The Bear Report

I haven't seen a bear around here, but these two were spotted by friends just this week.

My friend Robin snapped this on the hill behind her Lodge

and my friend Jane snapped this through her window a couple of hours before I picked her up to go play golf. Looks like he is admiring the view...or photographing it, when in reality he was eating the left over bird seed.

Devastation

As a former Houstonian, I can't ignore the devastation that is occurring on the Texas Gulf coast due to Hurricane Harvey.

Catastrophic flooding is still occurring, mostly in the Houston, Texas area.

People are trying to escape anyway they can,

others are having to be rescued...from vehicles

and from their homes.

Both  modest homes

and mansions alike.

Even animals are having to find higher ground.

BUT! I am happy to report that good samaritans from across our great nation are coming to the rescue. This line of trucks are headed from Louisiana to Texas to help with the rescues.

Please keep our south Texas area in your thoughts and prayers.

The Hunter

The weather around here has been beautiful this week.

So, yesterday we drove our guest up along Henson Creek. Plants that bloom in the Fall...are starting to do so. Have no idea what the bush is with the red berries, but it caught my eye.

Marina wanted to climb down closer to the creek

since she saw the perfect place for a photo

She was confused when she saw this guy with a large pack of arrows on his back, and I had to explain that Bow Season had opened. She and I both agreed that we don't like the idea of people who hunt and kill animals for sport. I also don't like the idea of an arrow flying through the woods at me when I am hiking...Time to start wearing bright orange clothes on the trails.

New Neighbor

I wasn't going to post these pictures, because of the poor quality. ...but I must show you my new neighbor.

I was at the kitchen window when I noticed what I thought was a coyote watching me from across the road. I grabbed my cell phone and tried to get a picture...but my quick movement startled him. That is when I noticed the white tip on his tail, and realized it was a large fox.

A couple of days latter I was headed down into town, and there he was again on a hill beside the road. I stopped and didn't dare lower my window as I knew he was easily spooked...so again a poor photo.

One of our neighbors has also seen him. Apparently he makes a daily trip down to the river. You never know what you will see around here.

Ya Gotta Get Up Early

After several failed attempts to show my guests a moose in the wild this summer. I realized that we would have to go up the mountain early or just before dark. So, since I am a morning person...I jostled everyone out of bed early, and we were driving up the mountain at 6:15 am. Not a very cheerful crowd I might add.

Their mood lifted considerably when we arrived at The Upper Mill Pond and the big Bull Moose was grazing in the distance.Sorry I didn't have a better zoom.

At the turn to go onto the Deer Lakes road, we saw a female moose in the bushes eating. I did not get a picture of her, but just up the road this female was grazing.

When we arrived at Deer Lakes there were two more in the pond. So, in all we spotted five.

Having never seen such a sight, our French guest was delighted.

As the old saying goes: The Early Bird Gets The Worm.

Cricket's Garden

We are still entertaining our guest from France, so we decided to show her (Marina) the nearby ski resort town of Crested Butte today.

The photo above is of the butte or mountain top that the town is named for.

The little ski town always has flowers everywhere...in the summer that is, and this little patch off of the main drag is always beautiful.

I was delighted today to meet the owner...and gardener of this little bit of paradise. We talked about her flowers for awhile, and then I ask if I could take her picture....she agreed and told me her name was  "Cricket". I inquired if she was named after the bug or the game?...So she told me how she got her name:

It seems she was visiting her uncle when she was eleven years old. Her Uncle was a World War II General ...a West Point grad, classmate and good friend of one of our presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower. President Eisenhower actually came to visit her uncle when he was in office. . President Eisenhower ask her if she knew how to read...to which she replied "I am eleven years old, of course I know how to read"! He then said "well you are no bigger than a Cricket".....and the name stuck.

Thanks Cricket for sharing your wonderful story and for letting folks stroll through your beautiful garden.!

Dwight D. Eisenhower was president from 1953-1961

Museum Hill-Santa Fe

High on a hill on the outskirts of Santa Fe is Museum Hill

There are several museums up there, but on this quick trip, we only had time for one

.

While waiting for the doors to open (we arrived early) we discovered the beautiful courtyard

where there were several pretty sculptures

This being one of my favorites

They were all by different New Mexico Artists

You certainly couldn't miss this enormous warrior. I had trouble getting a good shot due to the location of the sun.

The sculpture titled Apache Mountain Spirit Dancer was done by Craig Goseyan in 1995.

The Folk Art museum, unlike most museums, is open seven days a week...and worth a visit it you are ever in Santa Fe.

Santa Fe part 3 Flamenco!

One of the museums we visited while in Santa Fe was the International Folk Art Museum

and one of the exhibits we enjoyed was the Flamenco exhibit.

I guess one of the famous male dancers in New Mexico was Vincento Romero

and a female dancer named Carmen Amaya, who was born in Spain. Car,en immigrated to the U.S. and danced in over seventeen movies.

I especially liked the costume displays.

They had both female and male costumes

and some were very elaborate!

....and yes, they had a room where you could dress up as a flamenco dancers...and of course Marina and I did :)

Santa Fe part 2

I mentioned in a previous post that there were a lot of museums in Santa Fe

and this one came highly recommended. It may not be for everyone, but we sure had fun. We were not sure if we were there to see art exhibits,to enjoy a theme park or if we had landed on a movie set. You just need to go.

The entire place is constructed inside a old bowling alley building, so it is quite large. The first thing you come to looks like a normal Victorian House.

but when you enter you notice people are crawling into the fireplace.

which takes you into the rib cage of a dinosaur... where you can play music.

Meanwhile back in the kitchen, it appears that Tom is helping himself to a snack...when in reality

it is a doorway into a submarine.

By now you may have realized that nothing is as it seems. Yep...you climb into the dryer where you slide down a chute and find yourself somewhere else.

Like this colorful hallway

It isn't long before you find yourself having fun in this 20,000 square foot interactive art extravaganza!!

So if you are in Santa Fe don't miss Meow Wolf. It may not be your cup of tea, but your children and grandchildren will love it.

Santa Fe

As I mentioned in my last post, we have a friend from France visiting, and we took her to Santa Fe, New Mexico

Marina was amazed that in approximately four hours driving time, we could be in a place that was so totally different....She loved the architecture

the spectacular vistas

 countless museums

historic Churches

and endless number of shopping opportunities..in stores,

and under the awnings on the plaza.... where American Indians were selling their wares.

Santa Fe also has a nice selection of wonderful restaurants, including this highly praised French restaurant,

where we had a delicious dinner.

Santa Fe to be continued.