Went for a hike today with my sweetie. We went to the Arroyo Hondo Open Space. The trail there is a 2.8 mile loop, with some pretty good ups and downs. My phone said it was over 5000 steps, and 5 flights of stairs.
It was another beautiful afternoon. Around 70, with just a little breeze, and full sun. We enjoyed the walk, but there were a few steep sections where we needed to stop and catch our breath. Ran into a few people, almost all of them with off-leash dogs, but they were all well-behaved.
The views were pretty good, and it was interesting seeing the hills that we see on our morning walks from a different angle.
We also looked across I-25 to Harry’s Roadhouse, which was where dinner tonight came from. Tasty stuff, as always.
Glad we got out for one more hike before the weather turns colder this weekend. Don’t know if we’ll be up for hiking on snowy trails.
This morning, just before I headed to the mailbox to pick up yesterday’s mail, I noticed our Northern Flicker hopping around just outside.
He’s a pretty bird, and as long as we don’t hear him pecking at the wood on the house, we feel a little more secure about not having insect problems. Not sure if he’ll stick around or not, but it’s been a couple months now that we’ve enjoyed his company.
I also got to say hello to our neighbor “Sally who names plants” (we don’t know her last name, but everyone knows who we mean when we call her that) this morning. Not even 9am, and it’s already been a good day!
We went for another hike today. This time up to Bishop’s Peak, which is pretty close to home. It’s about 450’ of altitude gain from the parking lot, over a 2.2 mile loop, and we made it up and around. Had to take a few breaks for air on the way up, but we’re still getting used to living at the altitude here, even after a year.
It was a nice hike, though. And when we got to the top, we could see across the freeway to Café Fina, and the Sangre de Cristos, and we could see our house in the other direction. We’re one of the few houses that has a white roof, so that made it easier to find our place.
Beautiful fall weather today, too. About 65 degrees, with a light wind, and a few clouds to give us a break from the sunshine every now and again.
We also got to see a lot more Emory Oak today. I didn’t know oak trees grew this close to home, but there they are. They’re not exactly monsters, but they’re oaks. They’ve mostly dropped their leaves already, due to the dry year this year, though.
My sweetie and I headed out to the Galisteo Basin Preserve for some hiking today.
We only did a couple miles, but there was a good bit of elevation change in there and some pretty spectacular views.
And as an added bonus, we got sandwiches from Upper Crust Pizza, and they were some of the tastiest sandwiches we’ve ever had. Apparently we worked up good appetites.
Edited to add: Also remembered that we got to see the Amtrak train headed west from one of the overlooks. That was neat.
We had what looks like 3-4 inches of snow overnight last night. Enough to come up to my ankles, but never over my boot-tops on the walk to the mailbox and around the block this morning. It was a little chilly when the wind was blowing, but that wasn’t much of the time, so I worked up a pretty good sweat in my big sheepskin jacket.
The scenery around here looks so different with a coating of snow. The only real color remaining is the yellow of the few aspen trees that haven’t dropped their leaves yet. Otherwise it’s a white to dark green palette. Pretty!
Had a bluebird sitting on the birdhouse the other morning. Not sure if it’s a mountain bluebird or a western bluebird. I’m pretty sure it’s a juvenile male.
I’m not sure if this is the same bird that landed on my shoulder one evening while I was taking pictures of the sunset, but we have a few that hang around the house. I’m hoping to build a couple houses for them over the winter.
We’ve got a small tree cholla growing outside our east-facing bathroom window that reminds me of a prickly baby Groot. As summer turned to fall, it’s been turning more purple and I’m not sure if that’s normal or if it’s sickly. I guess we’ll find out next year.
Edited to add: my sweetie read up on chollas and says they turn purple in the fall and that’s normal. Glad we don’t have to worry about the little guy being sick.
There was a pretty #sunset this evening. Not a ton of clouds or a ton of color, but still pretty. And I was out working in the shop to see it, so you get to see it, too.
