Some Twists and Turns

Al Hansen

Al Hansen

Well-known member


This morning around 0400 I decided to check on the daily temps for the upcoming week. I sure am glad that I did because that changed the way I’ll be doing anything at all.

Tuesday 95Fand 57F, Wednesday 93F and 61F, Thursday 98F and 55F, Friday 95F and 56F, Saturday 95F and 57F and then Sunday 104F and 57F.

So after feeding the pups earlier than usual, I opted to go get a load of pea rock. I found a spot about 20 miles from the house and all I needed was my shovel. Some of the spots are up to 5 inches deep so I can’t complain. I needed a few extra pounds of the stuff to complete the landscaping job around the kennel. As you can see, the sky was already quite hazy when I got to this spot. The Armendaris Ranch is here. In the distance is "Black Mesa" and right in front of it flows the Rio Grande. On the east side of the rio is where the El Camino Real is and you can still see where the road/trail/footpath is that stretched from Mexico City to Santa Fe. It is one large ranch being 362,885 acres in size. Just think, there were Europeans walking through this area about the time the Pilgrims first landed. About 8 miles further south from where I stopped is Fort Craig, which is where the Buffalo soldiers were first stationed out west.

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I thought all I needed was my shovel, but quickly found out that I forgot about my back. I'm glad that I brought along some extra water.

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Back home at the kennel. By tomorrow morning this pile will have disappeared around the landscaping projects that we have going.

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I brought Cayenne into the house yesterday. She had no problem acclimating herself to the cool air from the swamp cooler that we use. She has never been trained as an inside dog but yet has never gone to the bathroom in the house. The only time she comes into the house is for giving birth to pups. Last year it was a little over a month and it looks to be about the same this year. It could get crowded in my office this summer. When Cayenne's pups are about 2 1/2 weeks old, Habi will be having her litter. That should be fun! We'll figure something out for sure.

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The Rio Grande was flowing at a rate of 40 cubic feet per second when I took this shot. It won't be much longer and it will be completely dry. Hopefully we will have some rain during our monsoon season which starts in July but if like last year, our only rain came on Sept.13th. We'll keep our fingers crossed. (It is now June 5th and at 0515 the rio was flowing at 26 cubic feet per second.)

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The flowers are blooming nicely around our home. We enjoy them a lot.

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These flowers are found on the desert willow which is part of the Chihuahuan desert region that we live in. To me they are like finding a rare orchid totally misplaced. I first saw them when I was scouting for an area to hunt teal in about 12 years ago. I was meandering along the Rio Grande at the time about 50 miles south of here. I decided it would be nice to have some on our property so I transplanted some. They don't need much water but if you give them just a little extra they will bloom profusely throughout the summer months.

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Chance likes his new kennel.


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Chaco doing the Texas 2-step shuffle!

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I sure hope we get some of this soon. It would be very nice. Of course we don't need the lightning, however.


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With the rain maybe we'll get these down here again. Took this shot in October at Bosque del Apache about 5 years ago. There was a lot of smart weed in this area.
Al

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Al

Thanks for some more great pics, Cayenne looks like shes going to pop. LOL
We had a good 3 inches of rain up here this morning, the dry creek that runs through the property has more flow then the Rio has at this time.
Our ponds are at levels that I have not seen before.
 
Al

Thanks for some more great pics, Cayenne looks like shes going to pop. LOL
We had a good 3 inches of rain up here this morning, the dry creek that runs through the property has more flow then the Rio has at this time.
Our ponds are at levels that I have not seen before.
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Thanks, Doug. I am hoping that Cayenne has her pups before Monday AM when I have to drive up to Albuquerque to pick up Bev at the airport. I'll start taking her temperature on a regular basis now.
I'm glad to hear that your ponds are filled. That is a good sign. Remember, we get ducks down here that are hatched in your area.
Al
 
Great looking kennel you have there Al. And fantastic shots as always. I love seeing the different landscape from out west. Thanks for sharing.

Steve
 
Great looking kennel you have there Al. And fantastic shots as always. I love seeing the different landscape from out west. Thanks for sharing.

