Original Eyes
The Taos gang, Edy and I took off yesterday morning to go
and visit “Daddy” on one of his current projects deep in the mountains of Northern
NM. We picked up a bucket of the Colonel’s Finest with all the fixins and made
the trip north from the high desert to the even higher mountain top elevations.
As we drove Edy asked me if I remembered how beautiful this part of the globe
was and I responded that I was seeing it this day with my Original Eyes and “YES”, it remains stunningly beautiful.
As we drove through town we passed several of the projects
that never happened, office complexes we
were going to buy , more projects that never happened and north toward
more land we were going to buy……..At the time these all felt like such disappointments,
failures and thwarts, but as we drove north with the blue-ist of blue sky above
us and a mini-van full of love, excitement and the smell of biscuits I felt
such a sense of relief that it was hard to put words to. Actually, if you’ve
ever had a narrow miss with a car or deer on the highway that sent you into an
instant panic mode and then survived it …………..It’s the feeling directly afterward
I am referring to…………………”Whew x1000”!!! ……and
then a few moments after that come the “Thanks!”, and then the new (re-newed?)
paradigm of life from that moment
forward. It seems that with each trip back here the jolts of awareness subside
further into a dreamlike state of other lives and times. And as those jolts of
energy wane, my Original Eyes return.
Our drive took us past rushing rivers, colorful craggy outcroppings
of mountains and scenery that at each turn required an entire roll of “mental
film” to capture it all. After 45 minutes, we crested a hill and pulled off to
answer the call of nature and L1 and I walked down toward the sound of flowing
water to recycle some of our own on some stands of Ponderosa. “Pretty here isn’t
it, Bud?” I asked him…He took his time looking around and said ”Yes”. We just stood in silence and watched the white
water for a bit before heading back to the van. It was a “half a roll moment”.
The scenery kept getting better and better as we approached “the
project” and parked. “Daddy” was inside putting the finishing coats of clear on
some full timber beams in the cabin he is restoring. It’s a cool project with
spectacular views and he has done a really fine job of bringing the place
together. We all stood around enjoying the “bucket of bird” while the boys
explored the progress made since their last visit and I got my 1st tour.
Being one who is blessed with loving what I do for “work” allows me to
appreciate and respect others who have the same passion. “Daddy” showed me
around and pointed various details he was proud of and voiced some of the
challenges that he faced during the project and I could “feel” his pride. He
has done a great job and the pride is certainly warranted. One thing about his
line of work is that you get to “see” the results of each individual task and “feel”
the product of days and tasks combined. The place “felt good” to us all.
As we cleaned up the inside picnic area, the ladies took seats
at the edge of the cliff overlooking the river while L1 and L3 began
instinctively picking wild flowers to “present” to the ladies of their lives.
Mexican Poppies of Orange/Pink, Blue Bachelor Buttons, Purple and Yellow Asters
and various other yellow, white multi-colored flowers were gathered as acts of
love and presented with deep reverence. Gleeful voices could be heard in the
distance as new territory was explored and new colorful stands of goodness were
discovered.
We packed up as it began to sprinkle and made our way back
down the mountain into the nearest town for a stop at the “Candy Store” to
gather some goodies from their vast selection of old and new favorites. The stop was a success and the ride home was quiet and
mellow as energy levels had been drained in the higher elevations, despite occasional
sugar spikes. Shafts of sunlight acted as key lighting for stands of golden
chamisa and aspens that were just starting to pre-mind us of winter’s advance. Grey
clouds added contrast to the white ones in the distance and reflections off the
asphalt doubled the deep greens and red reds of the mountains and forest on
either side of us.
“Yep” , I thought as
we reentered civilization…………..”This really IS a pretty place”.
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