Month: May 2023

Spring has sprung in a big way here at 4Fords, with over 2″ of rain, emerald green meadows growing an inch a day, and an abundance of chores. During the winter, Alan and I generally plan too many projects for the coming year. We’ve done that every year since 1987: a case of our dreams being bigger than our motivation! Or budget. Or time. Anyway, we’ve tried hard to tamp it down this year: the only really big job is finishing the water system, something Alan has now begun, after frowning for hours at a passel of YouTubes. He’s becoming a Plumber, a very reluctant change from an Electrician. Pex A or Pex B? What type of Crimpers? Pneumatic Pressure Gauges, NPT. A whole new language.

Of course, the issue is that plumbing parts have been tricky to get a hold of, and just when you think you have everything, you find you need 2 more 3/4 x 3/4 x 3/4 Ts. And there are none to be bought on Amazon, none available locally (there are 2 tiny hardware stores within 30 minutes). The nearest source is 3 hours away. Grrr! We’ve lived rurally long enough to be used to this, but it can get aggravating when you’re ready to work.

Part of the plumbing project involves remodeling the kitchen, which is in desperate need of a do-over. That’s why this is the biggest job of the summer. The tiles, 25 years old, are falling apart. Alan’s begun to take out shelving, which will eventually be replaced with cupboards,. And the tile counter will become butcher block.

For those who have been reading these posts for a while, remember Zane’s run-in with a rattler last August? Tomorrow, we are taking the dogs to a ranch south of Albuquerque for Rattlesnake Aversion Training. Hopefully this will avert another attack. Here’s a link to what it’s going to be like (but a different trainer): https://youtu.be/xbmh1JmK_U4

So, to be clear, if one project is stalled, there’s always a dozen more things to jump into! I’ve been painting trim and doors, and generally sprucing the place up. I planted some bush cherries and filled the greenhouse with tomatoes, peppers and spinach, my only gardening this year. Alan sorted out the sunroom. He started the courses needed to renew his Electrical licenses. We’re deciding where to move one of the sheds, which will become a workshop. I’m trying to find someone to bring gravel to the driveway and dig holes for the footers. And I’m finalizing grades for my 4 classes and about to start teaching 1 summer course. The world of Mental Health education is booming right now.

And always, there’s the fun stuff: hikes to take, dogs to play with, music to listen to, movies to watch, naps to take, root beer floats to enjoy, books to read, and a back porch to relax on. Not to mention visits, camping, and backpacking, No wonder the summer goes by so quickly and we don’t get all the projects done.

I want to give a shout out to a book I am listening to on Audible. It’s Sir David Attenborough’s latest: A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future. The man is 94, and has had an astounding life. The book is part memoir, part history of climate change, and part visionary. It is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. He reads it, too, so you get to listen to his wonderful voice. I particularly love how he discusses the issue of planetary boundaries (the Doughnut Model of Economics) (https://doughnuteconomics.org/about-doughnut-economics) and humanity as integral to nature just as nature is integral to humans. There’s a lot I would love to say about this, but he says it so much better, I simply hope I can convince others to give it a try.

A peaceful and joyful holiday to everyone.

March 29th was Alan’s and my 34th anniversary. (Phew!) Given everything going on right then, neither of us remembered, which happens more years than not. That said, once we DID remember it a few days ago, we used it as an excuse for a night out in Abiquiu. We stayed at the Inn, had a fabulous dinner, and took a hike near Ghost Ranch. Found this arch in an unnamed canyon, although called “Cat’s Eye” on my OnX Hunt app. The hike led up a dry wash, with a scramble up, under, and over a bunch of large boulders, then winding through a wide, high desert valley just east of Ghost Ranch.

Our propensity for taking days off to play slows down our progress on projects around 4Fords, but that’s ok. We have plenty of projects to keep us going for as long as we live. Alan and I are definitely project-oriented folks….even if there’s nothing to do, we’ll FIND something. Who’s in a hurry, anyway? The point is the process, not the finished product (although having hot running water in the bathroom will be a wonderful thing!). Right now, Alan is starting on the complex plumbing job, installing 5 large filters and a second pressure tank. I am building a stone patio in front of the house, using rocks we haul home from down in the arroyo. After every flash flood, there’s a whole new batch of great flagstones laying around. All that said, we look forward to a time when these big jobs are finished and we can focus on more fun activities like painting the doors and putting in a new kitchen counter.

The hike by Cat’s Eye Arch must have exhausted the dogs, as they’ve mostly been taking naps on the couch since we got home. When we take hikes, they both get the zoomies, and chase and play-fight for many more miles than the 5-6 that Alan and I might walk. They live for our hikes, and the second they see one of us taking out our hiking boots, they start howling and jumping about. Zane also lives to bark at cows and chase rabbits.

Talking about hikes, last week we climbed an old, old road down-valley from our place. It wound up to the top of the mesa to the west of our house, probably 800′ above the valley floor and crossing the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in spots. It ended on a narrow point sticking out into the valley, with wonderful views all around of the San Juan mountains from Telluride to Chama. Lovely to see all the snow still up there.

Other home improvement projects include covering the garden in cardboard. I think I won’t grow a big garden this year, and let the main garden lay fallow, instead just growing some things in the greenhouse. I’m also building a path to the outhouse and planting some more trees and bushes.

A lot of what I planted last year died over the winter, very unusual for me, so I need to replace some shrubs. The Butterfly Bushes and Lilacs did fine, as did the Apple, Plum and Aspen tree. But the Lavender, which should grow well here, all died in the winter, as did the Oregano. It did get to -20 degrees, though….

We’ve found 2 sets of beautiful sheds this spring. One pair lying right in front of the house. I hope the elk didn’t use our walls to rub them off!