.jpg)
… hiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh …
... I mean ... Hi!!! Daisy Jones-Klein here. I was just reflecting on the season, and didn’t
hear you click in. So come on in and set
a spell!
Spring is easing its way into summer here in Santa Fe, and
that’s not so bad. The windy weather of the last couple of months is dying
down, things are greening up, and the daytime temps are getting nice and toasty
for my daytime naps.
Trees and flowers are budding out all over, adding splashes
of color to the usual greens and browns out here in the high mountain desert.
And the birds and the bunnies are getting out and about,
including the hummingbirds which have found their way back from their winter
vacation. Thanks, David P., for these hummer pix!
Out here in New Mexico, we’re grateful for the nice weather.
But we’re also grateful for much of the nature we don’t have. We don’t get tornados or hurricanes or superstorms or
blizzards or super derechos or floods. We don’t get earthquakes, and tsunamis are far, far
away.
But it’s not all perfect here. We live in a dry climate, and
the last few years have been even drier than normal. And as the drought persists, we see
lots of ominous signs. The ground’s much drier than usual, and the trees and
shrubs are showing signs of stress. And
drier trees are more vulnerable to the bark beetle, turning weak trees into
dead trees.
And all that dryness and all the weakened and dead trees make for
high fire risks. In the past few years, fires have not been very kind to New
Mexico forests. And just last week, two big fires started not too far from us, one about
20 miles to the east and the other about 30 miles to the west. The Thompson Ridge Fire to the
west is just over the Jemez Mountains, and some days is pretty dramatic. This
is from its first day:
And a couple of days later, it flared up again:
The fires are still burning and growing, although some reports say they are being brought under control. Each of them is now well over 10,000 acres,
and depending on which way the wind is blowing, our Forever Home here in-between
the two can get kinda smoky.
So be careful out there! “Crispy Critters” should only be used to describe a
breakfast cereal from Dad’s childhood, and not the outcome of a nice walk gone horribly wrong.
And save on water, too! During droughts, especially, we all gotta do our share to conserve. As a good citizen of the Quadruped-American community,
I’ve developed Daisy's Three-Point Water Conservation Plan. I’m pretty sure it’s the
right thing for me to do, and maybe it’ll help y’all save water, too:
1. Never, ever, bathe. Who needs bathing, anyway? What a waste of water! I don’t know about you, but I’ve worked
hard to develop my natural funky smell. Maybe I’ll even market my own line of
perfume:
2. Go easy on the dishwasher. It takes a lot of water to run
the dishwasher, and really, it’s not all that necessary. Ask yourself: Have I
licked all the plates I could, or am
I just being finicky? I’ve told my Peeps that I’m ready to do my share, step up my game, and take on even more plates to lick. And if I’m really thorough, the plates look clean
enough afterwards to go right back into the cabinet! Water saved!
3. Do your “business” outside. Do you Peeps know how much water you
waste on flushing? A lot! And totally unnecessary, in my view. I’m a
multi-tasker, and I've learned that when I’m taking walks with my Peeps that it’s
also an excellent time to take care of other pressing business, and I think you know
what I’m talking about here. Exercise, food recycling, and water saving all in one walk – how cool is that!? So I suggested to my Peeps that they too may want to make
their walking time a little more productive and “meaningful.” Mom just made a weird face and said
that wasn’t really her style. Dad sorta chuckled, and started yabbering on about Boy
Scout campouts, putting out campfires, and other strange stuff he did when he was a pup. Go figure.
Enjoy the summer! And if you’re not naturally furry all over, be sure to wear sunscreen!
Daisy Jones-Klein
Santa Fe, NM
June 2013
