Tag: poetry

A Poem for December 23

The Night Before the Night Before Christmas

by Alan McComas (with thanks to Clement C. Moore)

'Twas the night before the night before Christmas
And the house was awake,
And the mouse in the house
Was nibbling cake.
While the mouse in the house of the mouse in the house
Was wondering which sweet sugar plum to take.

Now the mouse in the house of the mouse in the house
Was not very tall - she was really quite small.
Though the hole in the wall of the house mouse's house
Was as small as the head of a small silver pin,
Even so, the house mouse's tiny house mouse could fit in!

All the house mouse's children were playing a game
And the rules always changed - they were never the same.
So the game never ended, and never began - 
But when it was over, it started again!

It appears as they played, 
That they ate marmalade,
....And they couldn't sit,
COULDN'T SIT...,
COULDN't SIT STILL!
...So they jumped up to sing on the cold window sill.

"Will this night never pass?" sang the mice in their sorrow.
"Will the hands of the clock never spin to tomorrow?
We are certain tomorrow will be Christmas Eve!
But tonight is the night before that - so we grieve."

So they sang.
But the house mouse's house mouse's children were small,
Much smaller than mice - by a factor of twice!
And though they all sang just as loud as they should,
I'm afraid no one heard them, for nobody could.

So they put all their sweet sugar plums in a line
And they offered them up to Old Father Time.
And humbly they asked the Old Clock, don't you know,
To make Christmas come faster,
For it came much too slow.
Father Time gave a wink, and his hour hand blinked.
His escapements all whirred as he wound up his springs.
His pendulum gurgled, his case sprouted wings!
His bells, how they chortled! His chimes how they tinkled!
He rolled up his sleeves and he made the time wrinkle!

And all in an instant of new fallen snow -
Of hours and minutes and moonlight all aglow,
Of seconds and angels and sparkly star light
The mice children found 
That it WAS the next night!

It was Christmas Eve! The Old Clock brought them there!
...They were slightly confused and had quarks in their hair.
Then Grandfather Clock spread his wings,
And left them quite nimbly - 
With a Whoosh! And a Swoosh!  He flew right up the chimney!

But then out of the chimney appeared in a tick - 
A little old man by the name of St. Nick!
"That was fast!" Santa chuckled.  "Oh my, what a trick!"
Here it is, Christmas Eve!  ...How'd it get here so quick?"

Wishing Everyone a Peaceful, Loving Christmas, a Relaxing Holiday, and a MOST Happy New Year — Rusty and Alan

Father Time Image by Nanne Tiggelman from Pixabay; others free by Creative Commons

December 21, 2024

Solstice bonfire

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything. That’s because both Alan and I took on a lot of work this fall, jobs that are just now beginning to wind down, thank goodness. The work had nothing to do with 4Fords, but padded the bank account, so we can’t complain (much).

Annual Christmas Tree Expedition

We did have a couple of adventures this fall. One was the annual Christmas Tree Expedition and Picnic, which was a grand success. I can’t tell you how many years we have been doing this, but it has been many, and has always been a pleasure. A lot of thought and meandering through the woods goes into choosing just the right tree. This year we found a lovely Blue Spruce.

Another adventure was the gift of some fresh elk, shot on the Jicarilla Tribal Lands by a local. We hung, deboned, and processed about 45# of prime burger, steaks, and roasts. It was quite a job with our limited tools for such work, but we got it done. The dogs kept a very close eye on us throughout.

Alan’s deboning a shoulder

We also stole a few days to visit Taos, which has become our annual Holiday shopping mecca. Taos remains one of our favorite towns; although the traffic is horrid, the food is awesome, the old town fun, and the people kind.

Rio Grande Gorge and bridge: is that a river…or a dancing woman wearing an elf hat?

We got a couple of lovely hikes in along the gorge, one had many petroglyphs.

Rio Grande River

The Winter Solstice is today. Meteorological Winter began on Dec. 1, so we are, according to the weather folks, already 3 weeks into winter, although we have yet to see snow here. A little fell around Thanksgiving, but then nothing for weeks, leaving the canyon dusty and dry. Nearly zero at night, up in the 50s during the day, makes it nice for hiking, playing with Zane and Clair outside, and chopping firewood, but Alan and I are very ready for some white stuff.

Meteorological/Astronomical/Celtic Calendar
(Ccferrie, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

I like the Meteorological Calendar because going by those dates means we are already well into winter, and my birthday, March 1, marks the first day of spring. But I love the Solstices and Equinoxes too because of their significance in history and their neat division of light and dark. A reminder that this Earth of ours is truly a bit off-kilter. Anyway, we will be celebrating the solstice this evening as we watch the sunset on Monero Cliff and look forward to longer days to come.

Our plans include a vacation to SW Arizona after New Year’s Day to visit the RTR (Rubber Tramp Rendezvous), where I have signed up to volunteer as a therapist and support person. I have wanted to visit this event for many years. Not sure why, but I feel a connection to the people who live full-time in their cars, vans, and RVs. At any rate, we will check it out and enjoy some warm weather before coming home to hunker down through winter.

Zane Gray guards the food

We wish you a brilliant solstice, a renewal of light, some snow and a cozy fire, and a wonderful holiday season! — Alan and Rusty

The Solstice sun rolling off the cliff at 4Fords

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

Atmospheric River (courtesy of NOAA

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:

Before
Before (0.0 kW)
After
After: 3.3 kW and at 8am!

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.

Not all is work!
I took the apple from the bear🐻