Hello, Dolly

Dolly has arrived, fresh off her Atlantic engagement. New Mexico frequently gets the leftovers from hurricanes, often as all-day rains that soak deep down to the seeds that have been waiting for years for wet. This is our third good rain year in a row, and the desert is absolutely verdant. Beautiful!

Dogs and I had a rainy walk, and now the office is permeated with the smell of wet dog. In New Mexico, we rarely get the pleasure of complaining about this smell.

Boys are gone this weekend, so the Q and I went to the movies, bookstore, coffee shop, party and back home last night all in time to take care of the animals before 8. Then backgammon. (She lets me win.)

Biking toll is 4 rides in for the week, 15 for the month. It is irresistable to ride in -- 10 miles and 1000 feet down, and enough to make me not even think about the ride home... Ride home yesterday was 70 minutes. The extra workout was due to a 13 mile headwind from the southeast.

On to Saturday am things: Farmer's Market, grocery store, etc.

The mystery of the pen

A young friend recently shared a mystery with me: How could a pen land in the middle of the road (our road), not at a driveway, not near an obvious stopping point. David (the friend) thought it might be mine because I bike down the road, but not so.

I had another thought, David. Maybe it landed after it fell off a car? I admit to sometimes leaving things on top of my vehicle, and they land wherever gravity gets them...

Anybody have any thoughts?

What else the rains bring

It is still raining, so we are still getting in the critters. Jake has always loved the critters.

The left critter is a vinegaroon. They look nasty, but their chief defense is to spray vinegar when they feel threatened. So whenthreatened, they spritz a salad.

The dude below is a young gopher snake. He has an older guy who we see most summers who goes by the name of Henry. He is a big boy!

More what the rains brought in

Rosie, the rattlesnake-sniffing dog, was antsy this afternoon during brushing time in the backyeard. This guy slithered through a couple hours later.

Last seen heading east.

Jake's current interest

Jake is spending lots of time with TED Talks. One of his favorites (mine, too) is below.

Joshus Klein on the intelligence of crows.

What the rains bring

The rains have arrived. Tuesday we got 1.5" of rain. The arroyo north of the house ran several times, and the roads (Soledad and Black Quartz) are in the usual mess. But the bridge has stopped the road into town from washing out, and I even crossed it a couple times when there was water running beneath.

The boys in the photo met on the driveway yesterday morning and were having words when I relocated their scuffle to the desert. They were even less pleased with me than they were with each other! Other rain-prompted sightings include a couple of snakes, toads, furry red insects, tarantula hawks, and even grasses.

Quincy started a summer science program through NMSU this week that runs until the end of the month. The focus on biology will help her get back into academics (school starts a month from yesterday). We finalized her schedule Wednesday with the help of LCHS's counselor extrordinaire.

Only biked in twice this week. The ride to town is now down to about 40 minutes, and home is under an hour. Put gas in the big car yesterday for the first time in about a month. It is really good to be biking again. How could I have forgotten how sweet it is?

Buy one, get 5 free

Local Playwright Amy Lanasa wrote and directed Buy one, get five free, appearing now at the Black Box Theatre until July 20.

The show is fun -- Amy is a talented writer and director, and the cast is outstanding. We saw it on opening night, and the cast had high energy and a great sense of ensemble.