the picture, below, represents the best part of my day. sure, driving is ok, i drive the kids around, i go here, i go there, i see lots of deer and elk. but late in the afternoon the little dog looks at me like, well, aren't we going to go out on the road?

it's a winding dirt road through the forest, very short, doesn't really go anywhere except to our house and maybe one other place. we often see animals - cows (big dogies), deer, elk, or maybe just ground squirrels tearing around. mostly it's just fresh air and forest. the little dog is in heaven, and he gets his ears and nose going and tries to take in everything.

i consider it my own road pretty much, since the guy who lives at the end only comes by occasionally, it's just a refuge for him. we live out here, so i'm pretty territorial about the place. we notice when people drive up the road, especially if they're not visiting us. we have this little patch of forest to take care of, and do take care of it, pretty much.

there are a lot of people who know we're back here, but who don't come out all that much. there are maybe a dozen families in the canyon, and most of them have a patch of forest like we do where they're left alone and come out to go to town maybe once a day, or once a week. we are unusual in that we go to town maybe two or three times a day, and really wear out the cars. but we have teenagers. people are aware of that too. they are supportive.

southern new mexico is, in general, ranching country. the people who own the land and run the cattle are the kings, in my opinion. if you own a few cows, you can run them around, fix fence, sell off a few of them, it seems like a way to make a living. i'm working on the local rancher - he's 97 - but what i want from him is for him to teach me how to grow an apple orchard. he seems to have a good one. he says, they aren't ripe yet, not 'til the first of october. but they're looking pretty red to me. i'm hoping he'll let me pick a few, and make some apple sauce.