the in-the-meantime post (sans internet)

(I’m sitting in the car where it’s warm and typing at our campsite)

We’ve been in the area south of Grants, NM, for the past two days since we left ABQ. It’s all a lot of hiking up mountainsides and down slippery rocks. I’m actually getting much better at hiking; my stamina is up and my lung capacity has expanded. In just two weeks, I think I’ve dropped a size or so, too. Anyway, that’s all good stuff, and I’m proud of myself for keeping my focus and motivation and avoiding thinking negatively.

Save for this weekend when I was feeling a bit homesick (Mother’s Day and all), I think I’m having a lot of fun. Camping all the time has been pretty easy, we go to bed really early, and since I got a blanket, new pillow, and earplugs, I’ve been sleeping more comfortably. Tonight and last night, unfortunately, we’re at a pretty high altitude, and it snowed at one of the points we were at today, so it’s really freaking cold. I had trouble getting to sleep last night, but tonight I’ve got lots of layers on and I anticipate better sleep.

Richard and I get along really well. Sometimes I get worked up in my head because I’m sensitive and I have an ego and I want to be good at stuff without really working hard for it, so if he comments about the difficulty level being part of the job, I get a bit sore about it for a while. But clearly, the problem is my own, and I just have to work on getting my strength and motivation up and continuing to stay positive. That, and really getting involved in the questions this research is asking. This is, after all, the perfect opportunity to discover whether or not field work is what I want to do. So far, I think it is. It’s very challenging, but not beyond my capabilities, and that’s just the physical aspect.

I hear rain on the top of the car. It’s so very cold outside!!!

Anyway, in the past few days, I think Richard and I have gotten into a groove, where we work well together and enjoy each other’s time in our down time. He’s less quiet and unreceptive to my [many] joking comments, and has loosened up a lot around me. I think we’re finally being ourselves, and that’s refreshing. Being around someone 24/7 for three months and having them conceal their true personality is such a waste of time. So this is much nicer.

Besides that, we’ve had loads of great stuff in the field. It’s still pretty early in the season out here (seems like most things just haven’t bloomed since the snows melted) so there aren’t too many flowers, but the plants we’re looking for ARE there, and that’s an encouraging sign of flower densities to come. We were outside Albuquerque the other day and saw a TON of Claret Cup blooms (Echinocerus spp.), and then came face to face, literally, with a pair of black-chinned hummers (male and female). They were fun to observe at the feeders, but they get so upset when we take them down! They fly right up to us if we’re holding the bright red feeder and debate whether or not to attempt one last sip of that magical sugar juice we fill it with. This happened last week with some broad-tailed hummers, too! They came up so close, it’s almost a shock to see how tiny they are, and it’s brilliant to see their gleaming iridescent feathers in the afternoon sunlight.

Of the flowers we are looking for, we have seen Claret Cups, Southwest Paintbrushes, Larkspurs, Penstemons, Ocotillo, and Thistles. We’ve observed hummers feeding at least half a dozen times, and sometimes other birds come to the feeders to steal a bit of our tasty candy water.

We ate at the Route 66 Café in Albuquerque, and I had some awesome fish, fried okra and mashed potatoes and gravy, plus an orange juice-flavored vanilla shake. What a great idea! It was cool. We tried to drive straight to this campsite on Sunday night after some dinner at an Italian restaurant (where they gave me a flower for Mother’s Day!), but couldn’t stay awake late enough to get that far, and stayed at another motel in Grants, NM. On our way out of there, we stopped for breakfast at a place called “Chili Kicks on Route 66” and met Millie, the local “Queen of Chili.” She was really nice, and I gave her my mother’s day flower. So far, everyone in New Mexico has been really nice and laid back. That’s a nice change, since Phoenix seems like it has an identity crisis with its own geography. When I mention I’ve been living in Tucson, people out here smile and say how much they like it there, and we recount things we like about the city and the Sonoran desert.

I’ve been cooking dinner for us at nights (when we’re camping). I like that Richard has given me creative license, because he’ll purchase the ingredients I request and some of his own preference, and then stand back and let me have at it. If I may be so bold, I’d say I’ve been making some amazing food, from scratch even! Since he’s Canadian, everything I make with a Southwestern flare is a novelty to him and he loves it. He likes garlic and lemon and most vegetables, and so I’ve been able to cook fantastic, entirely vegetarian meals for us every night. At first, I’ll admit, he was a rather Doubting Thomas when I pulled out ingredients I intended to throw together, but a few nights of my cooking have shut him up tight! Tonight, since it was so cold, I invented a soup with the remaining things we had in the cooler. I happened to find wild rosemary at one of our points, and so I used that, as well as a red bell pepper, some shell pasta, pinto beans, a lemon, soy sauce, honey, garlic, veggie dogs, cilantro, pepper and Mrs. Dash. You would not believe how good this soup was!

Anyway, life out here isn’t so bad. In fact, it works out just fine. I got my “economic stimulus” check in my account, and at just the right time, too! So I’m not flat broke like I was worried I’d be, and I have few to no expenses these days.

AND!!! At the beginning of June, we’re going to be working with the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service in Colorado doing bat telemetry with them to help out!!! I am so thrilled about this opportunity! Hopefully they can spare a few dollars for the help, that would be cool, but I am sure I can do without it.

I’m just way too cold to continue typing! Good night!