Steve
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Glad you liked the shots and the kennel, Steve. I just checked the flow rate of the Rio Grande and found out it is down to just 32 cubic feet per second. Won't be long now until it is just dry sand. I forgot to tell of a friend of mine who likes to use a metal detector. He was on the Black Mesa, the one in the background, and found ammunition, a belt buckle and several buttons from the uniforms that were worn by the Union soldiers that were stationed at Fort Craig. By the way, I can testify with first hand experience, that there are lots of western diamondbacks in that area.
Al
 
Thanks for the typically fine photos and update, Al. As we Kansans like to say -- "It's a dry heat," right? But please keep the heat down there, we had enough of it last year. So far so good here in Kansas this year -- temps in the 80s and timely rains. However, our premier wetland, Cheyenne Bottoms, remains all but dry. I'm envious of the free pea rock, the stuff costs quite a bit here, especially with our high fuel costs ...
 
Thanks for the typically fine photos and update, Al. As we Kansans like to say -- "It's a dry heat," right? But please keep the heat down there, we had enough of it last year. So far so good here in Kansas this year -- temps in the 80s and timely rains. However, our premier wetland, Cheyenne Bottoms, remains all but dry. I'm envious of the free pea rock, the stuff costs quite a bit here, especially with our high fuel costs ...
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The plate on the front of my truck says, "Dry Heat". Didn't know you were blessed with it in your area. Good for you. Even with a partly cloudy day today, we will be at 6% humidity this afternoon. There are a couple of forest fires burning up the mountain sides now and the crews are having a tough time securing their lines.
I can only hope for your sake that the Cheyenne Bottoms wetland area gets some water. Good luck. Whenever I think of the term "wetlands" it makes me think of our chief waterfowl biologist's "job title" at Bosque del Apache----John manages "Arid Wetlands" What do you think of that, Steve?
Al
 
Hey Al, Wish I could send a little rain your way...we had about 5 inches around here this past weekend.Coast Guard is shutting down the Mississippi to barge traffic! River is to high!
 
Your enery and work ethic amazes me Al.

Your posts are an inspiration.

Keep 'em coming.
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Hi John,
Thank you for the vote of confidence, however, as I get older I think the "energy" part seems to be waning! I will give it all I can, though.
Here is what took place yesterday. My neighbor, Amado, came over on his 4 wheeler to see how I was doing. While here he asked what my next plans were and I told him that I had a few creosote bushes behind the kennel (north side) that I would be removing to help keep the snakes away. We have already had one western diamondback in the kennel about 3 years ago. Anyway, the next thing I knew he was driving his tractor over here and when he left, two hours later, it looked like this. Soon I will stack a half cord of wood in my Mule and drive over to his house and stack it where he keeps his firewood. The perfect time for me to do this is when he is in the hospital recovering from his replacement knee surgery. He can't say, "No", then!

Before

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After

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Now I really have my work cut out. We will begin making an exercise area for the pups back there and as we sell dogs we will begin acquiring the necessary fencing and steel posts. Shade trees will be planted, too, however no bushes. I would love to dig a pond back there but that is just a dream right now.
The first thing I noticed when I saw the pictures was the roof of Bev's art studio. When that violent tornado ripped through Moore, OK, the day before we had some horrific winds here and that marked the first time in 11 years that we lost any shingles on the north side. That needs to get repaired soon because our monsoon season begins in July. Note that I am optimistic---
Al
 
Hey Al, Wish I could send a little rain your way...we had about 5 inches around here this past weekend.Coast Guard is shutting down the Mississippi to barge traffic! River is to high!
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Joe, I sure would take you up on your offer. Thanks for thinking of us. Isn't it uniquely strange that less than a year ago, the Mississippi River was so low that barge traffic was stopped. Now it is so high that they once again had to stop barge traffic. What fickle weather patterns.
Al
 
That's a great neighbor you have there Al, and I admire your loading that pickup with the gravel, because that is quite a workout. Your kennels look great. Hope you get some rain. We have had a wet spring, but strong northwest breezes seem to follow every storm out here, and that dries everything out quick, so I have to water a little bit anyway. I like the pink and white flower, it kind of looks like an iris.
 
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