sources we could find, brown recluses don’t live in New Mexico, BUT, they are the only spiders that have 3 rather than 4 pairs of eyes. Look closely… it’s creepy. We bought a vacuum and several insect traps, but today we found what Joe believes to be another, smaller recluse. The first one was taken out back and shot (squashed), but before I could get to this little munchkin, he caught it and is keeping it in a jar for… monitoring?  

3 comments:

Carol Swift said...

Creepy spider! It's funny how I always wish I had more time to do what I want, but when I have too much time it somewhat depresses me--so I get what you're feeling. I hope something comes along to occupy your time (though the quiet reading time sounds lovely--just not the mountain lion part.)

Ron said...

Interesting read... I suppose your "practice" is the harp. I also suppose the picture of the half demolished old stone structure is not your sqaulor apt, as well as I suppose you take some "protection" on your alone hikes. Hint: shake out shoes before putting them on each time...
Are you still in Las Cruses (sp?) Crues-less...

Brenda M said...

I thought you sounded extremely happy when I chatted with you. I was beginning to think you were falling in love with Las Cruses. I am a bit relieved to know that you are working hard to keep that happy demeanor - that seems more normal. The environment is not naturally uplifting but I think the company is!