photography – 4Fords Journal

Fall Equinox: Sept 22 2026

The earth hangs in the balance…. in so many ways. The sun is teetering over the equator, much like our democracy. But we know where the sun is headed, not so sure of the other.

This month has been one of extremes. We’ve gone from the driest summer in history, with not a speck of green on the ground and inches of dust, a sad sight, to the wettest month ever, with just under 5″ of rain in 10 days, (over 4″ in one day) and more coming. Green grass is sprouting up through the valley, and it looks like the spring we didn’t have. The temperatures have been from 100 degrees down to 30, with it hovering around 60 today, inspiring us to build a fire in the woodstove.

I truly believe that mother nature is pissed at us humans, and is letting us know everywhere across the globe. We watched the new documentary, How to Live on Earth, narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, which was both inspiring and horrifying, and worth a watch.

Here at 4Fords, we had 2 flash floods in 12 hours, both 4′ deep at our driveway. It washed out a mile of our county road and caused a massive rockfall near the southeast corner of the property. No danger to us, but loud as a jet, and it covered the road 1/4 mile up the canyon with 20# boulders for 100 yards. The water flowed off the cliff behind the house and washed through the yard 6″ deep. Again, no serious damage, but a lot of debris and mud. The road crew was in the next morning to make the road passable. They are really responsive – within 24 hours we were able to drive out to the highway (2.5 miles away). Alan used the tractor and backhoe to clear the driveway of silt and dig swales to re-route future floods.

Deer at the Guzzler

Our last Worldpacker (SK) of the year has been here since Sept. 2, and we’ve gotten several projects done around the place: fireproofing and stuccoing sheds, pruning trees and chipping the branches for mulch, closing up the garden, making chocolate (can’t survive without chocolate!), working on the last fence we need to better manage cows.

**Stucco, siding, and paint on, just waiting for doors to fire-proof the woodshed**

The garden was a sad failure this year due to the drought, wind, frost and heat, but I did get herbs, root crops and, amazingly, some awesome corn and peppers. Not enough to last the winter, but enough to enjoy. Not one tomato, out of 20 plants. I think I’ll take a year off next summer.

But it isn’t all work. We’ve enjoyed a number of days off to share with SK: a visit to the Chama Art Studio Tour, and El Rito Art Festival (where they excel in creating astounding found art). The Tiny Sofa Museum was a highlight. The artist really LOVES miniature sofas and builds and collects them. And the Death by Chocolate extravaganza, put on by the library was delicious.

SK and I also spent a day in Taos, visiting the Earthship Community once again. It never fails to amaze. Had a great lunch in town, where I bonded with Emmitt Lee Jones, a traditional American musician who plays ragtime (and other) music written/transcribed by Stefan Grossman. I corresponded with Stefan several times as a teenager and young adult, when I became obsessed with ragtime for guitar, and he sent me some of his Kicking Mule Music, which I learned and loved to play (never very well!)

**1970s guitar music from Kicking Mule**

Now, we are very serious about voting in the Fat Bear 2026 contest. I’ve been doing it for years, and it raises a lot of money for grizzly conservation in Alaska. It’s fun to watch the video cams at Brooks Falls.

I am teaching 4 classes this fall, one more than I planned on, and they are keeping me busy, as I am also testing a new AI behavioral health “learn-how-to-do-therapy” simulation tool called SimCare. While I have to admit that the avatars are well done and the conversations quite complex, the program has many glitches, and I have serious reservations about it as a teaching tool, not to mention all the other issues about AI. But it allows for some great dialogue with the students about the use of AI in education and in mental health.

So, as September draws to a close, we wait for the rain to stop. SK leaves in a few days, and I think Alan and I have decided to get on the road for awhile, do some camping, visit friends. It’s been a loooong summer. In January, we will head south yet again to the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, where I will once again be offering some safety/mental health support to the women living in vehicles full-time. I’ve splurged on a cabin on the Colorado River for the week, but then we’ll likely be traveling and camping about the southwest, as we love to do.

In the meantime, it is still beautiful here in Miller Canyon, peaceful, safe, and quiet. We wish the same for you all.

Deer at the Guzzler

July 14, 2025: Bastille Day

It’s July and so it’s time for the Tour de France, (a perfect distraction from the news and sorrow over the loss of the North Rim GC lodge.) The TdF is Alan’s and my only sports interest throughout the year. Today is a big day in the mountains, as France celebrates its national day. Go Tadej! Go Sepp Kuss!

In other news, we have been incredibly busy here at 4Fords, partly due to the wonderful work ethic our Worldpackers bring to us lazybones. There’s been a lot of fence-building, enlarging the “yard” to a couple of acres, and replacing the old, rotting fence posts with T-posts.

