The real picture of the fire near Cochiti Lake

Let’s all go wash our cars today (the white man’s rain dance) so we can keep this beast at bay. Here’s the map of the fire line  – the arrow points to my house.

Weekly Photo Challenge

I just discovered this great community of bloggers/photographers called The Daily Post. It’s challenging me to write every day. Sister Rose Delores would be proud of this site. She always said, You want to be a writer, write. Every day. You want to be an artist? Draw. Every day. You want to be a slacker? Slack. Every day. Okay, I made up that last one. But you get her point. Practice, practice, practice.

So here goes. The challenge was simply one word. Sky.

People often ask me why I left the beauty of the Pacific Northwest for the high desert of New Mexico. It’s simple. I need sky. Lots of head room so I can think.

In Portland, Oregon there is very little sky. Mostly trees and drizzle. It doesn’t rain as much as people think in Portland, it’s chronically cloudy. A weird layer of grey that will hang around for days, not even giving you a peak at the sky. It’s mean. But don’t I miss the green? That’s always the second question. If you want that much green you have to have that much gloom. No, I do not miss the green. I’m quite fond of desert brown.

There are 300 days of sunshine a year in New Mexico (according to the brochure). But this year that sun has been shining with a vengeance and over delivering and has partnered with the Las Conchas Fire to give me more sky.

Be careful what you wish for.