Camplore

The North Texas Municipal Water District announced an emergency this fine mid-July day. Turns out a 72-inch water pipe has been damaged, water has been redirected, and the general population of Collin County has been asked to make do with a substantially limited amount of water for the next three days. Heaven forbid, a blade of that lush green grass in front of the bank may have to do without a drink for a few days. I know I’m disappointed I won’t be able to drive through the puddle of overspray that is on the street every single morning, drought or not.
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Stargazing in southeastern New Mexico mountains - it’s a great place to enjoy the night sky. The Sacramento Peak Solar Observatory is in Sunspot, NM, and The Southwest Institute for Space Research, founded by Alan Hale, the co-discoverer of Comet Hale-Bopp, is in Otero County.
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I frequently reflect on the enjoyment I got out of camping as a young woman in New Mexico. I always felt like I belonged there, and would much rather be out in the wilderness with the animals (I never had a bad experience) than close to a city with all the lunatics (they always made me way more nervous). Nowadays, however, the city has come to the wilderness, at least in terms of the numbers of people who traverse the ways that were not well known only 30 years ago.
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Ever smelled a Ponderosa Pine tree? Not just your average pine tree – like the Scotch pine or Blue Spruce you dragged into the house over the holidays that dropped pine needles and sap on your floor (though they are lovely in their own right). I don’t imagine many people would want a Ponderosa to decorate – they typically have a long tall bare trunk before the clump of long needles at the top.
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