Rusty driving fence posts

Those old posts are being recycled into log check dams. If we can avoid a huge flash flood for a few years, there’s a chance these will create little green oases. Since living here, we’ve seen 6′ and 4′ floods during the first year, and numerous 14″-18″ runs since then. Our dams will survive up to 2′ of moving water, maybe a bit more, enough to deposit silt and seeds and build protection from future floods. When we moved here, there were no willow. Now, the willow is over 6′ tall. It’s all up to Mother Nature now. Here’s a couple of YouTubes of places successfully using this technique, from small to large: https://youtu.be/k7l-edx0-wg?si=NB44Zhwpt01X7oWd https://youtu.be/c2tYI7jUdU0?si=TvURhYrqewYtX0L3

**One of 15 rock check dams I’ve been constructing to slow and divert flow** **away from the cliff wall and downstream erosion (see willow, too)**

In addition, we’ve finally begun fencing our large pasture; the one with 3 ponds that cattle love to hang out in and overgraze. The plan is to enclose the 10-12 acres with elk-friendly wire and include 2 big gates so cows can have access when there is plenty of both grass and water. That way it gets fertilized, but can start to regenerate. We’ve already added 2 ponds and some berm and swale to lessen the erosion.

**Building fence**: **it’s very hot out there!**

Before that project, Alan became familiar with the backhoe by digging a 3′ hole for our new 1600 gallon cistern. This one is not capturing water directly from the roof, but will be for overflow, bringing our total capture to 5,000 gallons. Our hope is to increase that to 10,000 gallons in the future.

You can never have too much water here in drought-ravaged NM. Our creek is essentially dry for the first time in forever, putting a lot of pressure on wildlife. It is bringing a huge herd of elk, over 60 at last count, down from high up on the mesa, to drink from the last little holding ponds. Without rain, they, too, will be dry shortly. Some rain is in the forecast, but so far has skipped over the canyon to hit the mesas. Every day, I’m filling 2 bird baths and 2 dishes of water for bunnies, chipmunks, and squirrels. There are over 20 species of birds coming to the bird bath every day.

Some of the Elk

We managed to get out for a couple of great summer hikes in the high country at Navajo Peak (South San Juans). The Columbines were out in force, as big as my palm. There were plenty of little creeks for the dogs to get wet and muddy in, so they were happy.

**This Columbine was as large as my hand**

Aspens – Navajo Peak Trail

The garden is doing well, although the daily wind, 40 degree nights, and 90 degree days are taking a toll on the tomatoes, peppers and corn. Not sure how much we’ll get from them. On the other hand, we can already pick potatoes.

**Garden with wind protection.** **(The brown shed in the background is the next thing to demolish!)**

Finally, we’ve taken on learning to make our own corn tortillas, thanks to one of the Worldpackers who taught us the skill. We bought a tortilla press. Alan is better than I am, and we’re enjoying plenty of tacos.

**My first attempt at tortilla making: we are improving**

**Looking forward to a little of this…**

2/9/2024: 8″ of powder on 4″ of slush on 2″ of ice on 4+” of mud: it’s a beautiful day.

There’s no doubt that the moisture plume (the name I know it by) (aka Atmospheric River) has made it’s way from the coast to northern New Mexico. Combined with continued warmer-than-normal temps, 4 Fords has seen some unusual weather for February, making the road impassable and the rocks up on the cliffs slip and tumble. The days and nights are a parade of rain, sleet, hail, snow, high winds, thunder and lightning, followed by a few minutes of brilliant sunshine to light it all up, then disappear back into the gloom. And more is coming.

The above title doesn’t do justice to the general yuckiness. With Alan in Denver, I am here alone with 3 bored dogs (one belongs to a friend) and a serious case of cabin-fever. I try to get them out for a good hike every day, but, even with microspikes or snowshoes, there is no way to avoid sinking into the underlying mud that refuses to freeze. Even the pups get tired of it and end up wanting to go back indoors to warm up by the fire.

**Taking a walk with doggies (believe me, there’s mud hiding under that pretty snow)**

On the other hand, the canyon has been exceptionally pretty when the sun does emerge, with the daily fresh snowfall and the trees coated in ice. I hear elk, coyotes and birds all over. There’s a fox who yips every evening, although I have yet to see her. There have been a couple of small rock falls that echo through the canyon for a minute or more. The mountain lion I posted about in the last blog is still around, although not nearby. We just see his tracks and keep a close eye out.

In the morning, I scrape off the arrays to keep the power going. It’s a chore I actually enjoy because it gives immediate satisfaction:

Here’s a quick video of me clearing the snow when it’s wet and heavy. It actually takes about 5 minutes. (Much easier when it’s powder.) And of course, there are 2 smaller arrays to also clear.

Clearing the array

Other daily winter chores include moving and chopping firewood, another activity I really enjoy, and have for over 50 years. I don’t do any shoveling, which is good because I hate it. The way this place is set up, it’s just not necessary. I feed the birds every few days and take out the compost.

Every morning Clair, Zane and I visit Catoo, who lives in an insulated cathouse inside the greenhouse during the winter. She is about 16 years old (we have been told: she came with the ranch), but is very healthy and happy. She says hi to us with purrs, gets some pets, and touches noses with the pups, but is mostly interested in food. At night she hunts, as you can see from our wildlife cam. She gets quite chubby in the winter, but slims down in the summer. On sunny days, the greenhouse reaches 70 degrees even if it’s only 30 outside.

**Catoo, she’s just been rolling in he dirt of the greenhouse and is looking a bit scruffy**. **She’s be embarrassed to see herself this dirty!**

Catoo hunting

We play a lot. The dogs and I, that is. Throwing balls and sticks, chasing balls and sticks, searching for lost balls and sticks. It’s an endless game of the joys of balls and sticks!

I also just play in the snow.

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